Okay, so the plot wasn’t meant to be on the level of a Shakespearean tragedy, though it seems to be a rip-off, errrr, homage to "Jurassic Park" than anything else: After all, that book had almost the same dinos as Carnivores living together, despite the fact that they were in truth separated by millennia.

Still and all, here we are with seven types of dinosaurs ready for the hunting: four herbivores and everyone’s favorite nasties: allosaurs, velociraptors and carnivore champ T. rex. Three weapons are available to take ‘em down, a shotgun, futuristic crossbow and sniper rifle. All three can be equipped with tranquilizer darts, which greatly add to a player’s score but prevent the target dino from being displayed in the player’s Trophy Hall.

Other equipment available is the always-handy dino call, which attracts prey; binoculars, to scope out the land and its inhabitants; camouflage gear, which prevents prey from seeing the player; scent-mask, which prevents prey from smelling the player; and a rader that shows the specific dinos the player has chosen to hunt. All of the last three deduct points during a hunt.

Thrown in for no charge are a compass and wind indicator -- the latter is particularly useful against creatures known for their acute sense of smell.

And that’s the game. The player chooses from one of six locations, and then chooses which dino is to be hunted, stocks up with weapons and is dropped into the great unknown. Some maps, weapons and species can only be used/hunted by higher-level players (that’s where the points come in).

Plot reservations aside, this is a fairly fun game. The graphics are lush, though not as detailed as Trespasser, which they most resemble. There’s always an element of danger, since carnivores hunt among the various maps.

As usual, Carnivores is part of WizardWorks’ affordable cascade of hunting games. If you hated Trespasser’s plot and puzzles and just want to get prehistoric on some dinosaur ass, give this game a look.