Rating: 
Summary: A lot of fun
Review: A lot of people have said rightfully that this is a lot like Rollercoaster Tycoon, from the gameplay right down to the graphics. Whilst this is true, it's no real bad thing necessarily; Rollercoaster Tycoon was a great game and so is this. Right from the time Theme Park was released all those years ago, a similar game for a zoo was just waiting to be made, and finally here it is. The game offers freeform or scenario games, although for beginners it's best to start with scenarios, which offer a basic tutorial to the game. They include just placing new items, taking over a delapidated zoo and making it popular again or concentrating on one type of animal, say big cats.There are a lot of animals to choose from, although of course you have to research a lot of them, which helps make you feel like you're aiming for something rather than just building randomly. You could even say that it's educational, given that each species has a neat little factfile to go with them and especially seen as you have to ensure that each animal's habitat is ideally suited to the one they would have in the wild. Balance this with customer happiness and cashflow and you're got yourself a winning zoo. My only real complaint is that it can get a little frustrating occassionally if two animals in the same enclosure both want different things (this seems to happen a lot in the chimpanzee enclosure for some reason), but apart from that this is a very good game indeed. It's educational, addictive, and there are even two add-on packs now. And did I mention you can get baby animals?
Rating:
Summary: Microsoft goes zoological
Review: "Zoo Tycoon," an absorbing game, requires you to become the entrepreneur of a zoo as grand or as simplistic as you want to make it. Instantly intrigued with the base concept of this game, I purchased this game and have been very satisfied with it over the past two months. Within an hour, you can play this game easily, and start creating your own zoos, using the various "freeform" game and terrain styles available. The essential concept of "Zoo Tycoon," is one that gives you a set amount of starting cash to build a few initial exhibits and some concession stands, and then supposedly you can start watching the money roll in, which can then be used to build additional exhibits and attractions. A few notes of caution, should be offered, though. The "intermediate" level of the "free-form" games starts you out with a grass-terrain zoo and seventy-five thousand dollars. (Your zoo can be given cash awards to help increase cash. A lot of money is also generated from the sales at foods stands, gift shops, and even donations from guests and organizations.) You can build exhibits using a variety of fencing, animals, trees, and terrains, but the fastidious animals become very unhappy if you construct their exhibits cheaply, resulting in exhibits that end up costing upwards of thirty thousand dollars. Animals require zoo keepers to feed and maintain their exhibits. Zoo employees receive salaries, all which subtract from your cash pile. To keep your guests satisfied and your zoo beautified, maintenance workers and tour guides must be hired. There are a plethora of structures and scenery that can be purchased to enhance, embellish, and increase the revenue of your burgeoning zoo, but some of it can be expensive. Every few months, additional animals and structures are added to those you can have in your zoo (until the end of the first year), but you must research to access animals like giant pandas and okapi. A variety of diverse exhibits can be created, from the salt-water California sea lions to lions to giraffes to elephants to wolves and polar bears. Animals reproduce and scamper about their exhibits happily or angrily, depending on their quality of their care and suitability of their exhibit. Overall, "Zoo Tycoon," is a very engrossing game, that allows you to put your creative skills to play in the creation of a zoo. Although keeping both animals and guests satisfied can get annoying at times, "Zoo Tycoon," is a great game that I really enjoy. Some negative points include the scenarios which really aren't nearly as fun and enjoyable compared to the "free-form games," the fact that to build expansive zoos a fast computer is required, and that staff members aren't always as intuitive and responsive as they could be. Enjoyable, realistic, and creative, "Zoo Tycoon," is a good game choice if you're looking for something new or another ingenious offering from Microsoft.
Rating: 
Summary: Prepare to lose your social life
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Excessively COOL Game!
Review: The lions have escaped, and the panda is very sick, and all of the guests are hungry, and, and, and! Running your own zoo is not always easy. Many things can go wrong, but just as easily they can go right. Like watching the polar bear playing with her new baby or winning awards. In Microsoft's game, Zoo Tycoon, you get to experience running your own zoo with great graphics and features, awesome gameplay, and new suprizes everywhere! There many games that are great but have terrible graphics. Zoo Tycoon is different. It has many veiw points, and beautiful scenery. All of the animals actually look real and not like robots. The people wander around and you can tell what they're doing. Whether it's sitting on the picnic table or cleaning up Zoo Poo. In conclusion, this games graphics are one of its strong points. The best part of playing games is playing them! ZT has many features such as baby animals and wild animal escapes that make ZT one step higher than the average computer game. The people are a challenge alone to please and the animals are a whole other story. It is not impossible though and it is fun to get awards and extra cash for making everybody happy with animal toys and burger stands. On the other hand, for the more mischeveous mind, it is just as fun to build a zoo just to terrorize it! So with a last word, ZT is a great game to play, not just to look at its box:) If you would like to have the full challenge of playing this game with no hints, I advise you do not read the following paragraph.
As in most games there are cheats in ZT. Perhaps you were running out of cash, you could just push Ctrl-4 and you automatically get 10,000 bucks. (do this before you build anythin as it destroys your fences) Or if you were feeling very mean you could name a gueest Alfred H. and birds would come and freak out all the people. Alfred Hitchcock lives on! There are many cheats to either help your zoo or make the people miserable. You can find them on many Zoo Tycoon web sites. Overall Zoo Tycoon is a great game for all ages to play and I highly recomend it. I enjoyed it! Pros:
-Great graphics
-Cool Cheats
-You get to pick male or female animals
-The animals have babies
-Good information on the animals
-You get to design exhibits with foilage and decorations
-Freeform or challenge zoos
-In freeform you can have up to 500 thousand dollars
-Terrorize the zoo and its inhabitants with one click of a mouse -Build a beautiful zoo to please animals, guests and yourself Cons:
-It can be slightly slow at times
-You can only have right angles on the fences limiting creativity
-The people and animals can be to hard to please Overall it's a very neato frito game
Rating: 
Summary: A Blast at First...But then fading away like a shooting star
Review: i would say definetely at first that zoo tycoon expansion pack was a blast at first! i mean the orcas..t-rexs...the lions...it was all so cool. it was so cool! it was really fun until later on it became..a little boring..and right now its rpetty boring. ive owned the game for about...lets see..a year and three months about...im not definete or sure. but yeah zoo tycoon expansion pack is prety cool. .. . . . at first.
Rating:
Summary: Kids are STILL playing this
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: I have lost hours of sleep
Review: outstanding game! I also own Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis, but when you're looking for an all-around fun game this does the job nicely. (I like to see the thompsons gazelles frolic...they're cute!) Great game, lots of fun, and highly addictive! Plus (if you look closely) the Orca Whales fart. Amusing!
Rating:
Summary: An Astoundingly Addictive Game!
Review: I can play this game for hours on end and not get bored.Everything is so simple to do, yet there is always something to challenge you. For me, it's those pesky snow leopards...so fussy! I am also thrilled at the fan support availible for this game. The official site looks pretty but there isn't lots of help there. But there are plenty of fan created sites that are chock full of helpful information and strategies. zootycoonunlimited.com has helped me out lots of times, and they are so friendly there. If you but this awesome game, you should certainly check out Zoo Tycoon Unlimited USA to make your experience complete!
Rating:
Summary: A game my children actually play!!!
Review: My 9, 7 and 5 year old all love this game. I watch them play it and think it looks so hard because they are actually running a business. They have to account for money disbursement, profitability, and manage the park among other things.
They actually fight over who's turn it is to play. The complete collection is a great value as well.
Rating:
Summary: GET THIS GAME!!!!
Review: One day I went over my friend's house and we played one of her new games called Zoo Tycoon. We played it for less than an hour, but I still fell in love. The next day, I went out to buy it. I played with it for 4 hours straight. This game is extremely fun. There are more than 100 animals you get and you have to make their habitat perfect and like the animal's home habitat. There are som many tools and fun things to make you zoo looking fabulous. The expansions, Marine Mania and Dinosaur Digs, add even more gameplay. Get this game, it's definately worth it.
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