Zoo Tycoon 2 DS review

A bird's eye perspective of the park is afforded by the lower screen, while the upper screen is generally reserved for informational displays. The camera offers three zoom levels, but you can't pull it back very far, so you pretty much have to scroll the screen multiple times whenever you want to lay down a path or a fence. You may also find the graphics and audio too plain for your liking. The animals and people do actually walk around and play. However, the terrain and decorations in the 2D main view are mostly static, apart from some of the more elaborate water tiles and customer stands. Similarly, the audio primarily consists of various jungle-themed background tunes, though you will hear some animal noises when you're in the zookeeper view.

The campaign mode serves up 50 scenarios to challenge your zoo building skills, the total of which will take you anywhere from a few days to a week to complete. You also have the option of linking up with a friend to see who can build the better zoo in real time, as well as to trade zoos. For the most part though, this game is all about gradually building up parks by yourself in the free play mode and relaxing with your creations. If that sounds fun to you, then you'll dig Zoo Tycoon 2 DS.

Feb 12, 2008