Build your own dinosaur park in Malta

Maltese movie fans were delighted when the latest instalment in the Jurassic Park franchise – Jurassic World Evolution 2 Dominion – was filmed in Malta. And even more so, when it featured Malta as Malta, the world’s biggest centre for the black market dealing in dinosaurs, fossils and dinosaur eggs.

But the surprises kept coming. Jurassic Park is as big in gaming as it is on the big screen and as a simulation gaming geek, I was extremely pleased when the game developer launched a Dominion Malta expansion pack for the hugely popular Jurassic World Evolution 2 game, available on PC and consoles.

I got mine as part of the Jurassic World Evolution 2: Dominion Bundle on Steam, but the DLC is also available as a standalone pack.

As in the movie, this DLC pack takes gamers to Malta to explore the underworld of the dinosaur black market. This expansion is a significant addition to the base game and comes with its own campaign mode, new dinosaurs, and new gameplay features that dedicated fans will definitely want to experience.

The campaign ties in nicely to the movies – it’s not an essential story by any means, but fans of the franchise will appreciate the lore-building that goes on.

In campaign mode, you’ll head to Malta and attempt to manage multiple dinosaur facilities across three locations, one of which boasts a natural lagoon. You will discover spectacular new prehistoric species, three new islands and detailed Malta-inspired buildings.

Create all-new parks containing a range of exciting buildings with a film-inspired theme, including the new Acquisition Centre, viewing gallery, hotel, and more. Seat your ranger, MVU, and capture teams in new-style vehicles, and add fresh decorations to make your parks stand out. All Malta buildings are available to use in sandbox mode as well.

New dinosaurs, old faces

The previous Dominion Biosyn Expansion felt like the first must-have DLC for Jurassic World Evolution 2, and the Dominion Malta Expansion is pretty much the same: If you love the base game and crave more dinosaur action, you’ll love this one too.

There are four new dinosaurs to meet this time around: the Atrociraptor, the Lystrosaurus, the Oviraptor, and the Moros Intrepidus. As you’d expect, they’re just as lovingly created as the other dinosaurs in the game, although they’re all quite small creatures – they’re certainly not going to make the same impression as a Tyrannosaurus Rex or a Quetzalcoatlus.

When Jurassic World Evolution 2 was released, it featured the use of characters from the movies, and it’s nice to see that trend continue even in the Malta DLC. Familiar faces in the Dominion Malta Expansion campaign include pilot Kayla Watts, Velociraptor trainer Barry Sembène, and even Soyona Santos, with their actors returning to voice them and adding authenticity to the campaign.

The Dinosaur Exchange

One of the biggest new features of the expansion is the Dinosaur Exchange, which lets you buy various dinosaurs like the new Oviraptor. It’s a nice replication of the night market seen on screen in Jurassic World Dominion, where your purchases will influence trust levels – take in a bunch of dinosaurs rescued from poachers to give your trust with the authorities a boost or buy from shifty breeding programmes and get cozy with the underground.

Sellers also have ratings to indicate how trustworthy they’ll be at delivering on their promises, which makes the whole thing feel a little bit like shopping for rare collectibles on eBay. Overall, it’s a welcome addition that provides a quicker (but sometimes riskier) method of acquiring new dinosaurs.

You can further influence your trust levels with the Authorities or the Underground by completing monthly contracts, which are offered at regular intervals. These contracts can be anything from keeping your dinosaurs disease-free or encouraging your territorial creatures to start more fights.

These features are all welcome additions that help recreate the feeling of actually running your own dinosaur park in Malta, with all of the obstacles and moral dilemmas that would come with that.

Add to that the fact you’re playing in Malta, with detailed Maltese buildings, our typical weather and dry terrain, and as an avid simulation gamer, I couldn’t really ask for more from an expansion to an already awesome game.