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| World of Zoo: Spore Tycoon? |
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Are you still caught up in the craze of user-created content? Scratch that, I've got a better question. Are you still into management games like Zoo Tycoon? One more: are you still into life-simulation games? If your answer to all three questions is yes, you're going to want to keep your eye on THQ's World of Zoo. This charming little game allows you to create your own animals and then care for them in a zoo of your own crafting. There's more to it than that, of course -- but since this is a preview, we were only able to get a feel for one of the game's central concepts.
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The build we got our hands on doesn't go beyond World of Zoo's Animal Creator, but we've got some impressions to share nonetheless. The first thing you should know is that the Creature Creator is not overly restricted by most laws of nature. The conventions of the animal kingdom keep you in check, but they don't shackle you, either. If you want to create a Bengal Tiger with a paw-print pattern instead of tiger stripes, you can. Don't like the color of your average monkey? Dye him green. World of Zoo encourages a different kind of creativity than Spore does, but it's creativity, nonetheless.
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World of Zoo's Creature Creator is charming and easy to pick up, but since this is more of a family-oriented game, don't expect a ridiculous amount of depth to it. Sure, you're essentially playing God, but by the time you hit the Save button, whatever your twisted mind has come up with will still be recognizable as the animal type you choose to create. That's right, Spore veterans -- as far as I can tell, you can't create a three-legged crocodile or a beaked horse. What you can do is customize several of your created animal's traits. Playing with traits doesn't seem to yield anything in the way of gameplay as far as the demo is concerned; it appears we'll simply have to wait until the game is finished in order to find out how it impacts the gameplay.
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If you've been aching to get back to a good old life-sim game or you just want to stir the evolutionary pot a bit, World of Zoo seems eager to deliver something unique on that front. The family-friendly appeal should keep both zookeepers and gene splicers happy, and it shouldn't be too taxing on anyone's rig. If you want to try World of Zoo's Animal Creator Demo for yourself, you can download it at the website linked below. Look for our full review of World of Zoo when it opens to the public this holiday season.
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-FenixDown, GameVortex Communications AKA Jon Carlos |
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