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Zoo Tycoon | Review Thread

D

Dawg

Member
2561157-6249754889-zoo-t.jpg


Polygon 8/10
Zoo Tycoon is repetitive and a little glitchy; it's simple and sometimes irritating. It's also a smartly designed simulator, accessible for all. It's charming and sweet, to the point that I never wanted to stop playing — even when my colleagues demanded we use the console for one of the bigger launch titles.

Forget them, I just want to see my next task. What can I do to make this zoo better, the visitors happier and the animals healthier? For a game with tycoon in the title, it's got a good heart.
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Videogamer 5/10
Maybe I’m not the target market for this and maybe I’m reading too much into the word 'Tycoon', but even looking past that I didn’t have a whole lot of fun. The Kinect interaction, while cute, is less so after repeated animations, and I’m not sure that Zoo Tycoon really knows what it wants to be.

In the end it felt a lot like playing Kinectimals, and that was almost three years ago.
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Shacknews 7
However, the rest of us have some globe-trotting to do. These zoos aren't going to fix themselves, are they? Zoo Tycoon may have taken a best-of-both-worlds approach, but to my surprise and delight, ends up being more successful as a "game" than a mere family-friendly "experience."
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Eurogamer Italy 8/10

Everyeye 7/10

OXM UK 7/10

For all its shallowness, I couldn't help but fall for Zoo Tycoon. While its charms may indeed be too quickly exhausted, they're potent while they last, and there's an overpowering wholesomeness that's difficult to resist. There are a lot of great ideas, wonderful moments and potential memories to be made here that make it more than worth a look, but much like my experiences with real-life animal parks, Zoo Tycoon becomes less likely to delight upon each subsequent visit.
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Game Reactor 8/10
Zoo Tycoon is very enjoyable. As a family game it excels thanks to gorgeous visuals, user-friendly interfaces, an abundance of interactive features and informative content. It's not a game for everyone, there are plenty of features but it's rarely a hefty challenge. It's a game to be enjoyed at a relaxed pace, an experience to celebrate and share because it's so refreshingly pleasant.
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Huffington Post 4/5
Zoo Tycoon is not going to blow most gamers' minds, but it's hard not to like it. Alongside its core mechanics, which are fun and entertaining, it's a beautifully presented game with stunningly animated animals, and will appeal to a family audience more than any other launch title. In truth it feels like it might have been more at home on the Wii U - but that's not a criticism. The Xbox One would do well to encourage more games of this type - families will surely appreciate it - as well as titles of this overall quality. And we can't wait for the surely inevitable dinosaur DLC, so we can fire a hose at a T-Rex.
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Metro 6/10
With 100 animals to pet and feed Zoo Tycoon is not ungenerous with its content but it is patronising in how little it expects of its players. The end result is a game that’s passing fun for animal-loving kids but which offers no long term entertainment for either them or their parents. And yet somehow we still can’t help wishing they’d make a sequel with dinosaurs.
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C

chickdigger802

Banned
wow, from the title i expected a farmville flash game... but this looks pretty neat.

was it weekend confirmed that said this was probably the best xbox one launch game?

looks neat.
 
G

GPsych

Member
chickdigger802 said:
wow, from the title i expected a farmville flash game... but this looks pretty neat.

was it weekend confirmed that said this was probably the best xbox one launch game?

looks neat.
Click to expand...

Depending on Forza reviews it might end up being the highest reviewed game out of both the PS4 and X1 launches.

Can't wait to play it!
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
Shacknews and Polygon seem to be saying the same things with roughly the same tone. Videogamer's review is a lot more surface level and provides less details.

Interested in seeing reviews for the Xbox 360 version to find out if it works on its own or if it's a tanked, toned down product.
 
W

w00zey

Member
This was one game I am hoping will be solid. It isn't for everyone but unless it is broken it will steal time from me like most tycoon games.
 
S

shandy706

Member
I'm getting this for my wife and daughters.

7-8s and I'm sure they'll enjoy it. My wife loves old school Zoo Tycoon and my little ones will enjoy the up close Animal interactions.
 
P

Pooya

Member
this one ended up pretty good it seems. I like to see what's different in the 360 version, besides apparently not having any online aspect.
 
sephiroth7x

sephiroth7x

Member
The one game I wish was on the PS4...

Will be the first game I get when I get an Xbox One in the new year.

Glad its looking good
 
N

N7Commander95

Member
Polygon's review is one of the cutest things I have ever read. That bit about the animals copying your facial expressions makes me dawww
 
N

Nyx

Member
MadmanUK said:
Every podcast i've listened to over the past week has said that this is the surprise hit from both launches.
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I guess they didn't expect much then, I mean, there's hardly any management stuff in the game, that's why people love Tycoon games so much, not to make photo's of animals...
 
C

chubigans

y'all should be ashamed
Don't forget that this is a walmart retail exclusive. I think you can order it online from other sites though.
 
T

Triggerhappytel

Member
Gamcentral 6/10

In Short: A fun demonstration of the Xbox One’s capabilities but unfortunately much more a stealth sequel to Kinectimals than it is a proper Tycoon game.

Pros: Cleverly thought-out interface manages to work very well on a joypad. Animal mini-games are charming and the online options very robust.

Cons: There’s no depth to anything and the game pulls its punches in terms offering any real challenge or even true customisation. Graphics have some rough edges.
Click to expand...
 
Kacho

Kacho

Member
Odrion said:
Wow, I'm surprised that this game is actually any good. And not just "good", but "pretty good"!
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Yeah, I always thought it looked pretty great, which was weird considering this is the type of game I normally wouldn't be interested in.

Also heard plenty of great things from preview events and such. I'll check it out for sure.
 
I

ironcreed

Banned
This looks like something that could be very relaxing, to be honest. I am open minded enough to give it a try for a change of pace. Not to mention that I am a huge animal lover.
 
D

Dega

Eeny Meenie Penis
I decided to get this yesterday after that best buy trade in stuff. Seems like it will be entertaining. :D
 
M

mjc

Member
Krisprolls said:
Zoo Tycoon better than The Last of Us confirmed. Polygon is a joke also confirmed.
Click to expand...

Fantastic post 10/10 would read again. Get this shit out of here.

Glad to hear its fun, if Amazon runs a B2G1 on X1 games like they did with the PS4, I'll grab this too.
 
B

Briarios

Member
It's funny, the people that are making fun of the Polygon comparison are also the people completely ignoring the other bad reviews ... Hmmm.
 
C

coldfoot

Banned
Easy games receive higher review scores, confirmed.
*games with Souls in their names don't count.
I was actually interested in this game until I read there was no "tycoon".
 
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