Zoo Tycoon

"Get lost with your inner animal"

I am not a big PC gamer. To tell the truth, I own maybe three or four, actual games for the PC. But, one game that I do have is Zoo Tycoon. Probably the most decision making game on my list. Zoo Tycoon puts you in charge of your very own park. Everything from the animals, to exhibits, to building food courts, Zoo Tycoon gives you complete control.

You start out with one of many parks to choose from. Your job is to make a fantastic zoo, which will get lots of praise. They will start you off with up to 500,000 dollars, although that lowers the difficulty of the game. You are given ten animals to begin with, and a few different cages and scenery for your animals and guest, vending machines, small bathrooms, stuff to get your park going. And as you get more animals in, and more awards, the more upgrades to things you will receive, and more animals you'll get.

Keeping your park well maintained is a must to. Your animals must constantly be checked up on by animal trainers and caretakers. Everything from feeding them, to picking up their poop. But your animals aren't the only things to take care of. Tour Guides can be hired to show your guest around and help them with any questions they have. Maintenance workers are hired, to help repair animal fences, do daily inspections, and help repair things.

But, none of these things are worth anything, if your animals aren't happy. Keep them entertained with toys, rocks, foliage, and other little things to get them happy. A little too much sand or grass in its cage, will make it sad and mad, and not be as happy as it should. Add other animals, of the same breed, to make babies, or different breeds, to make things interesting and fun for the animals, or so the bigger and more dangerous animals can have a little fun with the food.

Not really much of a story for Zoo Tycoon. The main goal is to build a great and long lasting zoo, and make your guest, as well as your animals and workers happy. But, with the 70 animals you can get, all of the upgrades, all of the environments, and the constant hours of getting sucked in, it causes for some great times.

All of the animals sound alright. Most sound as if the came from one of those kids children's books where you push a button and a sound comes out. They weren't the best sound effects, but oh well, it still made for a kind of realistic play. The guests don't really say much, and are kind of, dull really. Music also wasn't very exciting, and was kind of like an exotic African feel to it.

But, Zoo Tycoon does look pretty good. All of the animals are very distinctive, and although not breathtakingly realistic, they are enough to make you go, “alright.” I wish that the ground terrains and foliage could have been done more detailed, and the fact that a majority or all of the animals' foods looked the same wasn't very cool. But water looks great, the small little details in some things bring out the game, but your guest aren't as much in life, as in Roller Coaster Tycoon.

Zoo Tycoon is one of the few PC games I enjoyed and play often. It can run on pretty much any normal at home computer, so you don't need a new fancy gaming computer to play it. It's fun for five minutes, or for five hours. A must have for fans of the Tycoon series, or for gamers looking to escape for a while. With fun and in depth game play, very detailed graphics, and the ability to play for hours, Zoo Tycoon makes for a wonderful experience.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/04/06