Zoo Hospital Review
February 2, 2009 Category: Wii Gaming No Comments »
You love animals, but your cat does not let you approach him since you tried to put his leg in a cast? With Zoo Hospital, your Wii will allow you to indulge your love of animals without fear of scratch in retaliation.
Games that offer to put you in the gown of a veterinarian follow each other, but fortunately for us, they are not alike. After Farm Vet on PC that is not really convincing and Petz Vet, still on PC, that is truly catastrophic, Zoo Hospital looks like a breath of fresh air for all animal lovers. The idea of a game where you treat zoo residents is far from revolutionary. But we must admit that this is a handy way to justify the meeting a wide variety of species. In Zoo Hospital you can look after about 50 animals from around the world. From the hippopotamus to the platypus, through bears and meerkats, the scenery is at the end of your stethoscope. Unfortunately these discoveries quickly become a routine: the animals are varied but the diseases that you encounter are the same from one specie to another.
Unlike his version recently released on DS, the Wii version of Zoo Hospital has a real scenario. Newly promoted veterinarian, you pick your first job in a zoo. Unfortunately this facility is in danger: it accumulates debts and a property developer intends to raze the building for a huge mini-golf. To save the zoo, you will have to take care of the animals; it is only on this condition that you can accommodate newcomers. From the map you have direct access to various residents. You can visit them at any time to pet or feed them. Good news, each resident have an identity card quite accurate. Young people addicted to animal documentaries will certainly love this database which will quench their thirst for knowledge. They will discover, for example, that a Casoar can run as fast as 30 km/h or that a crocodile can measure up to 8.5 meters. Of course, a veterinarian does not pass all his time contemplating animals; he must treat them especially when they are sick. Do not expect any of your little residents to leave you alone…
Animals are very well modeled and animated in a very realistic way. The care phases do not have all the same work to do and we regret, for example, that all mammals are found with the same jaw.
Handling is not a problem; it is usually about targeting the area to treat with the Wiimote. You will need about 6 hours to overcome the eight sections of the script. This is an honorable life for this type of game, but some aspiring veterinarians will eventually get tired to meet the same conditions. Note, however, that the cooperative mode just rekindles interest in the game. The music is quite correct, but not great. The sounds of the animals are more successful however.
Overall, if you want to treat animals from around the world, Zoo Hospital is for you. This veterinarian simulation has great graphics and a good database on animals. We can always blame it to offer medical mini-games that are too repetitive, but this flaw is counterbalanced by the presence of a cooperative mode rather distracting.
