Zoo Tycoon 2 makes some real improvements, but it's still probably best suited for parents looking to play games with their young children.

Great for parents to play with their young children; Zoopedia powered by MS Encarta provides educational value; Open-ended sandbox mode

Unimpressive graphics; Sparse sound; Poor performance on mid-range and lower-end computers

I found this game very advenced because you can go into different modes such as the bird view where you can see your zoo from a bird's eye view. There is a guest mode when you can walk around in your zoo (cool feature)! The last one, zoo map.

Zoo Tycoon 2 managed to keep a number of people up late into the night in its original form, and now there's an expansion to help add hours to the fun. Microsoft's new expansion gives you things like sky trams, official Jeep tours, and a gun-less FPS element, but is there really anything new here?

ups: cool animals; finally elevated walkways

downs: very thin expansion; still no way to speed up the game

Zoo Tycoon 2 successfully acheives what it sets out to do and that's to let you build your own zoo.

Your initial goals are to create your zoo, then your exhibits, then start making money and keep everything and everyone happy. On the surface this might seem like a daunting task, but Zoo Tycoon 2 makes the animal husbandry of your digital denizens far easier than the original.

Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania is an expansion for Zoo Tycoon 2 that lets you add some of your favorite finned friends to your zoos or lets you build your very own Sea World complete with killer whale shows.

As a father of several boys who are big video and computer game fanatics, I am always on the lookout for new games I think they will enjoy playing, and will also teach them a little something as well.

Realistic animal movements

The manual which comes with the game is very basic; Someone needs to write a guidebook

Zoo Tycoon is the latest in the Tycoon series of games, this one developed by Blue Fang Games and published by Microsoft. The main concept of Zoo Tycoon is quite simple - build and manage a zoo. Sounds simple? It isn't.

Who here hasn't walked around the zoo as a kid thinking it would be cool to design your own? Now these child dreams might come true. In Zoo Tycoon, you'll be challenged to build the most healthy and vibrant zoo possible.

Zoo Tycoon 2 Ultimate Collection brings together the original game and the Extinct Animals, Marine Mania, Endangered Species and African Adventure expansion packs. With over 100 animals to choose from, hundreds of objects and over dozens of challenges and scenarios, this collection lets you build...