There's also the option to make it a co-op zoo - link up with friends who also have the game to tackle challenges and build together. Loosely speaking, the different gameplay options will appeal to different gamers, so there's something for everyone. This means you build up to have more items to place in your zoos. Again, these little fun challenges help you focus on the task and make things more difficult, especially when on limited time or in-game budget.įinally there's campaign mode which is more difficult and gives you unique rewards as you progress through each section. We put the training mode into the hands of a six-year-old and it worked well: she found it gave her not only a guide to the skills she'd need in the game, but also the familiarity with the controls to make it playable.Īside from the freeform building mentioned previously, theres's a challenge mode, where you're tasked with solving a problem or meeting particular criteria. It's long enough to learn all the basic skills, but moves fast enough as to not get stale. First up there's a tutorial 'training mode' that will walk you through the basics. There are a range of different gameplay options in Zoo Tycoon.

It's well balanced so you never feel as though you're limited in what you can achieve. However, to stop the freeform zoo building more or less destroying everything the game offers, you'll have to complete various tasks to get more of the zoo world unlocked. Cash isn't the real barrier to Zoo Tycoon success: you'll also need fame.įame is really the elixir in Zoo Tycoon, because as your fame level increases, so too does the range of exhibits and animals you can place within them.įortunately, the fame counter increases readily enough - if you launch off on an epic zoo building mission within a few hours you'll have a high enough fame level to do most things. You can just settle down with infinite cash and build what you like for the sheer thrill of it. If all this sounds a little expensive then Zoo Tycoon gives you a free building mode. Even better, if refilling feed stations isn't what you want to be doing, you can hire staff to do it for you, if you have the cash. Zoo Tycoon remains approachable without becoming an exercise in administration: you're not so bogged down in the chores that you can't enjoy the fun side of things too - and that makes it all the more suitable for kids too. It doesn't venture into building paths, landscaping, connecting drains or any of those sorts of deep sim-game things, but you will have to make sure your animals and guests are kept happy. The basic premise is to build and maintain your zoo, dropping exhibits into place, fill them with animals and then make sure those animals' needs are met. Zoo Tycoon isn't as heavily involved in the running of the zoo as it is in maintaining the animals.

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