Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals review

Beasts that didn't try hard enough

12DOVE Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Tranquilizing crazed dinos

  • +

    Caring for the lovable dodo

  • +

    Discovering each species

Cons

  • -

    Not enough new stuff

  • -

    Appeals to a niche audience

  • -

    Not exactly blistering graphics

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Nov 26, 2007

There are certainties in life; the sky is blue, there will be yet another new reality TV show next week, and there will always be more Zoo Tycoon. Extinct Animals does what it says on the box, bringing long-since dead animals back to life by manipulating fossils, and challenging you to shoe-horn in said fauna into your budding zoo. The caveat is that these animals are not easy to deal with - notably the angry dinosaurs which occasionally become enraged, turning your zoo to rubble and eating passers-by. All right, not that last one.

The dinos need to be controlled by either your new ability to tranquilize them, or if it becomes a serious, your local dinosaur capture team. Players also have to deal with disease, hunting down the source of the illness by analyzing food, objects and trees in the animals' enclosures. This adds another level of depth to Zoo Tycoon 2, and it's a laugh playing House MD with your animals, even if it's easy.

More info

GenreSimulation
DescriptionHere comes the biggest expansion pack to date for Zoo Tycoon 2, which lets gamers bring animals that once roamed the Earth back to life.
Platform"PC"
US censor rating"Everyone 10+"
UK censor rating""
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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