Jurassic Park the game is an interesting mix on the iPad. To understand what I mean, you need to keep in mind this isn’t your typical Telltale game.

Jurassic Park: The Game 1 HD ($6.99) 

The game focuses on cinematics than in their normal games. And this is where it becomes a problem on the iPad. Even though Telltale made Jurassic Park: The game an iPad 2 exclusive, and said to have worked hard to optimize it for the iPad, it still suffers from the audio and visual glitches that haunted some of their previous games, like Back to the Future.

Presentation

Apart from that though, the game does pay near perfect tribute to the movie, nailing the specifics (Jeeps, signs, audio, you name it).That being said, none of the actual movie characters are on the movie. If what you’re concerned about is getting the full graphical experience, you can just stop here, since the iPad version obviously cuts down on some of the visuals.

Controls

Much of the game plays like quicktime events, while the others involve gestures, kind of like Heavy Rain on the PS3. For this reason, Jurassic Park: The Game actually controls pretty decently on the touchscreen. Some controls require quick swipes, or drawing a figure, while some will have you dragging a button from one side of the screen to the other. Usually, it’s all about timing and speed.

Gameplay

The game takes place right where the movie left us. The electrical fences have just gone off, and right after you start the game, you can see the helicopters evacuating Dr. Hammond, Malcom, and the main movie stars off the island. But you’re stuck there, alone, with the dinosaurs. Telltale takes an interesting approach to telling the story, telling it through the perspective of two characters: park veterinarian Gerry and his daughter, and a professional smuggler.

The change in perspective lets Telltale get creative as to how it approaches the story, and doesn’t leave you bored for a second. Sadly that’s where the honeymoon ends, because the game behaves like a giant cutscene. Sure, there’s some very basic puzzles scattered around in there, but most of the game will revolve around swiping on the screen franticly just to avoid dying.

Conclusion

As much as it pains me to say it, I’d recommend you stay away from Jurassic Park: The Game. The same problems that have been haunting Telltale games on iOS for numerous releases are still present, and just as bad as ever.

If you have a computer or console that can run the game, then you may want to consider running it there. But unless you’re a huge Jurassic Park fan, you can probably skip the nostalgia blast this will bring and just pick up the blu-ray pack.