Zoo Tycoon

"A game that captures all the fun of the Zoo, without the horrible smell!"

First off let me say, i'm a huge ''God-game'' fan. I love controlling every aspect of how a city/zoo/amusement park, or whatever, will grow. I love managing funds, building things, improving upon things, its good stuff. Anyway onto the review!

Graphics 7/10
They're functional, as with most god-games. Everything is seen from a single 3D perspective. The crowds that funnel in and out of your zoo are varied quite a bit, from the little kids, to the grown ups. The animals (and there are quite a bit) are represented well in the game, from cheetahs to penguins. Other things, like fountains, bushes, trees, fences and other little details are done very well also.

Sound 6/10
The animals sound like animals. The sound effects are decent. The scarce music is okay. Nothing incredible, nothing detrimental.

Control 10/10
Its hard to mess up controls on a point and click game. The user interface is clean, and easy to navigate. The icons are easy to decipher as well. Building objects, and animal pens is easy as pie.

Gameplay 9/10
Yes, we've seen this game before. The formula is the same, build a successful zoo/theme park/skate park etc etc, but it still works! This game is alot of fun. The added ''twist'' to this game, if you will, is building the perfect habitat for your various animals. For instance, the cheetah likes having savannah grass in its pen, also a bit of dirt, and some rocks. You can balance the formula correctly with help from the ''Zookeeper'' guide for the animal. Once you have the perfect pen, and the animal is happy, people will take note, wandering over near the pen to snap pictures of the happy animals. A male and female animal can also make little baby animals (If you're asking yourself, ''How can this be!? Go ask your parents about a long overdue chat they should have with you), anyway the baby animals can be sold, or kept to grow. Once you reel in the zoo-goers with the fuzzy cute animals, its time to set up the shops and lighten their wallets with the Elephant T-shirts and $5 sodas. Another cool features are ''Private Donations'', which are sometimes awarded to you if your zoo is particularly beautiful, or if somebody had a great time.

Replay Value 8/10
There are hidden animals to unlock. Lots of different scenarios for you to try, and of course, tearing down a few walls of an animal pen and watching them stampede at the patrons as they flee in terror :P All in all a very solid game, even if its a clone kinda game. The formula has been done, granted, but the differences in this game make it that much better. Also there is a program that will let you create your own animals, neato.

Final Score 8/10
Must try for any fan of god-games.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/22/01, Updated 11/18/02