Review: Rollercoaster Tycoon

Genre: Simulation, Strategy

            Rollercoaster tycoon is a game about creating an amusement park, managing park funds, and drowning your park guests! Do you drown them by the simple drag and drop technique or do you send them hurtling into a lake in a rollercoaster? In the end, it’s your decision!

Gameplay

            Drowning aside, Rollercoaster tycoon is a very entertaining park management game that allows you to create the park of your dreams. You control all of the aspects of your park from what rides to build, what scenery goes in, and the prices of everything. Just don’t charge ten dollars to use the bathroom. Each game starts with a set area of land with borders. Over time you unlock new rides and earn money from park guests. Usually each park has its own set of objectives you must meet such as making x amount of profit in two years or pay off this amount of your loan. These objectives keep you engaged in the game while still letting you be creative with your park design. It is also very fun and challenging to build on an awkwardly shaped map that has height restrictions.

           There s a wide selection of rides in rollercoaster tycoon. You have many types of coasters to choose from with some preset designs. If you prefer, you can even make your own custom tracks. Each track has its own statistics such as intensity and excitement. When building, you have to keep in mind not to make turns too fast or drops too high or else many guests won’t want to ride. The other kind of rides include your basic merry-go-round, pirate ship, railroad, Ferris wheel, and go karts just to name a few

Graphics

            Graphics in this game are very basic, but clean. Everything is presented in a nice isometric 3D view. Since the game was released in 1999, it is understandable how it has an older look to it. Many parks you begin with are beautifully laid out with great scenery placement and landscaping. With all the diverse rides, shops, and scenery, along with a large variety of custom colors for nearly everything, rollercoaster tycoon’s graphics are sure to please.

Conclusion
 

If you’re looking for a good way to kill many hours, rollercoaster tycoon is the game for you. The challenging aspect of managing your park, combined with certain requirements to meet, makes this a very enjoyable experience. Even after you win a level, you can still play and continue creating the park just as you see fit. This is a great game anyone should play, even if it is twelve years old.

Gameplay: 9.0

Graphics: 8.0

Lasting Appeal: 8.5

Overall: 9.0