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Jurassic World Evolution: a successful consumer management game – our review

I have always dreamt of being John Hammond and going on a crazy spending spree. (“We spared no expense.”)

With Jurassic World Evolution, that dream can now come true! The game didn’t have the best of timing, as it had to be released in the middle of the E3 expo, so as to coincide with the premiere of “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.” Nevertheless, with Frontier Developments at the helm, it was inevitable that the game would attract considerable attention, especially after the success of Planet Coaster. The combination of a theme park construction and management game and the “Jurassic Park” universe is the stuff dreams are made of! The only problem is that the latter has a tendency to suffer by comparison.

Jurassic World Evolution Download Now

Forget about Planet Coaster

Let’s begin by making one thing clear: don’t expect to find another Planet Coaster in Jurassic World Evolution. If Planet Coaster allowed users to build incredible creations from scratch, Jurassic World Evolution rivals that with the inventive objects available in the game, as well as being much more interactive, and much less orientated towards creation. The same is true on the management side, as the game´s crowd system has been simplified, although that isn’t really important, because by sacrificing these aspects which are so specific to Planet Coaster, JWE has gained something even more invaluable: the gameplay is really easy to grasp.

Simple gameplay, yet still full of interesting details

I have spent a lot of time playing Planet Coaster, and I have to admit that starting new games is difficult, as you have to waste lots of time with the learning curve. JWE has the advantage of being fun even in the first few minutes of play, and the game mechanics are really easy to get used to, whether that be for building the park or sending archaeologists abroad to collect and extract the DNA which will be used to create different types of dinosaurs. The more intricate details of the game are equally as easy to pick up, such as making sure our dinosaurs can’t escape by enclosing the arena with electric fencing or the different services on offer to visitors. The terraforming tools remain basic yet effective.

Too easy?

Simple gameplay and easy mechanics doesn´t necessarily mean the game is easy. With 5 different islands to manage, the game becomes increasingly difficult and taking care of the dinosaurs, looking out for storms, tornadoes, power-cuts, or sabotages in the three different game factions makes conquering the gameplay towards the end all the more interesting. Completing missions to gain the loyalty of the three factions offers a small bonus point. The only big criticism I have with JWE is that once you understand how it works, you end up playing each new island using the same strategy that helped you conquer the previous ones. Despite that, the pleasure of seeing your Triceratops, Raptors, T-Rex or Diplodocus leave their enclosure never gets old.

Clever game

It is clear that Jurassic World Evolution has been designed as a consumer management game. Smooth, free of overly complex gameplay elements, offering the possibility to control the Jeep or the staff helicopter by yourself, or undertake many other interactive activities. The game needed to please everyone, staying true to the Jurassic Park license, and the end result not only boasts amazing graphics but also leaves you wanting more, going back to play again and again, even after this first test review was written. It might sound stupid, but when you have to test several different games, you often end up abandoning the one you´re playing to start the other, but I know that this won’t happen with JWE.

Did we see the next generation of consoles on show at E3?

For this year’s E3 bingo I went against all of my best instincts and filled in one of my squares with a PS5 teaser. Sony had been on record as saying they’d be having a relatively quiet E3, but I just couldn’t help myself. Predictably, the teaser never came, and a promising line that included Big Super Smash Bros. expo, Fortnite on the Switch, and Fallout 76 being a prequel was blocked off.

We never got an explicit teaser of Sony’s next-generation console, but maybe, just maybe, we were teased by games that we will see on the next versions of PlayStations and Xboxes. We’ve had some breathtaking gameplay action to drool over for games that still don’t have potential release dates. Are these games going to come out on the next generation of consoles from Microsoft and Sony?

Let’s have a look at some of the games we’ve seen at this year’s E3 that might find a home on as yet unconfirmed hardware:

Next-gen console games at this year’s E3?

1. The Last of Us Part 2

The follow up to Naughty Dog’s impressive post-apocalyptic outing will be back, but we don’t know when. The sequel got an 11-minute showcase in a temporary cinema to show off its impressive chops. The demo included a cutscene filled with teenage hormones and some fiercely brutal gameplay action. We’ve been told that the screenshots came from a PS4 Pro, but it seems strange that Sony isn’t shouting from the rooftops about how good the game looks on their current top of the line console. This could well end up being a launch title for the PS5.

Bethesda’s biggest announcements from E3

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2. Halo Infinite

The Halo Infinite showcase that Microsoft used to kick-start its expo that this year’s E3 was more of a technology demonstration than a trailer for a particular game. In an accompanying blog post, entitled “Our Journey Begins,” 343 Industries makes it quite clear that the 6^th Halo game chronicling Master Chief’s adventures is still only in early production. Furthermore, the new tech 343 is showcasing with the trailer is the new Slipspace Engine. The Slipspace Engine is allowing 343 to show a huge step up on anything the Halo series has offered before so there is a good chance that it could be a much more powerful Xbox that is running when Master Chief finally pulls his helmet on again.

3. Death Stranding

Death Stranding, from Kojima Productions, is one of those games that keeps showing us more as teaser after teaser comes out, but always offers more questions than it does answers. Hideo Kojima himself wrote a lengthy blog post about the development of Death Stranding, but didn’t mention a release date. This has led a lot of fans speculating about whether Death Stranding will end up being a launch title for the PS5. We wouldn’t be surprised as it looks very very good indeed.

Oh yeah, if you can figure out what the hell is going on it all of the Death Stranding teasers, we’d love to hear your take. Hit us up in the comments.

4. Cyberpunk 2077

CD Projekt RED, the developers behind the amazing Witcher 3, has been promising a futuristic follow-up RPG game for some time now. At E3 we got a whole host of info about Cyberpunk 2077, but no release date. We know that the main protagonist will be V, players will be able to completely customize V to their own tastes, and that the game will be a First Person RPG. We don’t know when it’ll come out but with CD Projekt RED saying stuff like “Our technology is ready to interface with future generations.” It could be a safe bet that we’ll be seeing V take to the mean streets of 2077 on the PS5.

Xbox at E3: 2018

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5. Elder Scrolls VI

This one is a given, but we’re excited about it here so we’re adding it anyway. In essence, Bethesda simply announced that they were making a game that they were definitely going to make anyway and added nothing more. The teaser gave away next to nothing and will have fanboys combing over it for years until we get another morsel of information about the latest game in one of the best RPG franchises ever. What Bethesda did say, however, is that they’ll be launching a brand new franchise, Starfield, before they bring us Elder Scrolls VI. The teaser for Starfield had even less to offer than the Elder Scrolls teaser though so we probably won’t be seeing that for a while either.

What did E3 tell us about the future of Fortnite?

Everybody knew that Fortnite would be announced for the Nintendo Switch at E3, and nobody was disappointed when it was. Fortnite on the Switch is already available as free download from the Nintendo eShop and players have already started playing the world’s most popular game.

Something else that we’ve learned over the last few days is that Fortnite now has over 125 million players. That vast number is even more incredible considering the game has only been out for less than a year. Incredibly, the free-to-play Battle Royale version of Fortnite has only been available since September.

Fortnite’s huge numbers come from the fact that it is a true free-to-play experience. Paid extras, like skins to dress up your avatar and dance moves to emote with don’t give players an unfair advantage. Another factor will be the fact that Fortnite is available on most major platforms including iOS. Fortnite’s release on the Switch means that Android owners are the only people who can’t play Fortnite. Epic Games say they are looking at a summer release for an Android version of Fortnite so we can expect to see Fortnite player numbers swell even further as, according to Google, there are over 2 billion active Android phones in the world.

Fortnite: Battle Royale Play Now

Some bad news for Fortnite fans, however, is that Sony has decided to block cross-platform play between PS4 and Switch. This means players won’t be able to continue their Fortnite sessions on the fly, using their Switch, if they began on the PS4. More disturbingly, Fortnite accounts, with Epic Games, linked to the PlayStation Network (PSN) can’t be accessed from the Switch. Players on the Switch won’t have access to any of the skins or emotes they’ve accrued using their PSN-linked Epic accounts. It has been confirmed though that Fortnite cross-platform play will be possible between Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Mobile. Quite rightly, Fortnite fans aren’t happy about Sony’s position here.

The last big bit of Fortnite news from the last couple of days comes in the form the first ever Fortnite World Cup. Qualifiers will begin in the Fall, with the big competition taking place towards the end of 2019. There will be no franchises or teams for sale with the action open to anyone, which means you can enter. With a prize pool of $100 million, it could be a good time to start practicing and honing your skills. Epic said:

“What about the specifics? The $100,000,000 will be split between many events at different levels of competition around the globe. Fortnite World Cup play will focus on Solos and Duos, but there’ll be plenty of opportunities to squad-up in competition, too… Rules, Player Code of Conduct, specifics about platforms and Fall 2018 schedule are on the way. If you’re interested in learning more about Fortnite competitive play sign up…”

To sign up for the world cup, go to Epic’s blog by clicking here.

Lots of big Fortnite news then. Some good, some bad, but one thing is clear Fortnite is going to keep getting bigger and bigger for some time yet. Which story do you think is the most exciting? Let us know in the comments below.

Alexa, fatally harm mud crabs…

Boom! E3 has kicked off, and we’ve already been bombarded with big announcements about the biggest video game franchises. As always with E3, however, we’ve been getting some of the wall announcements straight out of left-field. The best announcement so-far has to have come from Bethesda who’ve poked fun at themselves in an ingenious way.

It has been a running joke for years now, that Bethesda has stopped making new games, instead concentrating on porting the hugely popular RPG Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to different platforms. As well as PC, PS3, PS4, and Nintendo Switch versions gamers have been mocking up fake versions of Skyrim for everything from your smart kettle to a pipboy from Bethesda’s other popular RPG series, Fallout. With a host of new games announced including two new Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and a brand new franchise called Starfield; Bethesda was in a strong position to poke fun at their recent Skyrim porting history. That’s right, there is a brand new version of Skyrim available, and you can play it on Amazon Alexa.

With the trailer announcing other versions for your etch-a-sketch, Motorola pager, and a Samsung smart fridge it seemed to be a joke announcement. In fact, Skyrim on Alexa is very real, and you can play it right now. Repeat after me, “Alexa, open Skyrim.” Now go enjoy the adventure.

What to expect from Ubisoft at E3 2018

E3 is well underway. We have already seen some promising games at the Microsoft event, and we’ve been tantalized by the faraway Elder Scrolls 6 and Starfield from Bethesda. There are still many more announcements to come from E3 with a lot expected from the imminent Ubisoft expo.

What we expect to see at the Ubisoft E3 event

One of 2018’s E3 stars will no doubt be Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. What has NOT been leaked about this game? We know that it will take place in Ancient Greece, that there will be two playable characters, that players will advance through the game in a non-linear fashion (there will be multiple regions to liberate from the Templars).

We’ve even had a lot of images of the game leaked already:

It looks something like a sequel to Assassin’s Creed Origins.

The other game that we hope to learn more about, and that has already appeared in the Microsoft conference, is The Division 2. The developer of the series, Massive Games, promises to fix all the errors from the first game and offer something with more endgame content and with free content at least for the first year after its release.

More news: a more elaborate plot, the Dark Zone 2.0 (where we can meet with other players to face more powerful enemies) and, of course, a Battle Royale mode.

We also hope to learn more details about Beyond Good & Evil 2, the excellent sequel to Michael Ancel’s masterpiece. During the last few months, we have seen some footage of the game in action, but we’ve been promised gameplay for E3. In addition, Ubisoft has defined the game as “a GTA in space”, which sounds pretty exciting!

These are the games that we can expect to see at the Ubisoft event of this year’s E3. Of course, we’re dreamers though, and we’d love a surprise or two like a new Splinter Cell, another Prince of Persia, and what about Watch Dogs 3? What games do you want to appear in the Ubisoft conference? Leave us a comment!

See what Xbox announced at E3 2018

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Bethesda’s biggest announcements from E3: Trailers, announcements, and more…

Bethesda made some really big news at their E3 event this year. Huge announcements included the publisher’s first new franchise in 25 years, an Elder Scrolls sequel in the mix, an Elder Scrolls RPG coming to mobile, multiplayer Fallout, and a new Doom game. Let’s have a look at everything in a bit more detail:

Starfield

Starfield will be Bethesda’s first new franchise in 25 years and will take Bethesda into space. The teaser didn’t give away too much, but we’re told by Bethesda that it will be a next-gen experience, which means we probably won’t see it until the next generation of consoles hit the shelves.

The Elder Scrolls VI

Yes, you’re reading that right. Bethesda announced the next game in the Elder Scrolls series, which will be the follow-up to the incredibly popular Skyrim. Like with Starfield, Bethesda didn’t show us much more than a title, but it was still an exciting moment. Elder Scrolls VI won’t be coming until after Starfield though so you shouldn’t expect to see it any time soon.

The Elder Scrolls Blades

For those wanting a fresh Elder Scrolls experience sooner rather than later, however, Bethesda has Elder Scrolls: Blades. I had Skyrim: Mobile on my E3 bingo card and I’m claiming this one as a win as it is a stand-alone Elder Scrolls mobile game. It’ll be free-to-play, and the action will center around a returning soldier who finds his hometown in ruins. Tasked with rebuilding the town and playing through tasks given by NPCs, players will even be able to visit their friends’ towns. The first-person RPG will be out in the fall.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood

The new Wolfenstein game will be set in the 80s with players taking on the mantle of BJ’s twins. Accordingly, the Nazi killing action will be played out either solo or in co-op mode. Wolfenstein: Youngblood should be out next year.

Doom Eternal

The sequel to Doom promises twice as many demons as the last Doom and the delightful prospect of “Hell on Earth.” That might mean the game will transfer us to a universe where Liverpool won this year’s Champion’s League final but it probably means that there will be a portal to hell opening up somewhere on our home planet. The trailer seems to indicate the latter. Bethesda will be releasing more info and running a gameplay livestream at Quakecon this August.

Fallout 76

Not strictly a new announcement, but Bethesda did flesh out some more details about the latest game in the Fallout series. It will be an online multiplayer game, but the world will only include dozens of other players rather than hundreds like in MMORPGs. The game will be much bigger in scope than Fallout 4 and the graphics will be much more impressive. The gameplay will improve on the base-building mechanics introduced in Fallout 4, and players will be able to nuke each other’s bases!

Other news

Bethesda announced that Prey has received a huge and free update. The update includes a New Game+ mode, a survival mode, and an “infinitely replayable” DLC.

Xbox at E3: 2018 – Watch the newest game trailers for Halo Infinite, Battlefield V, Gears of War 5, and more

E3 is underway and Xbox got the chance to throw the first punches. The biggest news is probably that a new Xbox is in development. Actually, make that Xboxes, plural. Microsoft says they’re working on multiple consoles. You have our attention, Microsoft.

As to the games announced at E3, we’ve rounded up the trailers for the most anticipated upcoming adventures, so take a look and let us know what you’re most excited for in the comments below!

Want to watch the whole Xbox presentation? Check it out here:

Microsoft will allow linking of Xbox and Discord accounts

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6 old PC games that are still entertaining

At Softonic, we’re feeling a little nostalgic. Now that summer is here and the days are getting longer, we’ve got more leisure activities than ever, from going to the movies to playing video games. This got us thinking about old PC games that are still entertaining. Here’s a list of six titles you can’t miss.

Monkey Island

What’s there to say about the famous pirate Guybrush Threepwood that hasn’t already been said? Monkey Island completely redefined the genre of graphic adventure to such an extent that it launched LucasArts to stardom. Names like Ron Gilbert, Tim Schafer, and Dave Grossman came into the media spotlight and become famous in a hurry.

The game was released to the market in 1990, so we’re nearly celebrating its 30th anniversary of sales!

The Secret Of Monkey Island Download Now

Lemmings

This game has really straightforward mechanics that still make an impression on players. In Lemmings, we have to lead a group of small rodents to an end point. The key is to do it without losing them, by creating some routes and avoiding others. Launched in 1991, it had more releases later due to its success.

Lemming Download Free

Sim City 2000

The year 2000 is so far away, right? For many of us, the year 2000 was a far-off date that would bring flying cars and mind-blowing technology. Now that we’re in 2018, we know we might have been overly optimistic. However, the idea of Sim City 2000, launched in 1994, was to build a state-of-the-art city. Although its graphic interface shows its age, Sim City 2000 is still entertaining.

Simcity 2000 on the Internet Archive access

Age of Empires

In 1996, Ensemble Studios launched Age of Empires, a strategy game that didn’t have much impact during its development, but once it hit the shelves, completely took over the real-time strategy game genre. The title was a huge success and still has thousands and thousands of active fans (of the original game, no joke). Its success has been so enduring, a 2018 remake of the original was launched with a new aesthetic look.

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition Download Free

Wolfenstein 3D

The saga is more alive than ever thanks to new versions of Machine Games, and this is largely because of how well it maintains the essence of the original 3D Wolfenstein. Created by id Software in 1992, the adventure puts us in the shoes of Lieutenant Blazkowicz. The goal: to put an end to the Nazis and the experiments they’re carrying out in a mysterious castle.

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Half Life

It couldn’t be any other way: our list ends with Half Life. This year celebrates the 20th anniversary of the first release, a milestone in first-person video games. Today, the development of a third part is still being requested. What if they surprise us at E3 this year? One can always dream…

Half-Life 2 download demo

Goldeneye 007 and other N64 classics could be coming back to your living room

Last year around this time, in the run-up to E3, certain Nintendo patents were doing the rounds on the internet. The patents back then were for the SNES mini-classic. Nintendo officially announced the retro console mere weeks after the patents started showing up everywhere. This is all relevant because now we have new Nintendo patents popping up all over the internet, and this time they’re indicating that an N64 Classic Edition retro console could be on the way.

The discovery of these latest Nintendo patents comes from the guys at the Japanese Nintendo fan site. They found a trademark application in Japan for the N64. There isn’t much more information regarding the N64 on the application, but the timing of the discovery and the historical precedent indicates a new retro Nintendo console could be on the way.

If there is a new Nintendo console on the way, the logical time we’ll get an official announcement will be Nintendo’s live E3 stream. You’ll find all details of the Nintendo event, which will be taking place on June 12, here.

Without any official announcement, we can’t tell you what games will be on the N64 mini, but we can tell you what we’d like to see. Goldeneye 007, Perfect Dark, Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, and Super Smash Bros. are all classics in our eyes. If Nintendo releases a mini console with those games included, we’ll be hard-pressed not to get involved and hook one up in the office.