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RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 Review
Richard Amos
00/12/0000
Chris Sawyer brings his wonderful Tycoon series back with RCT2…
We've always been fans of the Tycoon franchise here at TVG - many days were spent on Transport Tycoon trying to get rich (and failing miserably) and making the most complex train routes possible. It all turned us rather anal about the whole thing, but the game was truly enthralling. Following on from the success of this game, Sawyer produced āRoller Coaster Tycoonā, a game that was aimed much more towards the mainstream market, yet kept the refined style of Transport Tycoon. Now itās back, with part deux, featuring yet more coasters, yet more puke and yet more screams.
The first thing you notice when the game boots is that nothing has changed with regards to the interface - a few bits of transparency here and there - but more or less, itās the same interface. For newbies to the series, this is great - it always was extremely clean and intuitive; for veterans, itās even better - I wouldnāt want to see the interface change - itās so perfectly designed that thereās no clutter and simple tasks are always easy to carry out. Herein however lies one niggle - thereās no revolution, and barely a sign of evolution. From the exterior, the game looks just like the original, but actually inside the game is a somewhat different case.
The game is structured in a slightly different way to before - scenarios are grouped by difficulty and have much more interesting themes - some, for example, give you unlimited cash, but a harsh challenge where your park rating must not drop below a certain level. These are some of the most enjoyable scenarios and really allow you to just go to town with your coasters; donāt get too carried away however, as a big coaster doesnāt necessarily mean big excitement for the visitors.
Every ride is rated for intensity (bad when too high), excitement rating (the higher, the better) and a nausea rating (the lower, the better) - this adds a brilliant extra dimension to the game and really leaves you searching for ways to improve each rating. Even a simple dip into a tunnel for your coaster can increase the excitement rating by quite a bit, whereas a tight bend will increase the intensity (and subsequently increase the nausea rating) by a large amount. There's a limit and balance you have to meet to ensure the highest visitor satisfaction score - if your ride is simply too intense, people will refuse to even step foot on it, so careful designing is essential.
The selection of coasters compared to the last is brilliant - many new coasters have been added, all with unique features. From air-powered coasters to upside down coasters, they're all here. Some are somewhat tedious to build and have no artistic value but often produce the best excitement ratings. Making coasters is fun, but you'll find that it seriously drains your funds - you have to learn to start small and go big. Starting small means merry go rounds, simulators, and boat rides; for some, this will ensure they get a rather good sleep; for others, this will create a great challenge and ultimately, a wonderful reward of building coasters. As the game develops, more and more rides are discovered and the incentive to gain more money and research more sits at the front of your mind all the time - you always feel like you want to build that new 'sooper dooper' coaster that's just become available.
If you want to test your coaster skills there is now a coaster builder - free of financial burden, you can build your own coasters on an empty grid and save them to file, ready for use in your own maps.
Adding greatly to the game is themeing; every level has a theme and there are many, many themes to add to your maps - from the ground texture (grass, desert, rock, ice etc) to the surrounding trees and 'bolt on' scenery, it's all there. Some of this comes at a fairly hefty price and so theming becomes a somewhat muted affair and the need to theme fades away as you se your dosh draining away rapidly.
The graphics are nothing special here. No fancy true 3D, just a simple isometric view. Rollercoaster Tycoon 1 looked dated at its time of release and this game hasnāt improved at all considering that SimCity 3000 had already done a much better job at the isometric interface with much nicer landscapes. However, this is the style - like with all the Tycoon games, the game may be just sprites, but the sprites have been expertly drawn, with the people springing to life, holding umbrellas, wearing sunglasses, holding balloons, and animating every movement possible - from throwing up to vandalism - they do it all. The stalls, coasters and rides look great- colourful (and hey - you can change the colours if you like!), bright and cheerful. Everything oozes style, and there isn't a minute where you want to see this game in 3D... there isnāt a need for it or a demand, and Sawyer has seen this.
Sound wise, the game sounds like it should do for a theme park game, tacky and cliché. Choosing the music for each ride enhances the virtual visitor's experiences, but is just downright annoying for yourself - you'll be reaching for the 'music off' in the options menu within minutes, I can assure you. Music aside, we are welcomed with banter from the crowds that can become insanely cluttered; combined with the screams and throwing up, this almost convinces you that you're inside a theme park and adds a ton of atmosphere to the game.
Sadly this game, like most, has some flaws. Because of the fixed camera view (although 4 points of rotation are available), sometimes it's impossible to modify items of scenery or build things in certain places; this can and does lead to total frustration and the outcome is never what you originally envisaged. Otherwise, there's not much else bad to say about RCT2 for the newbies - it really is a brilliant game. With regards to Tycoon veterans, it's going to grind a bit ā“ thereās not a lot thatās different to the original apart from the fact that a few niggles have been ironed out (and a lot of these were fixed in the 2 add-ons for the original game) - there's nothing really here to really impress anyone thatās played the original and so sadly this may go down badly with the already worn gamers.
