Zoo Tycoon 2 : Zookeeper Collection product reviews

This is a great game, and this is by far the best version. I have had a go at the 1st and the 3rd. But Zoo Tycoon 2 is by far the best of the lot, not to mention that this is great value, getting the original plus the two add-ons included.

If you like animals, strategy and build-em-up games, then this is a good one to try, and one that your children could get into as well. You can pick to go with free-play and just build your zoo up to be the way that you want it to be, decorate it how you want, and pick the animals you want (and if bored, just let all the animals escape). But if you want more of a challenge, there are set scenarios where requirements range from building certain enclosures to making enough profit to research.

Enough variety to keep you coming back.

If you liked the looks of any of the Zoo Tycoon series but haven't gotten around to buying it yet you should seriously consider this as your first pack. it contains not only the basic game but also the first two expansion packs, giving you nearly $100 value for half that price! I used to play the first version of this great franchise and was always to be found stuck to the screen during my me-time. It was great to see a new version of the game come out designed to take better advantage of the more powerful hardware available and the newer graphics sub-engines such as DirectX. I found the game to be a lot smoother to run and the graphics were of a much higher standard even when set to the lowest settings. I was also really impressed with the 'visitor's eye view' mode that let me walk around the zoo as would a guest. Gives you as the zoo god a much better idea of what it could/will look like to your sim visitors. I was also really impressed with the expansion packs and the extra animals and themed extras such as buildings and consession stands. My favourite would have to have been the African Adventure expansion and it's addition of cablecars and jeeps to the basic game. A very cool way to blow away those spare hours for old and young alike.