Primal Carnage: Extinction (PlayStation 4) Review

This is an online-only title, offering four different game modes to be played with other people from across the globe. Team Deathmatch pits a team of mercenaries against a horde of ancient dinosaurs, where up to 16 players can partake in any single battle. The team with the most kills in the allotted time limit wins the match. Team Deathmatch really shows off the best that this game has to offer; however, it can also show off the worst parts about the mechanics of how the mode works.

Fighting alongside an army of soldiers can be pulsating, and taking down a gigantic behemoth can tickle the taste buds and be satisfying. The great thing is that bringing the dinosaurs down does require a bit of teamwork from the humans, due to their weaponry not being strong enough to single-handedly bring down a T-rex. Therefore, when the humans are not working together, the game can become very one-sided, with the dinosaurs stomping their way through countless victories. While it is more of a balancing issue between the two sides, a lack of an in-game voice chat between team mates further complicates the strategy-making required in order to bring down the monsters.

Free Roam mode allows the same concessions as Team Deathmatch, except it includes the option of not allowing kills to be made. This is for those who wish to roam about the different environments without fear of being attacked at every corner, and being able to get accustomed with the world. 'Get to the Chopper' is an objective-based mode, where the two sides vie to complete the objectives first, all while trying to take each other out of the picture, and thus preventing the other side from completing their objectives. While this is a fun mode, it is the most difficult mode to find a balanced match in, due to the low number of players actively playing it.

However, where Primal Carnage: Extinction seems to shine is in the Survival mode. Here, the humans must withstand an onslaught of waves from the dinosaurs. With each kill, in-game currency is earned, which can then be spent to upgrade the character in various areas. Such upgrades affect things like increasing the running speed and maximum health points, or upgrading weapons. They all come in handy in the later stages, when the waves get considerably harder to overcome. At certain wave numbers, unique dinosaurs will appear, such as those who can be partially invisible to the humans, or a boss dinosaur. Complete with their own cut-scenes, the boss dinosaurs prove to be a handful, and do require an effort of teamwork to take down. Once all the players have been killed in a single wave, the game will end. This mode is the best of the bunch, due to the heart-pounding moments that it offers, and many hours can easily be lost in trying to make it through to the end.

The human team has five different classes to select from: Pathfinder, Scientist, Commando, Pyro and Trapper. They each carry their own unique weapons, with a primary and secondary weapon that can be swapped during combat. While the human classes contain strengths and weaknesses, it's hard to gain any sort of kills when playing as the Pathfinder or Scientist, while the Pyro is probably the easiest to get kills due to the high damage it has.

The dinosaurs also have five classes: Tyrant, Predator, Flyer, Spitter and Bruiser. Then, within those classes, there is a selection of dinosaurs to choose from. Controlling a dinosaur is as good as it sounds, and it plays a lot better, bringing with it great satisfaction from stomping around the various environments. The dinosaurs can also roar, which is used to alert other dinosaurs of the humans' presence in the area. There is just something special about killing a human as a T-rex, before unleashing a mighty roar that looks like a scene out of the original Jurassic Park.

It wouldn't be an epic dinosaur game without the vibrant environments and settings that Primal Carnage: Extinction has to offer. Each map is quite large, giving the dinosaurs and humans plenty of room to cause chaos and carnage in their tracks. The lush environments look incredibly pretty, and the fact that dinosaurs could be hiding in the foliage and forestry just heightens the fear aspect. Just because the environment cannot be destroyed, doesn't mean that it cannot be used to hide in. The settings offer a lot of hiding spots throughout the maps, which can be used to set traps, or hide from the terror that is giving chase. Sometimes, graphical glitches may occur, such as a map loading up, except that there is no visible floor to run on, or the sound will drop out at times; however, they are not game-breaking glitches.

The main issue with this title is that trying to find a match with a decent amount of players in it can be hard, as the online servers are not overly populated. Match-making can sometimes be a long wait, only for the game to say that it was unable to find a match, or when it does, it only has two or three other players in it. Due to this problem, it means that it can be difficult completing a Death Match. While the time limit can range from 20 minutes up to 60 minutes, sometimes halfway through the game, players may just drop out of the game, thus ruining the match. While it is par for the course when it comes to online experiences, a lack of any sort of consequence to those who constantly drop out of matches when their side starts losing really hurts the overall experience of the mode.