Sim Theme Park

"It forever lives in Roller Coaster Tycoon’s shadow, but it redeems itself with flair"

The producers at Bullfrog once had a grand old game named Theme Park, which, simply put, was an amusement park game in lieu style with SimCity. Then in May 1999, a rival programmer designed the aforementioned Roller Coaster Tycoon, a 3D amusement park simulator that made a splash in the PC community. Bullfrog seized the opportunity to release this sequel five months later in October 1999, also in 3D and borrowing many features from its legendary prequel. Unfortunately, SimTheme Park (also known as Theme Park World outside of the USA) got the short end of the stick and was lynched by the RCT crew, particularly because of its weaker game mechanics and shorter replay value. But sim fans who can't stand the hardcore micromanagement of RCT will find something to love about this game.

Note: Anyone interested in playing this game now on a Windows 2000/XP will need to download an unofficial patch off the internet in order to get it to work. Not sure why the producers couldn't fix this themselves (bunch of slackers), but I promise it won't affect the score.

SimTheme Park is a simple economics simulator at heart. You're given a patch of tile-based land in order to accommodate paths, rides, ride lines, shops, sideshows, bathrooms, and decorations. Guests, which consist entirely of little ten-year-olds, want to be entertained purely by hopping on rides coming in a wide variety, such as centrifuges, vertical drops, roller coasters, merry-go-rounds, and simulators. The rides, for the most part, are built simply by plopping the blueprint down in the location of your choice. However, some rides, particularly roller coasters, can be built to your desire by dropping and dragging pylons around the park. Besides the large amount of rides that you'll build, you'll also need to ensure a steady income by charging gate fees, rigging sideshows, and selling food, drinks, and through other useless memorabilia such as balloons and costumes. This is good for both parties—you'll make money while your guests remain content with their goods.

One factor that is apparent throughout SimTheme Park are the four different theme parks to build upon—the jungle theme with dinosaurs and an Central American civilization motif; the Halloween world with bats, vampires, and skeletons; the charming Wonderland setting with flowers, elves, and cute little bugs; and the ultimate Space theme with aliens and futuristic technology. Each theme is completely different from each other ranging from the rides all the way down to the color of the grass. For instance, the Ferris wheel in the Jungle theme is an Incan statue, but in Halloween world, it's a giant spider instead. The difference in ambience between parks is staggering—from the bright colors and cute little candy canes of Wonder Land to the chrome pathways and techno beats of Space world, there's something to like about each park.

Keeping in with the management theme, you can hire employees with specific jobs and skill levels—janitors, mechanics, entertainers, guards, and researchers. Janitors obviously clean up the large amounts of trash and vomit that accumulate along the paths. Mechanics keep rides in check by repairing them from breaking down. Entertainers entertain, what else? Guards keep kids from misbehaving. Researchers (which weren't “hireable” in RCT) unlock more rides, shops, and whatnot to build over a period of time. You'll be required to build a few staff rooms to give them a place to temporarily rest. Aside from placing their patrol areas, there's not a whole lot to do with your employees other than let them go in the wild.

This game does help keep the pace moving by using an advisor in the form of a weird talking black dot. He offers general building advice and coaxes you along the path of perfection, which includes fully-functional rides, well-priced shops and sideshows, and clean bathrooms. He even gives you Golden Tickets for accomplishing arbitrary goals, such as getting a set number of guests into the park. They can be spent on secret rides which can give a little more incentive to keep playing. Unfortunately, his advice does become inane once you've caught on with the game, and he even nags you about the most pithy of things, such as your dire need for security cameras or food shops. Thankfully, you can turn off the advisor at your own will.

Speaking of complexity, aside from the whole aesthetic element of building a fully-functional piece of property, such as in SimTower, this game is hardly complicated. For instance, in RCT but not STP, you could set one-way paths, charge fees to use bathrooms, and, interesting enough, kill off your guests. SimTheme Park doesn't offer a whole lot of options otherwise. You can change the excitement and duration of rides, as well as the cost and quality of shops and sideshows, but that's it. Even worse is that some of the game's features, while not too important, are vague and are hardly explained. For instance, some kids tend to get sick or misbehave but the game offers no suggestion on what the negative repercussions are or how to solve the problem. Also, not to mention that each of the four parks has only twenty different rides at max, so those who are looking for huge park simulator, chock full of micro-managing. will be disappointed. Once you are done and you've completed all of the goals for a park, there's little incentive to continue other than your own free will. Otherwise, to a certain extent, the game's emphasis on the four unique themes and the laid-back style to park building will win over certain players when compared to the heralded Roller Coaster Tycoon.

Graphically, this game can vary depending on graphical settings. On the highest settings at 800 x 600 resolution, the game actually looks pretty sharp. In terms of animation, each building, shops included, animate in some way, whether it is a dinosaur bobbing up and down, a spaceship careening through the bends, or a newly-built structure spontaneously rising up from the ground. Each world looks colorful as huge amount of detail and texture are poured out onto the canvas. From a wide shot of a crowded park, this game actually looks great. On the other hand, the guests and employees are 2D sprites that from far away aren't so bad to look at, but up close, they tend to look pixelated and fairly terrible. There's an option to go into Camcorder mode and walk around the park from a visitor's perspective and even ride some rides, but this mode is hit-or-miss as the 3D buildings and 2D people clash.

As for sound, the music is different per park but it's actually quite upbeat and enjoyable to listen to. In the Jungle theme, a congo beat plays in the background, complete with a flute and other cartoony synthesize beats. Also, Halloween world plays some kooky beats like something out of the Addams Family or the Munsters. As the park grows larger, the musics shifts from a low, quiet melody to a full-blown beat. Most of the sound effects are looped but quite the ear candy—most rides are complete with a rickety or smooth rhythm as well as screaming kids, stores come with little kachings, and bathrooms even come with their own….unique sound effects. The advisor is a nice sounding guy, but since he rambles on and on without end, his voice does get annoying very fast.

Overall, SimTheme Park never got the royal treatment that RCT did, but for what this little game did, it did very well. The theme aspect of the game is very well done and keeps the game very fresh for a while. The gameplay isn't very complicated or refined, but at least it places more of an aspect on constructing a glorious park rather than going for the tedious micromanagement. Overall, if you're looking for a cheap simulation game to buy, please don't hesitate to try it unless you're a hardcore RCT junkie.

Presentation: 8/10 – Nice easy-going amusement park simulation with a few cute intro movies.
Gameplay: 7/10 – Overall, a simpler version of RCT. The four themes gives this game some style. Some things feel a bit vague and the amount of rides in the game feels a bit short
Graphics: 7/10 – Colorful 3D structures, ugly 2D children and employees.
Sound: 8/10 – Some upbeat tempos for each park, as well as some good ambience in the form of rides and incessant screaming.
Replay Value: 7/10 – Four parks and a few Golden Tickets rides to unlock. Overall, not very deep with lack of incentive, but playing is pure joy while it lasts.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/25/07, Updated 07/09/09

Game Release: Sim Theme Park (US, 10/31/99)