|
Options: (Print) (Send)
Missed opportunities on line four...
Graphics
RcT’s graphics are easily the most lean of any sim game I’ve ever played on a console. While they are finely detailed, the scaled out viewpoint makes it nearly impossible to make out these details. There is also a lot of stuff on the screen, which is all given the same, thorough amount of detail. Sadly, that is also negated by the scaled out viewpoint. As it stands, the graphics in the Theme Park Roller Coaster on the PS2 run circles around this game, hell, Theme Park on the Mega Drive II makes this game look bad, even that game gave the player some nicely detailed graphics, and even on the Nomad’s small screen, the graphics are infinitely preferable to those in this game.
Sound
Ah, the sound, something that can be used to convey a certain mood or theme. Theme Park Roller Coaster did this well, with the cheery tunes fitting the themed areas quite nicely. Even Theme Park did this, the music was simple, but it conveyed a sense of joy and whimsy, which is perfect for a theme park. This game though… well doesn’t do any of those things. You’re “treated” to tunes that sound like poor imitations of cheery music. The music is quite repetitious, and doesn’t really add to the game in any way, it just exists. The sound effects are a step up though, and are probably the best I’ve ever heard in a sim game on a console. They’re crystal-clear, and have quite of a bit of volume and depth to them as well, which is certainly a nice touch. Hearing multi-layered sound effects in a sim game is something I never thought would be done, but this game does it, and does it well.
Gameplay
The first key problem with the game lies within the clunky system used for creating things. Unlike most other sim games on consoles, where just one menu is needed on-screen to accomplish many things, RcT has two menus, two very small menus that could have easily been combined to make one menu, which would have made park creation a little easier. This problem is magnified by the game only using the left analog stick for menu movement, which makes no sense and isn’t the least bit practical, since a slight nudge of the stick will send you to another selection, which is quite easy to do due to the sensitivity of the stick. This problem causes the player to waste copious amounts of time in the long run, which is something I definitely don’t fancy.
Another key problem I have with the game is that the gameplay perspective isn’t an overhead shot like in Theme Park, or Theme Park Roller Coaster, it’s a ¾ overhead shot that leans to the side, which is then scaled out. This causes many, many problems with the game. With objects being so small, it’s nearly impossible to place anything where you want it, when you factor in that the game features options for slope and stuff, which is a nice touch in theory, it makes things even harder to place. There is a magnifying glass to help you see things in this game, but even that is too small, and doesn’t let you see any significant area of the park due to parks being so massive. This brings me to the next big problem in the game…
Screen clutter, which is something that simply shouldn’t exist at all in a game like this. RcT is chock-full of screen clutter, a problem that is magnified by everything appearing to be too small in the game, which adds more complications towards simply adding things to “your” park. Clutter like a mass amount of trees, which you can’t do anything with, just waste space and prevent you from being able to see your visitors, or your rides, for that matter. This clutter also makes it difficult to just navigate through your park, as the endless trees make it easy to get lost in “your” own park. You might be wondering why I put your in quotes, well, that’s because in this game, you don’t actually get to make your own theme park.
Story
This game doesn't really have a story to come with, however, you could make up your own story, like the story of your park. As you become more popular, you may sometimes think that you created this out of nothing, and use the story of your park to make a reputation to live up to. Still, could use some storyline.
Summary
Rollercoaster Tycoon is a supreme disappointment. I came into it expecting something great, and left it feeling disgusted by the problems in the game, problems that simply shouldn’t have been there in the first place. The entire game is just a mish-mash of good ideas gone wrong, as well as missed opportunities. I wouldn’t mind seeing Infogrames release a sequel of some kind to this game, fixing the problems that exist in this one. Right now, RcT is a solid base, with many faults to be smoothed out. Once that is done though, the end result should be great. Sadly, this end result isn’t great, in fact, it’s far from it. That being said, the game does have some worth, with the price point now being at about £20, it’s worth your money. If you are able to get past the problems, you’ll have fun with it, if not, well, just get your £20 out of it, or, better yet, go trade the game in for credit towards Theme Park Roller Coaster on the PS2, a game that is infinitely superior to this one. JP
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Frontier Development
UK Release: 15/03/03 |
Addictive gameplay.
Endless possibilities. |
Cluttered graphics.
Rubbish music.
No CD-import feature. |
|
|
|
gamingreviews
