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| Reviewer | Platform | Publisher | Developer | Players | Screenshots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Mark Walker | Xbox | Infogrames | Infogrames | 1 | Here |
| Requirements | Also on... | Buy from Amazon.co.uk | |||
| At the time of writing, we did not have a requirements section. | PC | Click here to buy RollerCoaster Tycoon. | |||
This game has been a big hit on PC for a long time now and has just hit the Xbox with the two added expansion packs Loopy Landscapes and Added Attractions.
It's a game where you build and manage your own theme parks with rides to wacky rollercoasters. There is ample to do with each park having its own objectives from attracting a certain amount of visitors, park rating to park value. It is very challenging needing to keep the park clean, maintaining the rides and keeping the visitors happy.
You are able choose which research projects to take up in order to obtain new rides, shops, scenery, and ride upgrades to keep the visitors happy and to bring in more people. The larger rides, like rollercoasters, waterslides, trains, etc. can be hard and frustrating because if you don't get it right the rollercoasters will crash and cost you money and ratings to drop. Also, if they have passengers on board it will kill them, and then when you have fixed the problem and tested the track the people will not ride it due to fear; they have a long memory.
Once you have a park running you need handy men to keep your park clean, and cut the grass so it looks nice and well, and these in turn bring more people to the park. Mechanics are needed to maintain your rides when they break down, so they can get them up and running again. Security guards are also handy as the keep the troublemakers under control and keep the park running smoothly. Then there are your entertainers who can bring a smile to the faces of the visitors whilst they are wondering round your park or queuing for rides; especially those which have long queues and need to be kept interested.
There are a lot of parks and different tasks to choose from. Some parks will need you to bring in a certain amount of visitors, get the park up to a certain value and get the park's reputation up to a certain level. Your reputation level can drop due to a messy park, vandalism, too crowded, or not much choice in rides or shops. But you are able to make the level rise by keeping the park clean, rides maintained, cheap enough ride entrance fees, and with queues which are not too long.
When you first start you don't have many parks to choose from but the more you complete the more you open with new objectives. You have the option to invest in new rides and shops for the future. The research options you have the are: none, small, normal or large investments, and as it is always best to get new rides and shops the as soon as possible, I always recommend high investment, giving you over 50 different ride types once the research is complete.
It is a long game where you need a lot of patience and time. You can fully customize you parks to your own liking and also make you own custom rollercoasters, slides, water rapids, car rides and many more. On completing your construction it is always best to try it out first with a test run, rather than sending your unsuspecting guests to their doom. If you do fail to test your ride and it fails, your park's reputation takes a sudden dive and the guests will start to avoid your big rides and rollercoasters. Also, your guest count in the park will drop so you need to start a marketing campaign to try and entice the guests back to your park.
The graphics are not brilliant, but it is the type of game that does not need to be a masterpiece. The controls are simple enough to get used to but people who are used to the control system of the PC may not like it and find it frustrating. For Theme game fans this is a must buy, but if you have a PC that will run the game (and let's face it, with low specs most people do have) you may wish to knock of a few points, and pick up the PC original (or the sequel) instead.
An extra note: RollerCoaster Tycoon also has real-life theme parks for you to mess around with, such as Alton Towers, Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Hyde Park.
| Graphics | The graphics are quite old looking and may put people of who depend on graphics and not game play. | 6/10 |
|---|---|---|
| Gameplay | The game play is very good it will keep you engrossed for quite a while as there is a lot to do and it is totally fun to play | 10/10 |
| Value | At the time of writing, we did not have a value for money ranking. | 0/10 |
| Lifespan | With hours and hours of play this game will keep you coming back for more with all the different parks and tasks. | 10/10 |
| Audio | Sound is more fun with guests screaming with happiness or anger depending how you parks are turning out. With music for each ride to try and calm you inpatient guests. | 7/10 |
| Overall | Great game! Worth a look if you like Theme Park games but PC owners may prefer it on PC as the control system is not what they are used to. | 8/10 |
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