Okay, so a lot of times I have pointed out my issues with the game, and stated a lot of what I want to see different. But it does seem a little unfair on Frontier to only pick on the negatives or the missing without at least acknowledging what they did oh so right.
Graphics: Absolutely gorgeous. The island itself looks pretty, with foliage and leaves not only looking good but reacting to both weather and the helicopters blades, swaying appropriately. The rain looks nice and looks like it hits and bounces off things correctly, the water looks good and overall, it is a treat to see. The dinosaurs look amazing too, and every sight of them really does give the feeling that you are looking at a living creature with the wonderfully made animations. Sure they are not historically or even movie accurate at times, but there is no denying they are made really well from a design point of view and great to unlock to witness.
Sound: The sound is spectacular, having the movie like sounds playing when an important event like releasing a dinosaur really feels like you are in the movies. The voices are well done, even of the non Goldblum variety.
Sound is often looked past, but can really put a game together. They did a great job with this.
Gameplay: I love the return of fossil extraction. It is a great way to eat up your funds from a management perspective and direct your park into how you want to build it giving a great feeling of progression. Some are not keen on the wait timers, but who extracts fossils in seconds? It feels right to me. Then there's the Genetics. Okay so there needs to be more than a few colours and basic stat boosts, but to have a control on your attractions and a risk at their viability is a great way to introduce another management mechanic in the dinosaurs themselves and a change to the treatment of them when released.
The controls (when not breaking) are easy and simple. The UI needed a tad work for locating things like selling dinosaurs, but I never felt lost. The controls are second nature. The vehicles where a nice surprise. Not only can we drive them, but for a park builder game, I did not expect the level of control you have with them. I was expecting a stiff, difficult to turn, annoying experience with only the view making it worth delving into, but it moves nice and smooth and the ability to tranq and take pictures is a much desired feature implemented.
Dinosaurs: It has a nice variety and each type feels unique, making their management and care challenging. I would like each dino to have a bit of randomisation for character, but what is here is done well. I don't need to talk about how good they look and sound as I mentioned it before but it gives me a chance to reiterate how well they do.
Overall the game truly is a Jurassic park/world game. It gives the feeling of the movies and is probably the main thing that draws so many too it. The small details with the graphics and animation really does show how much the devs are fans and if more complete the game could not be beat.
I know I may not be particularly happy with the whole outcome, but I have to give credit where it is due, and I hope to see this game improve over its life. So congratulations Frontier on all the good you managed to build in this.
Now please please please fix the bad
Graphics: Absolutely gorgeous. The island itself looks pretty, with foliage and leaves not only looking good but reacting to both weather and the helicopters blades, swaying appropriately. The rain looks nice and looks like it hits and bounces off things correctly, the water looks good and overall, it is a treat to see. The dinosaurs look amazing too, and every sight of them really does give the feeling that you are looking at a living creature with the wonderfully made animations. Sure they are not historically or even movie accurate at times, but there is no denying they are made really well from a design point of view and great to unlock to witness.
Sound: The sound is spectacular, having the movie like sounds playing when an important event like releasing a dinosaur really feels like you are in the movies. The voices are well done, even of the non Goldblum variety.
Sound is often looked past, but can really put a game together. They did a great job with this.
Gameplay: I love the return of fossil extraction. It is a great way to eat up your funds from a management perspective and direct your park into how you want to build it giving a great feeling of progression. Some are not keen on the wait timers, but who extracts fossils in seconds? It feels right to me. Then there's the Genetics. Okay so there needs to be more than a few colours and basic stat boosts, but to have a control on your attractions and a risk at their viability is a great way to introduce another management mechanic in the dinosaurs themselves and a change to the treatment of them when released.
The controls (when not breaking) are easy and simple. The UI needed a tad work for locating things like selling dinosaurs, but I never felt lost. The controls are second nature. The vehicles where a nice surprise. Not only can we drive them, but for a park builder game, I did not expect the level of control you have with them. I was expecting a stiff, difficult to turn, annoying experience with only the view making it worth delving into, but it moves nice and smooth and the ability to tranq and take pictures is a much desired feature implemented.
Dinosaurs: It has a nice variety and each type feels unique, making their management and care challenging. I would like each dino to have a bit of randomisation for character, but what is here is done well. I don't need to talk about how good they look and sound as I mentioned it before but it gives me a chance to reiterate how well they do.
Overall the game truly is a Jurassic park/world game. It gives the feeling of the movies and is probably the main thing that draws so many too it. The small details with the graphics and animation really does show how much the devs are fans and if more complete the game could not be beat.
I know I may not be particularly happy with the whole outcome, but I have to give credit where it is due, and I hope to see this game improve over its life. So congratulations Frontier on all the good you managed to build in this.
Now please please please fix the bad