RollerCoaster Tycoon: Loopy Landscapes

"Third time the charm"

Shortly after the original Roller Coaster Tycoon came out, it became very apparent that it was not going to be enough. Roller coaster tycoons everywhere was finding this superb game just not enough. As great as it was, gamers wanted more. As a result of this, the Corkscrew Follies expansion pack was released. And much like it’s predecessor, it was an instant success. It provided RCT gamers with much needed additions to the game. But eventually, gamers still wanted more. And soon, it became pretty obvious that another expansion back was on the horizon. And indeed, it was. On September 16th, 2000, MicroProse released the third installment of Roller Coaster Tycoon titled Roller Coaster Tycoon: Loopy Landscapes. This expansion pack provided what Corkscrew Follies lacked in, and expanded gameplay to the utmost limits!

One of the best things about this expansion pack (and the previous one as well) is that it does not affect gameplay at all. The gameplay, controls, and challenge is still the same as they were in the original Roller Coaster Tycoon (and since you do need the original to play this game, I won’t bother covering those 3 topics. If you want a run down of those 3 topics, I have written a review for the original RCT on this very same site).

But of course, the reason you all are buying expansion packs is for the additions to the game. And the additions Loopy Landscapes provides does not lack one bit. As the title of the product suggests, the bulk of the additions/improvements are circled around landscaping. There is a lot of great stuff in the game that has to do with landscaping. First of all, there are new themes for you to use in your park. Now, you can change the area surrounding the queue line to the utmost detail to match the theme of your ride. Even the queue line itself can be changed. Is your roller coaster based on a ice theme? No problem. Make your queue line a path of ice and have ice structures surrounding it. But besides from the new themes and landscaping features, there are also quite a number of new rides. These rides range from roller coasters to water rides. Along with the new rides come new stalls for you to make lots of money.

The bulk of the challenge in this game comes in the thirty new scenarios. Each of these scenarios is challenging in their own way. I can honestly say that the challenge in this game is much higher than that of the previous 2 games. Even the way of selecting the scenarios has changed. Now, when you select new games, they are organized into tabs. Each tab represents one of the three games. As well as a tab for “real” parks. This makes finding a scenario from a particular game much easier.

Nothing much has changed for the graphics and audio. Both of them are still superb. The fun factor has also not changed much. It is still high as ever. But the replay value has definitely improved, due to the big challenge and the added entertaining scenarios.

Overall, if you are a huge fan of RCT, I would definitely recommend this game. I can guarantee this will be an extremely good investment.

FINAL RANKINGS
Gameplay:10
Challenge:10
Controls:10
Graphics:9
Audio:9
Fun Factor:10
Replay Value:10
Overall:10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/15/00, Updated 12/15/00