The venerable "match-three-panels-in-a-row" puzzler debuts on the DS with a fun backstory and a few clever twists, including head-to-head play.

Features* Classic pattern-matching puzzler * Great use of touch screen * Two-player versus mode * Intriguing Quest mode

As the story goes, one day the animals in the zoo got fed up with the arrogant zoo boss and rioted. As the zookeeper, your job is to corral the wild life by matching three in a row. The square-shaped animals are distributed in an 8-panel-by-8-panel pen. On the left, your timer ticks down. Gameplay consists of switching adjacent panels. When you match three panels in a row, they vanish, the rows above each move down, and the top of the board is filled in with new panels.

You can switch panels with the A Button, but much, much quicker and far more intuitive is the stylus. Leave it to the Nintendo DS to make a classic type of game feel fresh and new, simply by allowing you to touch.

If you can match four or five panels in a row or eliminate multiple rows of animals at once, you'll get extra points. Chains, which occur when falling panels create three-in-a-row matches, give you even more points. When you eliminate panels, you're also give precious seconds.

It sound a lot like Pokémon Puzzle Attack, but with some very significant differences. Most importantly, you can't move a panel more than one space. If your move doesn't create a row of three like panels, the CPU automatically moves both panels back to their original position. This seemingly minor restriction makes the game feel much more tactical than your typical action-oriented puzzler.

And because the screen is always filled with panels, Zoo Keeper feels like a real mental challenge. Sometimes, there is only one possible match of three in a row. If no panels can be matched, the CPU will automatically switch out all panels.

In the basic single-player mode, you start out with seven kinds of animals: monkeys, pandas, giraffes, hippos, elephants, alligators and lions. IN the first round, you'll have to capture at least three of each, then four of each in the next round, and so forth. As you advance, new animals will be added to the mix.

In the clever Quest mode, your irascible boss will present you with unusual challenges, such as capturing 15 more pandas than giraffes (or vice versa). There's also a Time Attack mode, a two-player Battle mode and "Tokoton" mode, in which your goal is to capture 100 animals.

Various power-ups include a wild card that eliminates all of one randomly chosen panel. You also get a limited number of binocular power-ups, which highlight possible matches.

Bottom Line

A very clever puzzler, Zoo Keeper's makes excellent use of Nintendo DS's touch screen. You'll feel the joy of corralling critters for hours!

Source:

www.nintendo.com

IT'S ALL HAPPENING AT THE ZOO!

**KEEP THE ANIMALS ORDERLY...

LINE UP THREE OR MORE!**

Move a monkey...

Push a Panda...

Captured!

ARE YOU CAGEY ENOUGH TO BE THE KEEPER?

NORMAL

Complete all levels!

PLAY YOUR HEART OUT

You might take a beating!

QUEST

Up to the challenge?

TIME ATTACK

6 minutes and counting to get the highest score!

2P BATTLE

Use one DS Card with two Nintendo DS systems to play

Source:

Back of Case - Nintendo DS (Australia)

IGNITION SIGNS NINTENDO DS™ TITLE

IT'S ALL HAPPENING AT THE ZOO!

GLENVIEW, IL-November 16, 2004-Ignition has secured North American and European rights to publish Zoo Keeper, a puzzler from developer SUCCESS Corporation that will be one of the first Japanese launch titles for Nintendo's highly-anticipated new handheld video game system - the Nintendo DS™.

Using the Touch Screen, players tap the Nintendo DS stylus to swap the positions of animals on the screen to create lines of three or more of the same type. These animals are then "captured," allowing other animals to fall into their place. This easy-to-pick-up and intuitive system is complimented by a unique look designed by the popular the Japanese developer.

Zoo Keeper includes a variety of play modes to ensure that gamers have depth of gameplay. Players also can take advantage of the DS Wireless Communication to play simultaneous two-player modes that only requires one Nintendo DS Zoo Keeper Game Card.

"Zoo Keeper is perfectly suited for the Nintendo DS with its use of both the Touch Screen and wireless communication capability," says Ken Gratz, Product Manager, Director of Product Development at Ignition USA. "Its simple-yet-addictive gameplay will appeal to young and old alike, much like the Nintendo DS itself."

"Ignition is a small, but focused team of passionate gamers who have shown the ability to cherry pick quality games," adds Mr. Yoshinari, President of SUCCESS. "And we are delighted to be given the chance to work with such a team."

Features:* Wireless Communication capability for two-player (Single-Card Play) * Five different game modes * An input system ideally suited to the Touch Screen * An instantly understandable and intuitive game system * Incredible visuals * Highly relevant plot involving an actual zookeeper

Zookeeper will be available late in December for the Nintendo DS system, with a suggested retail price of $39.99.

About IGNITION ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED

Ignition Entertainment Limited is a privately owned software developer and publisher of entertainment titles for the Sony PlayStation 2 and PSP, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and DS, and the Microsoft Xbox. Ignition was created by a core team of gaming industry veterans with the purpose of building upon their successful track record within the international games industry, and to bring a fresh new approach to both the development and distribution of original gaming product. You can find more information about IGNITION ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED at http://www.ignitionent.com.

Source:

Ignition Entertainment Press Release

IN ZOO PUZZLE YOU ARE GOING TO NEED ALL YOUR WITS TO CAPTURE THE ANIMALS WHICH HAVE ESCAPE FROM THE ZOO! TEST YOUR REFLEXES CREATING CHAIN COMBINATIONS IN A BATTLE AGAINST TIME. AND CONCENTRATE ON YOUR LUCKY ANIMAL TO GET THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE SCORES!

Different game modes: normal, catch, score attack, time attack, quest and a fantastic two player cooperative mode.

Capture the animals by combining them in rows of three.

Use the binocular for precious advice.

Unique "Quest" Mode, follow the indications on screen and enter your record in the top player rankings.

Many different and challenging levels.

Easy to play and entertaining, Zoo Puzzle is a game for everyone. The new frontier of puzzle games!

Source:

Back of Case - PlayStation 2 (UK)