Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis (PC)

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Making park visitors happy is the other half of the equation in running a successful dinosaur zoo. There are four primary types of visitors: mainstream consumers, who are easily amused; thrill seekers, who enjoy seeing carnivores hunt; fun lovers, who like seeing herbivores play in large herds; and dino nerds, who are the most demanding and become upset if dinosaurs from different eras are kept in the same pen (this obscure information is also kept in the dinopedia). The visitors also have standard needs, so you'll want to build basic amenities like restaurants and benches.

The most challenging aspect of Operation Genesis is creating your park in such a way that your dinosaurs can be seen by the visitors. There are only a few types of structures you can build for visitors to see dinosaurs. These include viewing vents, which are built into the fences; viewing towers; and viewing domes, which are built into the ground inside of dinosaur pens and accessed by tunnels. One of the most impressive features in the game is the ability to get into a viewing vent or dome yourself and see what your visitors can see. Sometimes a tree may be blocking a vent, or you may have placed a tower too far away from centers of dinosaur activity--getting into these structures in the first-person mode can give you clues as to why specific vents and domes are popular or unpopular.

The most unique features in Operation Genesis are the ranger helicopter, the land-cruiser safari tour, and the hot-air balloon tour. Every ranger station you build in the game comes with a helicopter that you can control. In a helicopter, you have the ability to perform a number of tasks, such as lowering a rescue winch to pick up lost visitors, using a herding device to herd wayward packs of dinosaurs, and shooting dinosaurs in the first-person mode. You're not always shooting to kill--sometimes you'll need to vaccinate your animals, and this is done by firing darts from a helicopter. But once in a while, you'll find a pack of carnivores on a rampage, and that leaves you no choice but to kill them all by sniping them from the ranger helicopter. And if you don't want to get your hands dirty, the game lets you assign ranger helicopter tasks to the AI, which does a competent job of hunting and shooting.

The safari tour and balloon rides are similar to the viewing structures because they feature a first-person perspective that lets you get closer looks at the dinosaurs. In the case of the safari tour, you have control over the vehicle and where you drive, though you need to be careful, because angry dinosaurs can smash the car. The balloon is a safer ride, and it's even possible to snap photographs while on a balloon tour. Each photo is assigned a score depending on composition and the number of species in the photo. From time to time, your park's public relations manager will sell the photographs to a magazine, which is another revenue stream for the park.

Operation Genesis has three modes of play. One of these is a set of a dozen action-oriented missions in which you sit in the land rover or the helicopter and kill rampaging carnivores, rescue park patrons, or herd loose herbivores into a pen within a specific time limit. These missions are extremely easy and can be beaten in a matter of minutes. There are also "exercises" that offer more open-ended play, like building a park with a set of specific goals that must be achieved, such as displaying specific species or achieving high popularity scores on certain rides. Finally, the game includes a sandbox mode, which allows you to create your own island to build on.

Even though children will be attracted to Operation Genesis because it has dinosaurs, parents should take note of the ESRB "T for Teen" rating on the box. There's some blood in the game--carnivores can kill livestock, other dinosaurs, or park visitors if they get loose. You'll also need to put down rogue dinosaurs from time to time by shooting them. The violence is never gratuitous, but parents may want to consider these facts before getting this game for a young child. For dinosaur fans who are mature enough, Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis provides an enjoyable experience, with attractive graphics, strategic gameplay, and unique features that provide up-close looks at the dinosaurs in action.

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