The hit blockbuster movie Jurassic Park brought up an interesting theory: What if we took our advanced technology in genetic engineering to bring the dinosaurs back from extinction and display them for the public?  Why not make it a theme park with rides, souvenir shops and even dinosaur shows that would put those shows at Universal Studios to shame?

In Dino Island this theory is put into practice and the player is the one in charge of deciding what this park would look like and what kind of shows to put on.  Sounds familiar?  For those gamers who have played Sim Theme Park, this concept isn’t foreign territory.  The game pretty much uses the same elements and gives the player full control over every detail.

The main menu reveals two playing modes: Campaign Mode and Free Mode.  The Campaign Mode involves a number of campaign objectives players have to complete before moving on to the next one.  This mode also includes a tutorial and takes you through the basic gameplay features.  Free Mode simply allows players to freely create their own park without the demands of the campaign objectives . . . although you do have to keep an eye on the park’s budget.

Designing your own park was as easy as clicking on the list of elements (buildings, infrastructures, shows and enclosures) and placing them on any open space on the island.  Players must keep in mind that the park is a tourist attraction and it must have all the basics such as refreshment stands, souvenir shops, rides for the kids and even shows featuring the dinosaurs themselves (hey, why isn’t a bathroom included?).

Yet the main attraction of the park are the dinosaurs which are available right off the bat and ready for purchase.  Almost every available dinosaur is offered--from a Triceratops to a Brachiosaurus--in fact, most of the favorites are all present.  Building enclosures for them are a necessity and so is feeding them according to their nourishment demands (naturally some dinosaurs are herbivores while others are meat eaters).  Fail to feed them and they starve to death. Placing the more vicious dinosaurs in the enclosure with the more docile ones isn’t a very good idea either.

You can also play scientist and clone your dinosaurs or even mutate them to create a freakish monstrosity.  There’s also an option to cross breed dinosaurs of different species to create a hilarious mixed breed dinosaur--imagine a Tyrannosaurus Rex crossed with a Stegosaurus . . . whoa, some things weren’t just meant to be put together.

If everything is designed perfectly, players will have a fully operational park.  Still the challenge is keeping everyone happy and the tourists will let you know if they’re satisfied with the park or really disappointed (after all, their money is what keeps your park afloat).  Part of the park’s success is presenting shows--which you can create as well or used the ones available.  Many tourists want to see dinosaurs fight (seen as a comical slap-fest) while others want to see them race or break stuff like old trucks).        

Dino Island is also appealing to look at . . . although it’s far from stunning.  It’s impressive to see as much movement and detail in a game of this genre and the game does a superb job of placing several moving characters without slowing the game.  The selectable islands are filled with wildlife and really look good.  As far as the dinosaurs are concerned, they’re seen as close to the real thing as far as cartoons are concerned.  Yet the biggest drawback is that many of the dinosaurs can look rather blocky for those players that don’t possess a Video Card higher than 16 Megs.

Cartoon visuals usually come accompanied by cartoon-styled theme music and this game is no exception.  African conga beats greet each player as they design their park and often times the music changes when you’re working in the laboratory or when something of great significance comes up.  It’s not bad, really, but the icing on the cake just happens to be the sounds of the park’s atmosphere.  You’ll be surrounded by sounds that range from tourist chatter, dinosaurs during mealtime and the carnival tune that comes from the rides. 

Dino Island is a challenging game that’s both cerebral and entertaining and parents will find this game an excellent introduction to this particular genre.  While the required system specifics are somewhat demanding, it’s still worth checking out.  

Gameplay: 7.6
Dino Island is not a game players can easily jump into without glancing at the instruction manual so make sure to give it a quick review before starting.  The Campaign Mode does come with a basic tutorial, though, and it does a straightforward job of explaining how to set up the essentials (although it completely fails to get into the dinosaur creation process).

Players are free to create the park the way they see fit, but there’s a budget to consider and what a better way to teach the younger kids about economics, right?  There’s also the demanding tourists to please and the dinosaurs themselves to look after.  Often times you’ll be busy tending to as many as two or three matters at a time.

Graphics: 8.5
While not overwhelmingly spectacular, the graphics are wonderfully done.  Even from afar you can see the level of detail that’s on the screen at once and zooming in (you can easily zoom in or out) you’ll be able to see the movement of the tourists as they go about the park like a tiny swarm.  Everything is moving in this game, from birds that are taking flight to the dinosaur feeders making their rounds.  The details are great!

The cartoon-like quality of the dinosaurs doesn’t even take away from the experience.  I zoomed into one of the enclosures simply to watch my two Tyrannosaurs and observed with amusement as they angrily snapped at one another over a feeding dish until one of them slapped the other.  While the dinosaurs do fight, it’s never realistically bloody or overly violent so parents don’t have to worry about exposing their kids to dinosaur carnage.

Sound: 8.6
The soundtrack is playfully made up of African drum beats and Jamaican inspired music that plays throughout the game as you build or simply watch your creations.  It is all pleasant to hear and rarely does it become bothersome and that’s mainly because the sounds of the surroundings overwhelm the background music.

Your island is filled with the sounds you would expect to hear in a tropical environment (e.g. birds and even monkeys).  You can zoom in on a dinosaur and you can hear it as it noisily eats or even breaths.  And the tourists have their own sound and judging by their unusual nonsensical vocal ramblings you can tell whether they’re enjoying the park or really hating it.

Difficulty: Medium
The Dino Island world demands your constant attention and slipping behind on your duties as watcher and manager and your park will find itself in bankruptcy.  One of your dinosaurs could even die from the lack of attention (or because you forgot to hire somebody to feed them).  Essentially the challenge is keeping track of everything from keeping a close eye on what attractions pull in more tourists and which ones don’t.

Concept: 8.1
Inspired by Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park movie, Dino Island is a light-hearted vision of what the park would have looked like if it had been a success.  By being a part of the entire construction process--from the very beginning down to just sitting back and surveying your creation like a god--and even allowing the gamer to have full control over the genetic restructuring of dinosaur genes, the game has all the right elements.

Overall: 7.7
Kids will definitely enjoy building their own park and creating their own mutated dinosaurs down to the last detail and Dino Island allows them to do it all.  With the manipulation of the environment as easy as those seen in games such as Bullfrog’s Theme Hospital, this is a great game kids can start with before moving on to the more challenging Sim titles.

You’ll have to have 400 MB of free disk space and a 16 MB 3D Video Card for best results.