Warning: This game may contain spoilers.
Now Lego Jurassic World is a fun game. However it has some problems that bug me (they are very small gripes). But I will save those for last because being negative about a game with dinosaurs in it makes me sad. :(
The concept is tried and true but still has charm. Basically, puzzle/platform your way around LEGO-ified versions of iconic scenes from well-known movies and comic books. This Time around it's Jurassic Park (one of the best block-busters of it's time), Jurassic Park the Lost World (which a lot of people thought was the worst sequel ever), Jurassic Park 3 (the only movie out of the original trilogy I own on DVD) and finally the recently released Jurassic World (SEE: My review on this film!).
Something a little bit strange is that after clearing the first level, you can choose to skip the original trilogy and go straight to the Jurassic World campaign. I played all four campaigns in chronological order because my brain will get confused as to what is going on (and I seen every single movie with the exception of the Lost World. Probably for the better considering the extremely negative attention it got).
Anyway, The human side of the cast is somewhat weak in my opinion. There is 100+ playable characters, yet all the fan favorites are unlocked simply by playing through each of the four campaigns. The rest (which the exception of John Hammond, who always has the rich man swag even as a Mini-figure, and Simon Masrani, who is one of the best characters in the series) are just downright random (Dino Handler Bob, anyone?). But it's still worth getting every character because only a fool would not want to 100% complete a game with dinosaurs in it. Right? RIGHT!?
But the human side of the cast is somewhat overshadowed by the awesome that is playing as a dinosaur. Yes you can play as a dinosaur. There are 20 different dinosaurs in the game and Amber Pieces are required to unlock them. Some of them are easy to obtain (or just downright unavoidable, such as the Triceratops amber), while others are so cleverly hidden that you have to play through the level once you have most (or all) of the characters (at least the ones with the required abilities). And my favorite dinosaur has the most obnoxious hidden amber of all time. Considering they literally named a level after it you think they would put it in that level. NOPE! Took me 4 hours to figure out it's actually hidden in the final boss level. In case you are wondering who my favorite dinosaur is, it's pictured below.
Spinosaurus!
And yes I am aware that there is SOME controversy over the Spino wrecking the T.Rex but still, Spino for life. I'm also aware that it was recently theorized that Spino is a quadruped as opposed to it's bipedal posture as depicted in Jurassic Park 3.
Anyway, another thing of note is that I REALLY like the design of the Velociraptors in LEGO form (see: below)
Although the physical toys that tie-in to the game make these guys look massive. Random raptor fact! In real life raptors are only three feet tall. In just about any movie with dinos in it they are erroneously portrayed as being around six foot 8.
Anyway, one of the highlights of LEGO Jurassic World is the humor. Do you remember that iconic (and terrifying) scene in the kitchen at the end of the first movie? Well now the raptor that gets locked in the freezer knits itself a cap to keep from freezing to death.
Or one of my favorites is how LEGO handled the infamous "Clever Girl" scene.
Raptor in a Banana Hat!
Something that is a bit of a twist is that LEGO went the extra mile and even kept most of the jump-scares of doom in the game. Whats worse/better (depending on whether or not you like jump-scares of doom) is that you don't expect the jump-scares of doom because it's a LEGO game and your brain just goes "Oh we'll be fine. LEGO would never put jump-scares of doom in their games". Then you get jump-scare of doom'd.
But on a bit of the combat. This is the least combat focused game LEGO has ever made. You'll run into a fight once in Jurassic Park, three times in The Lost World, twice in Jurassic Park 3, and four times in Jurassic World. Yes combat is so rare you can literally count how many times you were in a proper fight. Bosses were few and far between as well, with only four bosses (among them is my favorite, the Spino!)
Now another bit on gameplay and this is also a tried and true thing on LEGO's part. In order to progress in the level you need to switch to a character with the appropriate ability (EXAMPLE: the paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant can dig up, and then build with, dinosaur bones, while the paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler has the most hilarious power ever. She is the only character that can rummage through LEGO dinosaur....droppings. Of course she has the ability to rummage through dinosaur droppings!).
Dr. Ian Malcolm can use flares to illuminate caves.
Now sadly I will briefly talk about the things I did not like with LEGO Jurassic World. :(
This is by far the biggest complaint from me. This may not apply to you but it applies to me. During the Jurassic Park 3 campaign, there is a very awkward cut when Alan Grant and friends climb aboard the InGen boat. They skip out like the entire second half of the movie! Rather than showing the scene where Paul Kirby gets his satellite phone back, the scene where everyone is at awe of the more peaceful dinosaurs by the river, and much more they instead cut right to the scene where the Spinosaurus attacks them in the river. I understand this is a kids game and you have to keep a stream of action from start to finish, but the fact they skipped over so much of the third film bugs me as a J.P. fan.
The second gripe I have is something that I lot of people agree with. Fighting Compies is not fun In case you don't know what Compies are, they are the second smallest dinosaur in the world (being roughly 3 inches tall) and have a equally small hitbox, making fighting them somewhat annoying. But it gets ridiculous because they can kill you in seconds. The Compies are deadlier than the Raptors and Tyrannosaurs!
And finally, the last negative I have is that they made the Pteranadons and Mosasaurus playable, yet they are restricted to the Aviary and Underwater Arena areas respectively. They could have done so much with theses dinosaurs, as Mosasaurus is the only playable character that can swim, and Pteranadon is the only playable character that can fly. Plus there are objects that only these characters can interact with. These too dinosaurs just feel greatly underused.
SO with all this in mind, I give this game a 7.5/10. Keep in mind 5 is average on my scale because it's the halfway there number.
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