Zoo Tycoon (PC)

Specifically, you've got to build pens and habitats with an eye toward the needs of each animal species. For example, putting bears in a savannah setting results in depressed, possibly sick, bears. You also have to tend to your human animals by including gift shops, restaurants, drink stands and bathrooms. Then you've got to adopt animals and hire zookeepers to tend your creatures. All of this costs money but cutting corners can result in irate customers and unhappy animals. Unhappy animals bore people, and worse they make it difficult to adopt more exotic and finicky creatures, such as pandas. Happy and well-fed animals will cavort and play, making your guests very happy. And happy guests mean more money for you to improve your zoo.

It's a balancing act, keeping all the animals, keepers and little wandering people happy, but the game is also a decorator sim. You've got to beautify your park and it's easy to forget the specific scenario objectives and lose yourself in building the ultimate zoo. If you ultimately tire of the objectives, you can delete some of your fences and watch the animals run amok on your guests (sometimes, through negligence, they can break free on their own). The carnivores grab, pin, and fling your guests (no blood, and no killing here) and this lowers your zoo rating and dissuades people from visiting for a while. Still, it's great fun to watch.--Bob Andrews

My wife loves it, and she is not normally into computer games at all: it appeals to her design skills, and she is good at figuring out what is needed to succeed (hint: in the early stages, if you want satisfied customers concentrate on giving them food, drink and toilets).

My six year old daughter likes it too, and can cope with it with limited adult help.

And I like it, and I'm usually interested only in historical military strategy games.

So good value all round (we got it free with our laptop, but it means we will upgrade and buy other tycoon games).


zoo tycoon rocks   November 14, 2004
vix (UK)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

Zoo tycoon is one of the greatest games i've ever been on i love the way you have to make the pens and choose the animals. However it would be better if there was a greater variety of animals, enclosures, staff etc. But overall it ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Zoo   August 22, 2004
Zoo Tycoon is a fun, simple game which is easy to dip into and out of. There is a good list of animals, buildings and other objects you can include in your zoos. Plus the excellent idea of being able to download new animals etc off the internet. The game is generally a pleasure to play with small zoos, but when your zoo starts getting bigger money always becomes a problem. I have not yet made a zoo which I haven't had to end because of lack of funds. Also, the animals are unrealistically picky about their enclosures (eg. there has to be exactly the right sand to mud ratio), so although there are some species which are compatable with one another, they are never both happy at once. The animals' pickiness can be really frustrating.
All in all, Zoo Tycoon is really fun in small doses, but take too much and it gets frustrating.


-Amazing!!-   June 26, 2004
HJ Bird (England)
2 out of 6 found this review helpful

This game is amazing you can control the zoo of your dreams & best of all you can get hippos which I love.This is a great game also I would recommend that you also get Marine Mania to go with it.You won't be dissapointed with this game.