The Canceled Jurassic Park Game We Never Got To Play
Jurassic Park: Survival was a video game that was originally planned to be released in November of 2001. The game would have been released on the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC. The action-adventure game was to be developed by Savage Entertainment and published by Universal-Vivendi and Konami. The game was set to function as an independent narrative within the original Jurassic Park trilogy. Unfortunately, development ceased and the game was canceled.
Jurassic Park: Survival would have followed the story of a character named David Vaughn. This character was a security technician for the U.S. government occupying Isla Sorna. Vaughn was part of a security team that was assigned to work alongside a number of scientists on the island. They were also assigned to make sure to control and contain the growing dinosaur population. Things would take a turn for the worst with the introduction of a super-secret organization.
This secret organization seeks to obtain the power to create more dinosaurs, so it launches a full-scale assault and takes control of the entire island. David Vaughn transforms from security chief to survivalist and must save his colleagues, stop rogue agents, and escape the island in one piece.
What happened to Jurassic Park: Survival?
Jurassic Park: Survival would have adopted a third-person perspective that would have let players immerse themselves in the park environment. During the game's development, IGN's Douglass C. Perry wrote, "JPS looks to straddle the line between Tomb Raider-like exploration and Metal Gear Solid-style action." The gameplay closely resembles elements of Resident Evil, which could have made it the first horror-dinosaur-survival game. Jurassic Park: Survival teeters between a run-and-gun action playstyle and a much more tempered espionage approach.
Jurassic Park has evolved into a massive and successful franchise. Jurassic Park: Survival would have given players a new and semi-fresh take on the series. Despite Jurassic Park 3 is a commercial success, Jurassic Park: Survival was abandoned and forgotten. Alleged payment conflicts between the rights-holders at Universal and the developer were what led to the project being "canned," according to a Jurassic Park fan-site.
If you were one of the players that were left craving the gameplay design of Jurassic Park: Survival, then look to Jurassic World Aftermath. Universal has trademarked a new video game with just such a title.