Let's all go to the zoo
There's no great shortage of zoo-themed business management simulators, from Zoo Tycoon to Wildlife Park, and to be honest, most of them are pretty similar stuff, offering very much the same experience with little in the way of major differences. Zoo Empire continues in that vein and while it's a decent enough game, it does lack that spark which would have made it stand out from the crowd. As is usual for the genre, you start out with little more than a bit of cash with which to start your empire, so you'll have to build up slowly. There are over forty animals to purchase while you've also got to hire staff to run your zoo and choose which buildings you want to include and which will help increase your revenue, such as souvenir shops and restaurants. You can also conduct research to discover new attractions while you have two main modes to play through. The first is career which requires you to complete certain specified missions in order to rise up the ranks of zoo management and the second is sandbox where you can simply play around to your heart's content. Perhaps Zoo Empire's strongest point is its sheer accessibility and level of friendliness as it really is super simple to follow and get into, making it a good choice for younger gamers and those new to the genre. It's not an overly realistic simulator and is more geared towards being fun, again suggesting casual players as being the main target market. It's also got some decent visuals, with all the expected bright colors, but at the end of the day, it's perhaps a little too straightforward for its own good.
