Despite their entire population being wiped out by an asteroid around 65 million years ago, interest in dinosaurs is still high among people in the 21st century.
The best way to experience the legendary beasts is through the Jurassic franchise, which all sprouted from Michael Crichton’s science fiction novel, Jurassic Park, in 1990.
One of the latest entertainment offerings in the much-loved franchise is Jurassic World Evolution 2, a simulation game for PC from Frontier Developments.
Many believe that the title released in late 2021 is an improvement on its 2018 predecessor.
Many Agree That It Is The Best Dinosaur Simulation Ever Made
After the initial success of Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park in 1993 and its successors, there have been various related offerings across a range of platforms.
Games about the dinosaur-themed universe started in the 1990s, and there were numerous options for consoles like the Sega Genesis and the Nintendo Entertainment System.
When Jurassic World was released in 2015, it raked in $1.6 billion at the box office and reinvigorated audiences’ interest in the franchise. Subsequently, Jurassic World Evolution was released for PC three years later.
The concept of the game was a business simulator that allowed players to create their own versions of the dinosaur theme park featured in Colin Trevorrow’s picture.
It took place on Las Cinco Muertes Archipelago, featured more than 40 different dinosaurs, and allowed players to mutate genes to create new species.
Players had to perform a diverse range of tasks to progress in the game, as they gradually built up their own sprawling dinosaur parks.
By 2020, Jurassic World Evolution had sold more than three million copies. Despite its commercial success, the reception from critics was mixed.
While most people liked the design and graphics, they weren’t as keen on the management and learning curve of the title.
It seems that Frontier Developments have managed to improve on these downsides in Jurassic World Evolution 2.
The 2021 release was met with a much stronger critical response, with some saying that it’s the best dinosaur simulation game ever made.
PCGamesN said that the dinosaurs in the new release were the most gorgeous creations ever seen in games, but pointed out that the downside was in the often uncontrollable disasters that can have an adverse effect on player enjoyment.
What Are The Key Features Of The Game?
The common theme in all the Jurassic films to date is that a disaster occurs, and the characters come up against escaped dinosaurs.
In Jurassic World, the protagonists first explore a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, but things quickly take a turn for the worse when the genetically modified Indominus Rex manages to break out of its pen.
Jurassic World Evolution and Jurassic World Evolution 2 follow this idea. They allow players to create a theme park but also introduce instances of breakouts that then need to be contended with.
This can be an enjoyable or frustrating aspect of the games, depending on your viewpoint.
Aside from the catastrophe aspect, Jurassic World Evolution 2 follows a world-building business model found in many other games from Sim City to Rollercoaster Tycoon.
It is an improvement on the game that came before it because it features more than 75 types of dinosaurs this time, including marine reptiles.
It also has a dynamic territory system that adds an extra element of intrigue to how players have to design their worlds.
If two or more species are placed in the same environment, they will have to compete with one another for space and resources.
How Else Can People Experience The Jurassic World Franchise?
It’s easy to see the appeal of Jurassic World Evolution 2 for lovers of PC games, but for other dinosaur fans there are preferable ways to experience the Jurassic franchise outside of the world of simulations and games.
Of course, watching the movies is the most popular way to enjoy seeing the ancient creatures brought back to life.
However, there are other ways to supplement the silver screen offerings and get an even more detailed view of the world that Crichton created.
The American author unfortunately died in 2008, but he would be pleased to see that the themes that he came up with are still going strong to this day.
Indeed, the prevalence of the Jurassic movies in popular culture has led many viewers to Crichton’s books.
The writer initially released Jurassic Park in 1990 and The Lost World in 1995, but the two books were rebranded in the form of a single novel as Michael Crichton’s Jurassic World in 1997.
There are other entertainment options that allow dinosaur lovers to see the beasts from the films in another light.
For example, fans can play the Jurassic World: Raptor Riches and Jurassic World Betway slots which feature some of the most-loved predators from the pictures.
In the Pokémon Go-inspired mobile offering Jurassic World: Alive, users can walk around and see augmented reality projections of dinosaurs in everyday surroundings.
With these options being successful, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a vast number of future titles.
Many of these will most likely coincide with the release of Jurassic World Dominion in June this year.
Jurassic World Evolution 2 is a massive improvement on its predecessor, as it has many more species and has fixed some of the faults of the first game.
However, it’s not the only way to experience the Jurassic franchise.
You can view the dinosaurs in other forms of entertainment like slots, mobile games for Android, or read about them in Crichton’s original novels.
