Endangered is one of five conservation statuses in the Zoo Tycoon 2 series. Species that are classified as endangered experience a decline in population and a loss in habitat. Should this progress, the species will go on to become critically endangered.
Zoo Tycoon 2: Endangered Species
The Conservation Status is a recurring concept in the Zoo Tycoon series. The classification used ingame is mostly based on the best known worldwide conservation status ranking system, the IUCN Red List, and serves as an indication of how common or threatened each species is in real life. An animal's conservation status often has impacts on gameplay, with endangered animals being harder or more expensive to get, and the player being rewarded for breeding them in particular, or extinct animals exhibiting some particular mechanics.
While Zoo Tycoon does not display conservation status directly, there is a research option for Endangered Animals, which unlocks the white Bengal Tiger, Lowland Gorilla, Black Leopard, Snow Leopard, Okapi, and Giant Panda. Notably, when one of these animals produces offspring, the player will be rewarded with a cash grant ($10,000 for most animals, and $50,000 for the Giant Panda) for breeding an endangered species. Likewise, the Endangered Species Zoo scenario focuses on breeding three of these animals.
The Endangered Species Campaign revolves around caring for and breeding Endangered (and Critically Endangered) animals. The Conservation Breeding Center, unlocked through this campaign, will help endangered and extinct animals breed more easily. Some Challenges also require the player to use Endangered animals.
Endangered Species brings some of the world's rarest animals home to your zoo. Treat yourself and your guests to breathtaking overhead views from the new sky trams. Or drive through your exhibits in the new Jeep vehicle tours. Build bridges and observation decks for a refreshing new view of your animals. There are also erupting volcanoes, new endangered-species-themed buildings and scenery, and a whole new set of challenges and campaigns.
For anyone who loves animals, it's a bit insulting to see endangered species shamelessly promoted for profit, but since the exploitation in Zoo Tycoon 2 is virtual, it's hard to take serious offense. The demo for the expansion to the popular tycoon game introduces new features with a brief tutorial, and allows you to play the Tropical Rainforest level in Campaign or in Freeform Mode. The in-game Zoopedia help section (which incorporates animal information from Microsoft Encarta) is comprehensive, the demo installs easily, and loading times are minimal. Those positives, plus significant additions like sky trams, elevated paths, and Jeep tours, contribute to a top rating.
The name of the game is acquisition, and bigger is better. Buy animals to attract crowds, who can then be monetized through donations or admission fees. Keep your guests happy with adequate concessions, and keep your animals happy with food, water, grooming, a proper environment, and other \"enrichment\" options. The gameplay is nothing new, nor very challenging in this demo, as the only campaign is quite easy. The Bengal Tiger, Javan Rhinoceros, Crested Gibbon, and Baird's Tapir (a.k.a. \"mountain cow\") are the four available endangered species. The tutorial introduces the gameplay nicely, and the Freeform Mode allows you unlimted time and funds to experiment with all the available items and animals.
The name of the game is acquisition, and bigger is better. Buy animals to attract crowds, who can then be monetized through donations or admission fees. Keep your guests happy with adequate concessions, and keep your animals happy with food, water, grooming, a proper environment, and other "enrichment" options. The gameplay is nothing new, nor very challenging in this demo, as the only campaign is quite easy. The Bengal Tiger, Javan Rhinoceros, Crested Gibbon, and Baird's Tapir (a.k.a. "mountain cow") are the four available endangered species. The tutorial introduces the gameplay nicely, and the Freeform Mode allows you unlimted time and funds to experiment with all the available items and animals.
Review by: tucker (Karl)
Dated: 9th of November, 2005 This Review: 9.5/10Value for Money:Immersion Factor:Sleepness Nights:Replayability:It's been a long time coming, almost a year to the day in fact, but it's finally here, the first expansion pack for the brilliant Zoo Tycoon 2 theme-zoo simulation from Blue Fang and Microsoft. And what an expansion pack it is!
Take your existing zoos and add whole new concepts to them, such as the aerial rides, that allow your zoo visitors an overhead view of your exhibits, or the elevated walkways allowing your guests to walk and stand above the animals, cross over protective ditches, etc. The Jeep tours are nifty, especially if you build a safari-park style zoo, but they don't fit well with urban exhibits.
The new buildings add extra dimensions to the zoos, each with their own unique twist, and of course, the rare animal species available are a lot of fun to add, if you have any room left, and the 'amusing bahaviours'... well, I'll leave you to find out what they are for yourself... more fun that way. It's also fun to theme your 'extras' such as the rubbish bins... the visitors love that sort of stuff and the increase in 'donations' are almost immediately obvious.
Overall, if you enjoy this type of game and you have the original ZT2 application (required to run this), then you are going to find this expansion kit a must-have and a total blast. Though the price tag may seem a little steep for 'just an expansion pack' at first glance, you will soon discover it is well worth it, as the add-ons and extras are brilliant additions to your current zoos, and great raw materials to start a new, more planned zoo with.
As the first expansion to Zoo Tycoon 2, Zoo Tycoon 2: Endangered Species adds 20 rare animals to the game, as well as new features such as vehicle tours, sky trams, and elevated walkways and observation decks. Also included are a series of new challenges relating to the preservation of endangered animals, and many new zoo objects and game enhancements.
Zoo Tycoon 2 features three gameplay modes: Campaign, Challenge and Freeform. In Campaign mode, the player plays through a scenario in an existing zoo and is assigned different goals to complete, such as achieving a certain fame level, caring for rescued animals, or breeding endangered species. In Challenge mode, the player starts a zoo from scratch and will be given random challenges which can be accepted or rejected. In both of these modes, players will have limited money to manage and will start with limited access to animals and items, with more becoming available as zoo fame level increases. The last mode, Freeform, allows the player create a zoo from scratch with unlimited money and access to all animals and items from the start.
On October 18, 2005, Microsoft released the Zoo Tycoon 2: Endangered Species expansion pack. This expansion pack adds more rare animals, including the koala, gray wolf, Komodo dragon, scimitar-horned oryx, American bison and orangutan, as well as a number of new forms of transportation, including sky trams, jeep tours and elevated paths. The expansion also has a feature called "variant skins", which means that when the player adopts an animal, it may look different from normal members of its species (such as a White tiger and King Cheetah).
Unlock Bonus Items
Complete the following tasks to unlock special marine items:
Endangered Species-Themed Buildings & Objects - Complete 2 Endangered Species Challenges.
Jeep Commanders - Receive $25,000 in tour donations.
Photo Kiosk - Complete 4 different Endangered Species Photo Challenges.
Upgraded Sky Tram Carts - Have 1,000 guests in total take a tour.
Decorative Zoo Wall Columns - Adopt 20 different endangered or critically endangered species.
Decorative Zoo Wall Caps - Release 10 different endangered or critically endangered species into the wild.
Decorated Jeep Vehicles - Receive $250,000 in tour donations.
Decorated Jeep Vehicle Tour Gate - Complete the Transportation Campaigns.
2-Seat Sky Tram Carts - Have 100 guests in total take a tour.
4-Seat Sky Tram Carts - Have 500 guests in total take a tour.
Animal Babies Statue - Breed 10 different endangered or critically endangered species.
Cat Climber - Complete the Photo Safari Campaigns.
Conservation Breeding Center - Complete the Endangered Species Campaigns.
Sky Tower - Create a 5-star Jeep Vehicle Tour & a 5-star Sky Tram Tour.
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