''Zoo Tycoon'' is a

business simulation Business simulation or corporate simulation is business simulations used for training, education or analysis. It can be scenario-based or numeric-based. Most business simulations are used for business acumen training and development. Learning ...

video game developed by

Frontier Developments Frontier Developments plc is a British video game developer founded by David Braben in January 1994 and based at the Cambridge Science Park in Cambridge, England. Frontier develops management simulators '' Planet Coaster'' and '' Planet Zoo'', ...

and published by

Microsoft Studios Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, spun out from an internal Games Group, fo ...

. The game was released on November 22, 2013 for

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...

and

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

. Microsoft announced a remaster of the game, ''Zoo Tycoon: Ultimate Animal Collection'', for

Windows 10 Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. The successor to Windows 8.1, it was Software release cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on July 2 ...

and the

on August 20, 2017. It features 4K resolution, HDR and 60 FPS support on

Xbox One X The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Australia, and South ...

. In addition to improved graphics and gameplay, new animals such as

kangaroo Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

koala The koala (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), sometimes inaccurately called the koala bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only Extant taxon, extant representative of the Family (biology), family ''Phascolar ...

s, and

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

s were included. It was released on October 31, 2017. There are multiple campaigns and challenges with animals from across the globe.

Development

''Zoo Tycoon was'' revealed at

E3 2013 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2013 (E3 2013) was the 19th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California, with many press conferences taking place at nearby venues including the Microsoft Theate ...

In June 2013. The gameplay that was shown included elements similar to '' Zoo Tycoon 2,'' such as a first person view, and new elements such as feeding animals in first person view. Also like its predecessor, the game allows the player to care for their animals by monitoring their mood, hunger, and thirst. Tycoon Mode, which was introduced in the first ''

Zoo Tycoon ''Zoo Tycoon'' is a series of business simulation video games in which the player is tasked with building and running a successful zoo. The series was initially developed by Blue Fang Games and published by Microsoft Studios who later in 2001 ...

'', has also returned.

Gameplay

Xbox One

The

version features both a 15-hour story campaign mode, the traditional freeform mode (infinite money), and challenge modes (short tasks lasting about 15 minutes). In addition, there are also real-time events and challenges that match real-world events. Microsoft will donate to animal charities for completion of community events, "For example, the recent Rhino killings in Nairobi park – we could set a community based achievement asking players to save 10,000 rhinos, and when unlocked, money would be given to the park or a related charity." Jonny Watts, Frontier’s Chief Creative officer, explained." The Xbox One version features Kinect-based minigames, an option to share and upload pictures that you take on Xbox One, supported Xbox Live Online from players 1-4, and more than 100 animals in the game. The Xbox One version allows traditional ''Zoo Tycoon'' navigation as well as a '' Disneyland Adventures''-style 3D free roam of the park, where the player's avatar runs through the park. Interactions with the animals are similar to '' Kinectimals'' in that they include feeding, bathing, etc. The player can see the status of the animals by pressing the X button to see if they're happy and healthy, view their food and water meters, as well as social and boredom ratings. The Xbox One version allows gamers to upload their zoos to the cloud and share them. Up to four players can work on a given zoo simultaneously. Friends can continue to work on the zoo even when the owner is not present.

Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 version of ''Zoo Tycoon'' is almost identical to the Xbox One version. However, it only features 65 animals out of the 101 that are featured in the Xbox One version. Also, the graphics of this version are inferior to the Xbox One. This version also only features a single-player mode.

Reception

''Zoo Tycoon'' received mixed reviews upon release. ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'' gave it a 5.5/10, ''

Official Xbox Magazine ''Official Xbox Magazine'' (''OXM'') was a British monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released at E3 2001, with another preview issue in November 2001. The maga ...

'' UK gave the game a 7/10, ''

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...

'' gave the game an 8/10, Hardcore Gamer gave the game a 3.5/5, ''

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...

'' gave the game an 8/10 while ''

Metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

'' gave the game a 6/10 and VideoGamer.com gave it a 5/10. ''GameZone'' gave the Xbox One version a 6/10, stating "Where Zoo Tycoon cuts corners to appeal to a wider audience, it also alienates it with overly cumbersome menus."

References

External links

Official U.S. Xbox 360 websiteOfficial U.S. Xbox One website
* {{Authority control 2013 video games Asobo Studio games Frontier Developments games Kinect games Microsoft games Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games about animals Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games set in zoos Windows games Xbox 360 games Xbox One games Xbox One X enhanced games Xbox Play Anywhere games Zoo Tycoon