Unlike the earlier installments of the Dino Crisis trilogy, the enemies in the game are not real dinosaurs. They are mutations created from DNA extracted from various dinosaur species.
The game was originally planned for both Xbox and PlayStation 2, but the latter version was scrapped early in development.
Gameplay
The number of weapons was reduced to 2 guns with 6 ammo types (one gun and 3 ammo types per playable character), in addition to small machines called "WASPS" that help against dinosaur encounters. The game was played mostly through the character Patrick and only a small section was played as Sonya. There are also three types of body armor available.It is the year 2548, more than 300 years since Earth lost contact with the colony ship U.N. Ozymandias, en route to a². Somehow, the ship has reappeared near Jupiter. A team called S.O.A.R. (Special Operations And Reconnaissance) is sent aboard the probe ship Seyfert to investigate. A small team is sent off on a shuttle in an attempt to board the Ozymandias, when the ship's weapons power up and launch a laser at the Seyfert, destroying the ship. The weapons then direct themselves at the shuttle and fire, destroying it.
Patrick Tyler, Sonya Hart, commander Jacob Ranshaw, and McCoy survive the blast. They manage to make it to the Ozymandias and board the ship. Inside the ship proves to be derelict, though there is still power.
Patrick and Sonya soon find themselves face to face with a large Australis which grabs McCoy by the torso and throws him into the wall, killing him. The Australis chases Patrick and Sonya through the hold for a short while, until it stops and hears a noise like rattling coming from the ceiling. The Australis is then attacked, mauled and killed by a swarm of the eel-like Rigel, which eat it alive from the inside - though one of the Rigels is ripped in half and thrown to the floor beforehand. The swarm bursts out of the dead Australis and attack Patrick and Sonya. They manage to fight them off but are separated shortly thereafter.
Patrick fights several Rigels, Algols, and a 2nd Australis on his way through parts of the ship. When he reaches the Bridge he discovers there is one life-sign somewhere in the ship. He is sent out to investigate. After fighting his way through the ship's storage areas, he finally meets the surviving human, a girl by the name of Caren Velázquez. After meeting her, she runs away in fear.
Patrick then mixes the storage areas together until he gets the right ones. He enters the room full of a pack of sleeping Rigels. "I've got no plans in fighting for turf - just passin' through." he says. However, he accidentally awakens the whole pack. After defeating a horrifying planet-like organism, he is forced to make a hasty retreat as the Ozymandias' MTHR - the ships control system- ejects the entire storage sector from the ship in hopes of stopping Patrick. He shuts the door just in time to prevent getting burned. The ship reconnects again. A screech echoes from the hallway.
Patrick then hears Caren's terrified screech - a pair of Algols are harassing her. He chases them off and saves her life. She walks away, with Patrick following.
When he gets into a room, he spots Caren once again. She's looking at a picture frame of her father, Dr. Migeul Velázquez. He asks her if there's any more survivors. Her answer: loneliness. Patrick learns she's been on her own for 300 years. Jacob asks him about it. Sonya discovers that MTHR is creating the dinosaur-like creatures from the DNA of animals in storage as a replacement for the human crew. Patrick tells them that he's shutting MTHR down for good. This proves to be a mistake, as Caren opens the door and runs away.
After finding his way through the rather confusing Shaft sector, Patrick meets Caren once more, and reveals that she reminds him of his sister, and that he feels the need to protect her. Suddenly, the room becomes electrified. Patrick realizes the room's generator is about to explode, and tries to open the door - only to get his hand shocked. Sonya decides to regulate the energy levels. Along the way, she spots a large escape shuttle. Cmndr Jacob realizes that if it is in working condition, they'll use it to go back to Earth. Patrick decides to leave Caren so that he can find a safer route.
Patrick reaches the top of the Shaft Sector, where he is attacked by a large Regulus, who chases him towards the exit. Caren comes down and hugs him, but the Regulus hisses at them and corners them, ready to devour them. Fortunately, Sonya and Cmndr. Jacob arrive in time to save them. Caren tries to flee, but the Regulus slams its club into her stomach, knocking her into a wall, and she is fatally injured. Jacob orders Patrick and Sonya to escape. Sonya at first protests, but he is insistent: "THAT'S AN ORDER, SOLDIER!" he shouts. Cmndr. Jacob charges the Regulus head-on, opening fire on it. He manages to pry his feet and hands into the Regulus's mouth to keep it agape while still firing down the monster's gullet. Patrick and Sonya hoist Caren in the air. The shelled colossus then throws Jacob to the floor, causing Sonya to widen her eyes in shock. The Cmndr. runs out of ammo, and he has bad bite mark on his side. "I'm taking you with me!" he exclaims as he activates agrenade. The Regulus howls as Patrick and Sonya hurry out of the experimental laboratory. The monster charges, and Cmndr. Jacob chucks it into its mouth. The grenade explodes. Sonya turns her head with a saddened look on her face, knowing that Cmndr Jacob has sacrificed himself. Caren soon dies, revealing that she is not, in fact, human, but is instead an android. Patrick then switches formations.
Unfortunately Jacob's sacrifice was in vain, forcing Patrick to fight the large dinosaur anyway. Upon defeating the Regulus, Patrick sees a "new" Caren running through a hatchway. Patrick decides to go after MTHR and interrogate her about this.
After restarting the Ships core in the Energy Sector, Patrick is forced to head back after a problem causes some parts of the ship to malfunction. After making it through the Shaft Sector in zero-gravity, Patrick then gets through the Deck Sector with malfunctioned Environmental Systems. On his way to the Hazardous Waste Storage Room, which contained an item to repair the ship, Patrick is almost crushed by a huge foot coming through the ceiling. After being forced to the hangar deck when previous rooms froze the doors shut, MTHR has a surprise for him - A 3rd Australis pops up from a nearby generator and Patrick must fight the monster off to survive.
After another confrontation with the Australis, Caren manages to repair the ship, saving Patrick from succumbing to the broken environmental systems. Patrick then goes back to the Energy Core to restart it, but the room is severely damaged after MTHRs aquatic creature, "Miaplacidus," crashes through the wall, filling the area with water coolant.
When the fight is finished, the creature escapes and the trio runs to the MTHR sector as the core begins to go into meltdown. As the trio arrive at the sector, the MTHR and Engine Sectors detach from the Front Deck, Shaft and Energy Sectors, which are destroyed by the meltdown. The Engines soon activate an emergency system and Warp Jump to Earth.
Patrick meets MTHR and questions her. He then tries to stop MTHR's main computer but she opens another hatch releasing the Miaplacidus a second time. Upon defeating the creature, Patrick tries to stop MTHR sending the dinosaurs to Earth and fights her, eventually destroying her system, which has disastrous effects on the ship, causing it to activate the Self-destruct. MTHR's last words are "I just wanted to complete my mission."
Patrick is reunited with Sonya and Caren as they try to escape the ship via an escape shuttle, but they are attacked by the "Cebalrai", an adult Rigel. The beast jumps onto the platform and chases the trio down to the bottom of the platform. As Patrick runs, the Cebalrai slams its left head into him and tosses him into the wall, making him unable to reach his gun. Caren does the unthinkable: she is luring the abomination to her. Patrick orders her to stop. Caren, however, tells him that she's not human and that she cannot go to the world. Patrick gets to his feet and tries to reach her, but a stomp of the Cebalrai's paw causes the platform Caren and the monster are standing on to collapse. Both Caren and the Cebalrai fall into the abyss - much to Patrick's dismay. After defeating the 4th and last Australis, Patrick and Sonya are able to escape before the ship self-destructs. But the Cebalrai, being able to survive in a vacuum, was able to get on the top of the shuttle. Then Patrick gets on top of the shuttle himself to destroy the "genetic freak", and so the final battle begins.
Midway through the battle, the Cebalrai grows a third head, and Patrick is forced to use a "Final Wasp," which weakens the creature and sends it flying into space. Upon its defeat, Patrick stands on top of the ship and says: "It's finally over! Caren ...". Then the Earth is shown on the screen where the game ends.
After the game is completed in sort of difficulties there are 2 bonus/mini-games unlocked.
- Sonya Express: The player takes control of Sonya Hart, wearing a waitress uniform, and a faster jetpack. In the mini-game the player explores Ozymandias and kills as many dinosaurs as they can.
- Wheel of tune: The mini-game that allows the player to take control of Patrick Tyler, also with different costumes. The mini-game is similar to the main story, but harder, and the player must kill as many dinosaurs on Ozymandias as they can, within the time limit.
