The Lost World
This was only one of many fantastic deaths I had at the hands of the human-controlled dinosaurs during my play session with Primal Carnage, a dinos vs. humans multiplayer game from indie developer Lukewarm Media. Now I know what you're thinking: Haven't there been a couple of terrible dinosaur games recently? Yes, there have. Both Dino D-Day and Orion: Dino Beat Down proved to be major disappointments where bugs were bigger threats than giant carnivores. But Primal Carnage has a chance to deliver the goods by focusing on a well-balanced team deathmatch experience.
A savage game of tickling.
Lukewarm sees the key for success as teamwork, and each human or dinosaur player class has a specific role to fill on the battlefield. Pteranodons are a flying scout class that spots players; the human pyro is designed to cause chaos and confusion by setting dinos on fire; T-rexes are the muscle, and can add a strength buff to their teammates with their iconic roar; the pathfinder is equipped with a shotgun and flares (more on that in a second); the carnotaurus rams into groups of enemies, breaking apart small teams of players; the scientist can use a sniper rifle and tranq darts; velociraptors are extremely agile; soldiers carry an assault rifle and rockets; the dilophosaurus can spit blinding acid and inflict poison bites. So that leaves Lukewarm working hard to make sure all of these aspects are balanced -- which is where their upcoming beta comes into play (you can sign up for the beta here).
For those familiar with Primal Carnage you may have noticed that I didn't mention the compsognathus (compys). While they are listed as one of the playable classes on the official site, they were a no show during our demo.
Clever Girl
If all goes according to plan, there will be five multiplayer maps when Primal Carnage comes out later this year, but the one I spent most of my time with was reminiscent of the abandoned InGen facility from Jurassic Park III. Dilapidated buildings, wild overgrowth, and some abandoned vehicles littered the large, 20-player map. Yes, I was pounced upon by some clever velociraptors in the surrounding forest a couple of times, but I did have some success against a slow-moving T-rex by staying fast on my feet and keeping a large tree between us as I pelted him full of shotgun bursts until he dropped. A large enemy like that might be intimidating, but Primal Carnage seems to be doing a good job of giving the seemingly overpowered dinosaurs some weaknesses.
Fire, meet bad breath. Bad breath, meet fire.
Humans also get a variety of tools like traps and flares with which to outsmart their dino-foes. Flares especially seem to be a major weakness for Team Dinosaur, in that the dinos are very sensitive to light, and the effect is like a long-lasting flashbang. Tranquilizer darts, meanwhile, both slow dinosaurs down and limit their secondary abilities (like the aforementioned T-rex roar buff). Combine these tools with a variety of weapons, and it starts to make for a fairer fight.
Lukewarm won't deny that they've toyed with the idea of other game modes (something like Capture the Flag would be awesome, just sayin'), but if those happen they'll be added post-launch. The small team just wants to concentrate on perfecting what they have in place right now -- which, given the shoddy state the competition launched in, is probably a really good idea.
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