Zoo Keeper is a puzzle game that has already appeared on several other platforms. Its lone North American release has been on the DS, where its catchy music, along with a general lack of Bejeweled-style puzzle games, made it a strong choice for owners of that platform. But when you look at just about any mobile phone game catalog, you're bound to find Bejeweled, Bejeweled 2, and about 50 more Bejeweled-like products. When put up against other, similar games, this animal-style puzzle game is just another one of the herd.
Let's get down to it: Zoo Keeper DX is Bejeweled with animals instead of jewels. If you're among the lucky few who haven't already gone through a 12-step program to deal with your Bejeweled problem, you're probably wondering what that actually means. You're given an 8x8 tiled board filled with different animal heads. You can move a cursor around to select any one of these heads and swap it with an animal directly next to, above, or below it. But you can make that swap only if you're moving an animal head next to at least two more of the same animal head, to create alignments of at least three identical heads. Matching the heads causes them to disappear from the screen, and new animals drop in from above. The normal game mode works on a timer that partially refills every time you make a match. So you'll want to keep making matches as quickly as possible to keep playing. The same basic motif carries across the survival and time-attack modes.
Graphically, Zoo Keeper has a good, stylized look to it. The animal icons are a little small, but you'll definitely be able to tell a hippo from a tiger. The game's sound effects are minimal, but good enough for a puzzle game. The supercatchy music found in the DS version is here, but it plays on only the main menu and doesn't loop.
Zoo Keeper DX is a good game, but it's been done over and over again in what must be thousands of different Bejeweled-like incarnations. If you're looking for a good puzzle game and haven't burned out on Bejeweled, this one's worth a look.
