Line #10 VideoGame/Carnivores


1	[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Carnivores_44.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:256:[[ImplacableMan The creature on this image is one of, if not the, most dangerous T. rex in gaming history.]]]]
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5	->''"2190AD. On a routine exploration, science vessel FMM UV discovered a planet with a suitable climate for humankind. During the initial scouting expedition this young planet, code-named FMM UV-32, was declared inhospitable for colony life due to its unstable terrain and immense population of prehistoric reptiles. News of this amazing planet spread and articles on the "Dinosaur Planet" lead an Earth corporation to purchase the rights to the planet, and create [=DinoHunt=] Corp. [=DinoHunt=] created the unique opportunity for paying customers to become dinosaur hunters for the first time in 50 million years.''
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7	->''You are the newest client of [=DinoHunt=] Corp."''
8	-->--'''The introduction to ''Carnivore's'' [[AllThereInTheManual user's manual]]'''
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10	''Carnivores'' is a [[TheNineties 1998]] FirstPersonShooter/Hunting Game where you, the player, get to be an EgomaniacHunter on a quest to kill "prehistoric dinosaurs" on the [[LostWorld alien planet of FMM UV-32]]. However, the game is not a generic [[VideoGame/DeerHunterSeries Deer Hunter]] clone. No, you are not an invincible [[HumansAreCthulhu god]] able to slaughter your foes in droves. [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame You]] are being hunted as much as you are hunting, and your foe is bigger, faster, stronger, and, [[ArtificialBrilliance occasionally]], [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard smarter]] than you. Can you survive?
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12	''Carnivores'' spawned two sequels: ''Carnivores 2'', and ''Carnivores: [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace Ice Age]]''. Carnivores 2 is ''generally'' considered the best of the series, although all three are good in their own right. They boast impressive (for TheNineties) graphics which include semi-realistic water effects and well-detailed environments, in addition to an incredible AI system for the dinosaurs, though it can be [[ArtificialStupidity spotty]] at times. They were considered {{Abandonware}} for a long time, until in 2010 when both ''Carnivores 2'' and ''Ice Age'' were ported into mobile games called ''Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter'' for the iOS, as well as the PSP and [=PS3=]. In 2012 the mobile ports were released for Android.
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14	If anyone asks, there was, in fact, a fourth game, entitled ''Carnivores: Cityscape''. It turned the game into a full-out generic FPS based around a semi-recycled plot (from ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark''; at least, the movie version). In it, [=DinoHunt=] Corp. is running out of clients; interest in the dinosaurs is waning, and most of the people who might have jumped at the chance to hunt prehistoric creatures are already dead because they tried and failed miserably. [[TooDumbToLive So they decide to bring some dinosaurs from FMM UV-32 to the people as a kind of traveling zoo]]. As can be expected, the dinosaurs escape into [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the city]] that the spaceship carrying them crashes in, and it's up to you (as an "Agent") to kill them, or, if playing as a dinosaur (the campaign has five missions for each), to kill the agents... or something. [[FanonDiscontinuity It's not brought up in polite conversation with fans of the original series]], and is generally considered SoOkayItsAverage, though it has its share of fans. It was also the first (and, so far, ''only'') game in the series with online capabilities.[[note]]The second game ''was'' planned to have online multiplayer, but the idea was scrapped in development.[[/note]]
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16	There was also a remake of Carnivores on the [=PS3=], called ''Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter HD'', released in 2013, featuring modern graphics. An improved and updated version of the [=PS3=] game, ''Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter Reborn'', was released on Platform/{{Steam}} in May 2015, in spite of having a failed Website/{{Kickstarter}}. Yet another updated version, ''Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunt'', was released on June 1, 2021 for the Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, and Xbox One, and is scheduled for a release on Steam in 2022.
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18	An active modding scene exists for both Carnivores 2 and Ice Age. Modders create new dinosaurs, maps, weapons, and even total conversion mods released as standalone games.
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20	----
21	!! This game provides examples of:
22	* AbsurdAltitude: Possible to achieve, but only when using debug mode. Comes in two flavors: Hulk-style jumping and an actual "fly mode" where gravity is removed from the game, and if you stop moving in the air, you just float there.
23	* AKA47: The Dragunov SVD in the first game is just called "Sniper Rifle." In the later games, the model is changed to a normal rifle with a scope.
24	* AnachronismStew: The game's animals are taken from many different periods and real life landmasses. Justified (read: HandWaved) in that this is merely convergent evolution, and none of these dinosaurs are really dinosaurs. Also, a Dragunov SVD in the year 2190, although this is at least kind of plausible, since it could be an antique ([[FridgeLogic though why you'd use an antique to hunt the most dangerous animals ever seen by man is kind of troubling]]).
25	* AllThereInTheManual: The entire plot is literally in the manual. See the page quote? [[ExcusePlot That's basically it]].
26	* BigfootSasquatchAndYeti: A Yeti (called 'Bigfoot' in the game's files) is the final unlockable animal for hunting in ''Ice Age''. It has absurd stats and senses making it hard to kill, basically being the game's equivalent of the ''T. rex''.
27	* BulletTime: Debug mode's "slow" feature.
28	* CriticalExistenceFailure: Averted in a NintendoHard kind of way. You get a life bar if you go [[OxygenMeter underwater]] or [[ConvectionSchmonvection near lava]]. If any dinosaur so much as touches you, you die. No retries, no health kits, nothing. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools It adds to the experience]].
29	* ConvectionSchmonvection: Averted, but in a half-hearted manner. If get too close to lava, you get a health bar. [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential Unfortunately]], your character will not set on fire, though. Played straight in debug mode, where you can stand on (and yes, it is ''on''; the lava is just a texture, not an actual liquid like the water) the lava without a care in the world.
30	* DeathWorld: FMM UV-32 is described as this when looked at from the prospect of colonization, but in practice it really isn't that bad. It seems that most of the land mass is island-based, and although it is very rough terrain, it's not entirely unworkable. The dinosaurs wouldn't be that big a deal, either, although it could be GameplayAndStorySegregation and there are in fact intended to be a lot more than the game could feasibly handle, engine-wise. As for deterring development, [[FridgeLogic you'd think that they could just exterminate the dinosaurs like any other animal]]; [[FridgeBrilliance then again]], [[MoneyDearBoy they're making a killing on it]].
31	* EasterEgg: A rather literal example. Manya Jungle, the fourth area of ''Carnivores 2'' and ''Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter'' has a cave system in the eastern mountains of the place. If one explores this place [[DugTooDeep enough]], you'll encounter a chamber full of large, leathery eggs, some of which are [[Film/{{Alien}} splayed open in four segments at the top, revealing the hollow, ribbed inside.]]
32	** ''Cityscape'' also has a statue of VideoGame/SeriousSam in one of it's levels.
33	* EgomaniacHunter: '''''You''''', more or less. Of course, you get to decide whether you kill one dinosaur on each map or clear the whole island, but, in the end, you are a guy who paid who knows how much to hunt dinosaurs because apparently you had nothing better to do.
34	* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Well, not ''everything'', but anything that can feasibly kill you ''will'' do so if it is given the chance. So, that ''[[RaptorAttack Velociraptor]]''? It's going to gore you before it eats you. How about that ''Ceratosaurus''? Him too. How about ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex''? [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments He throws you around like a ragdoll instead of actually eating you]].
35	* EvilPoacher: Would have been an enemy in ''Ice Age'', but was scrapped because it was deemed too difficult.
36	* ExcusePlot: Lasts about as long as it takes to go from picking a character to your first hunt. [[JustHereForGodzilla Then it's all about the dinosaurs.]] In a way, it's actually subverted... indecisively... because there are little mini stories within the maps, sometimes explicitly, and sometimes only seen when you go exploring. Subverted by ''Cityscape'', however.
37	* FeaturelessProtagonist: Your character has no name past the one you give him, and you never see him unless you [[CriticalExistenceFailure die.]]
38	* GameMod: The Carnivores fan community created several of these over the years. Perhaps the most popular example is ''VideoGame/CarnivoresTriassic'', which expands upon the canon of the official series, introducing an entirely new region of the dinosaur planet with its own unique animals and challenges. Standalone conversion mods also include the well-made ([[PerpetualBeta but incomplete]]) ''VideoGame/CarnivoresFarNorth'' and ''VideoGame/Mandibles2017''.
39	* GangUpOnTheHuman: Dinosaurs do not interact with each other at all. On the one hand, this means that a spooked dino running past a resting dino you're sighting out on won't disturb it. On the other hand, predators will ignore other dinos and go straight for you, and you can have multiple predators or even predators and angry herbivores all coming after you.
40	* GhostTown: The abandoned settlement, Fort Ciskin, is this. It was abandoned after an angry ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex'' went on a rampage and destroyed its so-called "Dinosaur Wall." You can go in to find a few buildings and a huge gate, hanging on its hinges. It's rather eerie when thought about [[FridgeHorror too much]].
41	* GrimUpNorth: The Arctic Sector is located on FMM UV-32's north pole. It is populated mostly by animals from the Cenozoic era instead of the usual dinosaurs and prehistoric reptiles.
42	* HandCannon: The mobile ports have released a 5-shot revolver based on the S&W Model 500. It is extremely powerful and will kill dinosaurs in 1-3 shots, excluding the T-Rex.
43	* HeadButtingPachy: The game's instruction manual mentions that Pachycephalosaurus use their thick skull rimmed with knobby spikes as a battering ram against other dinosaurs for defense. Ironically this isn't seen in the game and their neck is a target for hunters.
44	* HellIsThatNoise: A few of the carnivore calls are so scary they'll even send other ''dinosaurs'' running when you use them.
45	* HuntingTheMostDangerousGame: PlayedWith. It's the AI animals doing it to you, but since you ''are'' human, it more or less still qualifies.
46	* ImmuneToBullets: The ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex'' is, in a practical sense. It's an instant kill if you hit it in [[EyeScream the eye]], but otherwise it has a stupidly large amount of health which can't even begin to be chipped off unless you enter debug mode (it has somewhere around 1000 health; compare to most of the other dinosaurs, which peak at about 30, and the rifle's damage score, 4). Even in debug mode, it still takes a long time to kill, and if you're too low when it reaches you, it can still kill ''you''.
47	* ImplacableMan: The ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex'', but only in debug mode. [[ThisLoserIsYou You die too fast to put up a chase, outside of debug mode]].
48	* KillAllHumans: Your main goal in the fourth game if you play the dinosaur campaign.
49	* MammothsMeanIceAge: Mammoths are both the mascot and one of the huntable animals of ''Ice Age''.
50	* MegaCorp: [=DinoHunt=] Corp. is a fairly mundane example. They just act like a normal African safari company, albeit one that charges absurd rates (presumably; the narrative implies it), and with good reason. Unless one takes the fourth game into account, [[FanonDiscontinuity but most players like to act like that game is a different series altogether]]. However, if one ''does'' do so, they start to look a bit like [[Franchise/JurassicPark InGen]], though leaning more towards the incompetence rather than outright malice.
51	* MightyWhitey: The PlayerCharacter avatar is white and, via the game's backstory, implicitly insanely rich and out hunting for the sake of it. It's like how rich people were in the early 1900s... but [[JustForFun/RecycledINSPACE in space]]...
52	* MisplacedWildlife: Par for the course, considering the game's subject matter.
53	* NinjaPirateRobotZombie: Results from FridgeLogic; all of these dinosaurs are not ''only'' dinosaurs, they're all '''''aliens''''', too!
54	* NoisyNature: Subverted in an intriguing fashion. Almost all of the hunted animals (the ones that give points) are almost silent, only calling back if you use the dinosaur call. Some of the ambient animals make noises (specifically, the flying ones) but not all that often--meaning that it's rather jarring and creepy when they do. Ultimately, the islands are disconcertingly quiet--often, the noise you make from walking are about all you hear.
55	* NothingIsScarier: The abandoned settlement in the second area of ''Carnivores 2'', Fort Ciskin. It becomes quite creepy when you think about what once happened in the very spot you're standing. Also, the ruins look fairly recent, so who's to say that T. rex isn't still around somewhere, lurking in the shadows, waiting for round two?
56	* OneNationUnderCopyright: [=DinoHunt=] Corp. owns the rights to FMM UV-32, and can basically do whatever they like on it. In the second game it's shown that they even tried to put down a colonial settlement--even after they said the planet was "inhospitable for colony life"--though [[ForegoneConclusion it doesn't end particularly well]].
57	* PhlebotinumKilledTheDinosaurs: It depends on how successful [=DinoHunt=] Corp's business gets. It certainly wouldn't be the first time we humans hunted an entire species into extinction.
58	* {{Precursors}}: A loose, generally unconnected plot thread goes through some of the maps, talking about how there used to be a race of sentient beings on the planet who built pyramids in one map and a temple in another, as well as a reproduction of Stonehenge in the Fort Ciskin map. The game, with what little information it gives, says that they worshiped the ''Velociraptor'' and ''T. rex'', although little more is said past the ruins' strategic resource to the hunter.
59	* {{Prehistoria}}: Subverted in that it takes place on an alien planet, not Earth in the distant past. Also, the cavemen are replaced by an ancient extraterrestrial civilization which is now extinct, but has left plenty of temples around.
60	* PrehistoricMonster: {{Averted\|Trope}} for the most part. Since this is a hunting game, most of the dinosaurs behave like simple {{Exp\|y}}ies of animals hunted in RealLife. But as you will learn below, the ''[[UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]'' is the exception.
61	* RaptorAttack: The first two games feature ''Velociraptor'', and the iOS and Android versions added ''Utahraptor'' and ''Troodon''. Unfortunately, none are especially accurate. The Velociraptor might as well have leapt out of Franchise/JurassicPark: an oversized, naked, bendy-tailed excuse for a dromaeosaurid. The Utahraptor is slightly better, with non-pronated hands and a small crest of feathers on its head, but that's about the only place it has feathers (no one seems to understand that raptors were ''completely'' cloaked in feathers from head to toe, they weren't just lizards with a mohawk). The Troodon is probably the worst: scaly, much bigger than the real animal, and as if this weren't bad enough it is flat-footed (everyone seems to know that raptors had an enlarged foot claw, but the fact that troodontids also had it is a somewhat lesser-known fact). These inaccuracies may be [[JustifiedTrope justified]] if, as the game's manual states, the game is set on a distant planet instead of on prehistoric Earth, in which case any resemblances of the inhabitants to Earth's dinosaurs would be purely superficial.
62	* RoarBeforeBeating: The ''[[UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex T.rex]]'' does this; it's basically a grace period for you to get a shot in before it hits you like a freight train. It ''will'' be subverted if you're lucky enough to get a shot off ''before'' the ''[[UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex T.rex]]'' notices you, because if you hit it but do not land the killing blow, it skips to the running-you-down bit. You have to hope you have the luck of a card shark and hit it in the eye at that point. The ''only'' way to survive a ''Tyrannosaurus'' that's noticed you outside of card-shark luck is to either evac the situation before that bastard can kill you or hope there's ground nearby that the thing can't climb, but you can.
63	* ShoutOut: There's a cave in Manya Jungle in the second game which is full of xenomorph eggs, [[ParanoiaFuel some of them already hatched...]]
64	* SuperPersistentPredator: PlayedWith. Most things will stop chasing you after awhile ([[ThisLoserIsYou if you're lucky enough to get away, anyhow]]), and sometimes the carnivores will even run away instead of coming after you, assuming you hit them from far enough away. But good old Mr. ''[[UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex T. rex]]''? ''[[ImplacableMan Oh]] [[OneHitKill no]]''. He's on your ass the ''moment'' he detects you, and unless you go into debug mode, you better hope you can bring him down before he reaches you. If you ''do'' go into debug mode, he will continually chase you across the map until either you kill him or he kills you.
65	* StandardFPSGuns: Pistol, Shotgun, Double-Barreled Shotgun, X-Bow (a crossbow that automatically pulls back after shooting), Rifle (which is both full- and semi-auto), and Sniper Rifle.
66	* TerrifyingTyrannosaur: There's an incredibly terrifying ''Tyrannosaurus'', and his only weak spot is his eye, and you have only one chance to aim your shot just right. If you miss that one shot, then pray that the gods will have mercy on your soul!
67	* ThisLoserIsYou: The PlayerCharacter is slow as a sloth when walking, compared to the dinosaurs, can barely climb a hill, and "runs" at an elderly person's pace. It's hard to tell sometimes if it's that you're really that bad, or if it's just that the dinosaurs are overpowered, though.
68	* TookALevelInBadass: ''Stegosaurus'', ''Ankylosaurus'', and ''Parasaurolophus'', formerly harmless in the previous games, become more aggressive and capable of killing the player in ''Dinosaur Hunter HD'' and ''Reborn''.
69	* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Happens a bit farther into the future than most examples.
70	* UpdatedRerelease: ''Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter HD'' was a VideoGameRemake of the first game for the Playstation 3 with more modern graphics and conveniences. This was ported to PC via Steam a year later as ''Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter Reborn''. 6 years later, the game was ported from the old proprietary engine to Unity (which in theory would make it easier to keep up-to-date with new features) and re-released as ''Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunt'' for 8th gen consoles and later for PC.
71	* WeaksauceWeakness: In the first couple of games, luring the T-Rex into deep water where it's forced to swim slows it down significantly, making it ''much'' easier to get a kill-shot on one of its eyes.

Context VideoGame / Carnivores