History YMMV / JurassicParkTrespasser

* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: Richard Attenborough. The audiobook segments of Hammond's biography which are spread throughout the game are considered a very good addition to the JP mythos that deserved a better game to be placed in. [[WordOfGod According to the executive producer Seamus Blackley]] he was very friendly and supporting behind the scenes as well. Attenborough did not for a moment act like working on a video game was beneath him.

** The extremely innovative ([[SeinfeldIsUnfunny at the time]]) real-time movements and animations of the dinosaurs, which made use of a cutting-edge physics engine and complex NPC AI nigh-unheard of at the time. Unfortunately, the fact the AI doesn't actually function in-game, and that the animals are basically just ragdolls being pulled along by invisible marionette strings like an amateur ''VideoGame/GarrysMod'' {{machinima}} makes them look completely ridiculous, even when they're just walking.

* ScrappyMechanic: The physics engine, while pretty cool ([[SeinfeldIsUnfunny for its time at least]]), ends up being this way most of the time due to copious amounts of MisaimedRealism. To name one especially annoying example: instead of picking up items by walking over them or even by looking at them and pressing a "pick up item" button, you have to push a button to extend your arm, walk up to the thing, and then press another button to grab it. Infuriatingly, small items on the ground tend to move whenever you bump into them, meaning you will often keep bumping into an item you mean to pick up and push it around while moving your arm around attempting to grab it. Really, this is one of those game mechanics that just should have remained abstract.

-->Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

* HilariousInHindsight: The ragdoll physics that would later appear in ''Videogame/HalfLife2'' would be notable in of itself, but then the idea of Anne audibly counting the bullets in the magazine of whatever weapon she was holding would appear in ''Videogame/HalfLifeAlyx'', although in that game, it would only be occasional in order to remind the player of her ammo count (it helped that the game had a traditional ammo counter to mitigate the need for audible reminders).

** Similarly, to adhere to the no [=HUDs=] design philosophy, there's no health bar; instead, your remaining life is marked by a heart-shaped tattoo on the character's left breast which bleeds out as you take damage. However, having to constantly look down at your character's breasts (which are also quite large to hide the fact her model has no torso or legs underneath) to check her health is totally ridiculous (WordOfGod states the tattoo was supposed to be on her arm, but ended up on her chest due to time restraints, which is marginally better).
** The extremely innovative and, [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny at the time]], real-time movements and animations of the dinosaurs, which made use of a cutting-edge physics engine and complex NPC AI nigh-unheard of at the time. Unfortunately, the fact the AI doesn't actually function in-game, and that the animals are basically just ragdolls being pulled along by invisible marionette strings like an amateur ''VideoGame/GarrysMod'' {{machinima}} makes them look completely ridiculous, even when they're just walking.

* CultClassic: The game was a huge critical and commercial bomb due to releasing as an ObviousBeta, but it retained a small, but devoted fanbase for many years afterwards, many of a whom created mods and bug fixes that have helped make the game far more playable and ensured its legacy despite its initial failure.

* {{Narm}}: While it serves a [[DiegeticInterface vital purpose]] to the player, Anne's loudly CountingBullets with ludicrous precision as they're fired is really hard to take seriously, especially if we're to assume she doesn't have any prior firearms experience yet is able to tell just by picking up a gun ''exactly'' how many bullets its magazine holds.

* TooAwesomeToUse: The Toxic Rifle (basically a tranquilizer rifle loaded with cone snail venom like in ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark''). Guaranteed to kill any dinosaur in one hit, but comes with limited ammunition in addition to being unique - it seems designed more to simply kill the T-rex at the end of the level it appears in, since it has ''exactly'' as many shots as are needed to kill it.

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Film/KingKong2005'''s video game could be seen as this to ''Trespasser''. While the levels are more linear and there's less emphasis on WreakingHavok, both are survival-horror First-Person Shooters about an ordinary character being stranded on an island filled with dinosaurs, dealing with Raptors and Tyrannosaurs and scavenging weaponry from scarce supplies. Both also have a particular emphasis on the lack of a HUD and instead relying on the character to state how much ammo they have left.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The Mayan temple in level six, n short obstacle with virtually no dinosaurs that consists of a few physics traps. It shows up and is never commented upon.

* OlderThanTheyThink: This was the first game with ragdoll physics and outdoor draw distances. The type of engine it uses would be reproduced, without nearly as many bugs, for ''Videogame/FarCry1''. Not bad for 1998, though it took a very heavy toll on even top-of-the-line computers at the time.

* TearJerker: Some of Hammond's lines, in particular his heartbreaking speech when Anne activates the computer. It starts off so full of hope...

* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: Richard Attenborough. The audiobook segments of Hammond's biography which are spread throughout the game are considered a very good addition to the JP mythos that deserved a better game to be placed in.
** [[WordOfGod According to the executive producer Seamus Blackley]] he was very friendly and supporting behind the scenes as well. Attenborough did not for a moment act like working on a video game was beneath him.

** [[WordOfGod According to the executive producer Seamus Blackley]] he was very friendly and supporting behind the scenes as well. Attenborough did not for a moment act like working on a video game was beneath him.
* UnderusedGameMechanic: The game was considered ''very'' ambitious at the time it was made, and can still be considered somewhat ambitious today. Mechanics included characters reaching out into the game world, aiming by twisting the player character's hand, and relying on audio cues to tell you of how much ammo you had.

* OlderThanTheyThink: This was the first game with ragdoll physics and outdoor draw distances. The type of engine it uses would be reproduced, without nearly as many bugs, for ''Videogame/FarCry''. Not bad for 1998, though it took a very heavy toll on even top-of-the-line computers at the time.

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Film/KingKong2005'''s video game could be seen as this to ''Trespasser''. While the levels are more linear and there's less emphasis on WreakingHavok, both are survival-horror First-Person Shooters about an ordinary character being stranded on an island filled with dinosaurs, dealing with Raptors and Tyrannosaurs and scavenging weaponry from scarce supplies. Both also have a particular emphasis on the lack of a HUD and instead relying on the character to state how much ammo they have left.

* ScrappyMechanic: The physics engine, while pretty cool ([[SeinfeldIsUnfunny for it's time at least]]), ends up being this way most of the time due to copious amounts of MisaimedRealism. To name one especially annoying example: instead of picking up items by walking over them or even by looking at them and pressing a "pick up item" button, you have to push a button to extend your arm, walk up to the thing, and then press another button to grab it. Infuriatingly, small items on the ground tend to move whenever you bump into them, meaning you will often keep bumping into an item you mean to pick up and push it around while moving your arm around attempting to grab it. Really, this is one of those game mechanics that just should have remained abstract.

* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: The game is infamous for being nigh-unplayable on account of poor optimization, numerous bugs and a very high difficulty. The sad thing is that it could have been a spectacular aversion if it had been given more time to develop. It nevertheless has a cult following dedicated to modding the game into a playable shape.

* TooAwesomeToUse: The Toxic Rifle (basically a tranquilizer rifle loaded with cone snail venom like in ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark''). Guaranteed to kill any dinosaur in one hit, but comes with limited ammunition in addition to being unique - it seems designed more to simply kill the T-rex at the end of the level it appears in, since it has ''exactly'' as many shots as are needed to kill it.

** Anne's narration sometimes goes completely off-topic for no apparent reason. At one point when seeing a waterfall she [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext starts reminiscing about sleeping at a bus stop and eating snacks from a vending machine]], for no apparent reason.

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Film/KingKong2005'''s video game could be seen as this to ''Trespasser''. While the levels are more linear and there's less emphasis on WreakingHavok, both are survival-horror First-Person Shooters about an ordinary character being stranded on an island filled with dinosaurs, dealing with Raptors and Tyrannosaurs and scavenging weaponry from scarce supplies. Both also have a particular emphasis on the lack of a [=HUD=] and instead relying on the character to state how much ammo they have left.

* [[TookTheBadFilmSeriously Took The Bad Game Seriously]]: Richard Attenborough. The audiobook segments of Hammond's biography which are spread throughout the game are considered a very good addition to the JP mythos that deserved a better game to be placed in.

* TooAwesomeToUse: The Toxic Rifle (basically a tranquilizer rifle loaded with cone snail venom like in ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark''). Guaranteed to kill any dinosaur in one hit, but comes with limited ammunition in addition to being unique.

** The overall physics-based mechanics was something not attempted again by ''any'' game in any serious capacity for nearly ''twenty years''... Until VR came along, along with potential for significantly more natural implementation of such mechanics via motion controls and more mature physics engines, with the most prominent example being ''[[Videogame/Boneworks]]'', which is in many ways a spiritual successor to Trespasser in terms of mechanics. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9E8NIdVf7Y One VR dev focusing on physics-based mechanics even recreated part of the starting area of Trespasser to demonstrate how far such tech has come since then.]]

** The overall physics-based mechanics was something not attempted again by ''any'' game in any serious capacity for nearly ''twenty years''... Until VR came along, along with potential for significantly more natural implementation of such mechanics via motion controls and more mature physics engines, with the most prominent example being [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/823500/BONEWORKS/ Boneworks]], which is in many ways a spiritual successor to Trespasser in terms of mechanics. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9E8NIdVf7Y One VR dev focusing on physics-based mechanics even recreated part of the starting area of Trespasser to demonstrate how far such tech has come since then.]]

* ScrappyMechanic: The physics engine, while pretty cool ([SeinfeldIsUnfunny for it's time at least]]), ends up being this way most of the time due to copious amounts of MisaimedRealism. To name one especially annoying example: instead of picking up items by walking over them or even by looking at them and pressing a "pick up item" button, you have to push a button to extend your arm, walk up to the thing, and then press another button to grab it. Infuriatingly, small items on the ground tend to move whenever you bump into them, meaning you will often keep bumping into an item you mean to pick up and push it around while moving your arm around attempting to grab it. Really, this is one of those game mechanics that just should have remained abstract.