It can be very chancy to make radical changes in a sequel. Even if the results turn out to be positive, the changes could alienate the fans. We all saw the reactions when Rare made the third Banjo-Kazooie game into an open world driving game. While the changes made in Dino Crisis 2 weren't THAT earth-shattering, it still is a very different beast from the original, and the alterations to the formula resulted in a much better game overall.
The story picks up where the original left off. Even though Dr. Kirk was retrieved and his facility was shut down, research into Third Energy continued. Another accident occurs at an island research station, and, instead of bringing dinosaurs into the present like last time, the facility got pulled into the past. A strike team led by returning heroine Regina and newcomer Dylan travel through the time distortion to save the scientists and retrieve the data. While the plot is about as thin as that of Jurassic Park 3, it does provide for some cool setpiece moments. The scenes when the nearly indestructible T-Rex burst in never stopped being awesome. Also, perspective switches between Regina and Dylan at various points in the story, and their interactions are quite good with some rather funny moments. The main plot may be thin, but there are enough layers to keep things interesting.
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Almost everything about the game was completely changed from the original. While the original built a fully polygonal environment, the sequel switched to the then-standard prerendered backgrounds. While the game loses the dynamic camera angles that worked so well to instill dread, the change allowed more enemies to get onscreen at once, increasing the sense of panic. It also allowed the characters and dinos to have much more detail than before. They are some of the best-looking character models I'd seen on the original PlayStation.
The biggest changes came in the gameplay. Unlike the first game which focused on managing limited resources and avoiding fights where possible, this one goes for straight-up action. The puzzles are very limited unlike the first where they were the focus. Regina and Dylan are almost never without ammo and are actively encouraged to put the raptors down. There's an arcade mindset to the carnage as the heroes gain points from kills that get cashed in at save points for more ammo and weapon upgrades. There are even point multipliers for performing killstreaks. While the fact that enemies tend to respawn at every change in camera angle can get irritating, the action focus gave the sequel its own distinct flavor.
While
the first Dino Crisis earned some warranted criticism for just being Resident Evil with dinosaurs, Dino Crisis 2 managed to break away from its lineage and be its own animal. It doesn't look, sound, or play like its predecessor, and it's all the better for it. This is easily the most fun game in the Dino Crisis trilogy and holds up amazingly well. If only all radical redesigns turned out this brilliantly...
