Reviews / previews
Much like Bullfrog's earlier sim hit Theme Park (an
awful lot like Theme Park, actually), RollerCoaster
Tycoon allows would-be amusement-park barons to
build their own fantasylands.You design the rides, you
build the rides, you name the rides, you paint the
rides, and you hire guys to repair the rides when they
break down. That's "when," not "if."
Erstwhile Imagineers
can design
rollercoasters, log
flumes, go-kart
tracks, water slides,
and other
twisty-turny
attractions from the
ground up. You'll
have to take into
account the G-force,
as well as the
likelihood that some
visitors will be scared off if your rides look too extreme
(or even die if things go wrong). As the game
progresses, your R&D team will research new
attractions and improvements for the existing ones,
so your park is constantly growing and changing. At
any time, you can follow guests and read their
thoughts to learn how your park can be improved.
While coaster design is certainly a prime attraction,
you'll have much more to worry about than just laying
bits of track. How much do you charge for salty
snacks? Will your nearby ride be too intense for
people to keep down
their salty snacks?
How many janitors
should you hire to
mop up the vomited
remnants of the
salty snacks?
However, much of
this minutia is
optional, and RCT
lets players choose just how involved they
want to get. Monetary woes can be
simplified by charging one large fee at the
door, and coasters can be built from preset layouts. (Users have already
uploaded over 2,000 rides to the searchable database on the game's official
site at www.rollercoastertycoon.com.)
Graphically, RollerCoaster Tycoon is
something of a throwback: 2D graphics in a
rotatable, three-quarter isometric view with a
set resolution of 640x480. The views are
pretty and the detail unstinting. You can see
discarded soda cans on the ground and even
discern patrons' body language. You'll hear
the terrified from ride-goers, calliope music
from the merry-go-round, and the eerie howls
from the haunted house. The sound adds a
lot to the atmosphere, despite the inevitable
repetition. And the point-and-click interface
is a quick learn even for rookies of the genre.
For all the fun, RCT's not without its flaws. The view of the park makes placing
new objects (such as basic footpaths) difficult in congested areas. Land can
be raised and lowered in large blocks, but
trees must be removed one at a time--a
painstaking, annoying process.
Still, the game's undeniable addictiveness
makes it worth suffering through these minor
inconveniences. Is RollerCoaster Tycoon a
shameless Theme Park ripoff? Sure. But the
concept is worthy of further exploration, and,
in this case, it's attractively priced for the
amount of gameplay offered. One word says
it all: Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!-- Dan Amrich / GamePro
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