Developed by the original Railroad Tycoon II team, Railroad Tycoon II: The Second Century will feature a challenging eighteen scenario campaign containing modern trains and engines, new stand-alone maps (multiplayer and single player), new industries, gorgeous geographical features, and all new music and video. Players begin in the post-Depression years of the 1930s and establish [...]
Zoo Tycoon 2: Zookeeper Collection Binding: CD-ROM Manufacturer: Microsoft Average Rating: Product Description: Zoo Tycoon 2: Zookeeper Collection lets you dig right in and get your hands dirty, as you do the hardest part of running a zoo -- taking care of the animals! Go behind the barriers and the fences for a truly hands-on approach to the care and feeding of your animals and their environments. You'll gain invaluable insight into the daily challenges (and rewards) faced by your zoo s
Run your school the way you want to in School Tycoon! Build your school, complete with classrooms, administration offices and athletic facilities. Populate the school with teachers, and attract students to your new house of learning. Upgrade the cafeteria, improve the landscaping, and add entertainment options to increase your popularity with the students. Keep an eye [...]
Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP, 233 MHz processor, (300 MHz recommended), 250 MB of hard drive space (600 MB recommended), 32 MB of RAM (64 MB for Windows ME or 128 MB for Windows XP), 4 MB SVGA 16-bit color video card, DirectX 8.0a
Input methods
Keyboard, mouse
For series of video games, see Zoo Tycoon (series).
Zoo Tycoon is an economic simulation computer game developed by Blue Fang Games and released by Microsoft Game Studios. It is a tycoon game in which the player must run a zoo, and try to make a profit. Although first released for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh in 2001, it was ported to the Nintendo DS in 2005. It was followed by two expansion packs, Zoo Tycoon: Dinosaur Digs and Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania, which were released in 2002, as well as a sequel, Zoo Tycoon 2, released in 2004.
Gameplay
The goal of Zoo Tycoon is to create a thriving zoo by building exhibits to accommodate animals and keeping the guests happy. Exhibit building is one of the primary goals of Zoo Tycoon. To keep the guests and animals happy, exhibits should be suitable to the animal; for example, a lion is best suited to a savanna environment. Choices in terrain, foliage, rocks, shelters, and toys all contribute to the suitability of an exhibit and the happiness of the animal. Guest happiness is dependent on animal choice, buildings, and scenery. Buildings may include bathrooms, restaurants and food stands, shops, or entertainment buildings such as movie theaters. Scenery involves aesthetics that raise guest happiness slightly, such as topiary art, lightposts, or benches. Keeping both animal and guest happiness allows the player to gain monetary awards and steady income.
There are three modes in Zoo Tycoon: Tutorial, Scenario, and Freeform. Tutorial teaches the player how to build exhibits and keep guests happy. Scenario mode has the player complete a series of objectives, sometimes within a specific timeframe. These objectives may include achieving a certain guest and animal happiness, achieving a certain exhibit suitability, displaying a certain number of animals, or breeding a certain animal. Freeform allows the player to choose the amount of money and the map that they start with. They are presented with an open lot with a limited selection of animals, buildings, and scenery. As the game progresses, more animals and items become playable. Additional animals and items may be researched, where money is invested to make them playable.
Third-party creations
The success of Zoo Tycoon also led to the creation of new features by fans, both fact and fiction. Mods were created to fix problems with the game and unlock new features. Many of these mods were made possible by an official program created by Blue Fang named Animal Project Editor (APE), which allows the player to easily create one's own animals, with either simply re-naming a premade animal or creating frames for another animal.
Development
Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (April 2008)
Expansion packs and sequels
Zoo Tycoon was created in the wake of the success of the 1999 Hasbro Interactive game RollerCoaster Tycoon, which sold well for many years. Zoo Tycoon did well enough for Microsoft and Blue Fang Games to release two expansion packs: Zoo Tycoon: Dinosaur Digs, which added prehistoric-themed items and animals, and Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania, which allowed aquatic-themed items and animals. Eventually, Microsoft bundled the expansion packs with Zoo Tycoon to create Zoo Tycoon Complete Collection which had the functionality of both expansion packs and bonus content.
Zoo Tycoon 2 was released on November 2004. Although released with fewer animals than Zoo Tycoon, more animals were introduced in its expansion packs: Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals, Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania, Zoo Tycoon 2: Endangered Species, and Zoo Tycoon 2: African Adventure. The latter two were bundled in the Zoo Tycoon 2: Zookeeper Collection.
Reception
Review scores
Publication
Score
Comments
IGN
6.9 out of 10
Passable
GameSpot
7.1 out of 10
Good
GameSpy
67 out of 100
Metacritic
68%
Based on 18 reviews
Game Rankings
70.1%
Based on 26 media outlets
Zoo Tycoon was received with average reviews, gaining an average 68 out of 100 at Metacritic. Positive reviews came from Computer Games Magazine and GameZone, which gave the game scores of 4.5 out of 5 and 8 out of 10, respectively. The more negative reviews came from Adrenaline Vault and PC Gamer. Commercially, Zoo Tycoon did quite well, with 4 million units sold worldwide from its initial release to 2004. It was also one of the top 15 best selling PC titles in the US.
Zoo Tycoon and its compiled Complete Collection also garnered several awards and accolades, gaining the Bologna New Media Prize in 2002. Zoo Tycoon: Complete Collection received the Parents' Choice Foundation Gold Award - 2003, the AIAS Computer Family Title of the Year Interactive Achievement Award - 2004, the Scholastic Parent & Child Teacher’s Pick – 2004, and the Children’s Software Revue All Star Award – 2004.
References
^ abc Zoo Tycoon for PC Review - PC Zoo Tycoon Review. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
^ Zoo Tycoon DS for DS Review - DS Zoo Tycoon DS Review. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
^ Zoo Tycoon 2 for PC Review - PC Zoo Tycoon 2 Review. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
^ ab IGN: Zoo Tycoon. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
^ Zoo Tycoon - Home. Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
^ GameSpy.com - Reviews: Zoo Tycoon (PC). Retrieved on 2008-04-14.
^ abc Zoo Tycoon (pc: 2001): Reviews. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
^ Zoo Tycoon Reviews. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
^ CG Online-- Zoo Tycoon Review. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
^ Zoo Tycoon Review - PC. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
^ GameSpy: Zoo Tycoon Sells BIG. Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
^ Blue Fang Games ~ Awards. Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
