Zoos provide a convenient location where wimps like me can come face-to-face with ferocious animals that, in the wild, would surely eat us. Zoo Tycoon on Xbox One aims to delight and inform animal lovers by capturing the thrill of such interactions in digital form.

Satisfying time management exercises; Convincing animal models; Extensive customization options; Learning all about animals and conservation

Tedious menu navigation; Limited number of unique species

It's Saturday night, and we're nuking turd piles in an Indian Elephant exhibit during a virtual heat wave. No one ever said that the life of a videogame zookeeper was glamorous. It's a lesson Zoo Tycoon teaches firmly; for all its warm, fuzzy screenshots of adorable chimps gazing at butterflies,...

+ Easy to pick up and learn; nice Kinect interactivity; who doesn't like making animals happy, + An initially huge suite of tools to build out your park with; Freeform mode good for the entire family

- Doesn't introduce enough new surprises after long; re-researching for each new Campaign scenario grows tedious, ?

It's rather ironic that one of the best Xbox One launch titles is a game that most people with an Xbox One will never even consider, let alone play. Sure, games like Dead Rising 3 and Ryse: Son of Rome have that initial shock and awe factor, and Forza 5 is certainly addictive for those who like...

Positives Quality family fun; incredibly realistic animals in both look and behavior; lots of unlocks to keep you playing; great use of Kinect; endless replayability

Negatives Menus layers are overly complex; some of the better animals are locked away and require a lot of gameplay to unlock them

Zoo Tycoon returns after nearly a decade, and arrives for the first time on Xbox. It also proves that a good management sim is addictive and fun regardless of platform or generation. Frontier Development's Zoo Tycoon was one of those dark-horse sort of launch day titles.

At most zoos, numerous signs and railings adorn every habitat, designed to keep hapless patrons from coming face-to-face with the wildlife. That's a practical and life-saving maneuver in the real world, but keeping people at a distance doesn't work in video games.

Zoo Tycoon is the newest Xbox One release from Microsoft Studios and Frontier Developments that has players creating their very own virtual zoo. Zoo Tycoon may not be at the top of your holiday list right now, but it should be.

A solid game that definitely has an audience. Might lack replay value, could be too short or there are some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.

Maybe I want more complexity as an old Tycoon fan but I feel the port of the style has been managed well and showcases a nice enjoyable game where you aren't forced to battle Romans/Zombies every 2 minutes.

a fantastic game for 4 years and older petting and looking after virtual animals

I've always had an interest in the Tycoon games. There's something about managing a theme park or perhaps a casino -- or in this case a zoo -- that always felt so enticing to me. Whether it was laying out the land, choosing which animals to showcase near the entrance, or what entertainment will keep...