Zoo Empire

Rating:
Summary: Good-looking, but hard to get into
Review: Although the graphics were stunning, the animations amazing, and the overall level of detail just incredible, the control system was very difficult for me. The menus line both top and bottom of the screen, and the buttons are very small. Once in a menu, you have at least 20 more buttons to choose from, all very small as well, and all the menus look basically the same once opened, so it's hard to tell at a glance which one you're looking at. If, however, you're accustomed to navigating similar game menus, you may enjoy this product very much.

The gamer is also given a lot of choice regarding camera angle. I found the camera very difficult to manage because it moves very quickly and it is easy to completely change your orientation by accident and lose sight of what you're doing just long enough to mess it up. However, again, if you're accustomed to working with a real 3-d camera control, this may be the game for you.

My favorite part of this game is the variety in building options for your zoo and the amazing life-likeness of the animals. I believe there's already another review that talks more about this, so I'll leave it to them.

Hope this review was helpful to you in making your decision.

Rating:
Summary: warning do not buy
Review: Bought this game 2 months ago. when I installed it, my computer crashed. Email game support and they sent me an email that they were aware of the problem and would get back to me. They never got back to me and will not return my emails. The game will not uninstall off of my computer and my computer keeps crashing all the time now. Do not take the chance that it will ruin your computer to!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Great Fun!
Review: I bought this game for my niece, we had all enjoyed Zoo Tycoon some time ago, so I thought we'd give this title a chance as the packaging looked like it might have some potential.

I am editing this review because I was contacted by a company representative who was very helpful in helping me figure out why this game wouldn't work on my system and why my computer kept crashing.

Apparently my graphics card is not up to par and will not run this game. While I don't have a problem with that, I guess I would have liked to have seen the system requirements portion of the box better labled and perhaps a function when I went to install it that would have let me know right away that the game wouldn't work.

In any case, this review is no longer about the game, as I haven't been able to play it, but merely suggests that potential customers verify that their system is capable of running the game.

Rating:
Summary: This game stinks
Review: I guess I shouldn't say it stinks...it has never actually ran long enough to know. It won't run on my computer at all, keeps telling me there is an error with ze.exe. Loaded onto my husbands computer and it did run for about 2 minutes, then did the same thing as on mine. Pretty sucky birthday present for my 8 yr old.

Rating:
Summary: No comparison to Roller Coaster/Zoo tycoon games
Review: If you have played the Roller Coaster and Zoo typcoon games I feel you will be quite disappointed with Zoo Empire by Enlight. Not only is it totally different but you better study your instruction booklet before playing and be prepared to refer to it constantly.
I found it frustrating trying to manuver through the toolbar which is far from simple just to get to the sections sections needed to make the game run smoothly.. The layout is (for lack of a better word) strange!!

Well, maybe the youngsters will have an easier time of it, but I doubt it. Its simply a frustration to play..

Personally disappointed.


Rating:
Summary: Great game! Great Value!
Review: If you like Zoo Tycoon, you will love Zoo Empire! This game is way more in depth than zoo tycoon and more realistic in almost every way. I bought this game a few days ago and can't stop playing it. The animals are not just pixels on screen, they are actually alive with emotions and many realistic reactions. The first time I see an escaped gorilla enjoying a ride on the touring train I was simply amazed and blown away by the varieties and details of these "eye candy" that the game designer put into the game!

Managing a successful zoo in zoo empire is both a challenging and rewarding experience. The difficulty level will gradually increase from scenario to scenario. The game also allows you to bring your well trained animals from scenario to scenario, making it a bit easier to play (As the players will be more willing to see a famous animal than a regular one). As the Zoo Keeper, the player will also need to hone in their different skills in order to successfully run the zoo.

I especially like zoo empire in that it show that not all customers coming in the gate have touring in their mind. Just yesterday night, I caught sight of a kid stealing money from the pizza stand!

The music and the sound effects are good, but what really make this game a gem is the graphics. It is quite a treat to the eye. The art director of the game did a great job in making every structure easily recognizedable yet maintain the overall cute cartoonish style.

Some of my friends complained about the slowness of the game but it run perfectly smooth on my 2 year old computer (AMD Athlon and GeForce Ti4200) so I don't think it would be a problem for anyone of you out there.

The installation went smoothly and painlessly on my WinXP Pro.

Overall, I have to give it a 5 stars - Zoo Empire is absolutely the best simulation game for your buck in the market! This game is a guranteed fun for everyone of your family, don't miss it!

Rating:
Summary: Poor Quality Zoo Software
Review: This software will not work on my Hewlett Packard. The screen flashes then blanks out. What a rip-off.

Rating:
Summary: Frustrating...
Review: Though I would never compare this game to RollerCoaster Tycoon, because that is far and away the best game of this type out there, Zoo Empire certainly doesn't stand on its own. The learning curve is HUGE! I had to pick up the manual constantly even though I patiently went through all the tutorials. This game gave me no joy and a lot of headaches. The animals were hungry within 15 seconds of having fed them. Vending machines were vandalized, but heck if you could figure out which ones. The objectives were very demanding, to say the least.

The upside of this game were the graphics, which were awesome. Plus, you could view your zoo from just about any camera angle you desire. It's obvious that this is a quality-made game. Unfortunately, the gameplay is not the least bit relaxing or fun. I really wanted to like this game!

Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: Zoo Empire is a fabulous game! Actually, it has the potential to be the best zoo game ever! There are glitches with the animal feeding and drinking, but they are fixed by installing the patch. Now, my zookeepers seem to be feeding the animals slightly better. Although the tutorials do a good job of getting you up and running, the manual is a must-read, or else you'll miss out one some of the more complex features of the game. I just never read the manuals, just jump into a free game and figure it all out, so many of my problems were due to not reading the manual! Great, colorfull graphics, cool animations, and a great way to learn more about animals!

Hopefully the guys responsible for zoo empire will come out with version 2 of the game, and fixing the minor glitches in the game. I'll be looking forward to that.