Theme Park

"A unique and entertaining game, not perfect, but still good fun"

Theme Park was at the time of its production a truly innovative game. Even now many aspects of it are yet to be reproduced by any game. The combination of solid gameplay, attention to detail and the essential British humor makes this game one of a kind.

The premise is quite simply to construct and run the perfect theme park. You choose the location, you choose the rides... basically, every single detail in the park can be tailored by you to the needs of the people, whom depending on your location can vary drastically... from outrageously easy-to-please, right up to amusement-impaired theme park connoisseurs.

There is a vast array of rides, shops, and other aesthetically pleasing items to be placed at your discretion. You are free to build a monstrously huge and fast roller coaster... but of course you run the risk of propelling your adoring customers into lower atmosphere. Sure they've already paid, but as I'm sure you can imagine the public is not entirely happy with the prospect of visiting a park with a reputation of murder. Because indeed reputations are one of the myriad of factors.

Attention to detail is impeccable. You can literally control how much salt and ice goes into your shops' fries and beverages (respectively, of course). The visitors of your park have very specific needs to be filled, so while filling one person's stomach wins their admiration, doing so to another may cause them to become upset at your rather meat-less steaks.

Time plays a factor as well. You will be able to research different aspects of your park. Increasing effectiveness of employees, improving and inventing rides, even developing the perfect toilet will all add to your park's perfection.

Graphically the game is vibrant and colorful, although not perfect by any means. The sprites tend to be a bit blocky and small, and some of the animations are not as smooth as would be appreciated. The cinematic scenes are also entertaining, although there are only so many times you can watch a boy and his dog traverse a hedge maze.

One of the biggest qualms to be found in this game is some nasty bugs. There is the chance that your people will become trapped underneath rides... and then there's the ever present error in which your advisor will inform you of lost patrons, which due to the stupidity of the AI and some strange glitches, will be trapped, often in a perfectly open place. These bugs are painfully annoying, but do not usually hinder the game's playability to an extent of quitting in a blind rage. And although not a bug, the game is very difficult to get running properly on a modern computer. The game does not govern its own speed, so unless you get a computer-slowing application, you will not be able to play the game unless endowed with special powers or containing way more caffeine than healthily acceptable. Besides the speed, the game still likes to fight with modern Windows and whatnot, especially with sound.

All in all, this is a really fun game that I would recommend to anyone... as long as you can get it installed. It's truly an original and amusing game, and has a great deal of charm.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/08/02, Updated 01/08/02