The game includes various arenas that recreate locations from the first two films, such as the visitor center andT. rex enclosure fromJurassic Park, and the hunter camp andS.S. Venture deck fromThe Lost World: Jurassic Park. Some arenas feature destructible objects such as boxes, which will hurt the dinosaurs when they break them. Optionally, various edible creatures (goats,humans,dogs, andCompsognathus) will scurry across the arena, partially replenishing lost health when eaten or killed by one of the fighters.
The game features a variety of modes:
The main mode isArcade. In this mode the player must face each dinosaur in the game through 8 fights. This mode has a time limit and round limit, though it can be changed in the options menu.
Versus mode has the player going up against a second player. The players can choose the dinosaur and the arena. If the second player chooses the same dinosaur the skin changes to an alternative.
Practice mode allows the player to try out moves and train against any dinosaur. The player can change the stance of the opponent to jumping, crouched or on ground. The opponent can also attack, but the player cannot die as it is just a simulation.
Survival mode has the player going up against all dinosaurs in the same manner as a survival mode. A small amount of health is rewarded to the player for each dinosaur defeated. The object of this mode is to defeat all dinosaurs before the player's health meter is depleted.
Choice mode is the same as Versus mode, except the player fights a CPU-controlled dinosaur.
Team mode is a mix of Survival and Versus modes, but with a team of four dinosaurs. The object of this mode is to defeat all of the opposing team's dinosaurs. Once a dinosaur is defeated, it is eliminated and another dinosaur will take its place until all four dinosaurs on either team are eliminated.
Museum is a semi-educational mode that allows the player to browse through the dinosaurs and read or hear information on each one.[3] The player can view the dinosaur's family, time of existence, and do other things like change its skin or hear pronunciation.
Warpath received mixed reviews. The game was compared unfavorably toPrimal Rage byGameSpot andIGN.[16][17] Adam Pavlacka ofNextGen wrote, "History has shown that theJurassic Park license spells doom for any game it touches, andWarpath is no exception."[18]
Glenn Wigmore ofAllGame praised the game's dinosaur animations, and most of its interactive level designs for their resemblance to locations that were featured in the films, but criticized other levels for their "bland building textures and rushed backgrounds." Wigmore found the gameplay to be "downright sluggish" and considered the music to be "too low and emotionless," and opined that cutscenes for each dinosaur "would've been a nice extra for the game's overall feel and replay value."[9] James Mielke ofGameSpot also praised the dinosaurs, but criticized the levels for glitching, writing: "Surfaces buckle and distortion abounds as the PlayStation struggles to keep all this geometry under control."[16]
Erik Reppen ofGame Informer wrote, "Graphically, it's not a bad game. Unfortunately, the concept leaves much to be desired," noting that the gameplay "gets old rather quickly when you realize that the AI of the game is about the size of a peanut, and you can finish it with two moves."[13] Scary Larry ofGamePro praised the graphics and sound in one review, but criticized the game's "complex button patterns," writing, "By the time you master the combos, you'll be in the mood to play something else."[20][c] In anotherGamePro review, however, Major Mike wrote, "For the very curious, thisJurassic Park fighting game is worth a rental. Purchasers will go on theWarpath for a refund."[21][d]
Marc Nix ofIGN criticized the game's dinosaurs for their lack of size disparity, writing: "The T-Rex is a dwarf, while raptors have become mega-raptors of roughly the same size as the beast who bit regular raptors in half in the film." Nix also criticized the game'sAI and bad collision detection, and noted that each dinosaur played similarly to one another. However, Nix praised the game's graphics and levels.[17]
^Smith, Shawn; Johnston, Chris; Boyer, Crispin; Hsu, Dan "Shoe" (February 2000)."Warpath: Jurassic Park"(PDF).Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 127. Ziff Davis. p. 184.Archived(PDF) from the original on March 16, 2023. RetrievedOctober 9, 2023.
^Major Mike (January 2000)."Warpath: Jurassic Park"(PDF).GamePro. No. 136. IDG. p. 96.Archived(PDF) from the original on July 8, 2023. RetrievedOctober 9, 2023.