Zoo Vet: Endangered Animals, the latest in Real Life Games® from Legacy Interactive®, will arrive in time for the Holidays, first at retail (October 2007) and then in a special downloadable version available at www.legacygames.com. Vivendi Games will distribute the title at retail in North America.
This interactive exploration of veterinary medicine is the follow-up to 2005’s Zoo Vet, which earned the Parent’s Choice Seal of Approval, sold more than 250,000 copies and inspired the Washington Times to note: “Zoo Vet provides the perfect balance of learning, interaction in real-life situations and honing logic skills to make it one of the best animal-care simulations on the market.”
“We’re proud to announce that a portion of the proceeds from sales of Zoo Vet: Endangered Animals will benefit the African Wildlife Foundation, which supplied some incredible content, including more than 80 gorgeous photos for the Andrew’s Album feature of the game,” says Legacy Interactive CEO Ariella Lehrer. The leading international conservation organization focused solely on Africa, the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) has played a major role in ensuring the continued existence of some of Africa’s most rare and treasured species. “We are very happy to be associated with Zoo Vet: Endangered Animals and Legacy Interactive,” notes AWF CEO Patrick Bergin. “Zoo Vet: Endangered Animals will provide important support for our work to protect Africa’s imperiled wildlife. Ariella and her team also have done a marvelous job of incorporating content into the game that will educate and hopefully inspire consumers to become more involved in conserving wildlife in Africa, and throughout the world.”
Andrew’s Album – in which players hunt for the missing photos zookeeper Andrew took during his recent trip to Africa – is one of several mini-games enhancing the diagnosis and treatment of the 20 animals populating the Zoo Vet: Endangered Animals world. The virtual practice of veterinary medicine affords players the opportunity to perform surgery, administer medicine and carry out other treatment procedures using a variety of realistic medical tools. Helpful hints are available from the friendly zoo staff so that players of all levels are able to succeed.
“One of my favorite parts of the game is helping the eagle with the broken wing,” notes producer Don Marshall, who also oversaw production of Legacy Interactive’s popular game Pet Pals: Animal Doctor. “You have to carefully use a scalpel on the eagle’s wing, examine the broken bone, set it using a pin and then close up the incision so the bird can fly again.” Thirty gameplay scenarios – starring a lion, an elephant, a polar bear, an otter, a tortoise, a zebra and a crocodile that has ingested pennies tossed into his enclosure, among other animals – were contributed by veterinarians practicing throughout the world.
In addition to the 30 unique medical cases and Andrew’s Album expedition, Zoo Vet: Endangered Animals boasts beautifully rendered, photorealistic 3D modeling of its patients, as well as the ability to visit and interact with the animals in their zoo enclosures. Moreover, would-be veterinarians can settle in at the zoo’s office computer to investigate conservation issues, actual video footage of at-risk species in Africa, and information about the education and skills required to pursue a career as a vet. The animal action is rounded out by a memory game, a trivia test, a word search and a jigsaw puzzle.
Since 2001, when Legacy Interactive launched the “aspiring vet” genre with the introduction of “Vet Emergency,” the company has established a reputation for respecting the intelligence of its audience and in so doing, providing both children and adults with compelling educational experiences that emphasize learning through activity. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than on the Legacy Games’ website, where a fan of Zoo Vet revealed, “I always wanted to be a vet, and now I can!”