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News: Tom Morello stars in Guitar Hero III
Activision has announced that Tom Morello, from Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, will guest star as a boss character in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Click here to read the article.
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Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis
Operation Genesis gives you, the player, an opportunity to build and manage your own Jurassic Park! Your challeneg is to prevent disasters from ocurring and to prove to INGEN and the world that Jurassic Park can be a success. You'll be in charge of everything: building the park, looking after the environment, cloning dinosaurs, and entertaining your guests.
If you have played Zoo Tycoon or any of the Tycoon games than you should have a fairly decent understanding of Operation Genesis. You basically are put in charge of building a successful park with dinosaurs, attractions, security, etc. You'll be in charge of all the details from setting up fences so the dinosaurs don't eat humans for lunch and you'll even set up bathrooms for your guests to "relieve themselves of their stress". This game, even though its a park-builder, should appeal to puzzle and action fans as well, not just the Tycoon fans.
While building, you will have a budget that you can use to buy what you want. If your park is doing well your Star Rating will go up. If you are doing a horrible job it will go down and visitors will not return to your park. Along the way you'll get some help through your Mail Box, this is where your team sends you messages that you should read. Speaking of your team, they are:
John Hammond - CEO of INGEN
Peter Ludlow - Financial Director of INGEN
Dr. Alan Grant - Paleontologist, oversees the fossil-hunting
Dr. Henry Wu - Oversees the DNA Sequencing Lab
Dr. Ellie Sattler - Dinosaur Manager
Ray Arnold - Chief Administrator, oversees maintenance
Robert Muldoon - Park Warden, in charge of the JP Rangers
Jane Powers - Public Relations Manager
Getting around your park is fairly easy with only a few bumps in the road when the camera decides not to be of help to you.
The Left Thumbstick is used for camera movement and menu/interface navigation. Push in the Left Thumbstick to bring up the island map. The Right thumbstick is used for camera rotation and elevation.
A is used to select a unit/get info on selected unit and to check your mail box when alerted of a new message. B is used to deselect a unit.
X brings up the Manager menu where you can choose to build, etc. Y is used to go to your mail box, rotate buildings {in Build Mode) and for unit summaries when a unit is selected.
Start brings up the menu while Back brings up the Objectives. The Left and Right Triggers are used to rotate a building counter-clockwise and clock wise while in Build Mode.
The Black button is used for Quick check, meaning you can quickly check the status of a dinosaur which will display what is on the dinosaur's mind. This also applies to your visitors. The White button has no use.
Visually, Operation Genesis gets the job done well. Dinosaurs are incredibly realistic down to the very last tooth in their mouths. T-Rex as always looks mean and ferocious. Nothing like zooming in on a carnivore feast! The land on which you play on is richly detailed with plants, grass, dirt, trees, and streams. Although the graphics dont take 100% advantage of the Xbox power, its enough. Only downfall is the occassional dip in frame rate. Aside from that, good visuals.
Sound wise, Operation Genesis gets the job done with some change to spare. The orchestrated music really helps the game's action scenes shine. The Main menu song that plays when you first boot up is also wonderful. Why can't more developers go for the orchestra sound instead of some cheesy techno loops and sequences? As far as effects, not many. Dinosaur growls are nice and clear and appropriate for each dinosaur type. Another good effect is the sound of the helicopter, its spot on. As far as voice actors go, there actually quite good. No cheesy exagerated voices, they all go well with their character and their style.
Overall, Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis is a fun game with lots of things to do. Build a park, take pictures, shoot down dinosaurs, and many other objectives and missions. You'll have plenty of replay with this game. Fun gameplay complimented by good visuals and sound make Operation Genesis a game that should be checked out.
Report Card:
Gameplay = 8
Graphics = 8
Audio = 8
Replay Value = 8
Overall: 8/10
Click here for the Jurassic Park screenshots gallery!
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