Not since Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis has there been a simulator game of this magnitude where you can essentially build your own Jurassic Park from scratch and run it as the way John Hammond originally intended to do in the 1993 movie and a 1990 novel the same name.
You start out as a nameless Park Operations Manager and you're giving updates by various head members of departments from science, security and entertainment divisions. Along with an executive that you report all all your operations and all your results to along with the inclusion of Dr Ian Malcolm once again portrayed by the enigmatic and charismatic Jeff Goldblum. To hear Jeff once more as the sober Conscience of the franchise is just a treat to hear because he is that character that is such an integral necessary key part of the Jurassic Park experience because he is that guy that can look at the problems and say what the hell are you doing?! Although, you would think after the harrowing experience from the 1993 incident on Isla Nublar and the traumatic experience in 1997 on Isla Sorna why would he ever go back to the situation knowing full well what would a wait him? It's never really expanded upon why he's here but the same time it's Jeff Goldblum and I'm not going to question this. Frontier development really went the whole nine yards to make this as an authentic Jurassic Park experience as they could possibly do from getting the Likeness of the dinosaurs down to a fine art where you look at the animals and go that's the T-Rex that's the velociraptor, the Brachiosaurus, and that's the spinosaurus, even the indominus Rex. Hearing the Iconic score from John Williams theme of Jurassic Park is something that you could not do this game without because to do a game of Jurassic Park without that legendary theme is like the Superman movie series from the 70s and 80s without the score from John Williams it just would not be right. You have to deal with 5 Islands and basically achieve the goals that you set out to do in order to move on to the next Islands before you can even hope to unlock the very original island in the franchise's Canon that being specifically, Isla Nublar - the very island that is synonymous with this whole franchise. Each Island raises the difficulty level as you would expect with progression in any game is that your ability and capabilities are challenged by upping the ante each time. It has to be said the dinosaurs in particular really go out of their way to try and Sabotage your progress and your success at every given turn. Even when you just completed the new fencing or completed any particular repairs that may have been damaged because of the weather or the dinosaurs feeling as though they've had enough and want out it is then your job to make sure that they are contained or that they don't go eating the tourists and help themselves to a people burger because this in turn affects your rating it affects your profits and costs go up even higher. I love dinosaurs don't get me wrong but there are times that they are such little savages that you question the very nature of why you're playing this game but at the same time you look at it and think this is all worth it because once you actually master a rhythm whereby you have a better understanding of how to contain these animals and at the same time I able to rake the cash in a little bit more effectively than all the effort and all the hardships of this game are more than worth the result at the end. It's like any game that you've played before where it appears difficult to begin with but each time you learn how to not repeat certain mistakes. I believe Jeremy Clarkson said in an episode of Top Gear once that it's like a a game where each time you learnt how to get round that corner just that little bit quicker and a little bit more efficiently whilst maintaining your position as the leader and not getting any scratches on the car and slowing down your performance and your progression in the game. Mind you that can be said of any game, because with progression and experience comes knowledge and wisdom now granted that could be seen as a little bit of an exaggeration but experience and wisdom can go hand-in-hand if it's done properly. And that is also true with this game because over the course of playing it and better understanding what dinosaurs prefer to do and prefer not to do you will get some animals that are social graceful animals like the Brachiosaurus the Stegosaurus and the Parasaurolophus and they have no problems Being Social with their fellow attractions for lack of a better word because that's what these animals are is in the same context a lion a tiger a gorilla or even a turtle that's at a zoo they are an attraction. And at the same time you can get really grumpy guses like the Ankylosaurus and various other armored dinosaurs that are very solemn creatures that just like to be left to the lonesome as socialising is not really their strong suit. This can also be said for the Star attraction of this game and also the star attraction of the whole franchise in general, specifically - the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Arguably the most popular dinosaur in this franchise and just a popular dinosaur to people that aren't even familiar with the Jurassic Park franchise. Because the name literally translates to tyrant lizard King. Ever since the advent of the 1993 movie when this animal escaped its paddock when the electric fences failed and you see the sheer terrifying majesty of the size and power of this magnificent animal it is one of situations where you're in awe but you're shaking to your very bones at the same time because because the authenticity that the movie makers put into this animal so that it could be seen as an intelligent and very fearsome predator. And as I mentioned earlier, this animal does not like to socialise in all honesty you are better off just putting this out in a large field or containment area call It What You Will and leave it by its lonesome because that's what it likes it just likes to graze around enjoying its surroundings and eating its food by itself at its Leisure. Although that's said if you were to put into it's Paddock a group of smaller dinosaurs that would pose no challenge to it the Rex will just shrug and move on. It's only if you put in dinosaurs of similar size or shapes that could rival its size and power is where things could turn nasty and is why I always make the point of never ever putting a Spinosaurus into the same enclosure as the T-Rex as we all remember what happened with Jurassic Park 3. And I will go on record as saying that was not only a very stupid writing decision but it was a stupid decision for the franchise in general because taking the star attraction out of the franchise like that is like taking your star player off of the team when they're only halfway through a game it just makes no sense and as a consequence the franchise did suffer a little bit financially after the movie because that was not good. The likes of the Indominus Rex and the Indoraptor do make appearances in the game provided you have met certain challenges and achieve them which you therefore then unlock new features whether they're new buildings enter and more entertainment division facilities new vehicles and obviously unlocking new species of dinosaurs. I should point out that it's very sensible to make sure you have facilities put in place like animal control,security and shelters put in place because if animals break out whether it be through the their own agitation and smashing through containment walls or mother nature intervening with hurricanes, tornadoes and various other natural inconveniences. The more shelters that you have the higher your rating will go and this will actually have customers coming back because they know that they can depend upon you for their safety and security. The more fun aspect of this game is when you have park ranger stations installed into each island is when you're able to go into the enclosure and have the ability to actually photograph these animals up close which can also earn you only money and achievement points if you were able to photograph diners specific moments. Some of these will activate achievements which will be quotes from the movies anything from clever girl to vision is based upon movement will pop up and those that know they're Jurassic Park Lore through and through it will put a smile upon your face where are you looking and think I see what you did there. Isla Sorna did provide the most amount of challenges because a lot of natural disasters would actually occur which would then take out the various power stations that you have installed up on the island and also some dinosaurs just not understanding this simple concept of "stay-in-your-enclosure!" Which is why it's necessary to have as big an enclosure as you can for each individual species and then you can work around them with various facilities from a hotel or restaurant a gift shop, a toy shop, a fossil Center and then various other facilities like research and then an expedition center where you will then send various teams around the world to collect fossils and Amber specimens which you can then use to unlock more potential species and therefore more potential assets and customers for reach Island. To sum this up: Jurassic World Evolution is a fun gaming experience whether you're an old school Jurassic Park fan or are only familiar with the Jurassic World movies from 2015 onwards you will have fun regardless of being able to do as they did in the movies but actually do the one specific thing that's the movies failed to do and that is actually keep these parks running. It can be frustrating to begin with even on the easier levels but the results are worth it. if you're someone like me that actually plays simulator games or like to have these management style of play then to quote John Hammond it's right up your alley. This game is an absolute must and I probably lost more hours on this then I would care to note but at the same time that's also a good sign that you're enjoying the game because if you lose track of time that just shows you're enjoying it. After careful consideration: I have decided to endorse this game. If you found this review informative and would like to purchase the game, then here are the links below.
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