Jurassic World Evolution 2 (Xbox Live) Xbox One/Series X|S

Jurassic World Evolution 2 is a business management simulation game and also a ‘disaster management game’ according to the creators. And understandably so, given the whole risky premise of the franchise! This game is the sequel to Jurassic World Evolution and a follow-on to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

About the Game

Set in the neo-Jurassic age, you are tasked with constructing a Jurassic Park-themed ground. It must be complete with retail outlets, rides and up to 75 prehistoric species from pterosaurs to ancient marine creatures to outright dinosaurs. The animals will all need enclosures, aviaries and/ or lagoons which must be kitted out with the right types of flora and fauna to keep them happily and safely ensconced in their tailor-made enclosures.

Many of the animals are also highly territorial and will fight for resources if they are allowed to become hungry or needful of anything. They will stake out self-claimed territories within shared pens and these borders can shift depending on their needs and the conditions inside the pens so you will need to be watchful. The AI controlling the prehistoric creatures now has more in-depth detail, allowing the animals to work co-operatively, move in herds and so on.

As well as the animals, you must devote time and resources to research and experimentation to make sure customers want to visit. This means building laboratories and recruiting scientists to keep the animals new and interesting. Do keep your workers sweet too: if they become disgruntled, overworked or underpaid, they’ll sabotage your park, release the animals and generally make themselves a bit of a nuisance in a way familiar to Jeff Goldblum…

You will also need to recruit rangers and vets to look after the animals, as well as building exciting and inviting rides to keep the customers happy.
In this game, you have a choice of biomes: forest, deserts and more, which gives you both more of a challenge and more opportunities than the original game which offered one landscape type only.

The Nitty Gritty

In order to recreate a species, you must extract the DNA and then incubate the resulting creature. You can ‘edit’ the DNA, imparting disease resistance and other unique traits – but do be careful not to make a super-beast that might become too smart and strong for your control!

The whole game requires a delicate balance of intrigue and safety. Achieving and then maintaining that balance is an absorbing and immersive experience. Bear in mind, always: when it seems to be going well it is time to be extra wary! You are surfing on the very edge of the catastrophe curve and it does not take much at all to make it all come tumbling down about your ears!

Uniquely in this game, you are not confined to the park, you can explore the surrounding landscape, giving the game a nicely sandbox vibe for those mindful moments when you need to escape from annoying scientists and annoyed customers!

Your daily activities will include hunting down wild dinosaurs, tracking them using their tracks, poop and damage caused until you find and neutralise the threat – or it escapes and you have to try and relocate it as soon as you possibly can! If it goes well, you whistle up your helicopter, sedate the creature and take it back to your park, where you begin to look after it. But don’t expect gratitude from these rescues – they would much rather eat you!

Ways to Play

There are four ways to play the game, namely:

• Campaign Mode – continues the story arc from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and has you rounding up some of the now genuinely wild dinosaurs as well as completing other tasks too

• Chaos Theory Mode – revisits the key moments of the franchise giving you the chance to see how things would play out differently if different choices were made

• Challenge Mode – gives you a series of challenges to complete as fast as you can

• Sandbox Mode – explore your surroundings, do some research and try out new and exciting rides that you have just built. Typical sandbox fun

Jurassic World Evolution 2 takes you back to the tropical islands where men played God – and very nearly won!