Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Amazing! January 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My friend had first gotten, Zoo Tycoon, then, as soon as it came out, Zoo Tycoon 2. I went over to her house, and played it, at once I was captivated by it, and quickly purchased a copy. The next Christmas, I asked for the Endangered Animal's, and got it.
Soon after, I purchase, Marine Mania, and I love it! The graphics are amazing, the tricks you can teach your animals, are brilliant too!
It is a fantastic game, and a brilliant present, but, please remember, you do need the original game, Zoo Tycoon 2, to run it, so to avoid mega disappointment, purchase this before.
I hope you found this helpful!
One of the best expansions so far! December 8, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The graphics are amazing, you can swim with the animals and ride on dolphins and make your own show, this is a bit hard to get the hang of the first time but then it becomes easier and its so fun watching the shows!
There are millions of new animals and objects to choose from, the fun one of the best expansions so far!!
 Decent expansion pack November 16, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Marine Mania is an expansion pack for the original Zoo Tycoon 2 game (i.e. you must have the latter installed first in order to play). For fans of the game who have already completed the original game, Marine Mania provides a fresh challenge and injects some fresh interest into the game.
As the name suggests, Marine Mania enables the budding virtual zoo manager to build tanks and adopt dolphins, whales, sharks, turtles, fish etc. Tank building is very similar to building conventional enclosures (indeed, these can be used for many of the new species, through use of the deep water tool). A suitable biome must be selected (there are several new ones added), plants and rocks added, and food and enrichment objects provided for the animals. Zookeepers, who can now swim, care for these as well the terrestrial species.
The more original and entertaining new feature of Marine Mania is the ability to create marine shows. To do this, the player must build and equip a special show tank, train up animals (not all species can perform in shows), and devise show programmes. Training the animals can be very time consuming and, as training involves being able to trace the cursor over a particular pattern at a defined speed, can be tricky, especially for laptop users with touchpad mice. However, for experienced players, the challenge is welcome as just caring for a new bunch of animals is not particularly hard for the well seasoned player.
There are also some new objects (flora and fanua, buildings, statues etc.), the capacity to swim with the marine animals, and the ability to interact with certain enrichment objects while in zoo guest mode (e.g. kicking pursuit balls). Disappointingly there are only two new campaigns, one on looking after marine animals and one on creating marine shows.
If you enjoy Zoo Tycoon and want to continue playing, but with some fresh material, I would recommend Marine Mania. If you've had enough of the whole thing, this probably isn't different enough to rekindle your interest.
I f you love the zoo tycoon series you'll love this add-on September 24, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've read most of the reviews on this page and did have to think about buying this add-on... but I am so glad I did! I love playing the zoo tycoon series etc... and this just does what it says on the tin! It's an add on, and it adds extra interest. Some say the training is tedious, but I say.. do the first few levels of training then let the trainer do the rest! If you've got to the stage where the campaign levels are nearly complete, or you've tried all the animals, then this add-on won't disappoint... definately worth it!
 Disappointing March 18, 2007
7 out of 15 found this review helpful
When I heard there was a Marine Mania coming out for Zoo Tycoon 2, I was really excited. I was thrilled when I got my hands on a copy.
But now, I must say I'm rather disappointed with it. There are plenty of new animals, but apart from that, there really is not much else.
There are no marine-themed buildings, and the so-called 'aquariums' you get are just tiny kiosks with fish in them. There is little scenery and only a handful of new maps.
You can put on a show featuring your animals, but first, you have to train them. This takes ages and get frustrating. You can hire a trainer to do it for you, but it takes even longer.
You'll find that the show feature is riddled with bugs. My dolphins 'cannot reach their performance tank,' even though I had a tank portal and nothing was blocking the way. Other times, the prop 'cannot fit into the tank,' even though it is deep enough, wide enough, and takes up about half the friggin' zoo!
All in all, I think the ratings for this expansion are inflated because people have been looking forward to it for so long. Microsoft used to put love and care into ZT2 and its expansions. When you play them, it is fun and enjoyable. But not with this expansion. Playing it seems like a chore - here it was made to cash in on fans of the original Marine Mania and make more money. That was the sole reason this was created. Not because the makers wanted to see us enjoy their product and have fun designing it. They simply made it to make quick cash. And I'm just disappointed.
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