Rollercoaster Tycoon Review

Overall Rating

Good Scenario's and open ended ability.

Graphics can be a little fiddly when it gets very busy.

Rollercoaster Tycoon gives me a rush, as you have total control over the design and development of a whole amusement park. This game does score over games like 'Theme Park' (although always remember we would not have roller without it) purely because of its simplicity of use, yet depth of play.

The basic premise of this game is to take either an empty park or an existing but flagging park and turn it into a profitable business. You start each scenario with a limited arsenal of rides and from there you must dedicate rescources to research, in the hope of making more money from the resulting features. You can choose to develop either rides, scenary, shops and stalls or ride enhancements. Rides vary from vertical drop roller coasters, to the more boring ghost houses and big wheels. Stalls also vary with everything burger stands and chips stalls through to balloon stands and souveneirs (and don't forget the toilets).

Some rides have basic customisation, like adding more rotations to the big wheel or allowing more people into a maze. But the real fun comes from designing some of the more exciting rides like the roller coasters and water rides. These rides do come with some pre-built designs (plus thousands downloadable from the net), but there is nothing to stop your imagination in design other than your bank balance, once you have got some practice in. You do need to keep an eye on some factors when designing these rides, as some of your guests may enjoy the excitement of the ride you have designed, but may not be able to take the intensity (cue puke everywhere).

The other feature of this game is that you do need to think about the design of your park, for example, if you place all of your food vendors close to an extreme roller coaster things are going to get very messy on the paths due to customers weak stomachs. There is no complex management to take care of like buying stock for the stores, as in previous games, but some management is required in the form of hiring cleaners, security guards and entertainers to look after your visitors. All of your employees can be zoned to work in particular areas, or left to roam at thier own discretion. You can also look at the satisfaction of each customer, as everyone has their own personality in that each enjoys their own type of ride and have different tolerance levels etc..

Scenario's vary widely (again, many available on the net), from large open, empty parks that need building from scratch, through to small struggling parks that require very careful planning. You can also carry on after the completion of a scenario, for as long as you like, so in theory you could play the same scenario for the rest of your life (I did say in theory).

Graphics and sound are amazing. The people in the game, although very small, are very well animated to the point of being able to watch them eat their pizza and candy floss. Sound includes the usual fairground noises, which changes depending on which ride you are closest to (music can be selected on some rides). You also get the general noise from the crowds talking as they walk along and screaming on the more exciting rides (and losing their lunches afterwards).

With the addition of some imaginative scenery (Elephant fountains and giant sweets, don't ask) and the ability to customise the colours of the rides, the design of your parks is only left to our own wild imagination. GET IN THERE AND HAVE FUN!!!