I never thought this could happen, but I am finally burned out on fantasy games. I've seen more than enough orcs and elves for the time being. Maybe it's not fantasy games but Neverwinter Nights. I've got a dozen quests to complete in the second chapter and all of them seem so boring I could cry. Get this, get that, find this person, kill that. What makes this game different from any other RPG? It doesn't matter if the story is different when the game is the same as every other RPG. Gopher elf to the rescue.

Since I was tired of the fantasy genre, I turned my attention to the tycoon world and loaded up Zoo Tycoon for the first time in 2 months. That turned out to be lots of fun. I was able to let my creativity loose and create things. However, a gaming first happened for me as I neared the end of a scenario. I was saddened by the death of Albert the Anteater. Albert was the first resident of the zoo I created. His enclosure was the only one that I had been able to get a 100 rating on. I was so pleased with my work and he was the happiest anteater ever. But, old age became his downfall, less than a year after I had moved him in.

I was so surprised. An audible gasp caused my wife to ask what was wrong. What's wrong with me? This was just a game. The anteater wasn't even in 3D. For the most part I was shocked that death was possible in this game from anything except animal neglect. As I soon found out, many of the digital animals have a short lifespan. Either that or I buy animals from the senior citizen section. Not only did Albert die, but so did my jaguar and the first 3 blackbucks I had for the zoo. All died within a year of purchase.

My vote is for outrageously fast clocks in Zoo Tycoon. I brought in a female blackbuck that gave birth within 2 days of coming to the zoo. Normal gestation period is 5 months, but I suppose there's nothing saying she wasn't pregnant before she got to the zoo.