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Publisher
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Genre
Simulation |
Release Date
11/22/2005 |
Status
Available |
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What
happened to the good days when a game didn't have to be flashy to be
great? It just had to rely on good solid level design, strong colorful
visuals, and responsive gameplay. But like all good things coming to an
end what does one do? They either stick it into a compilation so
someone can play it for a few minutes and then switch to the next game,
or make a 3D sequel. Oftentimes it sounds like a great idea but
occasionally brilliance falls on its face. A couple of games come to
mind that haven't done so well in their dimensional "change," such as Mega Man Legends (PSX), Mega Man X7 (PS2), or Street Fighter EX (PS2). Most times brilliance will survive the fall to get back up again and pick up where it left off (Worms to Worms 3D), but every once in a while the dimensional makeover will result with astounding success; Warcraft III comes to mind. Fortunately the people at Frontier Development and Atari took a turn in the right direction when they gave Rollercoaster Tycoon the 3D treatment. Although not perfect, it does give more than a
glimmer of hope for the finished product and potential increases in the
franchise!
Out of the line and onto the train
Frontier has given the graphics a huge overhaul. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 (RCT3) feels like a completely original game, but for those of you who
have played the original either on PC or Xbox it still has that same
nostalgic air. I started up with the tutorials, of which there are
seven in all. The first one was Camera Control and showcased a small
park with one coaster. This tutorial does a great job of getting you in
the mood of creating your own park, plus it shows off one of the newest
features about RCT3, which is the ability to ride the rides. No longer
do you sit on the sidelines watching as hundreds of happy customers get
to throw up after riding your Coaster of Doom: you can, too! You can
even choose which seat you want to sit in. Other tutorials include the
basics of building your own coaster, as well as creating your own
fireworks show with the brand spankin' new Fireworks MixMaster. The
Fireworks MixMaster may sound daunting at first but it really is very
fun and simple to use. Not to mention it really lights up your park at
night! That's right. Frontier has added night and day elements as well.
The graphics really get shown off as your entire park lights up with
color due to either your impressive fireworks show or the rides
themselves lighting up for all to enjoy.
The rides aren't the
only things to get a 3D overhaul; the peeps have, too! Your park
patrons, lovingly referred to as "peeps," come in a variety of shapes,
sizes, and colors now. No longer will your park look as if it was
infested with Oompa-Loompas. You can even create your own family of
peeps under the tools menu. You can alter peeps' size based on three
age brackets—junior, teen, and adult—switch up skin color, hairstyle,
and clothes, and even name them. This allows you to locate them when
you finally start playing the game. They will show up in any scenario
so you can then have fun finding out what rides they like the best.
Another fun feature about your custom created group is that whenever
they take photos, either at a photo location or by your instruction,
the photos they take will show up in the rotation of in-game
screenshots in the menu. Neat!
Even
though your park already has a tidal wave of diversity with hundreds of
different peeps wandering around, Frontier and Atari didn't think that
was enough. They have created five different themes for your park as
well: Generic, Spooky, Western, Sci-Fi, and Adventure. Unlike another
Mac title, Sim Theme Park, all of these themes can be
incorporated into one park. So you can mix your sci-fi rides with
western style shops and souvenir stores. But beware, because your peeps
may not like it and leave your park. Stupid judgmental peeps. Like I
said before, basically everything is influenced by these themes
including rides, shops, and entertainers. This way instead of having
the SkySling as a thrill ride in a western themed park, you can have
the Bucking Bulls. And instead of just plain ol' burgers, try selling
the Bison Burgers by your Bucking Bulls.
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