Zoo Tycoon™: Dinosaur Digs

Adding dinosaurs to a zoo simulation is a great idea, as everyone loves dinos, especially kids. But does just adding new types of animals and buildings, plus a few new scenarios, justify an expansion pack?

Zoo Tycoon is a zoo simulation on the lines of Roller Coaster Tycoon, but one that is much simpler to jump into and play. Not an especially deep or complex game, it still pleased many people, especially children, who usually love animals. Following the success of Zoo Tycoon (it has been fairly consistently in the top 10 best-selling PC games since its release), Microsoft released an expansion pack, Dinosaur Digs, which adds the new theme of dinosaurs to the zoo.

There are twenty new animals from prehistoric times, more than one hundred new buildings and six new scenarios. There is also a new "Free-Form" mode that allows unlimited play without playing set scenarios. New game features include the ability to hide various items like the foliage, guests, and buildings, which helps in locating items, and also a new management tool that allows sorting of information more readily than in the original game. These new features help in gameplay issues, but other bothersome traits still exist, namely the inability to move the information windows around the screen, and the highly annoying locations of gates on the exhibit fences, which are located automatically at the last fence square put up, which can lead to some awkward gate placements. The only way to remedy this is to be sure to start laying fence at the same spot you want your gate to be.

Building exhibits and populating them with dinosaurs is very easy, just build away and select an egg of either gender. Instead of a zoo keeper, these dinos will need a scientist to care for their needs. Once the dinos hatch, players will need to place foliage and ground cover inside the exhibits to make the inhabitants happy. This can be a tricky juggling act, as some animals don't seem to be happy no matter what is placed inside their compounds. However, mildly unhappy dinosaurs don't matter in the long run, so it's safe to have a few. Income is the next concern, and many attractions and buildings need to be placed around the park to ensure customer satisfaction. Staff has to be hired, and research needs to be paid for. These management details are pretty streamlined and won't require much time, leaving the majority of gameplay centered on playing with the dinosaurs.

The dinosaurs are really cute, and kids especially will enjoy watching their antics. Let a couple loose, and watch the people scream! Getting eaten is inevitable in these cases, but don't worry, a handy dinosaur retrieval unit will soon take care of the rampaging animal. Some people complained about the graphics in the original game - our family found nothing amiss with them, and are satisfied with the graphics, here, as well. The animations of the people and animals are nicely done, and amusing to watch.

This expansion pack is a big hit with my twelve-year-old daughter, and I expect most children, especially ones that love animals and dinosaurs, will thoroughly enjoy Dinosaur Digs. The gameplay isn't very complex, but that doesn't detract from the novelty of managing dinosaurs, and not having to shuffle through a ton of information windows is rather nice, although I do have to say I prefer Roller Coaster Tycoon, which has a more complicated interface. Many adults love animals, too, and will enjoy adding dinosaurs to their zoos. Does the content justify buying an expansion pack, though? Well, yes and no...while the added animals and buildings do add new life to the original game, there are not very many scenarios, only six additional. There really should have been a lot more. However, the free form mode does offer some longevity to the gameplay and is a good bonus.

All in all, a decent expansion pack that adds new fun to the original, but is rather thin of content. But for fans of Zoo Tycoon, having dinosaurs may just be the ticket to the ultimate zoo. Be sure to visit the game's web site, to download a free dinosaur to add, as well.

Graphics: 7 
The graphics, while not state of the art, are pretty cute and worth watching.

Sound: 7
The sounds are so average I can't remember much about them.

Concept: 7 
Adding dinosaurs is a good idea for a zoo, and works well.

Overall: 7.3
A fun addition to a family friendly game, but one that could use more "stuff".