Theme Hospital

"Been there, done that"

Bullfrog is famous for making games that simulate things, but not really simulate... like, they add fake stuff to the simulation. It's like taking Sim City 2000, making it really kid friendly and allowing you to put in some really fake things. Here, you get a certain amount of levels where you have to build a hospital to support the needs of anyone who happens to come by. Fun? Oh yeah! Repetitive? Yes. That isn't the greatest thing in the world a game can be. And for each of the few levels there are (I think there's only 10 levels) you're doing the exact same thing. It gets old quick. Now, lets get on to the basics.

I'm not really familiar with PC gaming. I'm not a PC gamer. And because of that I don't know if these graphics rock or suck. From experience with consoles, they're pretty darn good. Not Metroid Prime good, but pretty good. People tell me the PC can process the most powerful graphics. If that's the case, well, then these aren't too good. Now, you have your fare of animated characters, and there's different utilities and etc that you'll come in contact with and think 'wow, that's some darn good animation'. From experience with the systems, this area would score a fair 8/10. But on a PC, well, if what I heard is true, I can only give 6/10.

The sound. Funny noises the characters do make, and there's some entertaining and funny music to match. I actually laughed at one point because of a sudden change in music made in a funny way. Bullfrog is obviously trying to be funny, and the do succeed here. No problems I can find, it's pretty different from everything else (or at least on systems) so I can score this 9/10.

The gameplay if fun, but it grows old fast. Too fast. By level 3 I was bored to death with the constant 'do this, build that, make cash, next level' and really, that's all you do. Sure, the game manages to spread it over a huge time period (You'll spend 30-40 minutes on a level of simply building) but that's part of the reason why it gets old. Had they made shorter levels, and more of them, I'd be pleased and would probably play through to the end. However, I dropped off at about level 5. It got boring, what can I say. And now I have it shelved, and I'm planning on giving it to my friend for Christmas. That's the kind of thing you do to these games. They just don't work, so you don't ever worry when you give it away for free, even after it cost 40 bucks. That's how boring it can get. 5/10.

Replay? No, it get's boring. And after it's boring, well, it's done. Nothing you can do about it now. You'll have it shelved until you get rid of it. Or, maybe, if you happened you actually like this, you could go through the game again. But if your still not bored after that, I'll be darned.

Closing comments - A really fun game at first (I was highly under the impression that this game could win game of the year) but soon after I realized, it's way to repetitive. It gives you long goals that get old after you finish the second one. Not the best game you could get.

Verdict - OK, I know, 7/10 doesn't seem right with all this complaining. But really, this game is based off the last impressions, and when I look at this game, I think '7/10' right away before anything. It probably should have 5/10, but hey, you'll probably feel '7/10' is just right as well. If your friend has it, borrow it first to make sure it isn't bad. If it's in the store for 10 bucks, buy it. That huge amount of fun that your blasted into in the beginning of the game makes it worth it. But it isn't worth 40 bucks.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/12/03