Zoo Tycoon is a simulation game where players take on the task of building, maintaining and managing a zoo. Players are able to design their zoo from scratch, deciding which animals, attractions, food & drink buildings, facilities and much, much more will populate their zoo.
As well as designing a zoo and selecting what appears in it, players must maintain the zoo, ensuring the animals are fed and clean, that visitors are happy and provided with appropriate facilities, and that there's an appropriate group of staff.
Campaign Mode
Zoo Tycoon will feature a lengthy Campaign Mode, which will help encourage players to learn about different aspects of the game. The Campaign will include a new 'adaptive challenge' system, which will help players expand and maintain their zoo while at the same time throwing a few curve balls at you to keep you on your toes and ensure you always have something new to do.
Animals
For the first time in the series players will be able to interact with the animals. Players can take to the ground and wander about their zoo, visiting the attractions and animals within it.
Frontier Developments is the developer responsible for Kinectimals, which was praised for the ability to interact with your pet cubs, and the team are looking to bring the experience they gained they to the Zoo Tycoon franchise.
Players can feed, water and clean the animals in their care. Using optional Kinect controls, the animals will begin to recognize the player's voice and react to your movements and instructions. Players will also be able to quickly travel around their zoo on the ground thanks to the inclusion of motorized buggies.
Each exhibit will have a plaque attached to it containing a wealth of information relevant to the animal(s) in that exhibit.
For a list of confirmed animals, check out our Animals section.
Tycoon Aspect
But Zoo Tycoon isn't just about building and maintaining a zoo, there's also a much deeper, more strategic aspect to the experience - the so-called 'Tycoon' aspect of the game.
You must ensure, for example, that your zoo's finances are in good shape, by setting the prices for tickets, gifts and food and drink and ensuring your revenue exceeds the costs of building the park, purchasing animals and paying staff and various maintenance costs.
This part of the game is viewed from a top-down, RTS-like perspective that gives players an expansive view of the park. The transition between this top-down camera angle and the third person ground-based perspective is entirely seemless, making easier than ever to switch between the different gameplay roles.
The game is designed so that those familiar with the series can micro-manage the entire zoo business, but will also be accessible to newcomers, thanks to the ability to automate certain tasks (at a cost!) and delegate them to the AI.
Multiplayer
Another new addition to the series is the inclusion of cooperative multiplayer, which will take advantage of the Xbox One's cloud features.
Friends can not only visit each others zoos, but also build and run zoos together. Up to four people can simultaneously contribute to the creation and maintenance of a zoo at any one time. Furthermore, players can also loan and trade animals with each other and engage in community objectives.
Real Life Conservation
Players will actually be able to help real world conservation efforts by playing Zoo Tycoon. By participating in certain community challenges, players work together to achieve goals related to the care and support of the animals found in the zoo. Once released into the wild, the player can keep tabs on each animal to see how they're progressing.
By participating in these challenges players can earn both in-game rewards and at the same time support related real-world conservation efforts.
An example given by the developer was that players may be tasked with rehabilitating and releasing a certain species of animal into the wild in the game. For every set number released by all Zoo Tycoon players across the world within the time specified, Microsoft will work with and donate to related conservation projects run by charities like the WWF in real life.
