RollerCoaster Tycoon
- January 01, 2000 00:00 AM PST
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."
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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!
