Review of Larry The Dinosaur 2 by Delta Code, 2002
Written by Lachie Dazdarian(May, 2005)
The release of Larry The Dinosaur 2(LD2), a cool mixture of platform and adventure genre with very good graphics and sound, passed rather silent in the QBasic community. I only remember one thread about it in the QBasicNews forum and nothing more than that. We can blame the designer for not being pushy enough or the community for being in terribly groggy period but LD2 definitely deserves to be remembered. Therefore this review.
Graphics
The game graphics are very good and done very professionally. LD2 looks like any other commercially released, quality platform game from the period of early nineties. The tiles are well shaded and varied and characters nicely animated(in the limits of the game concept). Lighting, a very important part of the game graphics, makes LD2 really shine. Also, some cool effects, like flying body parts, increase my overall impression. Still, the graphics are not perfect thus the score 4. There are few small details, tile or two I didn't like and the lack of cinematics. It's nothing so relevant to decrease the overall quality of the game graphics but leaves space for improvement.
Sound/Music
Unfortunately I was not able to play this game with sound turned on. I tried both in DOS and Windows XP and failed. There is a warning in the readme file that starting LD2 with sound is a problem in Windows XP. How can I score the sound then? Well, all the sound effects and music files can be heard with Winamp or some other player outside the game. What I can conclude from there is that they are very good and probably work great inside the game. I'm not happy I have to score this section like this but I can't help it.
Gameplay
The gameplay in LD2 is a smart mixture of platform, action and adventure elements. Delta Code completely succeeds in combining various genres into one game. 
During this game you'll encounter many monsters which you can kill using different weapons. These weapons will need specific ammo which you have to find and load your weapon with it. Also, during this game you have to find various objects, use them on proper places or even combine them. LD2 is played in a building with 24 floors. Some floors feature smaller maps and some bigger but what is sure is that you'll be doing a lot of walking and jumping in order to finish this game. The game controls and interface are designed very nice, on a user-friendly way, while the game physics remind me of Giana Sisters which makes LD2 very enjoyable to play. If I would have to point out something bad about the gameplay I would say that none of the specific genre elements are used to their full potential. Action parts are not enough challenging or varied, puzzles are too obvious(game could use more objects and places where you can use them) and the jumping parts are never difficult(there are no pits in which you can fall or similar obstacles).
Story
I wasn't sure if I should give LD2 more in this section. There are several things I didn't like in the game story. First of all, the story begins a bit strange. We don't actually know what Larry and his friend Steve are doing in the building where the game starts. I suppose they work in it but that is not told to us. There are few more loop holes in the plot which are not explained to us. What is good is that the story develops while you play the game and it develops rather surprisingly. There is also a nice amount of quality humor in the dialogues which is another plus. LD2 is placed in the age of dinosaurs(same as the part one) and assumes that dinosaurs were highly evolved and civilized.
The actual plot of this sequel begins when Larry's friend Steve falls unconscious after drinking a cola. Larry runs to get help and finds the nearby Janitor. Both of them run back to unconscious Steve after what Janitor gets eaten by an alien and now the game really starts. Later you'll learn that the building has been taken over by aliens. Like I said, the plot develops much more interesting than it starts.
Replay value
Well, I've finished LD2 only once and still don't feel an urge to do it again. It's hard to tell what is the problem regarding the replay value of this game. The shortness of the game, lack of real challenge, the fact that there is no a save game option or something else. There is also the question of how much the replay value is relevant in this type of game. LD2 is not really a game that's meant to be played over and over. Nevertheless, the game is not so short that playing it again, once you finish it, makes no sense. After few months, or maybe a year, why not?
Challenge
I was tempted to give LD2 even a lesser score in this section. The action part of the game is terribly easy. 
At least to me. The main problem I see with it is that you can ignore most of the aliens/monsters and run away from them. Another problem is that you start the game with 5 lives which is way too much. What would help are more difficult enemies, placed on tricky parts, and more available ways to kill them, like throwing or placing bombs. I only found the end boss somewhat challenging to kill. I can say nothing bad about the adventure part of the game. Well, almost nothing. The building is big enough and you'll spend a lot of time wandering through it looking for various objects. Still, when you find an object that is not ammo or extra health you'll know immediately or very soon where and how that object needs to be use. You'll need about 4-5 hours to finish LD2(when you play it for the first time) if not more. The action part does require concentration but like I said, it's really difficult to lose ALL of your lives playing LD2.
Fun factor
I know I'm getting boring with giving 4 in this review but maybe that's the most accurate score for the entire game(4 out of 5). LD2 reminds me on the old days of Amiga 500, when a save game option was something exotic and finishing a game during one day something normal. It wouldn't be fair asking for more content since Joe King(the developer) done a very big and nice job in creating and designing the building floors. What is obvious is that this game failed to be more challenging and to have a save game option. With these two things corrected LD2 would offer plenty more hours of play time.
Total Score
24/35
Good: Excellent mixture of different genres. Enjoyable game physics. Very good graphics and sound/music.
Bad: Shortness of the game. Lack of real challenge. No save game feature.
Extra notes: If you are wondering about Larry The Dinosaur part one it's a pseudo-platform game(you don't actually jump on platforms) with very bad, buggish and flickerish game engine but strangely addictive gameplay. Similar to LD2, the story develops while you play the game and if you manage to get pass the awful code and poor graphics the first part of Larry The Dinosaur can also be a fun to play.