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235 of 240 found the following review helpful:
 3 in one and even more fun Nov 12, 2003
By Bruce Gray
"gurpsgm"
Zoo Tycoon Complete Collection is the video game my daughter was waiting for.A quick overview: In the original Zoo Tycoon, you are in control of a Zoo building scheme, similar to other "tycoon" games on the market. The original game had many animals and features, and allowed you to solve problem scenarios and create you own free form Zoo. However, I thought the original Zoo Tycoon had rather limited selections for the money. In the first expansion pack, Zoo Tycoon Dinosaur Digs, they went a little way to solving the limitations by giving you Dinosaurs to create your own version of "Jurassic Park". It also added (finally!) some themed concessions to make your Dino park even more of a time travelling adventure. But, it too was fairly expensive for an expansion. In the second expansion pack, Zoo Tycoon Marine Mania, "Sea World" type attractions were added, along with some new theming concessions and other things that went a long way to solving the problems of the original limits of the game. For a long while, some other additions were only available online. Several Endangered animals and some weird ones like Yeti and the Loch Ness Monster took quite a bit of download time to add to your park creation capabilities. But now, in Zoo Tycoon Complete Collection, we have a truly complete collection. Not only is the original Zoo Tycoon included, but the Dinosaur Digs expansion, the Marine Mania expansion, =and= all of the previously only available by download material. The added feature of being able to see a few facts about your animals in a special window could make this game an educational experience. Making sure your animals have the proper terrain teaches that animals prefer the environment they originally lived in, and may help reinforce people's thoughts to preserving the few endangered animals that are in the wild. I'm almost a Tycoon game addict, I love this package. I've played this so much I can see it in my sleep. I really enjoyed the effort the company made to include the previously downloadable only material. The four sections of the game crate a truly complete collection, just as advertised. When considering Christmas presents for children, or a special treat for tycoon game loving adults, I find myself telling people about Zoo Tycoon Complete Collection, where I never did while it was all available in separate parts. Former fans of Zoo Tycoon will enjoy the fact that everything's included. New players will enjoy the easy scenarios, while experienced Tycooners will have the real tough problem scenarios they love. Highly recommended.
123 of 130 found the following review helpful:
 Kids are STILL playing this Nov 02, 2003
We bought Zoo Tycoon and the expansion packs Christmas 2002 and our two sons (ages 9 and 7) are still spending lots of time with it. Without adult help they figured the game out and can win every scenario, although sometimes they like to let the dinosaurs out "just for fun" or create a "realistic environment" by putting bluefin tuna in the shark tank or lions in with the wildebeest.
The starter game isn't as much fun without the marina mania pack. The dinosaur digs pack is sort of bare bones, pardon the pun. All together it's given us a good year of entertainment.
36 of 36 found the following review helpful:
Creative, moderately challenging, and tons of fun! Aug 26, 2004
By Monika
"equestrienne_23"
This is definitely one of the most addictive games I've played in a while. That's not always such a good thing, being a full-time college student. I remember way back in elementary school I was enthralled with a game called Dino Park Tycoon, but could never find it for sale anywhere and therefore could only play it at school. When I recently found out about Zoo Tycoon, I couldn't pass it up! This is a great game for kids and adults alike. If you buy it for your children, beware: YOU may end up spending quite a bit of time with it as well. It took me a few sessions to learn all the ropes, but once I did, I lost an entire Sunday playing.
There are two different types of game to choose from:
Scenario Games: These start you out with a predetermined lot size on which to build your zoo, and a set amount of money with which to do it. In addition, you are given a list of specific goals and a time period in which to complete them. These games end when the time is up, and you either win or lose (though you can continue working on your zoo after this point just for fun, if you wish). There is a long list of different scenarios to choose from, so it takes quite a while to run out of options (I still haven't played even half of them).
Freeform Game: If you'd rather just build your own personal dream zoo, and not worry about reaching fixed goals, you may want to play the freeform version instead. This is what I usually prefer. You can choose the lot you want to build on, specifying its size (small, medium, large) and type of terrain (grassland, desert, mountains, arctic, etc.), and also select how much money you want to start with (anything up to $500,000). By selecting different types of lots and different amounts of money, you either increase or decrease the challenge involved in building your zoo. The less money you have to start with, the harder it is to create a successful zoo without going bankrupt. And the only way to lose the freeform game is to go bankrupt.
The options for building your zoo are nearly endless. You can choose from a huge selection of different species, customize the exhibits to your heart's content (so long as you make sure they suit the animals they house), and also buy things like rides, petting zoos, aviaries, etc. to make your zoo more fun. You'll also need to hire zookeepers to tend to the animals, and maintenance workers to keep the zoo clean and the exhibits in good repair. To keep your guests happy and generate extra income, you can buy concessions stands and gift shops. You can also choose to sponsor research projects, which in turn allows you to adopt endangered species and add additional special features to your zoo.
When you adopt an animal, you need to build an exhibit for it, and then make sure that all its needs are met. There is a "zookeeper tips" tab that will tell you if the animal is happy, and if not, what you need to do to make it so. For instance, your animal might prefer a different type of terrain, more foliage, some fresh water, some shelter, or even a toy. It's also easy to tell whether your animals like or dislike any change you make in their surroundings, as every action you take will cause either a happy or sad face to flash on the screen above each animal. If you neglect your animals, they'll be taken away!
The animals also breed (provided you adopt individuals of different genders), so you'll find that pretty soon you have baby animals running around as well. But be sure to keep an eye on the number of animals in each exhibit, as they'll become unhappy if they're over-crowded. Luckily, you can sell off extra animals, which also gains you a little extra cash.
The "Complete Collection" is great, because in addition to all the regular Zoo Tycoon animals, you also get the "Marine Mania" and "Dinosaur Digs" expansion packs, which allow you to add a variety of marine animals and dinosaurs to your zoo. With some of the marine animals, you can also set up shows to entertain your guests and generate additional money. You can also adopt some "oddball" creatures, like a Yeti, Bigfoot, or Loch Ness Monster.
Unfortunately, I have noticed one thing which seems to be a glitch in the game. For a few species, when you adopt some individuals, not all of them show up on the master list of animals in your zoo. For instance, if you adopt two clouded leopards, only one shows up on the master list, even though you can clearly SEE two animals in the exhibit. For the same animals that have this odd glitch, all individuals of the species that actually show up on the master list seem to remain permanently stuck on the "unhappy animals" list, even when you've tended to all their needs, assigned a zookeeper, and the "zookeeper tips" tab gives you the "This exhibit is well suited for Animal 2" message. The species for which I've noticed this problem so far are: Snow Leopard, Clouded Leopard, Black Leopard, Lowland Gorilla, Arctic Wolf, and California Sea Lion. There may be others as well, as I have not yet tried out every available animal.
On the whole, though, this is a terrific game that's sure to provide hours upon hours of fun. There are plenty of different strategy elements to keep you occupied. As I said earlier, it might take a little while to get the hang of building and maintaining a successful zoo, but once you have it all down, there's no stopping. This is great entertainment for not only children of all ages, but adults of all ages, too. Highly recommended!
37 of 39 found the following review helpful:
Prepare to lose your social life Apr 08, 2004
By J. B. Gill
"rattlehead66"
I don't write many reviews, but I just want to let everyone know that I think this is the best computer game ever made. You will not be able to tear yourself away from this game. If you've got kids, great--they can learn all kinds of things about animals. But, you can forget about your kids playing this anyway because you'll be the one sitting in front of the computer at 2AM every night building your dream zoo. I have never played a game where I found myself thinking about what my next steps are in the game after I turned it off. Unfortunately, I'm a grad student who works, so I must STRONGLY recommend thinking before you buy this game--I've lost so much sleep because of it and I think I'm beginning to creep out my girlfriend. But, if you've got time to play a cool game, then I highly recommend this one. I don't even play any of the scenerios--its too much fun just playing the freeform. Also, you can get a boatload of downloads to further your demise as a zoo dork. Like me.
17 of 17 found the following review helpful:
3 in 1!! Dec 03, 2003
By Kala
I got the original Zoo Tycoon awhile back and played that game SO much for weeks! I also played both expansion packs - and got myself hooked all over again! Then I got a new computer, quit playing it for awhile to play some other games... and when I wanted to go play it again, I realized I had lost the disks! Argh! So, you can imagine, I was very pleased when the Zoo Tycoon Complete Collection came out - now I can buy all three together - YAY!! The game is a lot of fun - one of my favorite tycoon games ever made. I am an animal lover though, so I am a tad bit biased. Basic idea of the game is that you build a zoo from the ground up! You build the cages, put water and plant and caves and houses in the cages for the animals - though each animal is different so its somewhat tricky! You have to get stuff for each cage that the particular animal likes. Also, some animals are unhappy unless you give them a mate... but this has consequences! The animals in my zoos were always EXTREMELY prolific! Every few seconds some animal was having a baby (sometimes 2-3 babies!). This was fun, except when you get too many animals in one cage, it makes them all unhappy and crowded. You can sell the babies though, which can make you some cash for your zoo. When building your zoo, you also get tons of pre-made exhibits to purchase - like an insect house, a snake house, a monkey house and tons more. You can't really do a heck of a lot with them, but the guests at your zoo like them! The graphics on the game are decent, it ran well on my old computer and on my new computer - I never had a single problem with installing it and it never crashed. Beware though - it is EXTREMELY addicting! I would load it up sometimes and play for what seemed like a short while, look at the clock and realized 4 hours had passed!
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based on 191 reviews
