Thrillville: Off the Rails

"Not your typical sim title"

When I first decided to play Thrillville I was assuming it was a typical sim title but it really isn't. Sure it has the basic sim ideas here but it's less micromanagement and more in your face.

The game has some piss poor graphics really. it looks like they ported the PS2 version and said hell with improving anything. They are hideous but they are some of the worst this gen of gaming. Animations are stiff and everything is kind of large and under detailed.

The game has a curious soundtrack if I must say so. Some Jackson Five, Lilly Allen and Natasha Beddingfield fill the amusement parks with their tunes. It's odd but I could barely hear the music even after maxing it and it always played very low. Otherwise the game has simple sound bites for games and stuff. The instructor is kind of boring and he's the only person who talks.

The game has very simple controls. It's basically move with the left stick and hit A to talk to people. Once you get into the games it's fairly simple to play as well because each mini games has a control screen before it starts up.

So instead of selecting from a group of menus you first start the game by picking a character. It doesn't matter which. After that you're zapped to your new amusement park and you go through some quick tutorials which I paid no attention to.

The idea of the game is to make your amusement park the best one ever. To do so you need to keep building new rides, upgrading them and keeping facilities in check. it's fairly simple and all done from a menu.

You can also go around and talk to people. Find out how they heard about it and find out what they want from your park. You use this research to make your park better.

You collect park points for doing such things and once you get enough you gain a level which opens more parks and other goodies for you. It's a neat idea and at first I didn't like it but then it kind of grew on me.

Not only do you do that stuff but you also play all of the games. Sure they aren't all that good but they are nice diversions from rest of the game and you get points for playing them as well. Some are racing while others are cute platforming titles featuring cats.

The game should last you a while and there are 1000 achievement points tog et. To be fair though I got 80 in under a hour of play time. There is some sort of on-line option but besides lead boards I saw nothing else to do.

Thrillville isn't for everyone. Heck, I'd bet most gamers would hate the game but if you're the type of gamer who likes sim titles then this might be right up your alley. It strays a little from the path but it's moderately fun.

Story - N/A
Graphics - 4/10
Sound - 6/10
Control - 9/10
Game Play - 7/10
Replay Value - 7/10

Final Score - 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/15/08

Game Release: Thrillville: Off the Rails (US, 10/09/07)