Rebuilding a mistake.
Ever since Operation Genesis I have longed for a Jurassic Park builder so I could create my own travesty-filled theme park. It has been a long time coming, but Jurassic World Evolution finally answers my call. Developed by Frontier, the same team behind Planet Coaster, this simulation game brings all the charm of building my very own Jurassic Park. Yes, that even includes a little Jeff Goldblum for good measure.
Jurassic World Evolution dumps players right into the mix. There is only one option available from the start and it serves as sort of a tutorial on the basics of the game. There are five islands and each one unlocks when I would reach a star level for the previous one. Free play opens up after about an hour, which I would have preferred be available from the start. I mean I really just wanted to breed a t-rex and let it loose on the guests. Start things off right of course.
MSRP: $59.99
Platforms: XB1 (reviewed), PS4, PC
Price I’d Pay: $39.99
The dinosaurs are only one potential disaster than can occur though. Players are tasked with managing the park’s finances and of course safety of the visitors on all fronts. There is extreme weather that can knock out power. Shelters must be built for guests in the case of emergency. I had to manage security teams and budgets. All the fun and responsibilities are here, and it makes for a rather engaging experience.
I was tasked with sending out excavations to research new creatures to breed. I can upgrade their life expectancy. I could also engineer them to have different shades of skin and even hybrid creatures. The menus are overwhelming at times. There are lots of charts and sliders to manage, upgrades to purchase. This is a full-on simulation game. Sadly, that is what holds it back. A free mode where these logistics were dialed back would be great for blowing off steam. Dinosaurs have to be fed or they die. It becomes a task in micromanagement, and sadly it isn’t always fun.
When things work out though, they really work. The game encapsulates the feeling of creating my very own Jurassic Park. When it does it is insanely satisfying. I would hum the music while I was building things. When people were walking around the park, I felt like John Hammond. It is just worth noting that to achieve these things, it takes serious dedication. This isn’t the type of simulation game where I could sit back and enjoy. I had to be vigilant in monitoring everything.
Visually the game looks fantastic on Xbox One X. The HDR really brings out the environments. The weather effects are simply outstanding, and the detail when zoomed in on the creatures is awesome. The sense of scale is wonderful. I wish the controls were a little more intuitive. I stumbled with them for hours before getting comfortable enough to move between areas of management. Also, piloting the helicopter is neat once, after that I let it work on auto-pilot the rest of my time.
When Evolution works, it works beautifully. It is precisely the game I wanted it to be. I wish the free mode was unlocked from the start, but it doesn’t take much to get it open. Future updates and some promised free DLC means I will be digging into this game for months to come. Couple that with the ridiculous prices online for the original Operation Genesis and I will stick with this updated Jurassic Park builder. Kindling my childhood memories can be tricky, but Jurassic World Evolution tickles all the right notes, and any reason to hum the theme song brings a smile to my face.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
