The action of Jurassic World Evolution takes place shortly after the first film of the same name. Despite the failures of the various experiments tried in the past, now you are entrusted with the management of several new Jurassic amusement parks. The Five Dead archipelago is a perfect playground for this. The game uses the presence of five different islands (plus one to which we will return very quickly) to effectively mark our progress. We necessarily start on Isla Matanceros, whose pleasant and sunny setting is synonymous with low difficulty. Once the local park enjoys a good reputation with visitors, it becomes possible to build on Isla Muerta, which is plagued by fearsome storms. According to the same principle of notation, will then come the turn of Isla Tacaño, which offers medium difficulty conditions. Then you will have to battle with the geography of the tiny Isla Pena, whose cramped nature will not suit all species of dinosaurs. And finally, repossess Isla Sorna, a former abandoned InGen center, which will require you to repair existing infrastructure and reshape the landscape. But the game doesn't just chain islands together like single levels. Ultimately, it actually asks you to manage them all in parallel, and therefore to make frequent round trips from one to the other. Indeed, most of the advanced improvements are only unlocked when you have a given number of parks, while some resources are pooled. In addition to the five islets of the archipelago, the player can quickly unlock an additional playground, which is none other than the famous Isla Nublar. The island of the original Jurassic Park and Jurassic World serves here as a sandbox mode, where we can build our park with an unlimited budget, and without having to carry out specific missions.
WELCOME TO THE T-REX PARK
On the other islands, the player's progress is guided by contracts, which could also be described as quests, to be completed for the three main divisions of Ingen: Science, Entertainment and Security. Completing a mission for one of these divisions, which are both partners and competitors, increases your reputation with it while lowering (to a lesser extent) your reputation with others. It's up to you to choose the right contracts according to your current situation and your objectives, knowing that reaching certain levels of reputation gives you access to new buildings. If this system is generally well done, it still suffers from a flagrant and very surprising lack of coherence. The Security division may, for example, ask you to build a panoramic gallery, when this request would have been classified in the Entertainment category. Even surprise when the Entertainment division asks us to ensure that less than six visitors are killed in the space of five minutes. It seems obvious that this contract should rather come under the Security division. Contrary to this slight brake on immersion, the most studious players will be able to find some more or less educational information at the turn of certain menus. As for Jurassic Park/World fans, they will certainly appreciate that the portraits of certain cult characters make brief appearances during the adventure. Are thus part of the casting Claire Dearing, Owen Grady, Henry Wu or even Ian Malcom. For a few lines of dialogue, the latter is even dubbed by Jeff Goldblum himself (and by his official French dubber for the VF). In the chapters of semi-interesting semi-anecdotal information, we can add that after a crash (which we looked for, the stability of Jurassic World Evolution is not in question), the game gave us the message following: "Oops, looks like Planet coaster has crashed". Above all, it seems that, from a technical point of view, the developers have largely based this new production on their previous one, yes!
RAPTORS DISSIDENTS
However, it would be totally inappropriate to consider Jurassic World Evolution as a simple Planet Coaster mod or reskin. The integration of dinosaurs is not at all detailed, the whole gameplay loop being based on these fantastic creatures. It all starts at the expedition center, which sends teams to search for fossils scattered around the globe. Studying these fossils increases the quality of the genome of each dinosaur race. Once past the 50% mark, it becomes possible to incubate eggs, although it is advisable to raise the percentage much higher so as not to suffer too many failures. Graphically, the game ignores egg hatching itself. But on the other hand, the moment of releasing the adult dinosaur into an enclosure is perfectly staged. The camera zooms closer, the music becomes more intense, the screen shakes under the footsteps of the giants, and it is not without a certain excitement that we witness the first steps in the open air of each specimen. Don't waste too much time admiring the spectacle though, as there are plenty of other things to manage to get a decent park. It is particularly necessary to ensure the well-being of the animals, each type of dinosaur having its own preferences in terms of environment (meadows or forests), population (neither too much nor too little) and diversity. Regarding this last point, avoid placing carnivores and herbivores in the same enclosure. If the former will be delighted, the latter will be decimated at high speed, which will cost you dearly. Of course, you also have to make sure that your living attractions always have enough food and water. If they don't feel comfortable, they will attempt (usually successfully) to break down the barriers and escape, causing panic among visitors. Other unforeseen events are likely to test your reactivity, such as power cuts due to sabotage or devastating tropical storms.
SORBETS & DINOS
Managing the electrical network using power stations, distribution stations and pylons to connect all these beautiful people is part of your attributions. Just like opening and closing emergency shelters in the event of a problem. Guide research options through a dedicated building. Maximize the means of observing dinosaurs for visitors (viewing platforms, monorails, gyrospheres, etc.). Repair the fences and heal the sick dinosaurs thanks to the intervention of teams from the guard post. Or even tranquilize the dinosaurs on the loose thanks to troops from the center of the UC (Containment Unit). It should be noted that it is perfectly permissible to take direct control of the jeeps of the guard post or the helicopters of the UC center, and to shoot the dinosaurs yourself using hypodermic rifles, whether to heal them or put them to sleep. From the jeep it is also possible to draw a camera, in order to take subjective shots which will then be sold more or less depending on their composition. Enough to go on a little safari at a moment's notice! Like a Theme Park, a Rollercoaster Tycoon or a Planet Coaster, it is also your responsibility to attract as many visitors as possible through restaurants and other souvenir shops. However, do not expect to push the management to measure the amount of salt to put in the fries, as authorized by the three titles mentioned above. Here, you have to settle for the selling price of the single item sold in each store, and the number of employees to be hired. This is one of the limits of the game, which offers an extremely starving economic component. Fans of advanced management and Excel spreadsheets will be at their expense. But it is certainly the price to pay for maximum accessibility, the game being perfect for players not yet experienced in the genre.
JURASSIC PORK
It should also be borne in mind that the main interest of the title lies above all in the dinosaurs. Being able to integrate contemporary animal genes into prehistoric genomes in order to modify certain characteristics (attack, defence, life expectancy, resistance, skin color, etc.) remains a unique activity! We can also salute the presence of a nice tool for modifying the terrain, the generally very intuitive interface, the extremely high level of zooming and unzooming, the high quality of the graphics, the absolutely sublime rain effects, and some other strong details. friendly, like the helicopters of the expedition center that can be followed to the limits of the island each time they come and go, whereas so many other games would have contented themselves with making them appear and disappear more or less abruptly. Not perfect, however, the experience suffers from a few shortcomings, such as the almost absurd lifespan of the dinosaurs, which die of old age after two hours of play. Or the total absence of aquatic or aerial dinosaurs, even though hey hold a relatively important place in the films of the license and in the collective imagination. Until we get them in paid downloadable content...
