Jane is back, and apparently while on vacation in Africa she saw the plight of the animals and needed to step in and intervene! So she create’s … Jane’s Zoo! Another in the line of time management games from G5, Jane’s Zoo has been out for a while on iPhone, but has just now crossed to the iPad. Let’s see what it offers!
The Hype:
Help Jane feed and care for wild animals in this Time Management hit with millions of fans! Jane is trying to save extinct animals and keep them thriving across 3 continents. You will travel to Africa, Asia and Europe to save the animals and give them refuge. Having walked through dozens of amazing levels you will become the most experienced zoo-keeper. Find incredible bonuses, earn cash to upgrade your zoo and make the animals’ houses comfortable. Save the world from an upcoming catastrophe and feel the spirit of freedom as you plunge into the world of wild nature!
39 Challenging Levels
3 Picturesque Settings
11 Cute animals
7 Fascinating mini-games
Game Center Support
New iPad Retina Display Support
The Reality:
As I mentioned, playing the recently released Jane’s Hotel 2 had me primed for Jane’s Zoo. Unfortunately what it actually did was set me up for a letdown. Sadly what we get is a graphically updated version of the not-so-great 2009 iPhone release.
Starting with graphics – they are fantastic. In fact, all of the presentation elements are very well done. The visuals work perfectly, with animals bouncing and rolling and playing around and never a doubt about which one is which. The sounds of animals and of the African locations are also well done. The efforts to bring the game to the Retina iPad are significant, and they accomplished them well.
The initial areas of the game have you tending to a few animals, feeding them, cleaning cages (with help from your assistant), washing them, and so on. At the completion of each level you gain some reward cash to help you build out your zoo with things that look good as well as functional elements to help you make more money and keep the animals happier.
Naturally Jane’s quest to save the animals requires multiple locations, so once you finish one zoo you have to move on to the next one and start again. The locations are varied enough, but the challenges and mini-games seem to level off too soon and I found myself bored. I wasn’t sure if I was getting burnt out on time management games, so I tried Jane’s Hotel 2 again and found I still liked it very much.
Jane’s Zoo is a solid time management game that ticks off all of the requirements of the genre, and the iPad version looks excellent and is plays solidly on the Retina iPad. However, at this point it just feels like an older release rather than a 2012 game The game has a free version so you can check it out before buying – and on launch day G5 has a 40% off sale, so the iPad and iPhone version are the same price!
Here is the trailer for Jane’s Zoo HD:
Review: Jane’s Zoo HD
Where to Buy: iTunes App Store for the iPhone and iPad
Price: Free with full-game unlock via in-app purchase: $2.99 iPhone or $2.99 iPad (8/30 only, then returns to $4.99)
What I Like: Interesting setup; great visuals; loads of animals; sounds work well; standard gameplay
What Needs Improvement: Very formulaic after promising start.
Source: Publisher provided review code
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