The player must also hire employees to staff and maintain the facilities.

Freeform games begin with an empty zoo, to which the player adds animal exhibits and guest facilities such as restaurants and bathrooms. The player's money supply is unlimited, and all items are available from the beginning of the game, except for those that can only be unlocked in Scenario and Challenge games. A Freeform game in Zoo Tycoon 2 allows the player to choose what kind of zoo to create, with the only restrictions being space, animals, and objects. Zoo Tycoon 2 features a number of gameplay modes, each with differing limitations, with the exception of Freeform. The object of the game is to build and operate a zoo by creating exhibits and aquariums, keeping guests and animals happy, and maintaining employees, finances, terrain, and scenery. Zoo Tycoon 2 features similar gameplay as its predecessor, Zoo Tycoon. A Nintendo DS version, titled Zoo Tycoon 2 DS, was released in 2008.

Originally released for Windows, Zoo Tycoon 2 is also available for Windows Mobile, PDA, and Mac OS X, although expansions are not included in the Mac version. Zoo Tycoon 2 is a business simulation video game developed by Blue Fang Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios and MacSoft.

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