Zoo Tycoon 2: Zookeeper Edition Review

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

Version tested: PC

My name is Isobel. On Saturday I went to the zoo with my Daddy and Liam who is my brother. I don't think Daddy really wanted to go but he smiled a lot when he was there.

There were 70 kinds of animals in the zoo! My favourite was the Fennec Foxes. They are foxes from Africa with very big ears. They are very cute. I liked it when they scratched their big ears and yawned like Custard. Custard is our cat. My other favourite animal was a big bird called a Flamingo. They are pink and eat shrimps and sleep a lot. When they sleep they stand on one leg and put their head under their wing. Daddy said they do it because they are shy. Liam said they do it because they are trying to smell their bottoms. Liam is stupid.

Daddy's favourite animal was a Nile Crocodile. He liked it when it chased the little lizards and gobbled them up. Daddy liked the Pygmy Hippos as well. He said they reminded him of Auntie Ruth. Liam's favourite animal was probably the Penguins because they slid on their tummies on the ice. Daddy said Penguin bars were made out of real Penguins when he was little. Daddy thinks he is Joe Pasquale.

When we were looking at the Penguins Daddy started talking to a man called Mr. Player. Mr. Player was the boss of the zoo. He said his job was very interesting and fun. The most important part was making sure all the animals were happy. If the animals were hungry or thirsty or lonely or dirty or too crowded then people wouldn't come to the zoo. The people need things too like food and benches and souvenirs.

1

Add soap to the elephant feed to entertain visitors. Not really. This is the washing animation.

Mr. Player decides what animals the zoo will get. As the zoo gets more famous he can choose from more different animals. When he buys an animal he needs to build them a home that they will like. Polar Bears would not like it in a desert. Giraffes would not like it in a tundra. Camels would not like it in a rain forest unless they had an umbrella. Daddy told me to write that.

Mr. Player said he was never bored. He said he loved making the homes interesting with hills and ponds and waterfalls and things like that. He said his tools were very good and he gets lots of advice if he wants it. He said in the morning he had designed a new home for the Meerkats and given a name to a baby Black Rhino and built a gift shop and washed three elephants! He said zookeepers would normally wash the elephants but he wanted to wash the elephants today so he did. Liam told Mr. Player he smelled of elephant poo. Daddy made Liam say sorry.

We said goodbye to Mr. Player and went to look at the monkeys. They were ace. We watched Ring Tailed Lemurs getting bananas out of a hollow log. A zookeeper said he put food in logs and ice cubes to make the animals porridge. He also gave the animals toys like balls and squeaky things to make them happy. Liam asked the zookeeper if the Lemurs had a Wii. The zookeeper said they did sometimes.

2

ZT2:ZE contains ZT2 and the Endangered Species and African Adventure expansion packs.

The zookeeper told us we should go and look at the Warthogs because one called Jade was about to have a baby. We went to the Warthog's home and watched. There was some twinkling stars and then we saw a baby Warthog on the grass. Liam asked how baby Warthogs were made. Daddy said it was time to go and get candyfloss and go on the Sky Tram.

The Sky Tram was brilliant! It was like a ride at the fair. There are places in the zoo called Conservation Areas where Mr Player is not allowed to make paths or buildings. We went above the Conservation Areas in the Sky Tram. Liam dropped his candyfloss on a Mountain Gorilla. Daddy was cross.

When we got off the Sky Tram we went to get something to eat. There was lots and lots of food and drink to choose from. Daddy says there was too much choice. Daddy asked us what we wanted to eat. I asked for a hotdog and ice-cream. Liam wanted bananas in a hollow log but they didn't have them so he had a hotdog too. Afterwards Liam needed the toilet but there was a big queue. Daddy said they needed more toilets in the zoo. We heard a noise and when we looked there was another toilet there! Daddy said it was magic.

3

Wildife Park 2 has more realistic graphics, but it's an inferior game.

On the way to see the Bongos Daddy sang a silly song and we met Mr. Player again. Mr. Player said he wanted three kinds of African animals to have babies this year. He said it was a challenge and he would get money for the zoo if he managed it. He said some zoo bosses didn't like challenges so they didn't do them which was OK. Liam started yawning like a Fennec Fox. Mr Player. said goodbye.

The Bongos were very nice but their home was very smelly because of all the poo. Daddy said Mr. Player should get more zookeepers. Zookeepers collect poo and feed the animals and cure them if they get sick. Daddy told us the best zookeeper ever was a man called Johnny Morris.

Afterwards we went on a Jeep Safari. On the Jeep Safari you drive through a big field that is like Africa. We saw elephants and giraffes and wildebeests. It was brilliant but Daddy said it was very commercial and bad for the environment. He said it was just one big advert for Jeeps. Jeeps cause global warming Daddy says.

4

Why can't you feed lazy zookeepers to the crocs?

After the Jeep Safari me and Liam wanted to go and see the Sharks and the Whales and the Piranhas in Marine Mania but Daddy said we couldn't because it cost £20 extra. He said we would go and look at the creepy crawlies and the snakes instead. We searched for ages but couldn't find many creepy crawlies or snakes. I didn't mind.

The zoo was very good. I think my friends Chloe, Herbert, and Celica would like it a lot. Daddy said it was fun and interesting but he thought it could have been a bit funnier.

7 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy

Comments (25) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Roamer #1 6 years ago

    Nice idea, Mr. Clare. However, some clarity is lost in the process. For example;

    The Bongos were very nice but their home was very smelly because of all the poo. Daddy said Mr. Player should get more zookeepers. Zookeepers collect poo and feed the animals and cure them if they get sick. Daddy told us the best zookeeper ever was a man called Johnny Morris.

    What the heck!? I don't understand this paragraph at all. Hiring additional staff to clean up cages is a gameplay mechanism, is that it? Who the frick is Johnny Morris?
  • myrmican #2 6 years ago

    Who the frick is Johnny Morris?
    Ah, the youth of today. Let's just say if you're a brit above the age of 20, Johnny Morris is probably quite special to you.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Morris
  • old_skool #3 6 years ago

    Very interesting way of reviewing o_0
  • DDevil #4 6 years ago

    /hums the Animal Magic theme.
  • schoozzzmmii #5 6 years ago

    This made me laugh, and on a dismal Tuesday morning that's quite an achievement. Great review :)
  • Grim Fandango #6 6 years ago

  • Empedocles #7 6 years ago

    Ah Johnny Morris.............................................

    Now if they got a soundalike to do voiceovers in the game I'd buy it.
  • BM #8 6 years ago

    I'd just like to commend Isobel on her amazing grasp of English, especially her grammar. And to think they say that British schools are one of the poorest in Europe...
  • mouthofyoureye #9 6 years ago

    zoos are bad

    i think microsoft should put more money into this game so it can replace real zoos and then animals don't have to live in captivity and they can be free (and be shot and made into clothing)

    /is listening to the smiths
  • Roamer #10 6 years ago

    Ah, the youth of today. Let's just say if you're a brit above the age of 20, Johnny Morris is probably quite special to you.

    Ah, therein lies the rub - I'm not a brit. Although I frequently claim to be one; for some strange reason being rude and sarcastic is more acceptable for you guys;

    Roamer: with the exception of the Johnny Morris reference (I get it, but I expect you're too young), what's not to understand about the example you give. Yes - hiring Zookeepers is a gameplay mechanic, just like in every other Tycoon style game ever made.

    That was a joke, by the way.

    I think the review felt a bit forced, trying to be different just for the sake of it. If this was a game I was really anticipating a review for, I'd be disappointed. It does make for a mildly entertaining read, though.
  • Lonestar #11 6 years ago

    Good to see Isobels Dad exercising his visitation rights.
  • foxy2006 #12 6 years ago

    heh

    nice review style XD
  • Phreedh #13 6 years ago

    I really didn't care too much for the format here. Reviews shouldn't obscure the information about the game too much. It's not really a problem understanding it, but it feels a bit inaccessible.
  • Salaman #14 6 years ago

    hehe ... brilliant.
    :-)
  • Talha #15 6 years ago

    Best
    Review
    Ever

    Although EG now appear to be leaving the comfy, familiar confines of journalism and dabbling their toe into the treacherous waters of literature. For which I commend them and wish them every success. ;-)
  • Hugundo #16 6 years ago

    Ive only just woken up and that review pissed me right off.
  • JediMasterMalik #17 6 years ago

    Agreed Talha. I love different review styles, you rarely see them, and it's breaks up some of the monotony of reading review after review which are written like clones. Great review.
  • Talha #18 6 years ago

    Sorry for the off topic comment, but why does that HL2 Episode 2 ad lead to the intel link? Shouldn't someone be suing someone else?
    Edited by Talha at 12/12/06 @ 11:14
  • JediMasterMalik #19 6 years ago

    Look at the ad on the right. It's a dual ad. ;)

    They do it alot for PC hardware/games actually.
  • Pirotic #20 6 years ago

    another novelty review? we only had the last one a few days ago. As I said then, save them for the terrible games please - I would never buy a game based on a novelty review and seeing as this got a half decent score, i'll now have to bugger off somewhere else to find out half the stuff i'm still left questioning.
  • Talha #21 6 years ago

    @Jedi: It's a rotten trick

    @Pirotic: What's a novelty review anyway? If any review conveys how a game FEELS like to play, it should be good enough. Plus ZT2 has been reviewed before, so this kind of review makes even more sense.
  • Pirotic #22 6 years ago

    It's a novelty review. a review which thinks of itself as more important than the game it's reviewing. How can you possibly give a game a fair and informative review when your working within the constraints of pretending your an 8 year old girl. It's a fairly long review yet tells you so little about the game itself.

    I'd buy a book if I wanted literature :p
    Edited by Pirotic at 12/12/06 @ 11:47
  • Markusdragon #23 6 years ago

    @Gremni

    Quoted straight from the article...
    "ZT2:ZE contains ZT2 and the Endangered Species and African Adventure expansion packs."
  • El_MUERkO #24 6 years ago

  • OliverClare #25 6 years ago

    For Pirotic, Gremmi and the other posters who couldn't find the bananas in the hollow log...

    Para 1: Introduction with preliminary assessment.
    Para2-3: Animal variety, animation quality, the 'cuteness' factor.
    Para4-6: Core gameplay. The player's role/jurisdiction. Description. Judgements.
    Para7: An (unexpected?) gameplay subtlety. Foraging encouragement.
    Para8: Treatment of birth and, by implication, mating.
    Para9: Positive description of Sky Trams.
    Para10: Comments on visitor provision.
    Para11: Game modes.
    Para12: Role of zookeepers.
    Para13: Scathing description of Jeep Safaris.
    Para14: What you don't get.
    Para15: Conclusion.