Life...er, finds a new way as Jurassic World gets its own Pokémon GO-inspired VR game for mobiles.
Since Michael Crichton first opened the gates to those dangerous dinos with his Jurassic Park novel, there has been a whole movie franchise, more merchandise that you shake a raptor claw at, comic books, and many video games of varying success. However, keen to move away from SEGA's rail-shooter of 1994, Jurassic Park is getting with the 21st Century thanks to Universal.
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Cashing in on the hype of mobile gaming left in the wake of Pokémon GO's launch, the studio has released the first trailer for Jurassic World Alive. As the trailer teases, Universal is hoping to take a big bite out of the craze of handheld gaming on smartphones. The map-based game will be based on your location, and just like catching those pocket monsters, certain species will appear more frequently in specific areas. Gamers are encouraged to catch as many of the 100 dinosaurs (upon initial release) and collect DNA to help make them the biggest beast that they can.
While you might write it off as just another mobile game rip-off, there are some pretty tempting differences. While Pokémon GO got us up and moving, those who take to Alive don't even have to leave the comfort of their Ford Explorer to catch the dinosaurs and can use an in-game drone. Also, unlike Pokémon GO, Alive will launch with PVP battles, which is something that Niantic has been accused of missing out from their game. The other unique premise seems plucked straight from the recent Jurassic World movies, where players can use their hard-earned DNA to play God and create their own hybrid dinosaurs.
AR games mean big business at the moment, and even if Pokémon GO has hemorrhaged players, companies are still working on similar models for the likes of Harry Potter, The Walking Dead, and Ghostbusters. With the Jurassic Park brand now 28 years old and showing no signs of slowing down, Jurassic World Alive is a particularly clever move on Universal's side. Both Jurassic Park Builder and Jurassic World: The Game fared well with fans old and new, and interestingly, Montreal-based gaming company Ludia developed the two previous games and will be the ones to helm Alive. However, it is a case of wait and see how well Alive does or if the AR mobile gaming bubble is already too saturated.
Alive isn't the only big JP game to come out this year; Frontier Developments is bringing park simulator game Jurassic World Evolutions to PS4, Xbox One, and PC in the summer. Being released on iOS and Android, later this spring, Jurassic World Alive conveniently lines its release particularly close to the debut of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Dinosaur fever is about to hit the world of gaming and movies in a big way, so is everybody ready? If it sounds interesting, fans are encouraged to register at the official site now.
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Source: Jurassic World Alive
