Rollercoaster Tycoon

                      Reviewed by Sue

I've managed railroads and complete transport systems, built cities
and farms, created civilizations, run theme parks and hospitals.
Sometimes things go well, sometimes it's a disaster and yet I come
back for more. When I saw Rollercoaster Tycoon (RCT) in Smiths I
hesitated just long enough to say to myself ... no, I really
shouldn't ... before lugging my purchase to the counter.

This enthusiasm for a game about rollercoasters comes, strangely
enough, from someone who has never been on a coaster in her life,
and never plans to, unless vast (and I do mean V-A-S-T) sums of
money are offered because they scare the dickens out of her.
Merry-go-rounds filled with galloping horses are more my style, or
trying to throw rings over unfortunate goldfish (which,
co-incidentally, is how I started my first fish tank but that's
another story!).

But, don't be fooled by the title. RCT is about more than just
building rollercoasters; as with Bullfrog's previously-released
Theme Park (TP) you have to build and run the whole shebang -
other rides, shops and stalls - plus hiring staff and trying to
keep everybody happy. Easy it ain't.

Now, I didn't get on too well with TP, but RCT is a different
story. I'm hooked. Maybe it's because it's scenario based, rather
than open-ended. I'm one of those people who likes to have a goal
in her sights, and knowing that I need, say, 1000 people in my
park with a park rating of 600 by the end of year 3 is much more
appealing to me than just building something and watching it grow
(or not). In the second case I lose interest as time passes year
by year; in the first, my limited attention span can cope!

So far I haven't found the scenarios too tricky, and I'm on the
7th out of 21. Each park has a definite style - Dynamite Dunes is
a bleak desert area, Bumbly Beach is a mini-Margate and Evergreen
Gardens is so beautifully laid out with walkways and flower beds
that it would impress Alan Titchmarsh and the Ground Force crew.

There are many similarities between RCT and TP. Both concern a
whole park - the rides, food stalls, facilities, staff. For rides,
you have to lay out queuing areas and amuse your waiting guests
with entertainers. For all rides, shops and facilities, you have
to set sensible prices. Litter needs to be cleared and the rides
maintained and repaired when necessary. Research must be
carried out to develop new rides and make improvements to current
ones.

But whereas TP concentrated more on micromanagement in the full
game (rather than the easier 'sandbox' level) so that you had
order stock for your shop and compete against other park owners,
RCT has more emphasis on fun, and the only person you're competing
against is yourself. The graphics are, unsurprisingly, much better
than in TP (which was released in 1994) and there is more subtle
detail. And, of course, there is the fun of building a killer
coaster (hopefully, not literally though that did happen once to
me, ahem)

Coasters are built using a system like building blocks - you lay
down and link station platforms, straight tracks, up or down
sections and so on.  Embellishments like loops, twists and
corkscrews are available for some coasters when the conditions are
right. You can turn them, angle them ... whatever. Some other
rides such as cable cars, go karts and log flumes use similar
principles - with some of the water rides you can add whirlpools,
rapids and waterfalls etc. It's great fun - the hard bit is
getting the two ends of the track to connect at the right angle
and height but that comes with practice 80% of the time.

Once you've built a ride, you can test it and see if it works.
You'll also get test results in the form of intensity, excitement
and nausea settings. I found I had a natural talent for building
high nausea rides!  Unfortunately these scared the punters - I
built one that no-one would go on, they'd get as far as the
entrance and back away saying it looked too intense for them.
Luckily if you demolish a ride, you get most of your building
costs back.

But, as I said before, it isn't all about coasters. Shops don't
just sell food and drink; the guests can buy maps so they don't
get lost, umbrellas to protect them when it rains, and balloons
and soft toys to cheer themselves up. When nature calls they can
visit the loo (I was generous and made them free!). Despite maps
they will still get lost at regular intervals, especially on
certain levels such as Trinity Islands and you'll have to rescue
them. You can enhance their enjoyment further by adding benches,
litter bins, lights and embellishments like statues, fountains,
flower beds, fences and walls, trees and shrubs. As well as
researching rides and shops etc, you can also research themed
scenery such as wild west and Egyptian.

There *can* be problems. If you put food stalls too close to
thrill rides, the guests will throw up - luckily they do this with
a gentle cough, rather than more realistic sound effects. If you
have too many walls and fences they'll get trapped. If you don't
maintain or improve the rides, they'll get bored or - worse - if
maintenance is very poor a ride can crash. You need to be careful
with guests' safety; I accidentally moved an underground path
(yes, you can build underground coasters) and sent some guests
tumbling into ... well, who knows! I also drowned one by moving
him when he got lost and accidentally dropping him into a lake.
Security guards are necessary in some cases to stop rowdy guests
from breaking the seats.

On the positive side, there is a real feeling of achievement when
you complete a level and all the guests cheer and clap you and let
their balloons go so that they soar into the air. Much better than
a simple 'game over'! To summarize, RCT takes the best features of
TP and adds to them to make a game that is fun to play and fairly
balanced difficulty-wise.







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