Rollercoaster Tycoon

• Platform: IBM PC Compatible
• Release Date: May 18, 1999
• Genre: Simulation
• Style: Business Sim
• Similar Games: Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon (Macintosh), Theme Park (Macintosh), Transport Tycoon (Macintosh), Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon (IBM PC Compatible), Theme Park (IBM PC Compatible), Theme Park (Sega Genesis), Theme Park (Sega Saturn), Theme Park (PlayStation), Transport Tycoon [Classic Series] (IBM PC Compatible), Theme Park (Atari Jaguar), Theme Park (3DO)

Game Description

From the company that brought you the acclaimed Railroad Tycoon and its sequel comes a new challenge, RollerCoaster Tycoon. Spanning over twenty different scenarios, the aim of the game is to construct a roller coaster park with the best rides and entertainment possible -- and to generate as much profit as you can along the way.

Send your scientists out to research dozens of roller coaster designs including old-styled rides, like wooden switchbacks, as well as newer models, such as vertical launchers. After you've picked your favorites, you'll be able to build them almost anywhere you'd like in the park, including underground or over water.

If creating your own tracks and roller coasters is too time-consuming, you can choose from a wide variety of prefabricated rides. There are plenty of other entertainment rides at your disposal, like go-karts and bumper cars, a Ferris wheel, and even a haunted house.

By using creative designs and park layouts, you'll attract more visitors to your resort, so you'll make more money and send your park value skyrocketing. Graphically, all the rides are detailed with colorful sprites set in a isometric layout in order to capture the best view of your park. Ride operations, as well as the food and bathroom booths and individual park patrons, are all interactive -- you can even charge your customers for photographs taken on the rides!

Roots & Influences

RollerCoaster Tycoon is basically a cross between the old Bullfrog classic Theme Park and Chris Sawyer's own Transport Tycoon. It expands on Theme Park by giving you the option to construct your own roller coaster designs and then saving them to disk and imports the resource management of Sawyer's other games.

Review: Overall

The main objective of this game is to choose, design, create and install a wide variety of roller coaster rides in your entertainment park. Your designs and layouts must be well thought out, as you must also get as many people to visit your park as possible. The more ingenious, innovative and scary the rides you put in, the better business (higher park value and overall profit) will be for the park. "Build it, and they will come," is an applicable phrase.

One could argue that Railroad Tycoon and its sequel Railroad Tycoon II are the ultimate digital train sets for the adult PC gamer community. Their solid execution allowed for complex railroad building and engineering as well as pinpoint micro-management. Done in the same vein as these games, with a bit of the Bullfrog classic Theme Park thrown in for extra measure, RollerCoaster Tycoon is here to keep not only the adult players, but kids as well glued to their monitor screens.

After you've designed and built up your park with all sorts of entertaining rides and food stalls, you must keep it running on a day-to-day basis. Not only will you have to pay for advertising of the park and the various rides, but you must also ensure that each ride is safe. Therefore, you will have to hire mechanics to periodically inspect your coasters. Without these guys, your rides may crash and people can get hurt. You'll also have to charge the right amount of money to ride the coasters, hire groundskeepers and entertainers, and micromanage right down to the fee to charge park patrons for souvenir photos taken during the rides.

The concept of gameplay is easy to pick up, thanks to the handy icon interface bar at the top of the screen. This enables you to control and adjust everything you can see and hear. The sprite-based graphics are detailed with glorious colors, although the realistic wooden scaffolding effect on most of the rides dominates most of the views. Still, the realism and micro-management of your park makes RollerCoaster Tycoon much more addictive and fun than similar theme park or business simulations. Because you get to control the rides, facilities and overall appeal of the park as well as accommodate factors such as temperature, weather and financial constraints, it is an enjoyable and challenging game.

Review: Enjoyment

Fun as well as challenging.

Review: Graphics

Colorful and detailed.

Review: Sound

The ambience makes you feel you're really in an amusement park.

Review: Replay Value

There are dozens of rides to choose for your park as well as twenty different scenarios. At the main {*RollerCoaster Tycoon} website, you can download new ride packs and scenarios.

Review: Documentation

Easy to comprehend manual.

Production Credits

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