Games That Matter ~ PC ~ Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis

Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis

The movie "Jurassic Park" was released in 1993 and became an instant hit. I personally loved the movie. However, most of the titles attached to the license ever since have been below average. Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis provides a little relief.

Imagine Roller Coaster Tycoon, but instead of roller coasters, having dinosaurs as the main attraction. That pretty much sums up Operation Genesis. For those of you not familiar with Roller Coaster Tycoon, you build a theme park full of dinosaurs and other attractions in order to gain money and become successful. Universal Interactive has made the world of Jurassic Park come to life with this new, 3D park building simulation game. My only question is, what took so long?

The objectives are fairly simple. Build a park, earn stars (5 max), keep the park clean, protect the visitors, and make money. Anyone remotely familiar with Zoo Tycoon will immediately have an advantage. Otherwise, I would suggest doing the nine tutorials to save time further down the road.

In the beginning, before anything starts, you adjust an island to your liking. Things such as shape, trees, rivers, and mountains are all flexible. Once the terrain is set, the game begins. You work for a company called IGEN who discovered the dinosaur cloning process. With the island and some money, they expect a well-built park for the newly cloned beasts.

The coolest part of Operation Genesis is having a recognizable panel of helpers. Characters from the movie such as Dr. Alan Grant, John Hammond, and Dr. Ellie Sattler notify you of day-to-day problems in the park.

Excavation teams are sent to dig sites around the world to search for new DNA in order clone more dinosaurs. There are 25 different breeds in the game leaving much to be to be found. Searching takes time, so it's important to work well with what you have. In order to hatch a dinosaur, 50% of its genome is required. It would be wise to get 100% of its genome though because that assures a longer life span for the creature.

The dinosaurs require care and attention to stay healthy. Vaccines must be researched for a fee. All in all, there is a lot to supervise while playing Operation Genesis. In order to simply transfer a dinosaur to a different location, it must be tranquilized. Little extras like that provide a good simulation.

The dinosaur visuals are well done. They are all scaled correctly and look great (Even on MY computer *gasp*). You are able to get up close to all of the attractions and see them as a guest would. And with a well detailed landscape this game offers a nice environment for the park.

The interface is one of the weakest aspects of the game. You'll find yourself aiming for one button and clicking a completely different one. And this game relies on the keyboard way to much for a park building simulator.

There really isn't much to hear in the park when it comes to sound. I would have to label the this category as simply decent at best. The Jurassic Park theme song is used throughout the game which could be bad or good depending on who you ask.

Now that I've explained the park building mode, let me get to the extras. In the mission mode Operation Genesis gives you the opportunity to go on missions ranging from taking dino photos to using a shotgun to fight off crazy T-Rex's. The mission mode was an attempt to make the game well rounded. However, it is quite short, and won't hold your attention very long.

Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis is pretty original despite the theme park concept. To sum things up, it's good, nothing amazing, but one of the better park building games I've seen to date. For any tycoon and dinosaur fans out there, this is definately a good buy.