Jurassic World Evolution 2 review: a dynamic and deadly park building experience

Dr. Wu is Jurassic World’s Dr. Frankenstein, a mad scientist who creates new life by stitching together the DNA of different dinosaurs. Their hybrids are more capable hunters, better suited to handling harsh climates, and far scarier than Tyrannosaurs rex. In Jurassic World Evolution 2, we see Frontier Developments following the lead of Dr. Wu. The dinosaurs that players interact with are more aware of their surroundings, can find their own food, and even learn to hunt in packs. The skeletal framework that brings this simulation to life is the same as its predecessor, but everything around it has evolved or changed. These changes make the game more dynamic and challenging, but not always for the better.

Set after the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, dinosaurs are now part of the ecosystem of the United States and we are learning if we can live with them. The player works with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to deal with the problems of dinosaurs, such as pteranodons that migrate too close to the Canadian border or worse, hungry predators that pose a threat to society. This setting provides an excellent variety of maps, from snowy colored fields and arid deserts to lush forests and sprawling lakes. The change of scenery adds an element of excitement and helps make the experience feel something new again.

As wild as it is to see an Allosaurus running through the snow, this campaign experience lacks punch and comes across as a glorified tutorial that doesn’t last long. I enjoyed the difficulty of the Jurassic World Evolution 1 campaign and how it propelled the player to excel at theme park development to reach new islands. This campaign never goes in that direction and instead focuses too much on herding dinosaurs like cattle, much like the underwhelming missions in Evolution 1’s mediocre Claire’s Sanctuary DLC. Listen to Ian Malcolm (voiced again by Jeff Goldblum) Issuing sarcastic and sarcastic warnings about the future is a lot of fun, but it’s not enough to save the experience.

The fact that the campaign doesn’t last long is a blessing in disguise as it otherwise takes the spotlight and really embraces the park building experience. This mode is called Chaos Theory, a fun “What if …?” exploration of the five jurassic movies. You get a chance to rewrite history, starting with John Hammond turning to you to help build the first Jurassic Park. All of these settings take on the look of the movies, not to mention dinosaurs. Playing through each mission is a great way to unlock dinosaurs for other modes, including new sea and flying types, which are fully developed and fun to watch.

Dinosaurs are rightfully the protagonists of this experience. These thunder beasts are highly detailed, fun animated (especially when hunting), and offer decent customization via cool looking skins. They have a little more life than the first game, and one of the best touches is how they find their comfort zones within an enclosure based on the location of their food. Now you can safely have a more comprehensive selection of dinosaurs in an enclosure, reducing the need to clutter the park with fences. This layout is a nice touch that leaves room for other guest-related destinations.

The enhanced realism of the dinosaurs also means you need to take more care of them, which is a slight inconvenience. Each dinosaur is a bit fragile and can break bones, cut itself and force you to calm them down and transport them by air to the new medical facility. It is possible to make them sturdier through research, but the early stages are difficult in terms of caring for the dinosaurs, especially given how complicated park management is at the moment.

Quality of life improvements accompany most of the game and park building menus. Players can now speed up time whenever they want, a change that eliminates the frustration of waiting for a meter to fill up. Feeding electricity to the structures is also much easier through the new generator, which powers everything around it and does not require power lines. All aspects of creation are tied to another excellent addition: the scientists, whom you manually hire and assign tasks according to their specialties. One scientist can speed up egg incubation, while another lowers the price of a fossil expedition. All of these elements sing together and make the game that much better.

They also make it worse. That so-called hassle-free generator runs on fuel that you need to refuel frequently. The price of a full tank of gasoline can exceed $ 400,000. If you have a lot of generators (which you probably will), you will need to make sure you have more than a million in storage for fuel. It’s something you should keep thinking about.

Those brilliant scientists get tired and need frequent sleep. Every time they get into bed, it costs him $ 75,000. Also, when the most impressive dinosaur species like Tyrannosaurus are unlocked, the scientists you have on hand may not have the expertise to hatch them, which means you’ll have to fire a few and find new help.

Micromanaging becomes intense and can be completely annoying when a storm hits, and suddenly you have dinosaurs out of their enclosures, power outages, dinosaurs with broken bones, and finances spinning in the toilet. Illnesses are also rampant and can be headaches. Sections of play can appear as if you are covering hole after hole. Earning money to keep things afloat can be challenging, but overcoming these issues leads to research options that reduce frustrations. If you keep it, the whole experience improves over time.

For example, the player can research power upgrades, which, in a strange twist, are the classic power plants and power lines from the first game. It’s almost as if Frontier realized that players wouldn’t like generators and offered the above solution as a workaround. Other options include finding more dinosaur fossils, extra skill points for scientists (which is a game changer), and more visitor attractions. You should get the majority of these boosts by increasing the star level of your park.

The park construction process is identical in terms of game flow, but offers a greater degree of customization. The exterior of each store can be completely designed, down to its architecture, color and accessories. The surrounding area can also host a variety of decorations, such as outdoor seating for a restaurant or fun dinosaur-themed items, such as a giant skull. Each of these establishments offers a variety of interior attractions that attract different types of guests. If you play your cards right, you will win money by the handful, but there will undoubtedly be frustrating stretches along the way.

Jurassic World Evolution 2 takes as many giant steps forward as it does backward, but it has enough to offer a fun and rewarding theme park experience. Like its predecessor, Sandbox mode is the most fun, and this game track combines everything the player has unlocked and removes all tensions. Collecting each dinosaur takes time and effort, but it’s worth it, especially since you can experiment to see what happens when each dinosaur roams freely in the same space.