Zoo Tycoon

 Xbox One
User Score
3.2

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 323 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 76 out of 323
  2. Mixed: 37 out of 323
  3. Negative: 210 out of 323
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  1. AdrianChan
    Jun 9, 2014
    4
    I am a Zoo Tycoon fans and this Zoo Tycoon feels nothing like the original Zoo Tycoon. The original Zoo Tycoon give players a lot of freedom to develop or to build a park, but the new Zoo Tycoon just feel extremely restricted. XBO Zoo Tycoon is just not as fun as the original. Basically, it is just boring. Graphics certainly look great and all animals and character models look veryI am a Zoo Tycoon fans and this Zoo Tycoon feels nothing like the original Zoo Tycoon. The original Zoo Tycoon give players a lot of freedom to develop or to build a park, but the new Zoo Tycoon just feel extremely restricted. XBO Zoo Tycoon is just not as fun as the original. Basically, it is just boring. Graphics certainly look great and all animals and character models look very detailed considering it is a next-gen games but overall it is very disappointing… Expand
  2. Tom129
    Jan 4, 2014
    4
    Graphics and controls are great. It is easy and convenient to check on the well-being of your animals and the satisfaction of guests. The variety of animals available is good as well.

    This game has a serious flaw: the Zoo Limit. With every enclosure, animal, concession stand, decoration (and anything else) that you place, the zoo limit fills a bit. In the challenge mode of the game    Graphics and controls are great. It is easy and convenient to check on the well-being of your animals and the satisfaction of guests. The variety of animals available is good as well.

    This game has a serious flaw: the Zoo Limit. With every enclosure, animal, concession stand, decoration (and anything else) that you place, the zoo limit fills a bit. In the challenge mode of the game (which restricts what you can build based on cost and income is determined by guest satisfaction), I reached the zoo limit in about 3 hours of play. I had about a dozen enclosures, each full of animals, two mini--enclosures, and about half a dozen other buildings. The zoo limit does not increase with zoo level, so once you have reached the zoo limit, you can't build anything new without selling something else.

    This is a severe limit on how large the zoo can be and how many animals can be had at one time.

    Additionally, the extent to which zoos can be customized is disappointing. Enclosures are limited to three sizes: small, medium, and large, and are predefined shapes. Exhibit enhancements can only be placed in a small number of preset locations around the edge of the enclosures, and to keep your animals happy you generally must have one of each type (feeding station, cleansing station, and toy). Due to the lack of customization, adding enhancements becomes tedious and repetitive.

    The game would be very fun if not for these limitations.    … Expand
  3. corshark
    Jan 6, 2014
    2
    This is not a Zoo Tycoon Game. this is some poorly made crap that XBLA slapped it's name and signature crap graphics on and called it a Zoo Tycoon game. There is little to none customization and the only customization you can do you barely control. The very fact this is being called a Zoo Tycoon game is a disgrace. The zoo fame is basically a terrible, limiting and poorly balanced level-upThis is not a Zoo Tycoon Game. this is some poorly made crap that XBLA slapped it's name and signature crap graphics on and called it a Zoo Tycoon game. There is little to none customization and the only customization you can do you barely control. The very fact this is being called a Zoo Tycoon game is a disgrace. The zoo fame is basically a terrible, limiting and poorly balanced level-up system. The animal and animal enrichment cap makes it possibly impossible to have any fun in the sandbox mode. the driving around part is fun but grows old. Not a game i would recommend… Expand
  4. Lavajones
    Jan 19, 2014
    2
    Zoo Tycoon currently feels like a beta that I paid full price for. As many have noted, the incredibly low build limit severely handicaps this game to the point that I cannot believe that any of the developers consider it a finished game. There are other disappointing unfinished aspects as well. For example, you can upgrade most buildings and decorations but only a couple of them changeZoo Tycoon currently feels like a beta that I paid full price for. As many have noted, the incredibly low build limit severely handicaps this game to the point that I cannot believe that any of the developers consider it a finished game. There are other disappointing unfinished aspects as well. For example, you can upgrade most buildings and decorations but only a couple of them change their appearance when upgraded. It feels like they intended that the buildings should change, but then ran out of time. There is also a lack of micro management that we have grown to expect from the "tycoon" genre. Another 'small' thing is that the weather never changes and the sun is constantly just above the horizon and everything is dim with long shadows. Just doesnt feel right.
    I am honestly confused over the positive reviews that use words like "polished" or "depth". I have no idea what they are talking about. This game is the opposite of a deep polished game. You will have a maxed out zoo in 3 hours of game play. Compare this to any other game in the price category.
    I gave it 2 points for the couple animal interactions and the nice graphics.
    tl;dr - Buy if rich, else wait to see if they release a free patch first.    … Expand
  5. Machiavelli
    Dec 3, 2013
    2
    I would give it a 6/10 for pleasant aesthetics and quite decent visuals for a next gen game, however because of the appaling lack of depth, controll, and complexity to the game, (especially compared to older titles) I have to dock that to a 2/10. It is unfortunate that so many developers feel the best way to make a good game is to cater to the lowest common denominator, it is surprisingI would give it a 6/10 for pleasant aesthetics and quite decent visuals for a next gen game, however because of the appaling lack of depth, controll, and complexity to the game, (especially compared to older titles) I have to dock that to a 2/10. It is unfortunate that so many developers feel the best way to make a good game is to cater to the lowest common denominator, it is surprising then that the general lack of positive response to these games hasn't gotten trhough thick skulls yet.… Expand
  6. VibroKnife
    Dec 31, 2013
    4
    Great for kids, but nothing like the originals Being the 16 year old that I am I loved the original zoo tycoons so I bought this one just for the sake of my love. It's nothing at all like the original. I stopped playing after I put down the first plot of land. Its a handicapped downgrade of the originals. Offering very little customization, mediocre graphics and lots of animal interactionGreat for kids, but nothing like the originals Being the 16 year old that I am I loved the original zoo tycoons so I bought this one just for the sake of my love. It's nothing at all like the original. I stopped playing after I put down the first plot of land. Its a handicapped downgrade of the originals. Offering very little customization, mediocre graphics and lots of animal interaction for the kiddies.

    I guess its good if your 5 or 6 years old. But if you're like me and bought this because of the original. You won't be satisfied.    … Expand
  7. Gadget96
    Jan 8, 2014
    2
    Truthfully, this game really has potential. Animals look great, scenery is beautiful, kinect is fun. But the Zoo Limit is crippling. I have a huge piece of land, I've only filled up a third of it (maybe), but I've reached the limit. I've unlocked lots of animals, but my zoo can't hold them all... The Zoo Limit has been reached. How do you increase the limit? You can't. Be ready to finishTruthfully, this game really has potential. Animals look great, scenery is beautiful, kinect is fun. But the Zoo Limit is crippling. I have a huge piece of land, I've only filled up a third of it (maybe), but I've reached the limit. I've unlocked lots of animals, but my zoo can't hold them all... The Zoo Limit has been reached. How do you increase the limit? You can't. Be ready to finish this game in a few hours. Very disappointing.… Expand
  8. MaximusBatman
    Oct 3, 2014
    3
    Compared to the other entries in the Zoo Tycoon series this game is a major step backwards. The only thing this title has over the older games is better graphics but that's to be expected with a newer game.

    First and foremost the worst feature of this game is the "zoo limit" which once maxed out prevents you from adopting new animals and creating new structures. Aside from doing    Compared to the other entries in the Zoo Tycoon series this game is a major step backwards. The only thing this title has over the older games is better graphics but that's to be expected with a newer game.

    First and foremost the worst feature of this game is the "zoo limit" which once maxed out prevents you from adopting new animals and creating new structures. Aside from doing research and creating pathways every action you take will push you closer to reaching the zoo limit and it is reached very easily. You'll be given a big map to create your zoo on but you will never be able to fill it due to the zoo limit, once you reach the limit you'll probably have only to managed to cover 30% of the map.
    The limit also leads to other problems further on in the game when you'll have guests complaining about the lack of variety in your zoo but you won't be able to do anything about it because you've reached your limit.
    This zoo limit also makes the replayability of this game very low. It only takes a couple of hours before you feel like you've done everything you can do and don't feel a need to continue playing.

    Next is the severe lack of customization in this game when compared to the previous zoo tycoon games. Want to build a custom environment for your animals? Sorry you get to choose from preset animal biomes such as Savannah - small, Savannah - medium, and Savannah - large. Creating an environment that meets the needs of the animal you're trying to house was one of the best things about the other games. While I can understand the need to make it less complicated for a console game, I feel it was dumbed down far too much here.

    The animal interactions are okay but they do feel kind of forced and there's only a few to choose from. I can't imagine anyone investing too much time doing them.

    If you're a fan of the original Zoo Tycoon games I strongly recommend avoiding this game, you'll be very disappointed. If you're a parent looking to buy a fun game for your kid I recommend the original Zoo Tycoon (works with Windows xp), and Zoo Tycoon 2 (works with Windows xp, and Windows 7), they're cheaper and have a lot more content in them to keep your kid entertained longer. I assure you they are not too complicated for kids, I was a kid when I played the original Zoo Tycoon and I loved it.    … Expand
  9. starfisho5
    Feb 14, 2014
    3
    Not as fun as the original games,graphics are fun and the 5 year old loves feeding the animals, but it's not as interactive, you don't get to play with the lay out of enclosures, and that's one of the things we all loved to do, Wish I hadn't brought it, i think it will just gather dust
  10. derkonig6
    Apr 14, 2016
    4
    Oh, Zoo Tycoon, cute animals, pet them, feed them, how could it be a dissapointment ? Well zoo tycoon on a damn console. The game takes all the fun from building stuff and it's just a dumbed down version of the zoo tycoon games

Awards & Rankings

12
#12 Best Xbox One Game of 2013
13
#13 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2013
3
#3 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 45 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 32 out of 45
  3. Negative: 1 out of 45
  1. IGN Italia
    Feb 16, 2014
    70
    Enjoyable but a little shallow. The younger audience will surely have fun with the Kinect minigames, but the fan of the series will miss some of the depth of the previous episodes.
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  2. The Digital Fix
    Dec 31, 2013
    60
    It remains one of the most random launch titles of all time but is well worth a purchase if you are looking for something that isn’t a first person twitch fest.
    Read full review
  3. MondoXbox
    Dec 30, 2013
    70
    A completely different game from anything else available on Xbox One, suitable both to managerial game lovers and families with children, thanks to the many play modes available. If you're a fan of the series, you won't be disappointed even if the difficulty is a little bit tuned on the low side.
    Read full review
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