Dino Crisis 3
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| Dino Crisis 3 | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Capcom |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Platform(s) | Xbox |
| Release | JP June 26, 2003 NA September 16, 2003 PAL November 7, 2003 |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Dino Crisis 3 is a survival horror video game for the Xbox. It is the third and final game in the series. Like the previous iterations of the Dino Crisis series, gameplay revolves around fighting dinosaurs. The action takes place in outer space, on a space station.
Unlike the first two installments of the Dino Crisis series, the enemies in the game are not real dinosaurs. Instead they are mutations created from the DNA of some dinosaur species.
Gameplay
The number of weapons was reduced (1 gun with 3 ammo types), in addition to small machines to help against dinosaur encounters (3 types). The game was played mostly through the character Patrick and only a small section was played as Sonya (although an unlockable mode allows you to play as Sonya only faster wearing a Waitress costume).
Plot
It is the year 2548 and it has been over more than 300 years since Earth lost contact with the colony spaceship Ozymandias on its trip to a². Somehow, it mysteriously reappeared near one of the moons of Jupiter. A team called S.O.A.R. (Special Operations And Reconnaissance) onboard the investigative Probe ship 'Seyfert' are sent to investigate. A smaller shuttle lifts off from the Seyfert to investigate. Suddenly, the supership launches its turbo cannons at the Probe ship, destroying it. It then aims and fires at the shuttle. The weapon causes a large explosion, killing most of the troops and crew members aboard. Fortunately, a few of the team members of S.O.A.R., Patrick Tyler, McCoy, Sonya Hart and commander Jacob Ranshaw, were able to survive the blast and managed to board the ship. What will await them inside is just the beginning, if they can survive, rescue the other survivors and escape the bowels of the mysterious ship. [1]
Protagonists
- Patrick Tyler Michael Yurchak - A member of S.O.A.R., Patrick Tyler's strong sense of duty and natural charisma make him an asset to any operation. Trusted by the entire team, he boosts troop morale.
- Sonya Hart Vanessa Marshall - Another member of S.O.A.R. Sonya's cool and flawless actions make her appealing. Her single goal is completing missions.
- McCoy Wally Wingert - Not much is known of him. Patrick and Sonya find him running towards them, asking about the other team member's wherabout's. After he realizes he's been drooled on, a dinosaur pulls McCoy into the air and throws him into the wall, killing him.
- Jacob Ranshaw Kevin Killebrew - Jacob Ranshaw leads S.O.A.R. His directiveness and bold decision-making abilities are critical to the operation. He's a fanatic about the safety of his troops. He is inevitably killed by Regulus, after its fight with Patrick. Jacob sacrifices himself, using a grenade to kill Regulus, though it fails.
- Caren Velasquez Shanelle Workman - Apparently the sole survivor of the mysterious dinosaur outbreak. She also worked as a patrol officer in one of the ships control hanger's. Caren's appearance is shrouded in mystery throughout the game. She is first discovered by Patrick and is later discovered to have several copies, mostly androids made by the M.T.H.R. However, it is discovered that she is in fact a human/dinosaur hybrid created by the M.T.H.R. During a battle Cebalrai, she sacrifies herself to save Patrick, by making it fall on a loose platform.
- Captain Satoko Evans Jasmin Paul - The Captain of the Ozymandias. After the Ozymandias is affected with cosmic rays, the crew members began to die. During her last days she and the surviving crew members searched for animal DNA, and mixed it with their own. This was all by the captains orders to MTHR, who then conducted a cloning process.
- M.T.H.R. Jasmin Paul - This M.T.H.R. unit is a first generation model used on space vessels. She is also the ship's main computer system on board the Ozymandias. Since over 300 years have passed since meeting a human being, she has suffered a form of madness. She considers the dinosaur-like creatures to be her 'children', due to the fact that she created them.
Antagonists and Enemies
Australis
- DNA Code:D-01-10a
- DNA Prime:Tyrannosaurus rex
A failed attempt to create a creature capable of surviving in the vacuum of space. Failure to develop a suitable skin resulted in its exposed musculature. However, its self-healing properties and ferocious disposition make it a formidable foe to any that cross its path. Equipped with an electricity-generating organ, the creature releases shock blasts.
There are a total of 4 different Australis in the game.
The first Australis is also the first dinosaur to be seen in the game. It is killed by a large group of hungry Rigel. The second Australis is seen in the power station after a formation change. The third one attacks Patrick in the hangar deck whilst life support is malfunctioning and the fourth and final Australis is killed by Patrick and Sonya in the engine sector of the ship.
Rigel
- DNA Code:D-01-001
- DNA Prime:Giganotosaurus
Individually, this particular species poses no significant threat. However, an insatiable appetite coupled with a tendency to blindly feed on anything that moves makes this a very dangerous creature when encountered in large numbers. The Rigel is a metamorphic being, changing its appearance with age. Its adult form is Cebalrai.
Cebalrai
- DNA Code:D-01-001
- DNA Prime:Giganotosaurus
A successful attempt at developing an ultimate life form, Cebalrai is capable of surviving on land and in space. Extremely resilient, this creature is the Rigel's final stage of growth. The Cebalrai displays aggressiveness that is well beyond its predatory instinct.
Cebalrai, like Rigel, also change their appearance, but less drastically. The only part to change in a significant matter is its head.
Although it is first encountered in the final two boss levels, its foot breaks through the ceiling in the deck sector shortly before the second Australis boss level.
Regulus
- DNA Code: D-28-477
- DNA Prime:Ankylosaurus
Based on the Ornithischia-Thyreophora. The skin of the Regulus' back is covered with thick plates of organic armor capable of deflecting projectile attacks. In combat, it curls up its body and rams its opponent. However, the creature's soft underbelly and slow speed makes it vulnerable to well-placed attacks. Only one is seen in the DNA lab, where Captain Evans sacrificed himself by placing a bomb in the Regulus' mouth. During the explosion the Regulus managed to curl up into a ball and spin its way through a wall. It later appeared in the main lobby where it was eventually destroyed.
Rigel Domain
The Rigel Domain is a giant organic tower in the center of the large storage room. It releases deadly spores and sends waves of Rigels after the player. The Domain's only weakness is the tower itself. When attacked, the outer layer of its 'skin' breaks apart.
Algol
- DNA Code: D-02-001
- DNA Prime:Velociraptor
The Algol is highly agile and has well-developed hind legs that enable tremendous jumps. When agitated, it can release shock blasts from the electricity-generating organ on its head. It has a high-level survival instinct brought on by the manipulation of its genes. Algols are very group-conscious and hunt in packs. Later in the game, Algol are shown to have a chameleon-like cloaking ability, allowing it to appear fully transparent with only the outline of its body being visible.
Kornephoros
- DNA Code: D-3a-001
- DNA Prime: Velociraptor
Another dromaeosaurian-based creature, genetic manipulation using primate DNA resulted in alteration of muscles and skeletal framework. As a result, the Kornephoros has a distinctive ape-like shape and hunts systematically as a group
Miaplacidus
- DNA Code: D-16-021
- DNA Prime: Spinosaurus
Genetically manipulated for amphibious qualities that would allow survival on both land and water, the Miaplacidus is an aggressive creature with a sharp dorsal fin. It is also capable of spitting high-pressure jets of water, granting the creature long-range attacks.
The player fights it twice, first submerged and it retreats after being injured but the second on land.
Collectively Unliked Gameplay Elements
Notwithstanding the breathtaking graphics by Xbox standards, Dino Crisis 3 is broken thanks to two major setbacks which makes the game extremely frustrating to play:
The Terrible Camera System:
- There are no better alternatives to understand how poor the camera system is than watching gameplay footages of the game, http://media.xbox.ign.com/media/482/482250/vids_2.html. Nevertheless, criticism can be generally categorized as below:
- I- The Camera View Is A Fixed One
- II- It Switches Too Frequently and Awkwardly
- III- It Changes at the Least Appropiate Moments ,e.g. While Jumping Platforms
- IV- It Cloaks the Space Dinosaurs
The Fun-killing TC Point System:
- Literally meant to reward players with weaponry upgrades and more health items, the TC point system is miserably another penalty to players. Whenever the player kills an enemy, the TC bar on the top right corner is charged with a little bit* yellow. Each level of TC bar, of which only the basic one is provided to players for free, has different maximum yellow capacity and maximum TC point reward. "Maximum yellow capacity" actually means that players would be rewarded with nothing for killing off foes if their precious TC bar becomes "FULL" (as it really reads when it does). There is no exception even for a boss battle.
- To unload the TC bar, we have to make some back-tracking to a savepoint (a blue light lamp). It takes players more time (or times) to back-track than any keys in any Resident Evil game.
- All items sold at the checkpoints are over-priced, forcing players to use the regular rifle most of the time to conserve "laser" ammo for bosses and "widespread" ammo for "the apes". *Players are sandwiched in a situation where enemies get progressively (quickly) stronger and TC points are necessary to buy over-priced upgrades so they kill with the standard rifle and back-track to the checkpoint to get the TC reward* before the TC bar gets full.
Points to Note:
- Players have to pay for TC bar upgrades for the yellow to rise gently. Two upgrades on the TC bar are required to make sure that they are paid.
- Friendly reminder to players: In a save room, bad things can still happen. It is because the TC bar provides zero TC credit unless it is >50% full. Players get half the TC credits when it is 50%-80% full, two-third the TC credits when it is 80-90% full and maximum TC credits when it is >90% full.
Reception
Dino Crisis 3 was critically panned and its sales flopped, mainly as a result of being unfaithful to its prequels and its poor controls. This has somewhat reduced the likelihood of a possible future sequel.
A Hope for Dino Crisis 4
Fans were half-hearted for Dino Crisis 3 but they were still anticipating a new Dino Crisis game. They want a remake of the first two using the shoulder view manipulated in Resident Evil 4 on all platforms. Devil May Cry is one of Capcom's popular series which once had its darkest moments. Fans of Dino Crisis cited it as an example for hope that Dino Crisis 3 would not retire the entire series. As a matter of fact, the new gameplay elements in Resident Evil 4 including the shoulder view revitalized the series but only time can tell if Dino Crisis would rise from the ash.
Trivia
- This is the only Dino Crisis in the series that does not have Regina (save Stalker, which is considered a spin-off series) as a character since more than five hundred years have passed since the events of the first game.
- It is the only game in the entire series to not include time travel. Yet time remains as an important factor of suspicion because the ship that hosts the events disappeared 300 years before the game is set.
- It is the only game of the series in which Third Energy is stable, according to a file that is found ingame near the reactor part of the ship.
- Dino Crisis 3 was originally planned for PlayStation 2 as well, but was canceled due to a deal with Microsoft so the game could only be on Xbox.
References
- ^ "Search Results: "Dinocrisis 3"". Capcom. Retrieved 2007-08-09.
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2. http://www.gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/D9180547-3E43-4224-82E3-5CD34D87917A.htm
