I have a weird habit of playing sequels before the original games. I did that when I played Pet Pals: Animal Doctor, and Zoo Vet is actually the game that inspired it and the respective DS version. So before I play Zoo Vet: Endangered Animals, it was only logical to play and review Zoo Vet to make sense of it all.
In Zoo Vet you assume the role of a veterinarian working at a zoo. I know, it seems redundant to actually say that… Anyway, as a new animal healthcare professional, you get to take care of a series of different animals, ranging from pandas to lions and tigers, kangaroos, gorillas, bears, flamingos and more. There are 25 animals in the zoo, separated into habitat categories: savanna, arctic, tropics, desert and forest.
From your office you can do a number of things. On your computer you can learn about the tools you can use to inspect and treat animals, play some trivia quizzes where you can test your knowledge of animals or a simple memory game, read about the animals in the Encyclopedia and check the Glossary for terms you don’t know.
On the wall, there is a zoo map. Clicking on it, you will see icons representing each animal. Those who need medical attention will have a yellow outline, those who have been cured have green icons. Animals who are just fine are represented by blue icons. Clicking on them will show the profile of the animal, their status and symptoms, if any.
Caring for an animal is an interesting process, and the game’s three difficulty levels ensure you have the right experience for your knowledge. If you never played anything like this before and are completely unfamiliar with medical terms, hop in on easy and what you get is a step by step guide where even the tools you need to use will be highlighted.
The zookeepers will give you an overview of what’s wrong with the animal. Then you can ask them three key questions to know more and earn points. Using the right tools on the right animal body areas will help diagnose the condition. At the same time, there is a window on the right with information such as normal temperature, breathing rate and pulse for the animal.
You also have to make some decisions on your own, such as to what type of medication to give the animal. This may not be clear for some right away, so you can use the question mark icon to get a hint.
For every action you do right, you get points. Any wrong move deducts points from your total score (which can go up to a maximum of 1000). You do a little bit of everything, from extensive examination, to taking blood samples, inspecting animal stool samples and even small surgical procedures.
As far as how the game looks, I think it does a pretty good job at delivering realistic representations of people and animals. The voice acting is not bad either, but unfortunately one thing that’s lacking is animal sounds.
Although the process of examining and curing becomes repetitive, Zoo Vet is something that can be enjoyed by anyone in short play sessions, with the advantage of teaching you real facts about a number of species. For an online demo, check out the official Zoo Vet site.