Dino Crisis - Game Series We'd Like To See Resurrected

From the rebooted XCOM and Tomb Raider series, to the more recent announcement of Resident Evil 2 now receiving an official remake, there is a lot of talk as of late about reboots and remasters. Whether you're against the whole idea, or admire developers in updating titles, it certainly makes a great talking point as to what series of games that I personally would love to see rebooted for modern consoles.

Recently I've been looking at a lot Capcom titles, particularly ones that were developed in some way by game developer Shinji Mikami. Killer7, God Hand, Viewtiful Joe—Mikami has had so many excellent titles under his belt that I really do believe that Capcom should follow them up with either remasters, reboots, or sequels.

But of course, if there is one series in particular that I would really love to see in the spotlight once more, it would have to be Dino Crisis.

Released back in 1999, Dino Crisis was a brand new IP released in the prime of Capcom's survival horror craze. Adopting similar gameplay mechanics as found in the Resident Evil series, the first Dino Crisis was directed by Mikami, who drew inspirations from both The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Aliens.

With the popularity of Resident Evil and Silent Hill now flooding the market, Dino Crisis was a commercial success, selling over 2.4 million copies worldwide and garnering a lot of positive press from both Western and Japanese markets. However, despite its success and record sales, the title still bared some tedious puzzle mechanics that, at least to my impression, hindered the last few hours of the game as a repetitive and boorish experience of locked doors, passcodes, and pointless minigames. Some critics like to refer to Dino Crisis as "Resident Evil with dinosaurs," and to some degree, I can agree with them. But at least with Resident Evil there was some motivation of replay value.

It wasn’t until the release of Dino Crisis 2 that the series really took an entirely new direction, ditching these tedious survival-horror elements in favor of a more fun, action-orientated adventure title.

With more wide open areas, a large variety of weapons, and plenty of dinosaurs to wipe out, the developers understood the gripes they had on releasing Dino Crisis and brought with it one of my favorite dinosaur killing simulators to date. From its kickass opening (below) showing off a raptor horde mowing down a team of special forces, right off the bat gamers understood that Dino Crisis 2 was about one thing and one thing only: killing a shit load dinosaurs.

Now this article isn't going to be a proper a review, as I'll be looking to cover both titles in a later retrospective piece. Instead, this article will be covering my reasons as to why Capcom should release a proper remake/reboot for this beloved series. 

You have an excellent IP, don't waste it Capcom!

To not provide a fans proper sequel (or at least a spiritual successor) just seems like a waste of a perfectly good IP. Dino Crisis 2 in particular is an incredibly fun a game and brought to the table an interesting mix of action and horror. Come on Capcom, it's been 16 years since we last saw a good (emphasis on the GOOD) Dino Crisis game. Hurry up and release something!

People will most likely buy it

A dinosaur themed survival horror title? What more could you ask for? Back in the day, both Dino Crisis 1&2 garnered a lot of positive press from both critics and gamers like myself. After the abysmal follow-up of Dino Crisis 3, for years fans have yearned for a proper sequel, complete with all the Dino-killing mayhem that we all know and love. Considering that, the amount copies that the two games have sold over the years (3.49 million), and the amount hype surrounding both Jurassic World and the Resident Evil HD Remaster, remaking/rebooting this classic series should come as a no-brainer.

People love dinosaurs Capcom. Cash in!

Resident Evil is boring. Bring me more dinosaurs!

Pretty self explanatory. As much as I'm liking the fact that Capcom has finally acknowledged the Resident Evil fanbase and are now planning to release a remake for Resident Evil 2, personally I would much rather they took some time off and focused on rebooted the Dino Crisis franchise. Let's face it, zombie games are a dime a dozen nowadays, and both the indie and the AAA market have completely over-saturated multiple gaming genres.

Dino Crisis 3 sucked and I demand a proper sequel

Dino Crisis 3 is one of the most insulting sequels that I've ever played. Through its dull level designs, frustrating camera mechanics, and pitiful enemy varieties, Dino Crisis 3 was a gigantic leap backwards from anything innovative and fun found in the previous games. So much so that it's probably one of the core reasons why Capcom hasn't even bothered in releasing anymore titles.

What are your thoughts on a Dino Crisis reboot? Do you think it's about time for Capcom to get off their butts and release a follow-up? What other game series do you think should be resurrected? Let us know in the comments below!