Building A Dinosaur Park In Parkasaurus: Dinoluxe Edition
It might sound like fun, but it’s pretty well documented how risky it is building and running a dinosaur themed visitor attraction. Still, that hasn’t stopped the folks at Washbear Studio, who offer exactly that opportunity in Parkasaurus: Dinoluxe Edition.
This strategy game all about dinosaurs has finally made its way over to Xbox, complete with the Sea Monsters and Prehistoric Wonders DLCs. This means there are over forty breeds of dinosaur you can exhibit in your park, from the cute little Dodo right up to a Megalodon, with many requiring different biomes in which to house them.
However, there are a few steps you’ll need to take before getting your hands on those dino eggs, and hatching them in their brand new exhibit space. Firstly, you’ll need to send a team on an expedition which takes the form of a portal. This allows them access to dig sites that will yield footprints and fossils which are crucial for getting your own dinosaurs. The dig itself plays out like a game of battleship, with you blindly searching for the crucial components. Each of your expedition team has a different tetris inspired shape with which to dig, so using the correct combination to carefully reveal your find is important, otherwise it will be damaged beyond repair.
Once you have what you need from your expedition, the next step is to purchase the corresponding gem. Once you have all these elements, you’ll be able to get your hands on that dino egg. This means it’s time to set up your exhibit, recreating the environmental conditions appropriate for the species.
Keeping Dinosaurs And Visitors Happy
It’s important to make sure that the terrain and foliage is correct, as well as adding feeders, toys and other decorative items. Doing so will keep your dinos happy and improve the experience for your visitors, resulting in better reviews and more donations. Of course as with any enterprise, that cash is always needed.
Money is earned mainly from park entrance fees and exhibit donations. However, you can throw a range of food and drink vendors into the mix alongside information kiosks, or simply a place to sit and have a brief rest before exploring the rest of the park.
Most of the cash you earn each day accumulates into a piggy bank, which is added to your total the day after. This does feel like an odd choice, limiting what you can do at pace and if you are cash poor, it really slows down the gameplay in Parkasaurus: Dinoluxe Edition. However, if you’re stuck you can head to the bank to trade valuable resources or cold hard cash for what you need.
Science, Hearts And Research
Namely, science and hearts are the most important resources in Parkasaurus: Dinoluxe Edition. Firstly, science can be acquired by setting up a science building (makes sense I guess), and putting a professional to work. This will slowly generate the resource, and extra deposits can be found on expeditions. More can also be found as rewards by filling out your DinoBook, according to the species present in your park.
Hearts are provided simply by making your dinosaurs happy. Each has a detailed panel of stats for review which will help you make the necessary changes with which to do this. There are all sorts of factors, such as hunger, loneliness, space to roam and even privacy. If you do decide to pop in some long grass, and drop in a companion, your dinosaurs may get on so well that they decide to mate.
Anyhow, science and hearts are essential for unlocking new expedition locations, which in turn unlock new dino eggs. They also come with their own respective research trees, which add a whole manner of things such as buildings, facilities, decorations and even hats, to ensure your dinosaurs always look dapper.
To keep track of everything happening in Parkasaurus: Dinoluxe Edition, your office space is equipped with what you need. It’s here where you can view medical reports to help care for dinosaurs who fall ill, flick through the DinoBook and hire new staff members. As well as the aforementioned scientists, you’ll require janitors, veterinarians and security guards. If you find your dinosaurs on the loose, feeling unwell or your guests making a mess, it’s these staff members who will spring into action.
Parkasaurus: Dinoluxe Edition Controls And Presentation
Parkasaurus: Dinoluxe Edition is fairly simplistic in how it looks, but that doesn’t detract from its charm. It may be bold, bright and suitable for all, but it’s still a pretty game to look at. Plus, it’s clear to see the difference between the biome themes, as well as the legendary creatures themselves. To keep tabs on the comings and goings in the park, your camera can be rotated by ninety degrees at a time and is equipped with a powerful zoom. You can even step into the shoes of one of your zookeepers and snap into first person mode to explore the park that way, or if you need to safely tranquilise one of your dinosaurs before moving it. However, selecting the correct item with the cursor is very, very fiddly because it’s nowhere near accurate enough. One example of this is when I wanted to hatch my dinosaur but several trees which I had placed earlier were in the way. I couldn’t select the dinosaur at all, it kept locking on to the tree which meant I had to destroy it. The same problem persisted in numerous different situations and it was infuriating.
Fiddly Terrain And Cursor Controls
On the subject of fiddly controls, the terrain tool is just as bad. Raising or lowering the ground is ultra sensitive unless you use the smart terrain option (I do not know why the other exists), and the flatten tool is crucial to keep things on an even keel. You’ll need to drag across the area you want to flatten though, otherwise it just won’t work. Despite many hours playing, I couldn’t for the life of me master how to make a smooth incline for my guests to walk up, so I just flattened everything.
Scenarios, Sandbox Play And A Lack Of Challenge
The world of Parkasaurus: Dinoluxe Edition is a fairly big one, with a good many scenarios marked on your map. Completing these will earn you rockets, depending on the speed you nail your objectives. Once you have achieved your initial set of goals, you can then choose to develop your park further to earn more, or move to the next location (providing you have enough rockets of course). Rockets also allow you to purchase gameplay boosts, such as how fast eggs grow or how much money guests will spend. If you fancy jumping into something of your own making instead, the creator mode allows this, acting more like a sandbox as opposed to a pre-built scenario.
Parkasaurus: Dinoluxe Edition introduces different elements gradually as you play through each park, meaning the learning continues hours after the initial tutorial level. Despite this, it can still be confusing figuring out how to do certain things in the game, such as moving dinosaurs between exhibits.
As far as strategy sims go, Parkasaurus: Dinoluxe Edition is much more forgiving than most, allowing you to take things at a slower pace. So much so that it lacks any substantial challenge, or jeopardy. You won’t be hit with multiple crises at once, or any real curve balls like with other strategy sims. Even if things aren’t right, there aren’t any serious or immediate consequences to deal with, resulting in no real pressure. Your dinosaurs and your guests will make it clear what they want if they aren’t getting it.
A Charming But Limited Strategy Sim
As a result, Parkasaurus: Dinoluxe Edition will clearly not be for everyone. It’s chilled out and relaxing to play, but at the same time very, very easy, which is something that makes it less likely to hold your attention. I guess in the end it comes down to just how mad you are about dinosaurs.
Parkasaurus: Dinoluxe Edition really is a charming if limited strategy sim which has finally made its way to Xbox, albeit with some issues. Despite playing like a PC game from the late nineties, it doesn’t quite match up to those which inspired it.
Important Links
Parkasaurus – Dinosaur Theme Park Mayhem! – https://www.thexboxhub.com/parkasaurus-dinosaur-theme-park-mayhem/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/parkasaurus-dinoluxe-edition/9nv849pxzm1s
