Julie Smyth : 2005
Cool: Are you a control freak? Then this is still the game for you.
Uncool: Game Rating G
The long awaited sequel to Zoo Tycoon has at last appeared. The original game was a surprising success for Microsoft, who believed their target audience was small children, when actually it appealed to almost everyone. Regardless of the audience Zoo Tycoon 2 is all about the 3d graphics and enhanced sound. The 3d animation is quite lovely, even the introduction had me mesmerised. What's that saying? ... 'you had me at hello' ... I think perhaps this game did.
Apart from the graphics, there are some nice new features...
| > | The animals - Because of the sophistication of the 3d animation and the new ability to zoom in, up close and personal, the animals take to life. Each species has their own little idiosyncracies and I found it quite fascinating to watch. |
| > | Photo Mode - You can enter photo mode and stalk the animals to take photos of them. There are photo album facilities as well. |
| > | Donations - I stumbled across a donation box in amongst the scenery items and put one out. The guests, if they're happy, will donate lots of money to help the zoo along. This is great, as in the original game income came in slowly from door and shop takings only. |
| > | Interactive Mode - Reach out and touch the animals in this mode ... you can even groom them up close and personal. |
| > | Animal Details - If you click on an animal in this version of the game you are given access to details specifically about the animal's likes and dislikes in regard to habitat, housing, food and toys. This is a great feature and certainly beats hunting through shrubs to try to find one suitable for a certain animal. |
| > | Landscaping - In the first version if you dug holes or tried to flatten the landscape it would break paths, buildings would rock and all hell would break loose. Zoo Tycoon 2 allows you to build diagonally, up and down hills, bumpy terrain, if a rock is encountered it just leaves out that part of the fence ... so you remove the rock and patch the fence. I found it irritating in the first version to be ploddingly fixing landscape issues instead of playing the game. |
What I miss from the first version of the game is the music and the ambient sounds of a busy zoo. In the opening video sequences they play a modified version of the old theme tune, its okay but a little toned down in my opinion. Once entering a scenario to play, the zoo is surprisingly silent, apart from the odd spate of laughter or chatter. I presume this was done deliberately to cut down on file sizes as the 3d animation is quite hefty memory-wise but it does leave a little gap in the overall enjoyment of the game. A minor point all in all. I found a "music rock" in amongst the scenery and when I plonked one down the theme music played, so I settled for that.
Whilst I suspect that serious gamers will never play this game, it appeals to me (I'm not ashamed to admit it) and it definitely has its place in the simulation strategy genre. The game deserves a thumbs up and would make a good addition to anyone's game library.
Cyber Aspect™ © Copyright 1999-2008 website design by fx digital All rights reserved Contacts | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy