Rating: 
Summary: More then just added dinosaurs
Review: I have played all of the simulation games and Roller Coaster Tycoon is by far my favorite. When Microsoft released Zoo Tycoon I was impressed by the fact they are the only ones to have come close to the Roller Coaster giant.Pros: Several of the features Zoo Tycoon was missing (in comparison to Roller Coaster Tycoon) have been added in this expansion. You can now toggle guests, foliage and buildings by hiding them to better view the land for further path and exhibit layouts. Expenditures are now charted. Added sorting feature now makes finding exhibits and animals easier to find. A research feature for new exhibit items and park updates was also added. Cons: Hard to please animals. It seems the animals in this game require A LOT of attention. Instead of building up your zoo, you spending a lot of time adding and removing things (repeatedly) because the animals never seem to be satisfied with their exhibit. The pandas were always the hardest to please and it seems all of the new dinosaurs are equally as finicky. Ugh! Notables: It's obvious Microsoft ripped off a lot of things from Roller Coaster Tycoon to create this game. Come on, the foliage is identical! I am inclined to believe Microsoft was attune to Roller Coaster Tycoon's popularity just as the other companies were. From a programming and marketing perspective, they dissected the game and determined how much could be replicated within a given timeframe. Once they came up with an idea for a simulation that had not been done in the past (ex: a zoo), the rest was merely adapted from Roller Coaster Tycoon. Hence, this explains why the only features Zoo Tycoon lacked compared to the popular Roller Coaster game made it into the release of this expansion. It was preplanned, they knew the market was going to accept it and was guaranteed to sell. Although I do not find this game as exciting or intense as Roller Coaster Tycoon, I remind myself, it's just a zoo! All in all, a good buy for what they offer.
Rating: 
Summary: If you ever wanted to build Jurassic Park....
Review: I was thrilled to read the initial press releases about this game - and I have been very impressed by the actual game thus far. I bought it the day it came out, and am still having fun playing it a week later. These are the following dinosaurs/prehistoric animals that you will be able to house in a zoo: (1) Smilodon (sabertooth cat), (2) Wooly Mammoth, (3) Wooly Rhino, (4) Giant Turtle, (5) Stegosaurous, (6) T-Rex, (7) Allosaurous, (8) Velociraptor, (9) Triceratops (which you unlock with a cheat code), (10) Lambeosaurus (Duck-billed hadrosaurs), (11) Styracosaurus(Five-horned Dino), (12) Ankylosaurous (armor plated with bony tail), (13)Iguanodon, (14)Spinosaurus, (15)Plesiosaurus, (16)Kentrosaurus (cousin of the stegosaurus), (17) Caudipteryx (lean green hunter), (18) Coeleophysis (bird-dinosaur), (19) Herrerasaurus (very cool striped hunter - my favorite in the game!), (20) Apatosaurus, (21) Camptosaurus (gentle herbivore)...plus there is one more "unlock" animal in the game that is revealed when you make it to the later scenerios - it is very impressive!!! Also, you may ... via the special "internal update" function of the game and download two additional new dinosaurs. I'll just let those be a surprise for you, but they are also very cool. I have wanted to build my own Jurassic Park since that movie came out in 1994...this Zoo Tycoon expansion is our first chance to do it!!! Along with the animals, the game designers have also created a ton of prehistoric fauna and other items such as volcanoes to add to the exhibits. There is even a "Recovery Team" that includes a helicopter that takes off and captures the dinos when they get loose - and you know they will indeed get loose at some point. The animals in this game actually test the fences for weaknesses and attack the same spots repeatedly to facilitate an escape. There are electrified fences and giant concrete walls to try to keep these monsters penned - but good luck - they were born to cause mayhem! This expansion pack has 6 cool new scenerios for you to play with as well: An Ice-Age Zoo and a Jurassic Zoo are just two of them. There is even a scenerio where you have to salvage the remains of a "Dino Park" after its previous owner had to abandon it when things went horribly awry. Like Zoo Tycoon, there are also buildings to place in the park that have animals inside them, but which cannot be further manipulated by you - in this case, A Pteranodon Aviary, a Prehistoric Amphibians House, and a Jurassic Cinema (which has different movies on the Marquee like Dinosaurs Attack!). There is even a playground with dinosaur slides and different fossil statues to place around the zoo for aesthetic reasons. Plus, a Mammoth Cones shop and a Bronto Burger Stand, Yummmm! This game is a must-have. I really enjoy playing my zoo tycoon, and I couldn't wait to play this game. And for anyone reading this who is excited about creating their own Jurassic Park - in the Fall there will be an even bigger surprise. The people behind the Jurassic Park name and logo are putting together their own Dinosaur Park building game, which at this point is being called Jurassic Park: Project Genesis. You will be able to do basically what you are doing in ZT: Dinosaur Digs, only you will actually get to use the logo from the movies on your buildings and have access to supposedly realistic-looking dinosaurs. While I love the animals that were created for Zoo Tycoon, they are slightly on the cartoon/stylized level. This is not a complaint, but an observation. If you want photo-realistic dinosaurs, supposedly Project Genesis is going to be something wonderful to behold. The only bad thing I have to say about Zoo Tycon and Dinosaur Digs is that these games are not for everyone. Dinosaur Digs is what I call a "Bonzai Game" - one that you play slowly and over long periods, which does not have a lot of blasts and explosions in it...just like nurturing a Japanese Banzai over time. If you enjoy animals, and like games that are slow to play and involve the constant maintenance and upkeep of exhibits, then you will enjoy playing this. If you are more a "Tomb Raider" kind of player, then you will be disappointed to find little action here - there are no guns, lasers, or karate chops to be found. I personally enjoy escaping from my life for a few hours and disappearing into my little zoo, creating the exhibits with great care and trying to please all my guests. I like the thrill of trying to keep all my fences intact and make sure all the animals are healthy. I enjoy arranging the different plants and sculpting the scenery just so. And, I must admit, I also enjoy the moments when one of the dinos gets loose and wrecks havoc - watching the helicopters take off and race to subdue the beast (you can't control the helicopters, you can just build a helicopter port. After that, your staff does all the flying and dino-tranquilizing). I sincerely hope there are dozens more expansion packs for Zoo Tycoon. It is incredibly well done, hours and hours worth of entertainment. I can't wait to see what other animals the people at Microsoft are dreaming up!
Rating:
Summary: This game ROCKS!!!
Review: I got this game about a year ago and I LOVE it! You get to pick from over 50 different animals and then you get to personalize the exhibits. You can breed them if you want, too. Plus you can put different kinds of animals together like the zebras and the gazzelles. I LOVE this game!!! Buy it!!!!
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!
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