On first appearance Zoo Keeper may just look like a new version of Bejeweled, with animals instead of jewels and a few extra modes added in an attempt to justify the game’s price tag. But once you play it for a short while using the DS’s unique touch screen, you'll become quickly addicted. The simplistic gameplay will keep you coming back for more, and you will find yourself unable to put down the game.

Let's face it, Zoo Keeper isn't the sort of game that you are going to be buying based on the strength of its story, which is simplistic, matching the style of game play. The plot is that there is a historic zoo that lies on the outskirts of a town. The animals in this zoo are getting angry with the curator who hasn't been feeding them, and they have begun to revolt against him. You are then called in as a Zoo Keeper to try to restore order. Unusually, the way to restore order is by moving animals in a grid around to get three or more of them in a row. By doing this you 'capture' these animals and they disappear, allowing new animals to fall into the screen.

Luckily, there isn't just one mode of play in the game, as without the various modes Zoo Keeper could become quite tedious early on. There are four different single-player modes and a two-player mode for you to test your skills. In the main mode you need to try to capture a certain number of each type of animal to complete the level. In this mode there is a set amount of levels in which you have to try to get as high a score as possible. The next mode is Tokoton, in which you have to capture 100 of an animal before moving on to the next level. The most original of all the modes is Quest. In Quest you need to do certain tasks for the curator while trying to rack up as many points total at the end of these ten tasks. These tasks include things like trying to get a special tile, one that flicks between all the animals and when tapped captures all the animals that are the same as the one it shows at that time. Another is trying to catch 30 of one type of animal while catching no other animals. This mode is very refreshing as it offers something different from the other three single-player modes in that you aren't trying to capture as many animals as possible. The last solo mode is Time Attack where you have to get as high a score in six minutes as possible. In all these modes there is a timer counting down at the side of the screen. Once this gets near the bottom the animals begin to wobble around, but once it reaches the bottom it’s game over. You can replenish the amount of time in your timer by catching animals. In the two-player mode you are battling against your opponent, trying not to let your timer run out. In this mode you can get power-ups that will make it harder for your opposing player to capture animals. One of these turns your opponent’s screen grey so they can't see the different colors of the animals.

The game has a very unique visual style. The game sticks to 2D and looks as though it could be displayed on a Game Boy Advance. The animals look great as they are bright and colorful and match the rest of the artwork. The whole game is designed around a central theme of squares, with square characters, animals, as well as, menus that replicate this theme. Luckily, the developers of Zoo Keeper didn't decide to make the game with more complex graphics that would be more of a test to the DS, as I feel that this would have been unnecessary and would have resulted in the game losing its excellent style.

Controlling the game is very easy because of the touch screen. In the game, the grid with the animals and the timer are displayed on the bottom screen, while the top screen is only used for an image of the lucky animal, which is the animal that when captured gives you double points. To move the animals around you just need to touch them once and then touch the animal you'd like it to swap places with. If you don't like the touch screen control method, then you can use the D-pad to move a cursor to select the animal you want to move. Obviously, using the touch screen is a lot easier than the traditional controls and this alone is one of the reasons why it is better than the flash version of the game on the internet.

The in-game music is very basic and by no means something revolutionary. The background music can get very annoying in a short space of time, due to its very repetitive nature. Luckily, you can turn the music off in the menu screen while leaving the sound effects on. The voice-over in the game is nice and clear through the DS's speakers. The sound effects aren't as bad as the music but can sound too clicky and don’t match up to the standard you would expect from the DS. The worst part of all the sounds of the game is when you are running out of time, the music becomes very annoying, making it a lot harder to find that one move you need to keep yourself in the game. This always makes these last few seconds before the game ends incredibly frustrating.

Overall, the game does have a lot of replay value due to the simplistic nature of game play, as well as the fact that it is so easy to pick up and play while quickly becoming immersed in the different modes. However, aside from Quest, there is a lack of variation in the different modes of the games. This does prevent gamers from playing the game for long periods of time. It is more fun just to play it for 20 minutes, but much more than that and you'll soon get bored with its repetitive nature.

Although there is a free playable version of the game on the internet, it is irrelevant to say that you shouldn't buy this game because you can play it for free. This game offers three extra modes not available in the flash version, not only that, but it can be played anywhere you want without the need to sit in front of a monitor.

This game should appeal to everyone because of the ease of play and how simple it is for anyone to become addicted to its exciting style of game play that keeps you going back for one more game. If you aren't fond of puzzlers, this may still be a good game for you as it is great to play after you've tried to beat the final boss or collect every item without success in other games. Now that its price has been reduced significantly, it is definitely a title worth looking into.