RollerCoaster Tycoon: Loopy Landscapes

"God Bless Mr. Sawyer...or may I say...Sir Chris Sawyer?"

First thing first, remember this, people...this is an expansion pack and should only be bought if you own or have access to the original Rollercoaster Tycoon. We don't want you to be too disappointed if you buy the game and go home, only to realise that the expansion pack on it's own is about as useful as...as...bad games with small cartridges. Neeeeed....chiiips... <comes back to reality> Ahem. Where was I?

For those who haven't played the original Rollercoaster Tycoon before, I'll give you a run-down...if you've already played it, then just skip this paragraph. Basically, you are given scenarios to play where you have objectives ranging from getting a certain amount of guests within a certain amount of time, getting a certain Park Value, etc. You start off with five scenarios available, Forest Frontiers, Dynamite Dunes, Evergreen Gardens, Leafy Lake and...one that escapes my mind. Anyway, as you complete challenges, you open up new scenarios. In the first one, Forest Frontiers, you only have a few attractions available to build, but you can fund research into new ones. Attractions are split into 5 groups, Transport (Monorail, etc), Gentle (Merry-Go-Round, Ferris Wheel, etc), Rollercoaster (Wooden, Steel, etc), Thrill (Go-Karts, Swinging Ship, etc) and Services (Eateries, Toilets, etc). Deal with staff and marketing plans to try to bring more punters...excuse me...guests to your park.

Gameplay 90%
This should keep you entertained for a few hundred hours. The original pack had loads of rides to build, but Loopy Landscapes (which comes with Added Attractions now, may I add) has even more rides to build, and even more ways of customising your park, change individual pieces of track to different colours, make the rides play music, change the style of their entrance and exit stations, etc. Even more themes have been included with this pack to fuel your imagination, so now you have old ones like Roman, Ancient Egyptian, Wonderland (a really cute theme), etc. And new ones like Jungle, Urban (houses, etc), Winter, etc. You can now also add banners which can make guests aware of the themed zone they may be in, or they can also be used as signs which block entry to an area. Even more scenarios, and a damn lot too, thirty new scenarios come with the Loopy Landscapes expansion pack! Actual parks are included with this one, including Alton Towers and Blackpool Pleasure Beach (both in England), and Heidi Park (Germany, I believe, well, all the rides have German names, including 'Flossbahn', which I'm sure the creators meant to be 'Flussbahn'. Ahh...niggles.)

Story ? %
Attention! This is a RubzoCertified 'Make-Your-Own-Story-Game'! Click on a guest and click on the 'I' button, and you will be notified of his (all people in this game are boys, with spiky brown hair) movements. Then let the story unfold! 'Guest 1987 is queuing for Roller Coaster 3'; 'Guest 1987 is on Roller Coaster 3'; 'Guest 1987 has been decapitated by a tunnel'; 'Guest 1987 is lost, wants to go home, and can't find the park exit due to unforeseen headless circumstances.' etc. PS. you can do this 'be told of person's movement's feature', but nothing exciting will happen. PPS. There is no story, this is a 'Sim' game!

Audio/Music 55%
Very little music to speak of, only title music and in the original game, only the Merry-Go-Round and Dodgems played music, but now all the rides can play music, and you can pick different styles of music, including Jungle Drums, Ragtime, Roman Fanfare, Jazz, Rock 1/2, etc. There is alot of sound, however, which has been recorded at Alton Towers and completely random comments have been slipped into the crowd ambience. People scream when rides go down hills, chain link noises are made when they go up lift hills. A refreshing ''kaa-ching!'' is played when people buy things, etc.

Graphics 80%
Very detailed for alot of the rides. However, all of the guests in your park are boys with brown, spiky hair. Why?! Parks look really beautiful if you manage to theme them well. I once managed to create a beautiful Jungle environment with rainforest trees, hot springs, cliff faces, etc. <tear comes to eye> Excuse me. The interface takes on a very Transport Tycoon Deluxe way of organisation. But still, everything looks realistic...in a way.

Replay Value 95%
There is a lot to do in this game, scenarios to win, from three different versions! (Original, Loopy Landscapes and Added Attractions). Build ultimate parks, and design exciting new rollercoasters and submit them on the internet! You can even download 'Workbenches' where you get alot of money (usually over £2,000,000) and completely empty land (but not always flat) and all rides, shops, etc.

To Buy Or To Rent?
Don't bother renting as it's impossibella. However, even borrowing this game from a friend is a bad idea as you will have to hand it back to your friend in tears, wishing you could keep it for...only...a...few...more...hours.

What's So New About Loopy Landscapes?
- 30 New Scenarios
- 6 New Themes (Jungle, Jurassic, Urban, etc)
- New Rollercoaster Types (Steel Wild Mouse, Virginia Reel, Heartline, etc)
- New Shops and Stalls (Hat Stall, T-Shirt Stall, Exotic Sea-Food Shop, etc)
- New Rides (Ghost Train, Mini Golf, Raft Ride, etc)

Pros
- The expansion packs (it's in a bundle) only costs £14.99! Bargain!
- New rides once again take away hours from your life.

Cons
- It's hard to explain to friends your lack of social life, try using 'Prison Sentence' as an excuse.
- There isn't enough cons to fill the con list. I'm unhappy now.

Mean Average Overall Score 80% (8/10)

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/17/02, Updated 04/21/03