Zoo Tycoon Complete Collection PC Review Cary NC

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Introduction

Well, if there is one genre that the PC will never lose to the console world, it is simulations. All you need is a smooth rolling mouse, a less than average spec'd PC and the right balance of patience and passion to get you through. Simulation titles like Sim City and Rollercoaster Tycoon never had much trouble keeping the patience of the player intact with their passion, in other words, we could take all the crap Sim City had to dish because building a city was (usually) fun enough to keep you going. But what happens when you take away that ultimate fun factor, and the simulation continues to assert it self as a patience driven game?

Gameplay 7/10

Like most simulations, Zoo Tycoon Complete Collection gives you the option of beginning with a tutorial, which goes through all of the basic functions in the game, however if you are a previous Zoo Tycoon gamer or are at least familiar with the genre, you will probably already know these functions, or learn them quickly yourself ingame.

Each add-on included basically covers the different types of animals you can have in your zoo. The normal plain version has the common animals like Lions, Tigers, Elephants, mountain goats etc, while the Marine Mania add-on gives you the option of marine animals, like the Killer Whale. The most interesting inclusion in this Complete Collection is the Dinosaur Digs add-on pack, which gives you the option of creating a "Jurassic Park" style Zoo with rampaging Dinosaurs and all. All three have the same fundamental gameplay, but each have their own sort of charm.

There isgenerally two types of gameplay in Zoo Tycoon, scenario gameplay, where you are given objectives and time limits to achieve the certain goals, and freeform mode, which is the mode you would choose should you just want a hassle free game.

Scenario mode is actually quite a challenge. Managing a Zoo of even small scale is hard enough work, but when you have objectives to reach it becomes a much more demanding game to win. On top of this, as your Zoo gets bigger, your troubles become more and more frequent. While you can hire zoo keepers, all they really do is give recommendations when you ask for them, and feed the animals. Somehow Zoo Tycoon needs to relief the stresses a little, because it really does become less and less fun as your zoo grows. Freeform doesn't have as much tension as scenario mode, but it is not without its difficulties. Since I can't really say I had an urging desire to build a zoo in the first place, it is probably the better mode for gamers like me - you want a challenge, but one you can atleast remotely enjoy.

The success of your zoo comes down to two factors, how happy your animals are, and how happy your visitors are. Each of these factors have a branch of further influencing factors, ranging from toilet and seating locations for the visitors, to how much grass you have in an animal's location. Infact, out of the two, keeping your animals is far more important, as unhappy animals will create unhappy visitors, and if you neglect them, you can kiss that 'Zoo of the year' award goodbye.

Now that we've established keeping your animals happy is your number one priority, it must be a piece of cake, right? *Bzzzt*. While you are designing your animal's exclusive area, your are allowed to view its basic requirements, for example, a penguin will obviously require a snow environment. However it is not until the animal has been introduced to its environment will you be able to see what other more in depth factors influence its happiness. For example, making the snow environment for the penguin is not enough, it will need water, different levels of ground, a shelter area, enough space and countless more little features. It would have been nice if the game gave you a much more indepth summary of a certain animal's needs, but as it would seem, it is a trial and error process. A process which, quite quickly, becomes very tedious and repetitive, as you try to figure out the perfect combination of grass and dirt and sand and water, which never seems to make the animals completely happy, or makes one happy, and the other unhappy. Who would have thought Zebra's could be so god damn picky!