Dino Crisis 2 is a third-person shooter meaning that the player controls characters in a third person view, yet the perspective changes with movement into new areas and fields of view as the game uses predetermined camera angles. The game also departs more from the survival horror of the first Dino Crisisand is more action-oriented, with more open areas, more items and less emphasis on puzzles.
As players kill dinosaurs in succession, countering attacks and avoiding damage in areas, they can earn "Extinction Points" that act as a form of in-game currency that tally up as player moves between locations. Throughout the game the player can locate and use computer stations that act as save point where players can save and load games, along with spending Extinction Points on new weapons, upgrades, health packs and ammunition. There are also bandages that are used to prevent bleeding that occur when a player takes damage from certain attacks that results in slow draining of the health bar.There are two forms of weapons in the game, main and sub-weapons, meaning the player can only equip one of each at a time. Main weapons provide the most damage and are used for the majority of attacks, for example shotguns, flamethrowers and rifles whereas sub-weapons are used to get past obstacles, like the machete for cutting plant vines and the firewall gun that creates a temporary wall of fire against foes. Over the course of the game, players will switch roles between Regina and Dylan, who have different weapons, making some passages blocked for one but accessible for the other.
Among the third person shooter gameplay are sections of on rails shooting, such as a chase where the player shoots at dinosaurs that are chasing an automatically driven vehicle and, like the previous game, several puzzles. Throughout the game, the player finds data files and documents that progress the story and give details of certain areas. Hidden "Dino Files" can also be found; these go into detail about each dinosaur in the game. Upon collecting all the available Dino Files, the player is granted unlimited ammunition for weapons on the next play through.
Extra Crisis
Upon completion of the main game, there is an unlockable mode known as Extra Crisis with two gameplay modes: "Dino Colosseum" and "Dino Duel". Colosseum is a survival mode where a chosen character with their own pre-set weapons fight off series of attacks by certain dinosaurs, the larger and more deadly being the latter. Upon completion the player is graded and awarded a trophy on how well they performed. Dino Duel is a mode that allows the player to take control of a dinosaur and battle another in the style of a fighting game. Completion of the game on harder difficulties allows more characters and dinosaurs to become available for purchase, using the final Extinction Points gathered from that play through. Dinosaurs can also be used in Dino Colosseum, however, must be unlocked by completing the game in normal or hard mode.
Characters
The two main protagonists of the game are 1st Lieutenant Dylan Morton and Regina, with Dylan being new to the series and Regina reprising her role after the events of the first Dino Crisis. Dylan is aTactical Reconnaissance and Acquisition Team (TRAT) commando who’s been sent back in time with the rest of the team in what was originally supposed to be a search and rescue mission.
TRAT is an off record covert team of shady characters who were recruited from the army special forces. They focus on subversive activities like Terrorism, Jailbreaks, Assassination and Insurgency.
Another prominent character is another TRAT member, David Fork. At the start he is separated from Regina and Dylan after enraging a Tyrannosaurus he shot with a rocket launcher but later saves them at Edward City from Velociraptors in an attack helicopter. Another recurring character is Paula, a teenage girl who is a part of the mysterious syndicate who are hostile to the main characters.
The last crucial character of the game is Colonel Dylan Morton. The future Dylan has a very important role in the game, tying the whole story together and revealing the plot. Colonel Dylan tells Lieutenant Dylan to use the time gate to take the surviving children back and prevent them from making the mistake of trying to coexist with dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs
Throughout the game, the protagonists encounter various dinosaurs that inhabit the whole jungle region, along with its waters and skies. Those that appear frequently include Velociraptor, Allosaurus, Oviraptor, Pteranodon, and Inostrancevia. Mosasaurus and Plesiosaurus also appear as a common enemy yet only during the Third Energy Facility level, most of which is underwater. Others like Compsognathus however act towards the game's puzzle aspect such as a segment where it steals the player's key card and Triceratops that appear in one of the on-rails shooting sections of the game.
Among the recurring human characters, a number of dinosaurs also appear multiple times in the story. The first is the Tyrannosaurus Rex who attacks the main camp at the start of the game before having an eye shot out with a rocket launcher by David. It follows the team, appearing both on the first jungle island in a few instances and again in Edward City, which sits across a very large lake. Another recurring dinosaur is the Giganotosaurus, which is shown to be abnormally large and powerful (perhaps to make it seem more impressive or possibly a mutation). It is first encountered at the missile silo where it battles and quickly disposes of the T. Rex and is seemingly killed by Regina in the missile silo. Later, it mysteriously reappears inside a secret research facility as the game’s final boss where Dylan must keep it from killing him while he activates a laser from a satellite which obliterates it.
