ThrillVille Preview

Vomit inducing rides, chips by the coronary-provoking skip-load, mile after mile of unruly queues... itâ??s been awhile since we last had to contend with the finer aspects of running a theme park. EA Gamesâ?? Theme Park may have closed its doors forever, an opening that UK outfit Frontier Studios is hoping to exploit by rekindling the joy of riding the big one with the forthcoming release of ThrillVille for the Playstation2 and PSP.

Inheriting Uncle Mortimerâ??s theme park empire, (a character who shares so many similarities to Back To The Futureâ??s Doc Brown weâ??re surprised Universal isnâ??t knocking on Frontierâ??s door), players must take control of five different parks and fend off competition from the evil Globo-Joy Corporation.

Despite the obvious sounding similarities to titles mentioned before, Frontier are determined to offer something a little bit different with Thrillville; something aimed towards a console audience following their recent work on Atariâ??s PC hit RollerCoaster Tycoon 3. Although the premise is still largely the same - assemble exciting rides to attract plenty of guests; build shops and stalls for them to spend their money; and above all else, make sure they have a good time doing this - ThrillVille is certainly not your average Tycoon/Sim title with the game taking place predominantly in the third-person. Free to wander around the park and admire the views, ThrillVille hopes to bring the player down to the ground by getting hands-on with every aspect of the park and its maintenance, whether thatâ??s training cleaners in the delicate matters of vomit removal or â??testingâ?? any of the games, rides and coasters that youâ??ve painstakingly designed and built.

Such an attempt to bring something so different and more appealing to a wider audience could lead to sacrifices, however, it seems Frontier Studios are keen to hide a sophisticated layer of depth to everything ThrillVille has to offer. With an abundant supply of rides, coasters and games to choose from, the theme park specialist will revel in the ability to create unique designs, even coming up with the holes on the mini-golf course and the design of the go-kart circuit! With the apparent difficulties of assigning a robust editor to the unwieldy designs of a joypad, ThrillVille is shaping up to avoid any such problems, with a highly accessible, grid-free set-up that limits designs only by your own imagination and the size of your wallet.

Business tycoons also have a sufficient supply of options and features to watch, which are crucial to the day-to-day running of the park and its future. Researching new rides, maintaining staff levels, conducting advertising campaigns to boost the parkâ??s popularity, setting prices based upon the fundamental laws of supply & demand are all aspects that an entrepreneurial theme park manager must conquer. Although it may not offer the most complex micro-management experience around, ThrillVille should still provide ample substance to the huge significance the game places on simple fun and entertainment.

Needless to say, a theme park can have the greatest coasters in the world, but if there arenâ??t any guests to enjoy it what purpose does it serve? Free to wander around the park and share irrelevant facts or gauge opinions, ThrillVilleâ??s theme parks are crammed full of all sorts to chat, challenge, or romance - even playing Cupid with the love-struck teenagers that frequent the place (surely such matters arenâ??t vital to establishing a capitalist's empire, but itâ??s a fun little distraction nonetheless). Sophisticated AI and a â??persistent memoryâ?? behind every guest keeps track of their experience in the park and their friendly status towards you, which should provide the cohesion to the jumble of fun ideas that ThrillVille is based around - even if it does sound suspiciously like marketing hogwash.

With a huge range of rides, games and coasters to design, ride and enjoy, ThrillVille is shaping up to offer something considerably different to the typical theme park sim and one of the most creative titles of the year. Obviously targeted towards a console audience, ThrillVille promises to capture the immersion of a Tycoon title and convey the fun of actually being in a theme park, with a mix of fun, strategy and variety.