Jurassic Park Games: Operation Genesis Review

If you like dinosaurs and amusement parks, you’ll like Operation Genesis! While most Jurassic Park video games are all about action, Operation Genesis is a strategy-based simulation game that is more like the movie, in that you get to create and manage a dinosaur park. If you enjoyed other sims, like Zoo Tycoon, you’ll find a lot to like about this.

The basic idea is to create a park full of dinosaurs, but there’s a hitch…you have to create the dinosaurs! You send out teams of fossil hunters, and then extract DNA from their finds at your genetics lab and use it to make a species in your hatchery. Another challenge here is that you have to have enough of each species genome to make that species, and each species needs a different amount of bones and other fossil material to make a complete genome. Part of the strategy then is to figure out how much time and money you put into each species.

Once you have a dinosaur or two, you need to care for them. You have to construct enclosures that keep them and your park visitors safe, and build electric fences and other security measures. Sometimes, the dinos can go on a rampage and cause a lot of damage, so you want to have sentries and security cameras to keep track of your beasts (and lots of crew to clean up afterwards!)

Of course you also have to keep your visitors happy. Besides basic things like places to eat and sit, they want to be able to see the dinosaurs…and this is a huge challenge too! You cab build viewing towers, domes and vents. The domes come up form the ground and are inside the dinosaur enclosures, and the vents are built in to fences. What is really great about this game is that it lets you get inside these viewing structures and see what the visitors see, so you can tell if you’ve built a tower too far away, or if foliage is blocking the view.

You can also set up land and air tours for your visitors. The land tour lets you drive the land-cruiser through the exhibits…just watch out for dinosaurs bashing in to you! The air tour is in a hot air balloon, and you can float over the entire park and take pictures, which are scored and then can be sold to magazines for extra park revenue.

The most fun feature is the ranger helicopter. You can build several ranger stations, and each will have its own helicopter. You can fly it and use it to rescue visitors, herd packs of dinosaurs, vaccinate dinosaurs from a safe distance, and even (if you need to) shoot rampaging beasts with a dart gun or sniper rifle.

There’s a little bit of violence so it is rated for teens, but overall Operation Genesis is one of the most enjoyable Jurassic Park video games that the family can play together. The graphics are great, and the gameplay is challenging enough that even adults will get hooked!