"Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis"

VU Games

A good intro to strategy play that's more than just a skeleton of a game.

Reviewed by Rob

A movie to game translation is always a questionable proposition. Often, the movie sets the tone for the game and often the game fails to deliver. "Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis" takes on the challenge with a movie that's 10 years old and an unquestioned blockbuster. That said, Operation Genesis takes great pains to incorporate movie elements into a park building simulation that delivers on the basics of the genre but not enough details to measure up to the Jurassic Park name.

Like most games, Operation Genesis comes with a campaign in addition to sandbox play. If you've ever read my reviews before, you know that I generally avoid the scripted campaigns and prefer to make my own way in the virtual world via sandbox play. This review continues that fine tradition. That said, let's address what's good and not so good with this game.

The game casts you in the role as the manager hired by INGEN to build and manage Jurassic Park. You have an eight person management team comprised of the cast of Jurassic Park including Drs. Hammond, Grant, and Sattler in addition to an annoying character named Ray Arnold whose dialect is grating on several levels. These characters will send you a surprising number of emails throughout the game apprising you events, opportunities and accidents. While the messages are important to keeping all aspects of the game covered, the sheer volume at times is a distraction.

You start by making tweaks to the landscape of the island itself, if you choose, before putting down buildings. The graphics in Operation Genesis are of the quality you'd expect from a game released today which puts it ahead of Roller Coaster Tycoon 2. The buildings, vehicles, landscape and dinosaurs are well animated and a joy to watch. The animal AI is well done and provides a good show as you watch the velociraptors entrap their prey.

Moving around this smooth environment, however, is far more of a challenge. Surprisingly, one of the shortcomings I experienced with this game was the navigation control. While you can zoom in very close, the overhead view doesn't quite give you everything you need. Also, the camera seems "tethered" to the island in some way which can result in your seeming to "turn" if you shoot off to far in any one direction. Mouse control is another surprising shortcoming. The cursor and cursor movements reminded me of the DOS based games of yesteryear. If you're anything like me, you'll find yourself using the hotkeys a LOT while playing.

When it comes to building out the park, Operation Genesis takes a very standard, safe road. The number and type of buildings, facilities and dinosaurs you can create are engaging but basic. Hopefully, an expansion set will provide a greater number of buildings and facilities (the dinosaur set is cool but who doesn't want more if we can get it).

During the game, players can jump into a tour balloon, ranger copter or safari jeep to get a close up view of the happenings within their park. It's a nice touch that lets you get beyond the omnipotent position we normally enjoy in these games. Should you fancy yourself a shutterbug you can also take pictures from the balloon and jeep. If you land a nice dino shot, it'll be added to the marketing portfolio for your park which puts cash in your pocket and increases attendance.

You're also presented with the standard set of horrible events that challenge your park management abilities. These range from sick dinosaurs in need of injections to hurricanes sweeping the island to dinosaurs breaking free and rampaging through the park. The quickest way to avoid being crushed by one of these events is to build the emergency shelter and learn the hotkey for the Emergency Close feature. This feature sounds an alarm throughout the park that sends your guests running for the shelter or the front gate. It also keeps you from being fined for every guest killed during the emergency. They may still die but you won't be punished since you warned them (if only life worked so cleanly).

Dinosaur management is an interesting aspect to this game. With the proper research or by purchasing DNA on the open market, you can build a host of dinosaurs. One of your biggest decisions is if you're going to put herbivores and carnivores together. Keeping them apart increases the "fun" factor among your visitors for those who enjoy seeing herds of animals playing and grazing together in harmony. However, should "thrills" be more your desire, adding carnivores to the mix is the way to go. While you'll get an increase in your thrill rating you'll also spend more on herbivores (since they're being eaten by the carnivores). Researching, creating and managing your dinosaur population is the unique touch that gives Operation Genesis a defining trait from the other park building fare on the market.

All in all, Operation Genesis is a good game for those new to the genre. It provides solid play, a unique element in the dinosaur management function and cool features in the first person elements of flying the ranger copter or riding in the hot air balloon. If you're a well seasoned park building gamers, you may find Operation Genesis to be a bit too introductory for your tastes. The limited tech tree, difficult navigation and annoying information management features will get old for anyone who's been around the park building block before.

Given that, I give Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis a "Buy" rating.

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Official site: Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis

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