In trying to keep up with reviewing newer titles, this week I’m reviewing Let’s Go Jungle (Deluxe edition)by Sega. If you enjoyed Jurassic Park by Sega you’ll probably enjoy this too, and it has an awesome cabinet (for the Deluxe edition at least) to boot!
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Let’s Go Jungle by Sega
Introduction
Many gamers who frequented the arcades of the 90’s will probably remember one of the few cockpit games of the time based on the ever popular Jurassic Park movies. That game still can be found in plenty arcades today but now it has a spiritual successor that looks to replace those aging Jurassic Park cabs and that is Let’s Go Jungle.
The heroes of the story are Ben and Norah, who have made a cheap trip to an unnamed jungle island that seems peaceful at first but things soon turn deadly when their tour group is attacked by giant mutant spiders and hornets. At that point 
all they can do is shoot first and ask questions later and this is where the player steps in. There is a little bit of a storyline intertwined throughout the game, although it is not something the player will probably worry about too much.
Gameplay
Let’s Go Jungle provides a theater like experience for the players, encompassing them in a large cockpit cabinet that houses a nice 62″ DLP screen, surround sound, decent seating and two large guns that are mounted to the cabinet. They 
even installed curtains on each side so you can further block out the surrounding environment while you play. A window in the back let’s potential players watch the action while they wait or pass by.
Let’s go Jungle features six different stages of bug-blasting mayhem, but the player will only venture through five of them as one point in the game has you choose between two different paths to take. Reloading is not a worry in this game as you get unlimited ammo although there are a couple of times where you will loose your guns and you must wield either a slingshot or an oar (depending on which path you take towards the middle of the game, but fortunately it is not a permanent condition). The lack of a reloading feature or even a hiding feature (like in Time Crisis)may give a feeling of shallowness for some although it can be fun to simply blast away without having to worry about your ammo levels.
The guns are a little heavier than they appear and while it is manageable to point them around, it can be a little difficult to quickly move the gun to the other side of the screen to shoot down fast moving enemies and in single player mode this can sometimes prove troublesome. That is what turns out to be bittersweet about Let’s Go Jungle – this game is intended 
primarily for two players as it is structured to reward co-operative play and not so much a lone player. In between levels you are not only rated on how well you did but also on how well you play with the other player. That includes bonus points for joint shots as well as participating in the action sequences together. There are three types of action sequences – one has you both pointing your guns in a certain direction at the same time, another has both players tapping their action button as fast as possible and the final one has you and the other player tap your respective buttons in unison to avoid danger.
The boss battles are as good as could be expected from a Sega arcade game. All of the bosses are huge mutant bugs or animals, including a giant tarantula, mantis, frog, Venus Fly Trap and a Butterfly. During the battle certain points on the 
boss will be targetted that you must shoot down or you will be damaged.
Graphics
Graphically Let’s Go Jungle is one of the better looking and most colorful games one will find in the arcade at the moment. This is helped by the high-resolution screen which brings out great contrast and textures and the PC-based Lindbergh hardware. Character models are highly detailed (although they can be a little cartoony at times) and the game is capable to throwing a large number of enemies on the screen without any slowdown as would be expected from a next-gen game. There also are some decent lighting effects and very nice water effects on top of it all.
Sound
In the Deluxe cabinet the game makes use of a surround sound system that enhances the experience greatly for the players. In addition to that, the cabinet design helps block out a little bit of the noise from the rest of the arcade and it blends together so you can hear everything in the game without it needing to be too loud. There is a bit of cheesy voice acting you’ll encounter but it fits with this games B-Movie style storyline.
Cabinets
There are now three editions of Let’s Go Jungle – standard, deluxe and Special Attraction. We showed some pictures from the special attraction version on the London Preview ’08 posts, where it is setup just like HOTD4 Special. The only version I have seen in arcades is the deluxe version which was a nice experience – it looks like a jeep and the large screen with surround sound was worth it. I have seen pictures of the standard edition but it doesn’t look too amazing.
Overall
Let’s Go Jungle is a fun game that attracts a lot of attention and it is not difficult to learn how to play or enjoy. The only part of the game that needed work was the single player experience, but it can still be fun in it’s own right. In fact the title is quite a hit in arcades, I had to wait about 40 min. to play it which is the first time I’ve ever had to really wait to play a game.
