Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals

***Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals*** is a video game expansion pack for *Zoo Tycoon 2*. It was released in October 17, 2007.
This expansion pack follows the other expansion packs, *Endangered Species*, *African Adventure* and *Marine Mania*. *Extinct Animals* replaces, and includes the similar *Dino Danger Pack* premium download.

During 2006, in a similar way to how the *African Adventure* expansion was first confirmed, Amazon.com listed a strategy guide for *Extinct Animals* under its listings. Curiously, it was listed as "*Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct* (working title)", showing Blue Fang Games were still in very early production and had not yet thought of a title.

Hence the title, the game's theme is dinosaurs, ice age animals, and other long gone species.

## Gameplay

### Minigames

Several new minigames (similar to the trick training games in *Marine Mania*) are included. These are as follows: discovering fossils, curing diseases, recreating extinct animals, building skeleton jigsaws and tranquilizing dinosaurs.

#### Dino rampage

This mode is only available when a dinosaur becomes upset with its living conditions. This causes it to go on a rampage, where it will destroy its exhibit, then break out and attempt to destroy the zoo. However, the player can prevent such disasters by locating the problem and then entering tranquilizer mode. In this mode, the player wields a tranquilizer gun in zookeeper mode and must attempt to subdue the rampaging dinosaur. The player must wait for the gun to charge up, whilst keeping a steady aim. Once the gun is fully charged, the spacebar can be used to temporarily put the animal to sleep. If the player was to move the gun off target whilst still charging up or fully charged up the gun, the charger will begin to move down again. Once the aim is re-established, the player can fire and the rampaging dino will fall asleep.

The other option for the player is to hire a "Dino Capture Team". The team come in the form of a large building with two golden dinosaur statues on its roof. When a dinosaur starts rampaging, the team will leave their building and set out to tranquilize the problem. The team consist of three units; the "Dino Capture Robot", and two other employees. The robot will begin beeping and distracting the beast while the rest of the team shoots it with a tranquilizer. Once the dinosaur is restrained, the third unit will approach the dinosaur and crate it, ready to be released back into its enclosure.

#### Creating animals

##### **Fossil finding**

To begin, the player must purchase an Extinct Animal Research Lab, and then enter 'fossil finding mode'. The player must then find fossils using a hand held sonar device, which beeps when a fossil is nearby. Once the player has achieved the required number of bones, one must return to the Research Lab for the next step. The player can get upgrades for the sonar device as his star rating increases, which also unlocks the fossils of additional animals. The player must also dig up a majority of the bones, as paleontologists will sometimes abandon a dig site to continue searching for new ones. The player can jump to the dig site using the zoo map.

##### **Fossil building**

Then the player can enter the lab and put the fossils together like a jigsaw puzzle. Using the '<' and '>' keys, the player can rotate each piece of fossil to fit into the skeleton. Once completed, the player can then move on to the cloning stage.

##### **Extinct animals creation**

This is then followed by the cloning stage, also within the Research Lab. This minigame is more similar to *Marine Mania's* trick training game. The player uses a scanner to analyze the DNA, while pressing the left mouse button and arrow keys. Once this is completed, the player can clone the animal in question for no price at any time, but must repeat the DNA minigame to do so.

If the player gathers a low score in the minigame, an unlockable animal, usually a deformed version of an ambient animals, is given instead.
Also during the DNA minigame, if a high-enough accuracy is achieved, a super animal will be created. The name of the animal will be 'Super' followed by the animal name and number. Super animals are slightly larger than their original size, get ill less often and instead of the regular circle around the animal when it is selected, a DNA symbol with a star surrounds the animal. By the gender of the animal in the animal's stats tab, a test tube symbol will signal a super animal. It is impossible to purchase super animals. However, if one breeds a super animal with either a normal or super animal, the offspring will occasionally be one. Very rarely, the offspring of two normal animals will be a super animal.

#### Disease curing

Occasionally an animal will catch a (completely fictional) disease (including "Pink Elephant Disease", "Blood Lust", "Litter Bug", etc.). The player is requested to enter "disease curing" mode, a module where the player must help cure the disease. The player must take a sample of the infected animal by pushing the spacebar. The player must locate the cause of the disease, generally in or near the animal exhibit. The player then takes a sample of the object. Meanwhile, the research lab "scientists" will start researching the problem, while the player can gather tips from them by pressing the 'H' key, the more the player uses hints the lower the reward is. The player can then find the cure, which is generally an object outside or away from the exhibit, and inoculate. the affected animal(s).

This process can also be done for the player with the help of a zoo keeper.

### In-game humor

*Extinct Animals* has many in-game jokes. The unlockable "killer penguin" is a reference to the original *Zoo Tycoon* game, where penguins could kill any herbivore, although *Extinct Animals* version can kill any animal. The fact that the penguin is from Madagascar may be a reference to the agent penguins from the film *Madagascar*. Sometimes the killer penguin will appear in the research lab, replacing the scientist.

In the Killer Penguin's Zoopedia entry, one of the fun facts states that "If someone offers you a penguin for free, you should say no". In challenge mode, sometimes a message comes and states that a zoologist has found a penguin wandering in Antarctica, and offers it to your zoo for free. The penguin is really a Killer Penguin, which is why the player should say no if offered a free penguin.

The glacier temperature object will occasionally have a caveman frozen inside.. As the glacier melts, the caveman will thaw out and then act like a guest before leaving the zoo.

Inside the *Stokesosaurus's* Zoopedia, it states that the creature wears glasses. This will indeed happen in the game when an easel is put in its exhibit but only on the correct settings.

## Content

### Adoptable Animals

There is a total of 36 animals in this expansion pack, including the two unlockable ones with proper stats. The *Dino Danger Pack* animals are included, and all are updated. The Dino Danger animals are the only meshable animals, with the exception of the Ankylosaurus.

### Unlockable animals

These animals can be unlocked either by completing a goal (the quagga), or by achieving a score between 10% and 50% in the animal creation minigame (the killer penguin), or by using a cheat code. None of them besides the killer penguin and quagga have a zoopedia entry and proper stats.

#### Animal biomes

As explained by Blue Fang employee Keith Carpentier on a *Zoo Tycoon* fansite, *"Extinct animals aren't fully happy with correct biomes. Since extinct animals have not been around for quite a while, the climates in your zoo just are not quite what they are used to, so even when they are placed in their recommended biome, their environmental need won’t quite be satisfied. The animals require* "temperature-changing" *objects to be placed inside the animals' exhibit. These are tar pits to raise temperatures, glacier to lower temperatures, and mist fountains to raise humidity. These will work for non-extinct animals as well as their extinct counterparts. According to Carpentier, the items will* "give the player a lot more options when it comes to making mixed animal exhibits."

#### Objects and Items

* Saber-toothed Cat Entertainer
* Dinosaur Entertainer
* Play Dig Pit
* Electric Fence

* Entertainer Stage
* Glacier
* Paleontologist
* Imperial Mammoth skeleton
* Prehistoric Themed objects and buildings
* Extinct Animals Research Lab
* Glacier
* Misty Spring
* Tar Pit
* Pterosaur skeleton
* Dinosaur fence
* Extinct symbol
* Size Comparison Mural
* Irish Elk skeleton
* Dodo Rock
* Small Elephant log
* Roots
* Cave paintings
* Exinct Education center
* Dinosaur Capture Team bunker
* Brachiosaurus slide
* Dino danger food (Dinosaur meat and Cycad leaves )
* T. Rex Skeleton

## Box Art & Leaflets

### Quick-Start Guide

Extinct Animals also came with a quick-start leaflet for players inside of the box, providing a list of hotkeys and new features added in the expansion.

## Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals.

## References

1. ↑ Zoo Tycoon - Zoo News - October 18, 2007. Retrieved on June 2, 2007.
2. ↑ Zoo Tycoon Unlimited Forums - Blue Fang Rep Notes (DEAD LINK). Retrieved on May 25, 2007.
3. ↑ YouTube - Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals. Retrieved on May 25, 2007.
4. ↑ An image of the frozen caveman. Retrieved on June 2, 2007.
5. ↑ http://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=stokespc3.jpg