If you’ve ever had the insatiable urge to run your own college campus full of scientists, clowns and even medieval knights, Two Point Campus finally gives you that power. In a typical management simulation, you are omnipotent, controlling individual campuses and determining the fate of hundreds of students.
While it may seem stressful – keeping everyone happy and students achieving high grades – Two Point Campus strikes the perfect balance; it’s easy to pick up and play, but hard to master. Anyone familiar with the predecessor Two Point Hospital knows that the lucrative three-star rating is hard to come by, but when you finally hit that milestone, it’s very rewarding.
In his preview, assistant editor Alex Donaldson believes that Two Point Hospital is a well-deserved successor to an all-time great. The greatest theme hospital ever. While I’d love to agree, I’ve never played Bullfrog’s classic game. In fact, I don’t like hospitals at all, and even Two Point Hospital—as charming as it is—makes me feel incredibly lost. However, the two-point campus is now striding forward and opening its doors, and I’m finally able to appreciate the value of these games.
Running a college campus feels particularly enthusiastic. The Two Point campus doesn’t take itself too seriously, but is still vibrant and captures the college experience in a rather whimsical way. Don’t get me wrong, I myself never experienced pumpkin head health in college. This is one of the many annoyances students may have when running your fourth wizarding campus. However, I did experience the persistent dissatisfaction that half of my students seemed to face.
Even though my students still get thirsty or flush the toilet, despite the fact that the drink dispenser and toilet cubicle are within their five compartments, I often get annoyed, but I find this – intentionally or not – in the college experience. It is true. I don’t know about my graduates, but college life feels like complaining about things that don’t need to be complained at all. I feel like my two-point campus college students are almost laughing at me, somehow making my campus worse every time I get a chance to host a student union party.
Two o’clock campus certainly knows this, and when you’re building a new room the radio will go off and you’ll think the developers themselves have taken an interesting business class or two. When the students aren’t getting themselves into trouble and the janitors aren’t fighting with finger guns, Student Radio has all kinds of jokes and skits for you. Additionally, the visualizations allow you to view your campus through various lenses, such as thermal comfort and attractiveness, and motivates me to continually improve my campus where possible. Now, if only my radio DJ stopped openly admitting littering on campus…
The main thing that affects my perception of Two Point Hospital is how bland it feels. My hospital is not that unique, the color scheme is of course consistent with the real hospital, and my rooms have to be prestige with the same small amount of decor to make every room look the same.Even though I ventured further and unlocked more items, the two-point hospital didn’t catch me: I could never build a hospital I feel happy even though my patients Yes Happy.
On the other hand, Two Point Campus brings everything I missed. The changes are simple, but have a huge impact on how vibrant and fun the sim is. What amazes me the most is the sheer amount of customization options; I can do something as drastic as changing the architectural layout of my building, or provide my students with sheets of different colors, and each subject /Classes have their own items so I can make each classroom stand out. No longer does every building or room look the same, I’m really excited to see what unique campuses players build while gaining that freedom.
Another subtle difference between Two Point Campus and its predecessor is where your profits come from and how your success is measured. Instead of overcharging hospital patients who desperately need quality care, I profit from providing a good education. However, the lack of ridiculous misogyny doesn’t go away completely, as there are still staff members who are making them miserable (if you will) and the students aren’t that hard to please! That is, most of your money is spent on employee salaries, and most of your profits come from running a positive campus; a high score means more cash in your pocket, Failing that, you can always take out a loan.
Students in particular also feel more developed. Compared to the two-point hospital patient that comes and goes, your student will (hopefully) stay with you for three years. During that time, you can help them build friendships, join clubs (like my personal favorite, the Power Napping club), and watch them go to class or party recklessly. or both. You’ll never find yourself playing with your thumb as you wait between research projects or school years to pass. There are always interesting people showing up and watching.
Don’t worry that your campus might be too perfect, too fast. Getting a three-star rating is still cumbersome, and the two-point campus will still remain in service where possible. Running a campus, especially in Two Point County, should never be smooth sailing. As the game progresses, you’ll learn more about training staff, providing private tutoring to students, and even providing pastoral or medical services to all of them. Ultimately, there are a lot of things you need to consider, and that’s the only downside of the two-point campus.
As you get into the later stages of the game, and even have your own Cheeseball campus (yes, you heard me…it’s football, but with cheese), you’ll find building the same rooms and doing the same over and over again goals can become repetitive. Luckily, this particular monotony in the game is enough to make me ignore it, and the ability to build a rich campus after completing the first few goals of the school year is sure to overshadow the dull moments. If not, the radio station in Two Point County will surely do its best to keep you entertained during the quiet moments of the school year, and I certainly appreciate the hilarious British humor.
Overall, the two-point campus makes your wildest dreams come true. Whether it’s a dysfunctional wizard or a campus of accomplished chefs, Two Point has learned a lot from its previous endeavors and has used its knowledge to make one of the most engaging and witty sims around. Whether you only have time to spend a few hours or months on campus at two o’clock, you’re ready to be taught about academic absurdity.
