You ever listen to Bob Dylan's Desolation Row? The first time you listen to (if you can recall) you get easily swept away by Dylan's dulcet tones. While you drift off and listen to his story you start to realise that 5 minutes have passed and it's still going... then 10 minutes pass and you are wondering what's going on here, it's hard to take it all in at once. But on the second, third, fourth and every listen from thereon, you start to pay attention to the words, the pace and the journey and you realise that the 11+ minutes almost isn't enough. Jurassic World Evolution 2 perhaps can't be compared to the same quality of Desolation Row, but it does give off a similar feeling.



Like Desolation Row's main theme, there is a certain entropic value to Jurassic World Evolution 2 as you deal with the chaos of the world before you. The first time you load up the game and try out the new campaign mode, you get handheld through the various scenarios and start to learn the game. Before you know it, a few hours have passed and you have the hang of what's going on, manage the missions which are mostly short lived and focus less on the park management side and more on the dynamics of the game. Build a park within a certain budget, capture some escaped dinosaurs. Just your normal weekly stuff.

In [Chaos Mode] you'll play through the basic plotline of all the Jurassic Park movies...

Once you have the basics down, you can head to Chaos Mode. The name says it all really. In this mode you'll play through the basic plotline of all the Jurassic Park movies, but with the premise that you will do things "right". So for example, Jurassic Park 1 has you playing through the original scenario, build your park, get it ready for the public, bring a T-rex into the fold and wait for the havoc to ensue... or perhaps not? In my first play through, everything was a big mess, I mismanaged finances, didn't pay attention to the park structure and before I knew it I was in debt, my dinosaurs were dying out and I had to start again. Take two and the pattern and journey becomes clear to the point where 20+ hours in and I have a fully functional park, more money than I can spend and a park that Hammond can be proud of.



The same goes for all the other scenarios in Chaos Mode, and furthermore in the general Sandbox Mode. No matter where you start off, the game does a great job of getting you used to the mechanics, so long as you are paying attention and have a lot of patience. There is something wonderful about creating a Dinosaur themed park. Sending scientists to learn about Dinosaur genomes, excavating fossils until you finally have the information you need to incubate the eggs of whichever species you want to put in your park.

Bringing these creatures to life in your own park is nothing short of magical.

The Dinosaur aspect of the game is quite easily the most enjoyable. There are so many species available from the infamous Velociraptors to the smaller Compsognathus, fan favourite triceratops (Dino Riders anyone? Just me?) and even Pterosaurs make an appearance. Bringing these creatures to life in your own park is nothing short of magical. The sim dynamic with the dinosaurs adds a lot of value to the experience too. Not all dinosaur eggs are the same as some will produce dinosaurs with different traits. You may get some who prefer to live alone, while others need socialisation. Some of them will attack ranger cars or even each other as they panic in their fenced off areas, while others will be a lot more placid. Managing traits is of utmost importance if you want your park to succeed.



There's also general management of each dinosaur's living area. You will need the basics such as water and a fenced off area, but you will also need to add the correct amount of food, terrain and population size in order to ensure your dinosaurs are comfortable in their new home. Failure to accommodate them will result in fights, broken fences, illness and *gulp* death.

While the dinosaur management aspect of the game has quite some depth to it, and is definitely the highlight, the same probably can't be said for the general park simulation side of things. In this regard you will need to ensure that there is a constant power supply, paths through the park with access to restrooms and emergency bunkers (those severe storms are no joke), amenities including food, drink and novelty stores, as well as entertainment such as cinemas or rock climbing. All of these add to the value and star rating of the park, and of course the income. You'll need happy guests to keep things moving along, and can even place hotels with a view of the dinosaurs to increase your popularity.



From a maintenance point of view you will need a rescue and ranger team and a medical team. These are relatively easy to set up and you can structure patrols within the park so that regular checks are done on your dinosaurs. It's all extremely accessible and even park sim newcomers will find it easy enough to deal with once you get into it.

That said, this is where some of the problems come in. The park simulation is incredibly shallow. You can't, for example, adjust prices on any of your amenities, or even at the park entrance, meaning your profits are primarily determined by the game. Apart from hiring of scientists (expeditions, fossils, eggs and research implications) all your other staff have no depth at all. You need to keep the scientists happy by not overworking them, but everyone else in the park is fair game.

The park simulation is incredibly shallow. You can't, for example, adjust prices on any of your amenities, or even at the park entrance, meaning your profits are primarily determined by the game.

There are no costs for the medical or rescue teams other than making sure they have electricity, fuel and food, and you can set an unlimited amount of these teams so long as you have the finances. The amenities are based on what type of guests are coming to your park, and you'll need to focus on it somewhat in order to improve your rating, but it never truly feels like it actually matters.



Jurassic World Evolution 2 is not without its bugs. In one session the game crashed out on me twice, with my most recent saves having been 10 minutes prior, it was not ideal but also not the end of the world and by no means gamebreaking. Just make sure you save relatively often. There are also some noticeable issues with some of the visuals as you drive through the park with one of the ranger cars or on a park tour and the collision engine can send things sprawling for a minute or two, while at other times you can just drive straight through the dinosaurs, trees and anything else in your way as if they are not even there. It's not a problem, but does take away some of the immersion.

Jurassic World Evolution 2 is not without its bugs.

All in all, Jurassic World Evolution 2 is a fantastic experience. Getting to hear Jeff Goldblum and Bryce Dallas Howard talk you through the projects with some quick quips too is fantastic (let's ignore the Chris Pratt impersonator), and reliving aspects of the Jurassic Park stories is well worth your time. If you have any interest in the franchise or dinosaurs themselves then you are in for a treat. The recreation of all the dinosaurs is excellent and you can see a lot of detail has gone into their makeup.



Jurassic World Evolution 2 is by no means perfect, it pales in comparison to some of the other sim type games with its lack of options in certain aspects, however, if you are looking to have a more casual - yet still challenging - sim experience, and you want that Jurassic Park theme, then you shouldn't think twice about picking this up. Like Dylan's Desolation Row, once you understand it you'll gain that full appreciation for it, just prepare for your time to disappear as you get lost in the experience.

*Review code provided by Frontier Developments