I suspect, however, that JWE2 is aimed at the slightly broader and less fussy demographic of “people who like dinosaurs”. I think it’s worth pointing out that I came to this game as a committed management/building genre nerd. It’s real dark marketing shit, perfectly in line with the Jurassic series’ noncommittally hostile approach to corporate thinking, and I like it.īut for every little sliver of management genius spliced into JWE2’s genes, it seems that a rancid great wodge of frog DNA has been slapped on elsewhere. See also the redesign of concession and amenity placement, which ditches the traditional “plop down a shop at vaguely regular intervals” approach, for something much more cunning involving concentrating and exploiting different customer demographics. The “territories” mechanic, for example - wherein dinosaurs can decide on the bit of an enclosure they like, leaving room to coexist with another species that enjoys wildly different terrain - is a clever bit of programming, and does something I’ve not seen before in the genre. It’s obvious just how much work has been put into overhauling JWE’s moving parts, and some of the tweaks are genuinely inspired. But it’s not a fair one: there are, in fact, some brilliant design flourishes in JWE’s underlying park-builder. Because honestly, having just quit the game in frustration for the sixth session out of six that I’ve played, that’s my gut-deep impression.
The first time I wrote that sentence, it said “rubbish management game”. Which makes it all the more painfully frustrating to realise that they’re trapped, once again, in a seriously wonky management game. It’s proper John Hammond, spared-no-expense, sunglasses-off-and-gawp stuff.
Using lessons learned from Planet Zoo’s development, which has more or less filled the time since 2016’s Jurassic World Evolution, Frontier have come back with the most beautiful, the most real dinosaurs ever to trudge and honk their way across a monitor. And at its heart, of course, is a stable of spectacular dinosaurs. From its music, to the quotations scattered on its loading screens, to the great steaming swamp of Jeff Goldblum voice acting, it’s a solid case study in how a studio can get its money’s worth from an expensive license. Jurassic World Evolution 2 is, just like its predecessor, a very capable adaptation of cinema’s most beloved dinosaur franchise. Jurassic World Evolution 2 makes significant changes to the DNA of its predecessor, but ends up right back where it started: a magnificent feat of adaptation stretched over the bones of an inconsistent management game.
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