Zoo Tycoon 2 Editor's Review

Learning is fun with Zoo Tycoon 2

The Zoo Tycoon game lets you manage and control your own zoo; building up enclosures, parks and activities for visitors before adding in fascinating animals that you need to take care of. The cutesy style of the game means that is more suited to adults playing together with their kids, but Zoo Tycoon 2 also comes with a fairly robust encyclopaedia of all the animals supplied by Microsoft’s Encarta. It can therefore be both a fun and educational experience.

Zoo Tycoon 2 supplies the options of either scenario mode or sandbox mode. In scenario mode you need to follow the objectives given to you by park managers. These can be simple things such as attracting a certain number of visitors, or more complex scenarios such as maintaining a certain amount of cash flow, or revitalising a Zoo that is losing sales. The scenarios sometimes struggle to supply depth, but generally give a good idea of how to manage a park step by step before trying out sandbox mode. Sandbox mode meanwhile lets you create your zoo as you please. The mode allows you to set certain parameters for yourself in the way of finance, or you can just choose to play it with an unlimited stream of cash and create a dream zoo park containing every animal imaginable.

Pro's: fully-featured encyclopaedia, easy to learn, hours of play

Con's: Graphics not brilliant, scenarios can become boring, designed primarily for kids

Conclusion: If you’re into tycoon simulations and you’d like to try a new one, Zoo Tycoon 2 might just be a good option. The plethora of game options available in creating your dream zoo means it should keep you or your kids entertained for a long time.