History Main / Carnivores

[[redirect:VideoGame/{{Carnivores}}]]

[[quoteright:256:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Carnivores_44.jpg]]

->''"[[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture 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, [[NumberedHomeworld code-named FMM UV-22]], was declared inhospitable for colony life due to its unstable terrain and [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs immense population of prehistoric reptiles]]. News of this amazing planet spread and articles on the "Dinosaur Planet" lead an [[MegaCorp Earth corporation]] to [[OneNationUnderCopyright purchase the rights]] to the planet, and create [=DinoHunt=] Corp. [=DinoHunt=] created the unique opportunity for [[EgomaniacHunter paying customers]] to become dinosaur hunters for the first time in 50 million years.''

->''[[{{AFGNCAAP}} You]] are the newest client of [=DinoHunt=] Corp."''
-->--'''The introduction to ''Carnivore's'' [[AllThereInTheManual user's manual]]'''

''Carnivores'' is a [[TheNineties 1998]] FirstPersonShooter/Hunting Game where you, the player, get to be an EgomaniacHunter on a quest to kill [[StockDinosaurs "prehistoric reptiles"]]. However, the game is not a generic 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?

''Carnivores'' spawned two sequels: ''Carnivores 2'', and ''Carnivores: [[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 spoty]] at times. They were considered {{Abandonware}} for a long time, until in 2010 they ported the games onto iPod (or at least, ''Carnivores 2'' and ''Ice Age'') as well as the PSP.

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 ''Jurassic Park: The Lost World''; 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 the dinosaurs 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, at best, SoOkayItsAverage.

----
!! This game provides examples of:
* 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.
* {{AFGNCAAP}}: Your character has no name past the one you give him, and you never see him unless you [[CriticalExistenceFailure die.]]
* 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.
* 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]]).
* AllThereInTheManual: The entire plot is literally in the manual. See the page quote? [[ExcusePlot That's basically it]].
* BulletTime: Debug mode's "slow" feature.
* 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. [[TropesAreNotBad It adds to the experience]].
* 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.
* DeathWorld: The planet in ''Carnivores'' 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]].
* DummiedOut: Many things, like the [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Brachiosaurus being a hunted animal]] (it is invincible without cheating), a [[EvilPoacher "poacher"]] in ''Ice Age'' who could have shot at the player (taken out because it was deemed too difficult to fight), etc. Most of these things can be brought back into the game, but often not entirely; for example, the poacher still retains the model, but the AI is lost. One can replace the AI with one of the animals', but then it will just act like said animal, without firing at the player as was originally intended.
* EasterEgg: A rather literal example. In the iPhone version there is a level with a cave system. If one explores this cave system [[DugTooDeep enough]], you 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.]]
* 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.
* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Well, not ''everything'', but anything that can feasibly kill you ''will'' do so if it is given the chance. So, that ''[[StockDinosaurs Velociraptor]]''? It's going to gore you before it eats you. How about that ''Ceratosaurus''? Him too. How about TyrannosaurusRex? [[CrowningMomentOfFunny He throws you around like a ragdoll instead of actually eating you]].
* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: [[CaptainObvious Duh]].
* EvilPoacher: Would have been an enemy in ''Ice Age'', but was scrapped because it was deemed too difficult.
* 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 dinos.]] 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.
* FakeDifficulty: Results from FridgeLogic. Yes, the dinosaurs (and later, mammals) hunt you, too, but they don't hunt each other. At all. [[UncannyValley It's actually kind of noticeable after awhile]].
* GhostTown: The abandoned settlement, Fort Ciskin, is this. It was abandoned after an angry 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]].
* HellIsThatNoise: A few of the carnivore calls are so scary they'll even send other ''dinosaurs'' running when you use them.
* HuntingTheMostDangerousGame: PlayedWith. It's the AI animals doing it to you, but since you ''are'' human, it more or less still qualifies.
* ImmuneToBullets: The 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).
* ImplacableMan: The TyrannosaurusRex, but only in debug mode. [[ThisLoserIsYou You die too fast to put up a chase, outside of debug mode]].
* KillAllHumans: Your main goal in the fourth game if you play the dinosaur campaign.
* 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.
* 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 [[RecycledINSPACE in space]]...
* MisplacedWildlife: Par for the course, considering the game's subject matter.
* NintendoHard: The dinosaurs have an [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard annoying habit]] of detecting you long before you have a chance to spot them. You, at least until you become stupidly rich in-game, cannot have all the dinosaurs at once for a hunt, which means they won't all be on radar. [[RightBehindMe That means they can sneak up on you]]. This is even more pronounced in the iPod version, where accessing the map for the radar is only possible when relocating, which has a 30 second cooldown.
** Actually, you can also bring up the map by tapping the compass.
* NinjaPirateRobotZombie: Results from FridgeLogic; all of these dinosaurs are not ''only'' dinosaurs, they're all '''''aliens''''', too!
* 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 critter dinosaurs 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.
* NothingIsScarier: The abandoned settlement in the second area of ''Carnivores 2''. 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?
* OneNationUnderCopyright: [=DinoHunt=] Corp. owns the rights to the planet, 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--[[WhatAnIdiot even after they said the planet was "inhospitable for colony life"]]--though [[ForegoneConclusion it doesn't end particularly well]].
* 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.
* {{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'', although little more is said past the ruins' strategic resource to the hunter.
* {{Prehistoric Monster}}: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] for the most part. Since this is a hunting game, most of the dinosaurs behave like simple {{Expies}} of animals hunted in RealLife. But as you will learn below, the [[TyrannosaurusRex T-Rex]] is the exception.
* 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 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.
* RoarBeforeBeating: The [[TyrannosaurusRex T-Rex]] does this; it's basically a grace period for you to get a shot in before it kills you. It will be subverted if you're lucky enough to get a shot off ''before'' the [[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.
* 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. [[TyrannosaurusRex T-Rex]]? [[ImplacableMan Oh 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 you kill him.
* 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.
* StockDinosaurs: They are present, but the trope is subverted anyhow by the presence of many non-stock dinosaurs (and many non-dinosaurs). Also, ''Allosaurus'' is more similar to this game's ''Velociraptor'' than to the [[TyrannosaurusRex T-Rex]], while ''Spinosaurus'' has been demoted to being a [[GiantMook slightly-larger version]] of said ''Allosaurus''. A full list can be found at [[WikiRule the wiki]].
** Note, however, that if we are discussing the first Carnivores game, then yeah. All the dinosaurs in the first game with the possible exception of Moschops would be pretty familiar to most players.
* 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.
* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Happens a bit farther into the future than most examples.
* TyrannosaurusRex: And an incredibly terrifying one at that. 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!!

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 ''Jurassic Park: The Lost World''; 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 the dinosaurs to the people as a kind of traveling zoo]]. [[SeenItAMillionTimes 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.

''Carnivores'' spawned two sequels: ''Carnivores 2'', and ''Carnivores: [[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 spoty]] at times. They were considered {{Abandonware}} for a long time, until in 2010 they ported the games onto iPod (or at least, ''Carnivores 2'' and ''Ice Age'') as well as the PSP. The series NeedsMoreLove.

* HellIsThatNoise: Many of the dinosaur calls are less than pleasant, and a few of the carnivore calls are so scary they'll even send other ''dinosaurs'' running when you use them.

* EasterEgg: A rather literal example. In the iPhone version (perhaps Carnivores 2, however this troper is unsure) there is a level with a cave system. If one explores this cave system [[DugTooDeep enough]], you 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.]]

* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Well, not ''everything'', but anything that can feasibly kill you ''will'' do so if it is given the chance. So, that ''[[StockDinosaurs Velociraptor]]''? It's going to gore you before it eats you. How about that ''Cerotasaurus''? Him too. How about TyrannosaurusRex? [[CrowningMomentOfFunny He throws you around like a ragdoll instead of actually eating you]].

* EvilPoacher: Would have been an enemy in ''Ice Age'', but was scrapped because it was deemed too difficult.

* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Well, not ''everything'', but anything that can feasibly kill you ''will'' do so if it is given the chance. So, that ''[[StockDinosaurs Velociraptor]]''? It's going to gore you before it eats you. How about that ''Cerotasaurus''? Him too. How about {{T-Rex}}? [[CrowningMomentOfFunny He throws you around like a ragdoll instead of actually eating you]].

* GhostTown: The abandoned settlement, Fort Ciskin, is this. It was abandoned after an angry {{T-Rex}} 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]].

* ImmuneToBullets: The {{T-Rex}} 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).
* ImplacableMan: The {{T-Rex}}, but only in debug mode. [[ThisLoserIsYou You die too fast to put up a chase, outside of debug mode]].

* {{Prehistoric Monster}}: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] for the most part. Since this is a hunting game, most of the dinosaurs behave like simple {{Expies}} of animals hunted in RealLife. But as you will learn below, the {{T-Rex}} is the exception.
* RoarBeforeBeating: The {{T-Rex}} does this; it's basically a grace period for you to get a shot in before it kills you. It will be subverted if you're lucky enough to get a shot off ''before'' the {{T-Rex}} notices you, because if you hit it but do not land the killing blow, it skips to the running-you-down bit.
* 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. {{T-Rex}}? [[ImplacableMan Oh 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 you kill him.

* StockDinosaurs: They are present, but the trope is subverted anyhow by the presence of many non-stock dinosaurs (and many non-dinosaurs). Also, ''Allosaurus'' is more similar to this game's ''Velociraptor'' than to the {{T-Rex}}, while ''Spinosaurus'' has been demoted to being a [[GiantMook slightly-larger version]] of said ''Allosaurus''. A full list can be found at [[WikiRule the wiki]].

* {{Prehistoric Monster}}: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] for the most part. Since this is a hunting game, most of the dinosaurs behave like simple [[Expies]] of animals hunted in RealLife. But as you will learn below, the {{T-Rex}} is the exception.

* {{Prehistoric Monster}}: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] for the most part. Since this is a hunting game, most of the dinosaurs behave like simple [[Expy expies]] of animals hunted in RealLife. But as you will learn below, the {{T-Rex}} is the exception.

* {{Prehistoric Monster}}: Averted for the most part. Most dinosaurs will flee from the hunter if he is detected from a distance. Even most carnivores will only attack at close range. However, this trope is played straight with the {{T-Rex}}, an enormous brute with almost supernatural speed, agility, and stamina for his size. He will engage in a savage, endless chase after you the moment you are detected, and will not stop until you are dead. Perhaps to T-Rexes humans are some kind of {{Impossibly Delicious Food}}. The icing on the Prehistoric Monster cake is that he is virtually indestructible, and will only die if you shoot his eye, and he has a pretty epic death animation.

* GhostTown: The abandoned settlement, Fort Ciskin, is this. It was abandoned after an angry {{T-Rex}} 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 [[NightmareFuel eerie]] when thought about [[FridgeHorror too much]].

[[caption-width-right:256:SomewhereAPaleontologistIsCrying]]

* SomewhereAPaleontologistIsCrying: This game is practically the poster child.
** Not necessarily, the game takes place on another planet, remember. The dinosaurs evolved under different conditions than those of Earth, so they would naturally look and behave differently. I doubt that they're even true dinosaurs. They are just large, reptilian lifeforms that look similar enough to the dinosaurs of Earth that the discoverers of the planet would call them as such.

->''"[[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture 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, [[NumberedHomeworld code-named FMM UV-22]], was declared inhospitable for colony life due to its unstable terrain and [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs immense population of prehistoric reptiles]]. News of this amazing planet spread and articles on the "Dinosaur Planet" lead an [[MegaCorp Earth corporation]] to [[OneNationUnderCopyright purchase the rights]] to the planet, and create [=DinoHunt=] Corp. [=DinoHunt=] created the unique opportunity for [[EgomaniacHunter paying customers]] to become dinosaur hunters for the [[DidNotDoTheResearch first time in 50 million years]].''

** Not necessarily, the game takes place on another planet, remember. The dinosaurs evolved under different conditions than those of Earth, so they would naturally look and behave differently.

* 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 [[JurassicPark InGen]], though leaning more towards the incompetence rather than outright malice.

* IKnowThatGun: In ''Carnivores'', the Sniper Rifle is a Dragunov SVD.

* 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.

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Happens a bit farther into the future than most examples, almost sliding into ExtyYearsFromNow.

* HuntingTheMostDangerousGame: PlayedWith. It's the AI animals doing it to you, but since you ''are'' human ([[OrIsIt we hope]]), it more or less still qualifies.