It's hard to believe that there ever were big ass creatures like dinosaurs living on the same planet humans inhabit today. Maybe that's why we have such a fascination with them, and why Jurassic Park captured our imagination for decades (which is why movie is a thing). Dinos really have every great quality. They can be scary, cute, cool, and fascinating all at the same time.

The ancient reptiles have invaded just about every form of entertainment, including games. They have a mindblowing level of diversity - from club-tailed ankylosauruses to pack-predator velociraptors - and the games starring them are almost as far flung. From horror titles to cutesy platformers, dinosaurs are everywhere in gaming. In case you're looking for a few games to knock you down a few links in the food chain, here is a list of some of the dinosaur games you definitely need to play.

There just aren't many multiplayer shooters that allow you to munch on your enemies as a monstrous T-Rex, but Primal Carnage makes it happen. As a human, you play a typical first-person shooter in terms of controls, weapon variety, and overall feel. The human classes get an arsenal of dino-dropping gadgets and weapons, from sniper rifles and tranquilizer darts to assault rifles and rocket launchers. But you don't want to hear about the human side, you're here for the man-eating reptiles.

The dinosaur team is just as varied in their abilities. You can play as the speedy raptors, high-flying Pteranodon, bull-like Carnotaurus, and venom spitting Dilophosaurus. All of these dinos create a mix that's built to surprise the humans. The Pteranodon can swoop down and pluck human players right off their feet, and drop them to their deaths. Carnotaurus can charge into enemies like a battering ram. But the ultimate experience is playing as the massive T-Rex, snatching up hunters with your massive jaws and ripping them to shreds.

What if the Nazi's infamous military research yielded something even more terrifying than impractically huge tanks?Maybe a way to bring prehistoric, dino death machines back to life? Well, they would probably put machine guns on their heads and train them to do their dirty work. In Dino D-Day, that is the exact situation. The Nazis have a dinosaur army at their beck and call, and the historical WW2 battlefields have become prehistoric feeding frenzies.

Alongside the German soldiers, who are armed with the standard set of World War 2 weapons, players can take control of Nazi Velociraptors, a Styracosaurus that functions as a quadrupedal machine gun turret, and a T-Rex with guns attached to the sides of its face. The matches feel a bit one sided, because the allies' only dino friend is a three-legged, baby triceratops, but how often do you get to battle ancient dinosaur Nazis in an online multiplayer game?

The N64 shooter Turok: Dinosaur Hunter bears many of the scars of an early console shooter. You don't really have to aim because the game's auto aim just does it for you, and the platforming sections are so difficult it's just cruel. The shooting may seem a bit dated by today's twin stick, Call of Duty standards, but Turok is still a blast to play.

The best part of the original Turok, and the reason why it's on this list, is you actually get to fight dinosaurs. It really has no story to speak of. You just start off the game killing random human attackers and charging raptors, but eventually the giant monkeys and dinosaurs start brandishing alien weaponry, like mechanical arms and energy cannons. And it's all just leading up to a battle against a T-Rex boss with, you guessed it, a laser attached to its head.

Looking for a little more horror in your dinosaur adventure? Look no further. Dino Crisis is a classic PlayStation title that takes the tank mechanics and fixed camera gameplay of the Resident Evil series and drops them into a Jurassic Park-like setting. Meaning dinosaurs are out to eat your face off, and there's no fast way to turn and run.

Take a classic Resident Evil game, replace all of the zombies and mutated monsters with velociraptors and mutated prehistoric monstrosities, and you know exactly what to expect. The game is all about waiting for the next scare. The fixed camera sets you up for frightening ambushes, limited ammo ups the intensity of encounters, and there's cheesy dialogue galore. Dino Crisis has it all.

Even decades after its release, this 16-bit action platformer is still a must play dinosaur title. Tranquilizing dinos and taking on the vicious velociraptors is no less intense than when the game's graphics were cutting edge back in 1993.

You play as Dr. Alan Grant as he navigates the environments seen in the first movie, from jungles infested with raptors and triceratops, to the Visitor's Center guarded by a massive T-Rex. Best of all, you can play as one of the island's escaped velociraptors at it attempts to evade or eat its human captors. Few things are more satisfying than pouncing on security guards as one of Jurassic Park's most dangerous predators.

What's a Mario game doing on this list? Well, one of Mario's best buds is a saddle-wearing dinosaur. To leave Yoshi off of this list would be a crime against every video game dinosaur out there. So, here he is. In Yoshi's Island, you don't play as the mustachioed plumber, but instead as an entire race of friendly dinosaurs.

Mario is in a bit of a vulnerable state in Yoshi's Island. He's a defenseless baby and must rely on Yoshi to guard him while the dino attempts to rescue Baby Luigi from the clutches of Baby Bowser. This was the game that locked down all of Yoshi's now-standard abilities, allowing him to toss eggs at enemies, eat anything with his long tongue, and flutter jump to extreme heights. Not only is Yoshi's Island a must play title on the SNES, it represents the best of the most popular video game dinosaur ever.

I know what you're thinking: "Skylanders is a game about cute, mystical monsters, not dinosaurs." To which, I say to you, "Wrong!" Skylanders allows players to take a variety of bizarre characterizations of animals, mythic monsters, and heck, even vegetables, then level up the collectible toys as you play. But if you didn't think a children's game built around monsters wouldn't include some awesome dinosaurs, I'm here to open your eyes.

There are dozens of characters to collect, but the most awesome by far (especially for dino enthusiasts) is Chopper. This charming little guy is a young T-Rex that is a bit tech savvy. Along with his vicious roar attack, he can blast his enemies with the rockets attached to his sides, and use his helicopter backpack to dice up enemies or become one of the first airborne tyrannosauruses in gaming.

The Monster Hunter series might not feature dinosaurs per se, but the massive creatures you battle in the game are incredibly similar to their prehistoric counterparts. Can we just say they're close enough? I mean, taking on humongous beasts with complex attack patterns and various weak points using giant weapons is something we can all get on board with, right?

In Monster Hunter, you choose a class of hunter who can carry anything from unreasonably large warhammers, to unreasonably large daggers. The intricate inventory system, battle mechanics, and unique hunting features make each battle unique. Facing off against these mighty creatures is incredibly thrilling. With monster designs that are undeniably inspired by ancient dinosaurs (and dragons. There's lots of dragons), this is the closest to hunting dinosaurs you're going to get.

Need some dinosaur fighting game representation on this list? It's right here, baby! Gaming never fails to follow trends, and in the mid-90s what could have been more trendy than mixing a Mortal Kombat-style fighting game with prehistoric apes and dinosaurs? Primal Rage is one of the most memorable games of its era, though not necessarily for being great.

You choose a variety of beast combatants that range from King Kong-like apes to T-Rexes with varying degrees of evil motivations. Each monster is revered by the world's lowly human inhabitants as gods and they happily cheer you on as you battle your foe with special moves and combos. What makes the game unique is you can eat your opponent's cheering humans for health bonuses, and following the likes of other successful fighting game franchises of the time, each prehistoric combatant can finish off opponents with a match-ending fatality.

Yes, we generally stick to the console side of gaming here at GamesRadar, but this dino adventure is just too good not to get a mention. Light gun shooters may have come and gone on the console space, but in your local arcade, they are just as entertaining as ever. When it comes to dino blasting action, Jurassic Park: The Lost World's arcade cabinet, remains king.

The on-rails shooter takes you through all the events of the 1997 film. From the stampede intro that challenges players to avoid the bowel excretions of a brachiosaurus, to face to face engagements with the king of all dinosaurs, every second of the entire game is challenging and thrilling. Throw in a co-op player, and you've got an unforgettable quarter-sucking experience.

There you have it. Those are our picks for the dinosaur games you definitely need to play before you become a fossil yourself. Do you have any favorites to add, or memorable moments from one of these games that you want to share? Let me know in the comments below.

For even more game recommendations from GamesRadar, be sure to check out our list of the .

I love adventure games. There's something about the way that they seamlessly meld gameplay and narrative that's always spoken to me - even if I frequently have to glance at a FAQ just to make it to the end. But it was somewhere during the time I spent reviewing - probably at the point where I lured my in-game best friend back to alcoholism - that I realized adventure game heroes are dicks.

And it's not just Grim Fandango. Adventure games are filled with these sadistic moments, forcing you to screw over everyone around you in order to make any progress. Sure, you're ostensibly doing it for the greater good, but most of the time, you're the most selfish and opportunistic one around. These are some of the most despicable adventure game 'heroes' ever and the cruel things they've done in the name of puzzle solving.

Gabriel Knight is a smarmy asshole. I mean, look at that face above and try to tell me you're not resisting the urge to punch your computer screen. He's manipulative, he's a womanizer, but worst of all, he's just a terrible friend.

Take his relationship with his partner Franklin Mosely. Knight calls him 'Mostly' in front of all of his peers, much to his chagrin. In Knight's first adventure, Sins of the Father, he also, ahem, commandeers Mosley's badge in order to gain access to, , you have to lure Mosely out of his hotel room with candy, then swipe his wallet and his jacket - all so you can rent the bike shop's last scooter under his name. I hope Mosely is at least getting some free meals with all this shit he has to deal with, because with friends like these, who needs enemies?

George Stobbart seems like your average, run-of-the-mill, rakishly handsome American Everyman. Patent lawyer by trade, George regularly finds himself swept up in huge global conspiracies that threaten the very fabric of our society - y'know, normal, everyday kinda stuff. But, it also turns out that he's unintentionally a huge prick to one guy in particular: Duane Henderson.

Duane's either a humble greeting card salesman or a CIA operative - but either way, he's a little off his rocker. When George meets him in the Yemeni city of Marib during Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars, Duane's on the lookout for a priceless artifact and George needs money for cab fare. A broken replica and a little bit of face paint later, and George cons $50 out of Duane with worthless junk. Not one to hold a grudge, Duane meets up with George again in Central America in the sequel The Smoking Mirror. He helps George escape from prison, only to get arrested by the generalissimo of this despotic third-world country while George slips out the back scot-free. Poor guy.

When you've got not one, but two whole universes at stake, you'll do practically anything to save the day. But what if that means harassing and potentially maiming a perfectly innocent bystander? That's exactly what plucky art student April Ryan does in The Longest Journey.

Near the beginning of her adventure, April has to make it inside a derelict movie theater to meet someone important. Unfortunately, a detective is eyeballing the joint on the street corner, looking for any suspicious activity. How do you get him to scram? Simply hand him a jawbreaker - covered in a definitely toxic/possibly radioactive green goop, of course. Shortly after this, you find him reeling in a bathroom stall - and, because adventure games, you need his glass eye. Turn off the lights, snag his eye when he drops it, replace it with a toy monkey's, and voila! You're officially a terrible person!

If you're stuck on a strange planet with no way to escape, you likely won't give a damn about what you'll have to kill to get back home. But that doesn't make what you have to do any less disturbing.

There's a part in The Dig where Commander Lowe's path is blocked by a massive sea creature. The key to this puzzle is the turtle-like thing hanging out right next to it - the problem is that it just got devoured by said sea creature. Time to reassemble some bones and revive it with a mysterious crystal. Do it wrong and, well, this crime against nature melts back down into a puddle of goo (you monster). But if you put it together correctly and place an explosive canister inside its carcass, you get to sit back and watch the fireworks. Don't worry, you're only killing off a heretofore unknown alien species for your own personal gain. Humanity - 1, Aliens - 0.

Like Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, and all the other great film noir heroes, Grim Fandango's Manuel Calavera teeters on the edge of likeable and deplorable. He may be a suave, smooth-talking playboy, but he's also not above knocking his best friend clean off the wagon or locking a claustrophobic waiter inside a pantry. But all of that pales in comparison to the time he faked a man's death just to steal his job.

In order to get passage on the S.S. Lambada, you need to find a job on the ship. The only problem is that the ship is already fully staffed. But that's nothing to worry about - one of the sailors is currently getting a tattoo in town. Simply spike his drink so he falls unconscious, steal his dog tags, then toss them onto some (double) dead bodies at the morgue. The captain'll think he's pushing up daisies and welcome you into the crew. Nothing like conning a complete stranger out of an honest day's work.

Guybrush Threepwood wants to be a mighty pirate. Pirates, as you know, are not exactly honorable people, what with all the looting and pillaging. Still, it seems like there should be some mention in the Pirate Code that sealing a live man inside a coffin is a total dick move.

In Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, Guybrush comes across a used-vessel-turned-used-coffin salesman named Stan. Stan's got a key to a crypt that Guybrush needs, but, of course, Stan won't part with it willingly. What he will do is try to sell you a deluxe used coffin, even going so far as to demonstrate how roomy it is by hopping inside. Guybrush then closes the lid on him, seals it shut with some nails, snags the key, and walks out, all while listening to Stan's increasingly desperate pleas for help. Stan remains stuck inside that coffin and locked away in a crypt until you unwittingly free him six years later in The Curse of Monkey Island.

What would you do to make your wildest dreams come true? Would you lie to someone you loved? Steal something important from them? Murder them? How about causing the deaths of untold millions via a nuclear missile? Well, in The Cave, you can do exactly that!

The Cave is an incredibly dark tale about a group of explorers who each enter a mysterious cavern in search of the prizes hidden within. The thing is - this cave has a real dark sense of humor, and requires that you complete some truly sadistic objectives to proceed deeper into its depths. The most terrifying? Priming and launching an active nuke at a densely populated city. Is it real? Or is it all a hallucination created by the intoxicating allure of The Cave? Best not to think about it, lest the guilt eat away at you for the rest of your life.

Just 'cause you're the good guy doesn't automatically mean you're nice, as shown by these truly misanthropic moments in adventure game history. Are there any terrible things caused by your pointing and clicking that still haunt your conscience? Let me know in the comments below!

Looking for more? Check out these .

I love adventure games. There's something about the way that they seamlessly meld gameplay and narrative that's always spoken to me - even if I frequently have to glance at a FAQ just to make it to the end. But it was somewhere during the time I spent reviewing - probably at the point where I lured my in-game best friend back to alcoholism - that I realized adventure game heroes are dicks.

And it's not just Grim Fandango. Adventure games are filled with these sadistic moments, forcing you to screw over everyone around you in order to make any progress. Sure, you're ostensibly doing it for the greater good, but most of the time, you're the most selfish and opportunistic one around. These are some of the most despicable adventure game 'heroes' ever and the cruel things they've done in the name of puzzle solving.

Gabriel Knight is a smarmy asshole. I mean, look at that face above and try to tell me you're not resisting the urge to punch your computer screen. He's manipulative, he's a womanizer, but worst of all, he's just a terrible friend.

Take his relationship with his partner Franklin Mosely. Knight calls him 'Mostly' in front of all of his peers, much to his chagrin. In Knight's first adventure, Sins of the Father, he also, ahem, commandeers Mosley's badge in order to gain access to, , you have to lure Mosely out of his hotel room with candy, then swipe his wallet and his jacket - all so you can rent the bike shop's last scooter under his name. I hope Mosely is at least getting some free meals with all this shit he has to deal with, because with friends like these, who needs enemies?

George Stobbart seems like your average, run-of-the-mill, rakishly handsome American Everyman. Patent lawyer by trade, George regularly finds himself swept up in huge global conspiracies that threaten the very fabric of our society - y'know, normal, everyday kinda stuff. But, it also turns out that he's unintentionally a huge prick to one guy in particular: Duane Henderson.

Duane's either a humble greeting card salesman or a CIA operative - but either way, he's a little off his rocker. When George meets him in the Yemeni city of Marib during Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars, Duane's on the lookout for a priceless artifact and George needs money for cab fare. A broken replica and a little bit of face paint later, and George cons $50 out of Duane with worthless junk. Not one to hold a grudge, Duane meets up with George again in Central America in the sequel The Smoking Mirror. He helps George escape from prison, only to get arrested by the generalissimo of this despotic third-world country while George slips out the back scot-free. Poor guy.

When you've got not one, but two whole universes at stake, you'll do practically anything to save the day. But what if that means harassing and potentially maiming a perfectly innocent bystander? That's exactly what plucky art student April Ryan does in The Longest Journey.

Near the beginning of her adventure, April has to make it inside a derelict movie theater to meet someone important. Unfortunately, a detective is eyeballing the joint on the street corner, looking for any suspicious activity. How do you get him to scram? Simply hand him a jawbreaker - covered in a definitely toxic/possibly radioactive green goop, of course. Shortly after this, you find him reeling in a bathroom stall - and, because adventure games, you need his glass eye. Turn off the lights, snag his eye when he drops it, replace it with a toy monkey's, and voila! You're officially a terrible person!

If you're stuck on a strange planet with no way to escape, you likely won't give a damn about what you'll have to kill to get back home. But that doesn't make what you have to do any less disturbing.

There's a part in The Dig where Commander Lowe's path is blocked by a massive sea creature. The key to this puzzle is the turtle-like thing hanging out right next to it - the problem is that it just got devoured by said sea creature. Time to reassemble some bones and revive it with a mysterious crystal. Do it wrong and, well, this crime against nature melts back down into a puddle of goo (you monster). But if you put it together correctly and place an explosive canister inside its carcass, you get to sit back and watch the fireworks. Don't worry, you're only killing off a heretofore unknown alien species for your own personal gain. Humanity - 1, Aliens - 0.

Like Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, and all the other great film noir heroes, Grim Fandango's Manuel Calavera teeters on the edge of likeable and deplorable. He may be a suave, smooth-talking playboy, but he's also not above knocking his best friend clean off the wagon or locking a claustrophobic waiter inside a pantry. But all of that pales in comparison to the time he faked a man's death just to steal his job.

In order to get passage on the S.S. Lambada, you need to find a job on the ship. The only problem is that the ship is already fully staffed. But that's nothing to worry about - one of the sailors is currently getting a tattoo in town. Simply spike his drink so he falls unconscious, steal his dog tags, then toss them onto some (double) dead bodies at the morgue. The captain'll think he's pushing up daisies and welcome you into the crew. Nothing like conning a complete stranger out of an honest day's work.

Guybrush Threepwood wants to be a mighty pirate. Pirates, as you know, are not exactly honorable people, what with all the looting and pillaging. Still, it seems like there should be some mention in the Pirate Code that sealing a live man inside a coffin is a total dick move.

In Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, Guybrush comes across a used-vessel-turned-used-coffin salesman named Stan. Stan's got a key to a crypt that Guybrush needs, but, of course, Stan won't part with it willingly. What he will do is try to sell you a deluxe used coffin, even going so far as to demonstrate how roomy it is by hopping inside. Guybrush then closes the lid on him, seals it shut with some nails, snags the key, and walks out, all while listening to Stan's increasingly desperate pleas for help. Stan remains stuck inside that coffin and locked away in a crypt until you unwittingly free him six years later in The Curse of Monkey Island.

What would you do to make your wildest dreams come true? Would you lie to someone you loved? Steal something important from them? Murder them? How about causing the deaths of untold millions via a nuclear missile? Well, in The Cave, you can do exactly that!

The Cave is an incredibly dark tale about a group of explorers who each enter a mysterious cavern in search of the prizes hidden within. The thing is - this cave has a real dark sense of humor, and requires that you complete some truly sadistic objectives to proceed deeper into its depths. The most terrifying? Priming and launching an active nuke at a densely populated city. Is it real? Or is it all a hallucination created by the intoxicating allure of The Cave? Best not to think about it, lest the guilt eat away at you for the rest of your life.

Just 'cause you're the good guy doesn't automatically mean you're nice, as shown by these truly misanthropic moments in adventure game history. Are there any terrible things caused by your pointing and clicking that still haunt your conscience? Let me know in the comments below!

Looking for more? Check out these .