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Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us Scroll down for our Kid Factor. ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoonﾔ with giraffes and monkeys? In January 1998, I downloaded a game demo for a rather small little title named ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoonﾔ. It promised to be little else than amusing update of Bullfrogﾒs ambitious, but disappointing ﾓThemeparkﾔ, . The demo was only available online, as it was such a low-key Microprose launch, it didnﾒt even initially appear on many (if any) magazine demo CDs. I had faint recollections of earlier titles in the ﾓTycoonﾔ genre like ﾓRailroad Tycoonﾔ, and ﾓTransport Tycoonﾔ, but this was the first game of that burgeoning genre that really caught my interest. It was just four months before my first daughterﾒs arrival date, and I was trying to desperately fit-in as much gaming as possible before (what I figured) would be end of my serious gaming days, and the beginning of full-time parenthood. The demo was a perfect mix of custom ride-building, creativity, and economic management. It had me playing far into the night after first installation, just like Dune 2 had done 5 years earlier. I snapped-up the game upon release and to this day, my love of ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoonﾔ, sown by the demo, has been harvested by the full blown version, and itﾒs various updates and exapansions ever since. Iﾒve introduced my daughter to the game, and it has become one of your favorite past-times to play together. I have been very loyal to my ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoonﾔ. Big Business, Ski Resorts, Skate Parks, Golf Courses, Legoland, Sim Coasters and Theme Parks, have all tempted me to betray my true isometric-economic-strategy love, but I have never eaten of their fruit. I have stayed true to Chris Sawyerﾒs masterpiece of amusement park management for more than ﾽ decade, never swaying in my undying devotion to itﾒs finely tuned, multi-layered game play. Just when I thought this position would never change, along comes the promising looking ﾓZoo Tycoon Complete Collectionﾔ. Will it threaten the pedestal on which I have placed the illustrious ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoon?ﾔ  On the surface, ﾓZoo Tycoon Complete Collectionﾔ pays more than an homage to ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoonﾔ. If Microprose (then Hasbro, then Infogrames, now Atari) had somehow found a way to patent the mechanics of a ﾓtycoonﾔ game, Microsoft would certainly be fighting in court right now over license fees, because their ﾓZoo Tycoonﾔ replicates ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoonﾒsﾔ game play to an almost ridiculous degree. Because Iﾒm such a huge ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoon fanﾔ, Iﾒm in danger of comparing the two titles so closely, that this review will lose itﾒs focus on ﾓZoo Tycoon Completeﾔ, and become more like a ﾓcompare and contrastﾔ essay assigned by my 10th grade English teacher.. Therefore, I will quickly run-down a list of similarities between the two products, getting them out of the way so I can focus on the unique features of ﾓZoo Tycoonﾔ. * Both games are strategic economic simulations with a focus on ﾓfunﾔ instead of ﾓdetails.ﾔ * Both games main game play involves buying and constructing, and customizing attractions * Both games use 2D, isometric graphics * Both games allow you to rotate the viewing area to see four distinct sides of the playfield. * Both games allow several levels of zooming, but donﾒt let you get as close to the action as you would like * Both games use tile-based graphics, using isometric squares to size and position objects * Both games allow you to raise, lower and shape the landscape as you see fit * Both games require you to lay logical pathways to control the flow of guests, and allow them to experience the attractions. * Both games allow you to places rocks, walls, and other scenery that to do that help make the park loom neat, and increase the enjoyment for the guests * Both games use paying customers to generate revenue for further expansion to their parks * Both games uses a ﾓresearchﾔ model to ﾓdiscoverﾔ new items for your park * Both games require you to consider biological needs of your guests like food and restrooms, and benches for rest. * Both games require you to hire a staff to help run your park effectively * Both games features awards for things such as ﾓsafest parkﾔ and ﾓbest valueﾔ * Both games give you options for ﾓmarketingﾔ to get more guests into your park * Both games are scenario-based (although ﾓZoo Tycoonﾔ has many more ﾓsandboxﾔ options than ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoonﾔ) * The most fun you can have with both games is when things go wrong. However, despite all of these similarities, ﾓZoo Tycoon Completeﾔ has itﾒs own unique flavor for one simple reason: the animals. Because of this one factor I have seen kids (my own) go absolutely wild for this title. However, this enthusiasm does not come without a cost. This main point of differentiation, is also happens to create the gameﾒs one major weakness. The main focus of the game is creating ﾓenclosuresﾔ to hold animals, and pathways for people to view them. These ﾓenclosuresﾔ are not unlike rides you would create with ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoonﾔ. They use-up your precious land and money resources to build and maintain, and are essential to succeeding in the game. You start by selecting a ﾓfenceﾔ type, and drawing walls until they connect in some sort of rectangular (or bastardization thereof) shape. You will know when an area is completely enclosed when you get the option rename it. After the enclosure is complete you select an animal (or animals) to live there, and hire a zookeeper to take care of it (them). Each enclosure will become a mini eco-system dedicated to the well- being of the animal that you decide will inhabit it. This leads to the next step, which is creating a suitable environment for the animal(s). This step is both the most educational, and most frustrating part of the game. You must modify the land, flora, rocks, and amenities (such as shelters and toys) in the enclosure to the exacting standards of the creatures that will inhabit it. Clicking on an animal brings up its reference menu. If click-on the zookeeper icon in that menu, you can find out exactly how the animal is feeling, and what you need to change in the enclosure to make it happy. You will learn exactly what types of rocks, trees, and soil types each animal in the game needs to flourish in their new home. When I say exactly, I mean EXACTLY. While it can be extremely interesting to find things out like; giraffes hate deciduous ground cover and momkeys cannot stomach your choice of artic rocks for their enclosure, it can also be amazingly frustrating. Some animals need three or more types of ground cover (i.e. dirt, glass, fresh water) in such specific quantities, that the game can become an exercise in hunting for that one elusive patch of ground-cover you missed. In such a case, a single mouse click is the only difference between your animalsﾒ agonizing grief at your total enclosure-creation incompetence and their near orgasmic elation at your genius mastery of the zoological arts. It turns what, at-first seems like complete zoo-design freedom into a rather pedestrian and repetitive exercise. This is in stark contrast ride design in a game like ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoonﾔ, where, while your design must fit within some real-world physics guidelines, you are pretty-much free create whatever you want. Aside from enclosures, you place gift-shops, restaurants, simple rides, bathrooms, and other structures for the enjoyment of your guests, and to help them part with the hard-earned cash. You can terra-form the land, add different types of pathways, and generally modify the look of the zoo to match your personal style. In most cases, this exercise is essentially the same as ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoonﾔ, except with fewer options. The controls are very simple. The mouse is used to select items, and make choices. There is an undo-button with a restrictive single-event memory. The menu-bar is mostly unobtrusive, with buttons down the left and bottom left corner of the play area. Sound is minimal, but used effectively. The graphics are cute, but suffer from the same minimal animation as ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoonﾒsﾔ 2D world.  This version of ﾓZoo Tycoonﾔ is subtitled the ﾓComplete Collectionﾔ because it contains both ﾓZoo Tycoonﾔ expansion packs; ﾓDinosaur Digsﾔ and ﾓMarine Maniaﾔ, as well as the ﾓEndangered Speciesﾔ pack. The designers of the original game must have realized the limitation inherent in zoo-enclosure design, because both of the major expansion packs improve the game in significant ways. ﾓDinosaurﾔ digs adds a multitude of dinosaur species, as well as many new options for park design and objects. Dinosaurs add whole new dimension to the game for one main reason: if they escape, it could be big trouble. Dinosaurs are not bought full-grown creatures, but must be nursed as eggs until they hatch. A full-time, dinosaur specialist must be assigned to the egg to make sure it fares well through the nesting and hatching process. You must still use the trial and error method to create the eco-system, but itﾒs at least educational to learn what kinds of surroundings scientists believe specific dinosaurs would have appreciated. If you do not create an enclosure that can properly hold you dinosaur, it can break-out and attack your guests (sturdier and electrified fences have been added for this reason). You can purchase a ﾓDinosaur Recovery Teamﾔ for those instances to help minimize the damage. More impressive than ﾓDinosaur Digsﾔ is the ﾓMarine Maniaﾔ expansion pack, because it makes some significant strides to actually improve the game play beyond just adding new animals. Marine creatures live in tank enclosures, that can either be significantly above or below ground. These can be visually stunning, and also add to the illusion of 3D space, that is mostly lost with the normal animal enclosures. More important than the enclosures however, is the addition of ﾓshowsﾔ. By creating a ﾓshow-tankﾔ that is attached to regular marine enclosure, you can have ﾓshowﾔ animals, such as dolphins and killer-whales perform in Sea World style shows for your guests. You have control over the tricks the animals will perform in the show, and in what order they will perform them. This option give you taste of the type of attraction customization that is standard in ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoonﾔ, and helps add some much needed depth to the game. While he basic premise of ﾓZoo Tycoon Complete Collectionﾔ is a solid one, the execution leaves some room for improvement. I can understand the attraction to, and high sales figures for this game. Zoos are neat places for children of all ages, and who would not want try, at least once, to create one on their own?  However, Iﾒm glad I donﾒt have to review the original ﾓZoo Tycoonﾔ on itﾒs own because, even with itﾒs educational and other merits, I simply could not have given it a positive review. Itﾒs simply too restrictive when it comes to enclosure-design to be much fun, and while kids may love looking at it, they would have a hard time playing it themselves. However, the addition of ﾓDinosaur Digsﾔ and ﾓMarine Maniaﾔ changes my opinion. The expansion packs add enough value and improvements to the overall game design, to at least make this collection worth the modest asking price. Furthermore, there really are no competitors in itﾒs microscopic niche of ﾓtycoon zoo gamesﾔ, so if this type of game appeals to you, you really have no other choice. However, to answer my original question: does ﾓﾒZoo Tycoonﾒ take the crown from my beloved and beholden ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoon?ﾔ The answer is ﾓnoﾔ. While itﾒs initial appeal to kids might be greater than ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoonﾔ, itﾒs limitations ultimately make it come in an encouraging, but still distant, second place. Kid Factor: There is no doubt about it, ﾓZoo Tycoon Completeﾔ should-be FDA outlawable kiddie-crack. With all the collective history, it would take a lot to remove ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoonﾔ as the top dad-daughter computer game in our household. Surprisingly, while ﾓZoo Tycoon Complete Collectionﾔ has some glaring game-play flaws (many stemming from itﾒs subject matter) , it still comes close earning the ﾓtycoonﾔ crown from my daughter (not me however). She wants to play the game constantly because she loves cute animals and dinosaurs, and this game delivers those in spades. Donﾒt be surprised if your kids beg you to play this game all the time. My daughter has even taken her love for the game beyond the computer. I watched her create ﾓenclosuresﾔ out of blocks, and place animals inside of them while acting through her normal play-patterns in her room. The game has captured her imagination like only ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoonﾔ before it, and for that I must recommend it. However, for non-readers, or little-ones who have just started reading, this game can be difficult to play. Unlike ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoonﾔ, where most of the important information is displayed in iconic form, this game uses a lot of text. The descriptions the zoo-keeper gives you on how to change your enclosures to best suit your chosen animals are 100% text. You will need to sit with your early or non-reading children to help them play, or else they will get easily frustrated, and terribly sad when their animals get sick and die because they simply could not read the instructions needed to create suitable habitats. For kids who can read and comprehend fully what is happening in the game (probably 8+) this can be a good educational tool to help teach them about animals, where the like to live, and what will make them happy.  Age: 4-6 (with parent) 6+ (with or without parent) ESRB: E - Everyone Publisher: Microsoft Developer: Blue Fang 
There is no doubt about it, ﾓZoo Tycoon Completeﾔ should-be FDA outlawable kiddie-crack. With all the collective history, it would take a lot to remove ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoonﾔ as the top dad-daughter computer game in our household. Surprisingly, while ﾓZoo Tycoon Complete Collectionﾔ has some glaring game-play flaws (many stemming from itﾒs subject matter) , it still comes close earning the ﾓtycoonﾔ crown from my daughter (not me however). She wants to play the game constantly because she loves cute animals and dinosaurs, and this game delivers those in spades. Donﾒt be surprised if your kids beg you to play this game all the time. My daughter has even taken her love for the game beyond the computer. I watched her create ﾓenclosuresﾔ out of blocks, and place animals inside of them while acting through her normal play-patterns in her room. The game has captured her imagination like only ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoonﾔ before it, and for that I must recommend it. However, for non-readers, or little-ones who have just started reading, this game can be difficult to play. Unlike ﾓRoller Coaster Tycoonﾔ, where most of the important information is displayed in iconic form, this game uses a lot of text. The descriptions the zoo-keeper gives you on how to change your enclosures to best suit your chosen animals are 100% text. You will need to sit with your early or non-reading children to help them play, or else they will get easily frustrated, and terribly sad when their animals get sick and die because they simply could not read the instructions needed to create suitable habitats. For kids who can read and comprehend fully what is happening in the game (probably 8+) this can be a good educational tool to help teach them about animals, where the like to live, and what will make them happy.
Kid Factor by Steve Fulton
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