Summary
One of the best simulation games ever... and definitely the cutest one!
The Good
I must admit: I really love animals. When I first heard about "Zoo Tycoon", I though: "At last, a zoo simulation! How come nobody thought of this before?" Well, surely Jim Leonard knows of some shareware zoo simulations produced by obscure companies, known only to experts like himself, but unfortunately, I could never find such a game, although I did browse the net quite desperately. Anyway, it is finally here - "Zoo Tycoon", the ultimate zoo simulation!
"Zoo Tycoon" stand on top of my all-time best simulation games list, together with the great classic "Transport Tycoon". I'm really not a fan of simulation games, but those two really hooked me. I can't help thinking it was because of their actual contents: public transport is my big passion, and so are the animals. But then again, in what other simulation game can you find such a perfect combination of gameplay, graphics and sound as in "Transport Tycoon"? The famous games "Civilization" and "Sim City" aren't even coming close. Okay, probably I'm not being objective. Still, "Zoo Tycoon" impressed me at first sight, and the more I was playing, the more I enjoyed. Everything in "Zoo Tycoon" is of the highest quality - whether the crisp, detailed isometric graphics, the information about various animals or the realistic gameplay. The designers have put a lot of care into this game. Although the animals are small, you can see how their movements are natural. A tiger scratches his back with his hinder paws just like a real tiger does. A lion is walking here and there in his cage, an elephant is calmly standing and only moving his big ears. It is fun just to sit and to watch the animals, like in a real zoo.
The educational part of the game is immense. You can learn about animals from this game as much as from visiting a real zoo. Each animal is supplied with a brief description: where does it live, what it likes and what it doesn't like, what he eats and what are its enemies. And believe me, you'll memorize all those facts much more quickly than by visiting a real zoo! You'll firmly remember which animal prefers savanna grass and which one small bushes, who likes tall fruit trees and who dislikes sand. The game takes its task seriously, and it is good so. You can't put a jaguar and a goat in the same cage, nor can you place an elephant in a 3 m² exhibit. That is, you can, but then the animal will be unsatisfied, and so will be the guests, which like seeing happy animals. By the ware, taking care of those noisy guests is at least as hard as meeting the wished of other animals - those behind the bars. They will always find something to complain about: one needs to go to the toilet, another one is suddenly hungry and will leave your zoo angry if you don't build a burger stand for him, a third one thinks there aren't enough animals in your zoo (right, as if it is YOUR money I spend here!), and so on. A large part of the game is building all kind of attractions for the guests, from simple benches to giant aquariums.
The amount of detail and customization in the game is amazing. I remember how I enjoyed giving towns and stations my own names in "Transport Tycoon", but in "Zoo Tycoon" it even goes further. Everything, literally EVERYTHING can be named by you: every snack machine, every exhibit, every animal, every guest. You can see all possible statistics of each single animal: whether he is hungry or not, healthy or ill, whether he needs company or satisfied with its current marital state. It is great to see how your zoo is constantly growing and drawing more and more attention, how crowded the pathes become, and how you can supply your animals with better provision and care.
The game allows you to choose between different campaigns, but I always choose the unlimited option, where you can just build in peace as much as you like (as long as you have money). But I suppose other missions would be more suitable for other players, who like competition, challenge and time-limit.
With time, you'll get different awards for your zoo, that's really a great feeling. Finally, "Zoo Tycoon" has one of the best in-game puns I've ever seen. You start with a short tutorial, where different options are shown to you. You should just do what the game tells you in order to learn the usage of icons and commands. At the end of the tutorial, the game advises you to demolish a side of a lion cage. The lions escape and all the visitors run away in panic. And the game tells you: "You see what happened! Why are you listening to stupid tutorials?!"
The Bad
Maybe a little bit more of various animal species? Especially monkeys :)
More music would be nice, too.
The Bottom Line
Great simulation game, and those who like animals simply MUST try it! After "Transport Tycoon", this is my favorite simulation. Great educational value and lots of fun.
