Zoo Tycoon Xbox Version Review

Zoo Tycoon is a business simulation game wherein you are supposed to construct and manage a zoo. The game has been developed by Blue Fang Games and published by Microsoft Studios.  

Graphics —4.5/5

Zoo Tycoon is successful in rendering an exemplifying experience to the players. The simulation of animals and the surroundings look surreal and realistic. Further, the mannerisms of the animals are also well-simulated.

Talking about the sounds, the background score may not appear appealing but the animal sounds like chirps of the birds sound real. You will not witness any hazy visuals or disoriented patterns. Overall, Zoo Tycoon features excellent graphics.

Gameplay —4/5

Zoo Tycoon is a simulation game that deals with the setup, expanding, and maintaining the zoo. The game will test your management skills on how you manage resources and generate revenue. The main motive of the game is to generate revenues by rendering facilities to the visitors. You can purchase animals of different species that will be beneficial in captivating visitor’s attention. Further, you have to develop infrastructure such as food courts, picnic spots, sanitary facilities, and so on.

There are three gaming modes in Zoo Tycoon – Scenario, Challenge, and Freestyle.In the Scenario mode, the players have to accomplish certain objectives within a specified time period. As you accomplish objectives, the items will be unlocked. Thus, this mode is a progressive mode. The Challenge mode is similar to the Scenario mode with the only difference of no time limits. In a predefined budget, you have to complete all the objectives. In the Freestyle mode, you have the discretion of building and managing the zoo. You can apply your management skills to create a replica of your imagination.

Controls – 4.5/5

Talking about the controls in Zoo Tycoon, we felt that it pretty simple to browse through the menu and access all the links. The intuitiveness of the interface and well-defined categories and drop-down menu facilitates effective management of controls.

The categories of animals and other infrastructure in the game have been defined according to the climatic conditions around the world. For example, you can set the infrastructure featuring regions like tropical, tundra, savanna, Mediterranean, temperate, and so on.

Replay Value — 4.5/5

Since there are loads of activities to do rather than just stuffing animals into the zoo, the game holds considerable replay value. In addition to adding animals, you can breed the animals and release them into the wild if the population exceeds the defined limit. You can also take in sick animals, look after them, and earn bonus points for this noble deed. The hassle-free navigation and excellent simulation compel the user to indulge in Zoo Tycoon game for a long period of time.

Conclusion

To summarize, we can say that Zoo Tycoon is a complete package for the players who are seeking an engaging simulation game. The graphics are simply outstanding. Whether its animals, the enclosures, or the facilities; everything looks fantastic.

The game requires you to utilize your imagination and creativity to execute tasks. The three gaming modes are successful in generating interest of the players. However, the limited number of animals may disappoint you.