Take a Ride! - Roller Coaster Tycoon
Written: Mar 22 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: design and build your own theme park and roller coasters
Cons: no Mac version, not enough rides & attractions
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| eyestar's Full Review: Roller Coaster Tycoon For Windows |
Wouldn't it be great if you could build your own roller coaster? Why stop there? What if you could build your own theme park? You could be in charge of prices, the rides, everything in the park? Is it a dream - or is it Roller Coaster Tycoon?
I absolutely love this game! I have always been fascinated with theme parks and roller coasters - so I think this game is wonderful. I'm actually a Mac user- and I'm running the game over Virtual PC just because I like it so much.
You’re probably wondering - how well does Roller Coaster Tycoon run over Virtual PC? I run Roller Coaster Tycoon over Virtual PC on my iMac DV. I was actually surprised by how well it runs over Virtual PC. The game takes a little bit longer to load than on a PC, but the starting up time is not long at all. I found that the game runs very well and keeps up on speed. I have found that scrolling across the screen to a different side of the park does lag a little bit, but not much to notice. The main problem I have with slow loading and lags is when your park starts getting very big and full of many different rides, attractions, and people. Once your park gets fairly large in size, the game starts to lag a bit and run more slowly. It can be difficult scrolling across the screen when this happens because of the lags. Besides this, Virtual PC handles the game very well. Unlike other games I have tried to play over Virtual PC, I can keep on all the sounds and music and I do not have to turn them off to optimize game play.
When you start out the game you are given the choice to choose between different land settings to place your park. Some of the settings will already have an established park that you need to improve, while others let you start from scratch. My favorite option is starting a new game from scratch as it allows me to design my own theme park and make it look the way I want it to.
Each of the different settings gives you different objectives to meet for your park. Usually you need to have a certain number of guests and a high park rating in a set amount of time. Your goal is to keep building and designing your park until you reach the objectives. Once you meet the objectives you are then given more land settings to choose from with more difficult objectives. If you decide that you would rather continue building the park you are currently working, on you can do this also. After awhile, you run out of space and choices for different rides and attractions though.
As you are building your park, you spend a certain set amount on researching new attractions, scenery, and rides. As your park gets larger and more established you are given more rides, attractions, and scenery to add.
The best feature in this game is being able to design and build your own roller coasters. As your park becomes more developed and you spend more on researching, you keep getting bigger and better roller coasters to build. Once you are ready to place a roller coaster in your park, you are given the option of choosing a previously designed model or starting from scratch. I prefer starting from scratch and building my own roller coasters as this is the best part of the game. Some of the roller coasters are very challenging and tricky to figure out. You need to be careful when designing your roller coasters because if you are not careful, it could crash and kill hundreds of people. One of the most challenging roller coasters to build is the bob sled. This roller coaster goes very fast down and drops, causing the speeds to be very high. This roller coaster can easily go out of control and fly off the tracks so you need to be careful. You can even build your roller coasters underground!
As for the downfalls of the game, it has a limit to how many different rides
and attractions that are available. After you play the game for awhile, you will get tired of seeing the same rides. There is now an expansion pack available called Roller Coaster Tycoon Corkscrew Follies that offers more rides, scenery, and attractions. If you try this game out and find that you really like it, I recommend buying the expansion pack.
There are some bugs in the game that need fixing. When you are building rides or paths underground, it can be very difficult to tell when you are going or which direction you are building. I’ve build many paths underground that I cannot figure out how to get back to the surface level. Building underground can be very confusing and aggravating.
When some of my roller coasters crash, I’ve had problems with being able to get the ride back running. In order to do this you’re suppose to be able to click the mouse button twice, then the repairmen come and fix the ride. Many times I’ll double click and the repairmen will not come and fix the ride, it will remain broken.
One other bug I’ve found is in the Boat Hire ride. Sometimes in this ride the passengers will get stuck in an area they are unable to get their boat out of. If this happens, I always have to close the ride and re-open it to get these people off the ride.
What else? Obviously I wish they would make a mac version of this game.
I highly recommend this game... especially to everyone who loves SIM games, theme parks, and roller coasters. It will provide you with hours of entertainment.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
eyestar
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Location: USA
Reviews written: 135
Trusted by: 116 members
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