Review: Microsoft Zoo Tycoon

Undoubtedly this one is for the Chrimbo prezzie market; and why not? – better a game than some cheap aftershave I say. Anyway, unless you’ve had your head in a bucket for several years you’ll know the genre this one belongs to. So it won’t need much introduction. Yep, it’s the sim meets resource management genre as epitomised by Sim City, The Sims or Roller Coaster Tycoon. In fact, take Roller Coaster Tycoon and change the scenery to a zoo, add a few twists and you’ve pretty much got this one sussed.

The gameplay

The basic idea is that you have some money, build a zoo, fill it with buildings, animals and amenities and try to make it bigger, better and more profitable. There is either a scenario option with goals laid out for you, or a freeform mode where you pick a bit of land to build on and you’re off. The main things you have to keep and eye on are the animals, the buildings, and the people. Animals need certain conditions to do well, and unhealthy animals don’t pull in the punters. So you have to give them the right size enclosure, give them the right mix of landscape be it grass or rocky, plantation, number of cohabitants, water supply and so on. When you buy animals it tells you a little about them, and you can also click on zookeepers for advice later about what would suit them better, or click on the animal itself to see how happy it is. You need to employ people to keep things running smoothly – zookeepers feed animals and give you advice, while maintenance men stop the place running into disrepair – they also stop the fences collapsing and letting the lions out. Spoilsports J Buildings vary from animal shelters through hot-dog stands, water-fountains and washrooms.

All of the above have to be balanced out to get the best mix. Most animals need a certain combination of landscape to be happy, with a mix of dirt, grass and water for example. Others need very specialised and expensive enclosures. At the same time you have to keep the punters happy while fleecing them for every bit of money you can, both by getting them in the gates and through fast food. It all works quite well and is challenging without being insanely difficult. The inbuilt tutorial is good if you get stuck, and gets the thumbs up from me for not taking too long, or forcing you to repeat stuff over and over.

Graphics, sound and controls

System requirements are low as it isometric 2D in perspective, and while you can change resolution, it really just shrinks stuff to a smaller size if you up the resolution. Having said that the artwork is nice for this type of thing, with the animals moving about in an entertaining manner and the whole thing looks quite impressive once you’ve built your zoo up a bit. The artwork is colourful and suitable for kids without being naff.

Sound is more designed for giving you audio clues as to what’s going on near where the mouse pointer, rather than realism. You move near a washroom, you hear flushing etc. It really just blends in with the game and gives you the feel of the background noises at the zoo – which I suppose means it does its job well.

Controls are pretty much your standard point and click affair with a simple menu bar that pops out of the side when you need to select stuff. It works and it didn’t get jerky even at high resolutions, which is nice as you can’t say that of all 2D graphics engines.

Overall

Won’t set the world on fire with originality, but it’s well produced, stable and fun, and should go down well with the kids or sim fans.