Includes Zoo Tycoon 2 + All 4 Expansion Packs, business simulation, The goal is to create a thriving zoo by building exhibits to accommodate animals and keeping the guests happy.
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71 of 74 found the following review helpful:
Ultimate Collection Rocks!!! Watch for defective disc, no problem...May 09, 2009
By Zic
"Horror Fan, Guitar Man"
I had the original Zoo Tycoon 2, and was looking to buy one or two of the expansion packs. While researching my options, I found this Ultimate Collection for about the same price as two of the expansions (there are four). So, I just decided to buy The Ultimate Collection. I can't believe how much content is added with each expansion. Besides the normal Zoo Tycoon 2 content, you get... -African Adventure (African animals, Jeep Vehicle tours, safari themed items) -Endangered Species (Help house and breed endangered species, Sky Tram Tours, Elevated Paths) -Marine Mania (Marine animals, Train Animal to perform in shows, Swim with Animals) -Extinct Animals (step into a bit of fantasy by digging for fossils, doing research, and eventually creating living animals from long extinct species, such as the cute Dodo Bird, the ferocious Saber-Toothed Cat, even a massive American Mastodon)
You won't believe how much extra content these expansions bring. This is a family friendy game. My 6 year old daughter is not very good at it, she still loves playing. And although there are a LOT of options when you build your zoo, it's not overwhelming. They have tutorials that start with the basics, enclosure building, and they add a few things at a time until you get up to speed.
This is an excellent game at an excellent price. I do have to tell you that Microsoft had a batch of these where the third disc did not work. The copy I got was defective. I called Microsoft and they sent me a new copy within a few days. Maybe I shouldn't say this, but due to their screwup, I now have two copies of the game. See, the third disc is only an install disc. The first disc is the play disc, which I now have two of. So, after installing the game on my computer and keeping the new play disc (disc 1), I took disc two and three and paired it with my original play disc, I installed it on my Mom's computer. Thanks Microsoft!!! Like I said, I maybe shouldn't have said anything, but if you get a defective copy, it's a good thing because then you'll have two copies....
23 of 23 found the following review helpful:
The best game I've ever had!May 23, 2010
I love this game. It is so much fun. First of all there are three different modes, free form where you have an unlimited budget and don't have to unlock anything besides the things campaign mode and challenge mode unlocks, challenge mode where you can do challenges like taking photos and making new exhibits to earn prizes that you unlock, and campaign mode which is basically a story mode where you have to complete all the scenorinos in that campaign and unlock prizes. There are many animals too. I especially like the african wild dogs and meerkats. It has many popular animals like pandas and some probably never heard of ones too like the short-finned pilot whale. There are also many dinosaur species but I usually get all tangled up in the names and can't remember them. There is also a "zoopedia" which is basically an encyclopedia that has lots of imformation about the plants and animal species you can get. For instance if I never had this game I wouldn't know that to communicate with their young florida panthers chirp. This game has made me push farther towards wanting to become a zoologist when I grow up. Now I have the whole plan on what I will be when I grow up, what kinds of dogs and cats I will have (I got those from Dogs 101 and Cats 101.) and specifically what animals I will help, which is a sea otter. There are many different biomes too like the alpine which is a mountain terrain and the tundra or arctic. You can really interact with the animals too. In zoo guest mode you can groom the animals, go face to face with the animals in their exhibit, refill their food and water, and even pretend like you are a guest. There are some ways to tell the differences with the animals too. You can also take pictures of the animals and save them in an album. Also if you double click on the pictures you can zoom in on them. I've had this game for almost three years now and it is still a perfect game. If you are an animal fan and like simulation games you HAVE to get this game!!
18 of 20 found the following review helpful:
Great Game!Feb 12, 2009
By Frank Gowett
"frank gowett"
Well when I got the game I thought that I would have to get a new disc 3 but when i put it in the computer and load it it ran fine! I played it and I loved it The best Zoo Tycoon Game out there!
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Great game!Nov 06, 2011
By Cas I really liked this game. I got the ultimate collection with all the expansions, though I already had one of the EPs. The CDs installed just fine and I didn't have any trouble playing the game at all on my Windows 7 rig.
Graphics are a little chunky even on high setting, but I guess that's to be expected with this game's demands, and it didn't detract that much from enjoyment levels. The dance of making money versus expanding and making the zoo more "fun" for guests is enjoyable all the way around. Not quite as enjoyable is that one must do campaigns and challenges to unlock the game's full range of objects and animals; I paid for the game, and I expect to be able to use what it has, not have to work for its contents. A sandbox mode that included all of them would be nice. Another sandbox mode with non-unlimited funds would also be nice; it's not nearly as fun to make a zoo with unlimited funds, but there's no other way to play except in "challenge mode," which is like sandbox except it throws challenges like "take a photo of a quagga eating hay" every so often.
But even with all that said, the game is fun. It's entirely okay for even younger kids and would appeal to anybody who prefers simulation games (like Sims 3) or even realtime strategy builder games (Majesty, CivCity Rome, Civilization) over first-person shooters or "RPGs" like Oblivion. There are no cheat codes really to speak of, and the only way to cheat on it is really complicated to do, which might or might not appeal to a player. The animals do all sorts of animal things--meerkats stand on their hind legs and cluck. Gorillas swing from the bars. Lemurs run in circles around each other. Pandas lumber around and eat bamboo. T-Rexes rampage in their enclosures (try putting an elephant bird and a T-Rex together and watch the mayhem). Dolphins put on shows for the crowds.
There's a lot more hands-on stuff in this game than in the "vanilla" version--you can let trainers handle all the marine animals' training, or you can take the helm and train them yourself by clicking the mouse along a path. You can ignore paleontology, or you can enter the dino bone exam center and do jigsaw puzzles and play little games to create your own super-dinos. You can wander your zoo as a zookeeper, doing the routine tasks like emptying garbage cans or cleaning up after the animals, and you can take photos of the animals that go into albums that you can keep game after game--and these photos are one of the most fun features of the entire game! A photo kiosk can eventually be unlocked ingame that lets you display the photos to guests.
Meanwhile, guests wander through and look at the sculptures and mini-exhibits along the way, eat at the venues, and buy gifts. The game keeps track of their possessions, hunger/thirst levels, and how much cash they have, bringing them to the ATM machines you've (hopefully) set along the paths so they can replenish. Each guest has his/her own favorite animal and they can do silly things like flap their arms like flamingos or hop around like kangaroos. It's difficult to learn the ropes of setting up skytrams, elevated paths (HINT: DO NOT SET UP IN TALL ANIMALS' ENCLOSURES), and Jeep drives, but rewarding--the game lets you, through that same first-person zookeeper mode, ride all of them as if you were a guest, and see the game through the those eyes.
The selection of animals will likely delight any player--meerkats, lemurs, monkeys, tapirs, fennecs, penguins, pandas and red pandas, and so much more. It's easy to make the zoo look like what you want, and the size options for the zoo itself are quite generous (though I do wish it were possible to make an even bigger zoo!). You can group animals from similar biomes, as in the first title, but here it's even more expanded. It's also a lot easier to create a suitable biome for an animal than in the first title. Just be careful not to group predators with prey--who would have guessed that a sentinel bird would stalk wolverines?--or too many male wolves or lions in one enclosures, or they will fight and possibly kill each other.
Though one of the older titles, Zoo Tycoon 2 would make an excellent addition to the game library. There's a lot to do, tons of replay value, and I can see a lot of people liking the campaigns that it's got.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Works Great on Windows 7Jun 14, 2011
By amazoner ZT2 works exceptionally on win7, loads fast, ans great graphics. I was worried at first because I've heard of a lot of people having problems with this game on win7, but I had no trouble at all. As for the people who had problems with the 3rd installation disk, I contacted microsoft before ordering and they assured me this problem is completely solved.
Pros: Great graphics, fast loading, easy to install, fun to play, great variety of things in the game.
Cons: None so far!
Overall, this game works great and is well worth the money.
based on 81 reviews
( 81 customer reviews )
