Developer: Blue Fang Games Publisher: Microsoft
Reviewed by Irony on 1/7/02

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First Impressions:

Graphics:

The graphics are wonderful, but we've pretty much come to expect that from these games. You can zoom in and out by one order of magnitude, and while a closer look at some of your animals might be nice, you don't really feel slighted by those options. It's the attention to detail that is so delightful: buy your African Elephants a Swinging Log Toy ($1,200 at better Log Toy retailers) and watch them knock the log around with their trunks all the live-long day. The animals each meander around according to their habits: your happy Thompsons Gazelles will bound about, while your Chimpanzees will climb on their Chimpanzee Climbing Bars and make faces at the guests (I haven't noticed any poo-throwing, but I tend to keep my animals pretty happy). The terrain has a rich, textured feeling to it, and overall the graphics serve the game well.

Sound/Music:

Here's another area where Zoo Tycoon shines: the sounds each animal makes, and even the crowd murmur of your mobbed guests are realistic and clear. Cats will complain loudly if they're unhappy, and you can pick out their whining from the other ambient noise of the game. Baby animals will make different sounds from their parents, and I challenge the most hard-hearted of game players to not fall in love with even the adorable Warthogs (an animal probably well served by the lack of a close-in view). Every building makes a noise, too, from restrooms with flushing sounds to the animal theater with oohs, ahhs, and applause. Some of the noises, the Ice Cream Stand bell in particular, can become annoying due to constant repetition, but the noises only occur when the buildings in question are in your "view," so stay away from the Ice Cream Stand area and you won't have to worry.

Gameplay:

The interface is extremely well designed, with a smooth inviting look and soothing green color scheme. A toolbar on the left side of your screen allows you to access purchasing menus for adopting animals, giving them shelters, and buying them nice toys, or building walls and paths, buying foliage, and modifying terrain to suit your world. One button lets you buy buildings and things to make your guests happy, and another lets you hire staff members, from zookeepers and maintenance workers, to tour guides to show off the highlights of your zoo. The bottom left corner shows you a minimap (very handy, since the auto scroll is slow and can leave you feeling lost) which you can click on to move about, and gives you zoom and rotate controls. There's also a button to take snapshots, which the game stores in a folder for later viewing. Along the bottom of your screen you see the month and year of the scenario, your budget (so often in the red), and other useful information, as well as buttons for checking on exhibits, individual animals, and the thoughts your guests are having. All of the menus are nice and intuitive, although certain features take some exploring to discover.

There's research to perform as well. Players can research endangered species, adding animals like the White Bengal Tiger and Okapi to their available animals. You can research better training for your staff members so they can perform their tasks more quickly and efficiently, and you can research "Animal Houses," which are buildings where animals too small for their own exhibits are housed. Research the Insect House, then research new "programs" for it, like Venomous Spiders. Those programs cost money, but they make your visitors very happy.

The only real quibble I have with game play is with the terrain feature. In the opening scenarios, you apply terrain one "square" at a time. Later, you're applying blocks of four "squares". When you have a large area to cover, this can be really dull. A feature which allows you to hold down a key while clicking to fill an entire exhibit with one kind of terrain would be, in my opinion, a nice change (similar to buying wallpaper or carpeting for an entire room in The Sims). This isn't a big enough complaint to hinder my enjoyment of the game, however.

Enjoyment:

I'm addicted to this game (possibly the highest compliment a gamer can give, I think). I've found the scenarios challenging, and the feeling of accomplishment when I best one is real and warm. I get a swell of pride whenever my animals give birth, or when the thoughts of guests (you can see their thoughts in a small window if you like) are all about how happy the animals look or how much fun they're having.

One of the little details I really like is the ability to name practically everything. From the exhibits themselves (default names are Exhibit 1, Exhibit 2, etc., but I prefer "Crocadilly Dale" or "Elephant Esplanade"), to the animals ("Oleg the Ostrich" has more panache than "Ostrich 2", right?), to your staff members (I usually have at least one "Jeff Corwin" running around), to any building in your zoo!

The ability to name everything only adds to the game's real draw: its utter cuteness. Your animals cavort and gambol and do all the things cute animals do, they make their growls and meows and roars, they lounge on rocks and climbing trees, and they make little animals, and I love every minute of it. I like to make them happy and watch them frolic. When one is unhappy I do everything in my power to change that. Every once in a while, when I'm feeling naughty, I open one of their cages and watch the guests scream and flee from the rampaging (in a really cute, not very violent way) tiger or polar bear or even penguin (when your animals escape, the zookeepers shoot it with little tranquilizer guns and then lock it up in a cage until it's returned to a safe exhibit).

Multiplayer:

There is no multiplayer for this game.

Overall Impression:

If you can't already tell, my overall impression of the game is very favorable. [Editor's note: We get that. Now return your sister's Christmas present to her. :)] A lot of research and work obviously went into its development, and I wouldn't hesitate to say there's some love in there, too.

When you adopt your animals, an information button will give you a textbook-style entry detailing the animal, its habits, and its experience in the real world. The game's web site lists information about real life zoos in addition to game news. Another thing I love about the game is how much I learned about the animals, and I felt like I was participating in my own education more than when I simply watch "Animal Planet." More than any simulation/strategy game I've played, Zoo Tycoon seems to care about its worthwhile subject, and its design and game play will make you care, too.

Marketing Efforts Towards Women:

No specific marketing efforts towards women are evident; however, the game itself is very well balanced in terms of gender representation. Guests include men, women, and children, and the staff you hire (zookeepers, tour guides, and maintenance workers) seems to be made up of equal amounts male and female (the female zookeepers have little ponytails). The game seems designed to appeal to all animal and conservation lovers equally, and that's the best of all possible gaming worlds, in my opinion.