Might as well do some ratings like everyone else is, the numbers are more based on my excitement for them personally than anything else.
1. Hamadryas Baboon: Finally the monkey curse is broken... I wish it got broken twice in this pack tbh, but still, at least we have one. This game has given me a much bigger appreciation for primates than I had before since they’re so much fun to build for, so I’m glad to be getting two in this pack, and this is definitely the more useful of the two. Not a species I’m particularly excited about, but definitely one that’ll come in handy. 8/10
2. Kirk’s Dik-Dik: Yeah I’m surprised too, this little freak is growing on me a lot. I’ve said before that aside from an Indian antelope species an extra small ungulate was the only niche left for the group I felt like I could muster any excitement for, and that hasn’t changed. There were better options than the dik-dik for sure - as Africa is very well represented on the ungulate front - like the South American pudu or an Asian mouse deer or muntjac, but the dik-dik still fills the niche well and I’m happy to have it. 6.5/10
3. African Spurred Tortoise: The only thing saving this pack from being another mammal-fest. A third large tortoise species wouldn’t be have been my first pick for a reptile, but they’re certainly at a number where I’d accept another more than our 8th bear, 6th caprid, or who knows how many at this point cat. Plus it’s our first mainland habitat tortoise and the mixed species potential will probably be pretty fun. 6/10
4. Sifaka: Should it have been a second monkey? Probably, but one of the carnivorans or ungulates also could have been. Definitely not “just a fourth lemur” considering their uniqueness, but also not really essential or all too common. It’s just one of those species like the secretary bird or musk ox that is arguably a fan-favorite, but not too beneficial for the game’s overall roster beyond just being unique. A solid oddball pick, especially compared to last year’s animal packs, but this just isn’t really the time or place for it, especially with the amount of work it needed that probably could have been spent on something more widely useful. I have a feeling its going to grow on me a lot once I see it in action, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it become a personal favorite, but for now… 6/10
5. Spectacled Bear: I’m a lot more excited for these guys than I thought I would be… in comparison to the rest of the pack at least. One of my favorite bear species and at least something for SA, but I can’t say I’m too excited with how well-represented the group is, not to mention we just got the sloth bear two packs ago. 6/10
6. Pallas's Cat: More excited for these after seeing the screenshot, but we have so many damn cats at this point and we really didn’t need another here when there are so many groups that have hardly scratched the surface. How the hell did we get two cats in one DLC/Update cycle and not a single bird? 4/10
7. Markhor: Yeah remember what I said about the dik-dik and how there were so few ungulates left I’d be excited about? Yeah this isn’t one of them. Caprids are pretty well represented and we’ve now had three packs in a row with them, so I can’t say I’m very hyped for the markhor. Super cool as a real life animal, and nowhere near as bad as some prior picks - this pack thankfully doesn’t have any duds for me on the level of the saiga or Barnyard’s weird breed choices for example - but there are so many species and overall groups that should have taken priority over the weaker of the two ungulates (cough, cough, bird, cough, cough). 4/10
8. African Leopard: This is an animal in the game now. I want to build a zoo in either Southern or Eastern Africa soon, so it might see some use in that admittedly niche situation that I’d have been perfectly happy substituting the Amur in (and still don’t have any small ground birds to use in…) but other than that I don’t think I’ll ever use this animal. I was perfectly content with the Amur and had no desire for a second subspecies. It’s by far the weakest of the anniversary animals for me, but I wasn’t really expecting one at all this year, so I can’t complain too much about a free critter. 2/10
I really want to like this pack on its own merit instead of being disappointed in its failings as a final pack, but honestly, aside from the mainland Africa trio this pack is kind of just meh for me even then. Now that I’m thinking about it, ditch the three mountain animals for say, a coati, one of the many African ground birds or a burrowing owl, and an echidna and you’d immediately have a pretty solid scrublands pack that would be more focused, and aside from still lacking a South American monkey, would ironically be a more satisfying final pack than this for me tbh. Overall, it's still a vast improvement over last year's animal packs I guess, at least I'm just kind of indifferent this time rather than outright bummed out like I was with Arid and Eurasia barring the swan. Maybe the scenery will save it for me if it isn't all party stuff.
