The narrative continues the story of special operative Regina, who must deal with the fallout of a time-distorting event which transports a research base and the surrounding area through time.

These changes are accompanied by the inclusion of many of the abandoned ideas for the first title, with many more enemy-types and a greater number of enemies appearing on screen at once, creating a more claustrophobic experience.

Critics found the game to be far less derivative of similar Capcom series Resident Evil, with its action elements, atmosphere, and backgrounds being praised.

Capcom Production Studio 4[4] changed the series' focus from the survival horror of the first Dino Crisis by creating a more action-packed arcade-style experience that featured more open areas, greater varieties of weapons and enemies and less emphasis on puzzles.

[7] Main weapons provide the most damage and are used for the majority of attacks, for example shotguns, flamethrowers and rifles whereas sub-weapons are used to get past obstacles, like the machete for cutting plant vines and the firewall gun that creates a temporary wall of fire against foes.

Completion of the game on harder difficulties allows more characters and dinosaurs to become available for purchase, using the final Extinction Points gathered from that play through.

[8] During insertion, the team's camp is attacked by a pack of Velociraptor, leaving Lieutenant Dylan Morton, Regina and TRAT operative David as the only survivors.

Regina returns to the transport ship while Dylan heads into the jungle, spotting a mysterious helmeted figure while investigating a military facility.

When they return to their ship, they find the engine room ransacked, stranding the heroes in the past, while the teenage girl exhibits a familiar connection to Dylan and tries to reach out to him, but this leaves him confused for a short time.

At the Research Facility teeming with Oviraptor and a thieving Compsognathus, Dylan discovers human containment chambers and a starter battery for the ship in order to get it mobile.

The overload in 2009 caused time alterations to the Cretaceous Period, affected the earth's history dramatically, creating an alternate timeline where humanity did not exist.

The helmeted attackers are revealed to be the only remaining children of the survivors, who were brought to the safety of a facility and placed in special life support chambers for growth and learning.

Paula flees, and Dylan and the helmeted figure wrestle each other to the floor, but the brawl is cut short when the Giganotosaurus, revealed to have survived the warhead explosion despite getting burned, appears from the shadows.

Unable to free her and with the building ready to explode, Dylan stays with his daughter, telling Regina to return home with the Third Energy data and save them at an earlier time period.

[10][11] In terms of the size of Dino Crisis 2's development team, director and writer Shu Takumi stated that there was around 50 people working on the game.

[23] In his review, Ben Stahl of GameSpot commented that the first Dino Crisis was as if Capcom "replaced the zombies with carnivorous dinosaurs" for a Resident Evil spin-off.

"[28] Douglass C. Perry of IGN concurred that the game had been "stripped of its slow-paced Resident Evil shell and its haunting, creepy shockeroo tricks."

"[29] GamePro's review commented that "sound is solid, with an unobtrusive musical score that blends well with gaming effects, i.e. the telltale rustle of foliage preceding a raptor's leap for your throat isn't drowned out by J-pop.

"[35][d] Edge gave it six out of ten, saying, "What Dino Crisis 2 does exceptionally well is take all the elements from the survival horror pantheon and hone them for popular consumption.

[...] Even the underwater sequence, which is well presented and excellently executed, is not enough to submerge the feeling that corridor-based survival horror has hit something of a creative dead end.

"[36] Marc Saltzman of The Cincinnati Enquirer stated, "Overall, Dino Crisis 2 is a fantastic sequel that delivers more adrenaline-pumping action, beautiful scenery and a hearty dose of terror."

"[27] Greg Orlando of NextGen, however, said, "Beautiful graphics, solid control, and furious action still can't overcome the dull protagonists and severely foreshortened running time.