Theme Park

"One of the best sim games ever made."

Theme Park was released for the Sega Genesis in late 1995-early 1996. This is a Sim City-like game in which you build you own theme park.

Graphics-4/10- They are bland, but they serve their purpose just fine, some of the rides look great with a fair amount of detail and color, the human graphics are very plain and blocky , they are one of the worst features of the game, but in a game like this, graphics aren’t what matter.

Sound-2/10- The music is terrible, it’s very repetitive and annoying, the same song plays throughout the game, the sound effects are decent, they are clear and match the situation.

Story-7/10- You attempt to build your own theme park and make it the best in the world, if you don’t achieve success you go bankrupt and the game ends. Straightforward and to the point, all that’s needed in this type of game.

Control-7/10- This game is meant to be played with a mouse, the control is considering it wasn’t made for a controller, but it’s not as good as the mouse. It’s not too major, the default control setup is great.

Presentation-4/10- The presentation is as basic as they come, cut and dry. Much like graphics and sound, it isn’t too major for a game of this nature, gameplay is what matter most.

Gameplay-10/10- You can build your own theme park from the ground up, you can customize everything in it, from the number of employees to the salt content of the fries. You can also adjust ticket prices and salaries. You decide where to put the rides, the workers, the bathrooms, the arcades, to put it simply, you control where everything can go and what surrounds it.

Replay Value-10/10- This game has limitless replay value, you can build any theme park you want, you customize everything about it, as I mentioned above, you can literally do anything you ever dreamed of with this game.

Overall-8/10- This game is excellent, it’s timeless, you can play this game forever and not get bored, as you can tell, I’m a huge fan of the game, the graphics and sound are bad, but gameplay is the most important factor in any game, maybe moreso in this one because of the lack of great visuals, in the end, the gameplay is what matters most.

Rent or Buy?-Buy- Considering that few places rent Genesis games, you should try to buy it, it’s a relatively rare gam, if you see it for under $20 buy it, it’s a great game, that you’ll never regret buying.

For Nomad Owners- The game is great, the blurring is minor and only really poses a problem when you’re scrolling through park fast, the sound is crystal clear (btw, mute the volume, the music is horrible), the controls are just as good, and the game is still just as fun. Overall a great game for Nomad owners.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/07/00, Updated 07/07/00