Zoo Tycoon DS, Electronic Games

You've already enjoyed herding escaped animals in Zoo Keeper on the Nintendo DS. Now comes your chance to look at the bigger picture, and build yourself an animal empire. Since 2001, Microsoft Game Studios have brought PCs everywhere to life with Zoo Tycoon, a game that gives you a patch of land and challenges you to build up your own zoo from nothing. Now THQ are bringing the popular series to your portable DS console. This is the first time that the franchise has appeared on any console, let alone a handheld, and the DS's mouse-like stylus powers make it the obvious choice for a games machine outing. Managing a zoo is a huge responsibility and you'll need to do your very best to ensure that you create a habitat that will keep your animals happy. So there's plenty to learn about where each species of beast likes to live, as well as where they come from and who their closest relatives are. Animals from every continent in the world feature in this game - there are 50 in total. And you can learn about each one by collecting the 50 information cards that appear in game. But the game isn't just all about keeping your lions, tigers, polar bears and giraffes happy. There are the zoo's visitors to remember too, and it's your job to make sure that they have a pleasant day out, and can find the exhibits and facilities easily. Just like zoos in real life, this game has much to teach about the animal world and the importance of conserving our natural environment.

Buy Zoo Tycoon DS for 29.99 GBP

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