Theme Hospital

"A solid simulator with a few annoying flaws"

Graphics (6): During its original release in 1997, Theme Hospital (TH) had admirable graphics. Even back then, however, they were not stellar. The graphics have not aged well. By today's standards, the game simply does not stand up to the competition. The animations and art work of the game does remain professional, though, and there is a certain endearing quality to the cartoon-like visuals of the environment and its characters.

Sound (6): I found the music to be annoying and repetitive. Accordingly, I turned it off. The sounds of the hospital itself are, for the most part, done well. However, much of the sounds eventually become added distractions that simple get on one's nerves. I found myself replacing TH's sounds/music with my own music after many hours of gameplay.

Control (8): For the most part, TH is easy to handle. Creating rooms, accessing the interface, and the like does not pose too much of a problem. At times, however, one will find it difficult to place items due to the static isometric view of the hospital. This is not too cumbersome, though.

Gameplay (8): TH, perhaps like no other game I've played before, mixes great gameplay with some truly nerve-wracking features. Creating a hospital filled with whacky contraptions to efficiently and effectively treat patients who have a number of fantastical ailments is surprisingly fun. There are, however, a number of flaws. The earthquakes within the game strike often, and when they do, they can permanently destroy sections of your hospital. Instead of giving an option to clean up the destruction (for a tidy sum), the developers opted to simply give you no alternative other than to abandon sections of your hospital or reload. Poor show. Also, the janitors in particular seem inept, even if they're fully skilled. Every year I was penalized for failing to maintain my equipment, even though I hired a veritable army of handymen.

Overall (7): For me, the graphics, control and sounds of a game are there merely to serve the gameplay. While I think the sound and graphics are dated or simply annoying, I do think that the gameplay more than makes up for these shortcomings. Consequently, the game has a high replay value. What is unfortunate for Theme Hospital (and the gamer) is that a few incredibly annoying and unnecessary elements prevent it from being a legendary classic.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/24/06