Dinosaur Hunting

Released in Japan in September of 2003, Dinosaur Hunting was developed by Scarab and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was in translation for a U.S. release in 2004 when publisher Metro3D folded. Review code, box art and screenshots were all distributed in the U.S. and several magazines had reviews ready to go but the game was never released in the U.S.

Dinosaur Hunting is a third-person adventure/hunting game with an emphasis on tranquilizing dinosaurs with the perfectly balanced formula. To get these formulas you’ll examine clues like footprints, downed trees, and — most frequently — piles of excrement. Examining your environment also reveals clues about dinosaur movement, abilities and the progress of your rival teams.

Money is awarded based on the condition of the tranquilized dinosaurs so the goal is to find their formula, discover any weak spots and take them down with as few shots as possible. Regardless of how you do it you also receive some of the component ingredients to formulate tranquilizers from every dinosaur you knock out. Between formulating darts, conserving ammo and searching for clues the game becomes very methodical with rankings based on time taken, damage dealt to the dinosaurs and the number of special targets you were able to find and take down.