April 10, 2005 - RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 is the latest installment of the RollerCoaster Tycoon series. With the original RollerCoaster Tycoon and RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 under the development and direction of Chris Sawyer and Microprose, development of the series has been transitioned to England-based Frontier Developments for this release. The basic premise is the same – build a park, make money – but the look is quite different. The graphics have improved greatly since the first RollerCoaster Tycoon back in 1999, and the main selling point with this one is that now you can ride the rides that you create.

The game took a while to install, but it wasn’t bad, considering it’s only a single disc. The main menu images are Japanese anime-styled characters, introducing the different modes and gameplay types. There are two different modes – career mode and sandbox mode. In career mode, you can pick one of six starting scenarios, each with its own objective. The objectives range from cleaning up the park to make it presentable for your VIP to transforming a beautiful garden park into a success story, complete with a variety of rides to improve park profits. There are also several other scenarios to play which can be unlocked. Sandbox mode gives you an opportunity to build your own park from the ground up. There is no set to goal in sandbox mode, just try to have the best park rating possible. Your funds are unlimited to add to your ability to create an extraordinary park. This mode is excellent for beginners, or for those who just want to build their own park without the pressures of having an excellent park rating or high profits.

In your own park, the options are endless. You can change the elevation, ground texture, add bodies of water, and make themed areas. The themes given to you are generic, spooky, adventure, and sci-fi, among others. The array of rides is excellent, and the individual ride menus allow you to filter through rides based on theme. The roller coaster menu is similar, allowing you to filter through steel, wooden, inverted, or water coasters. This makes searching for ride types faster and more efficient than in previous versions. You can also add in to your ride some animated scenery which will move and make sounds when a ride goes by it. You can pick from exploding volcanoes, screaming dinosaurs, gun-toting cowboys, and even burning oil trucks to add to your ride’s experience.

As with most games, the music in the game is nice at first, but becomes annoying after a few minutes. An added bonus here is that if you’re really annoyed by the sound, you can change the music to any of the music tracks you have on your PC. And if you get sick of that, then you can just zoom in, as the music fades when you get closer to the park. Frontier Developments has taken the element of sound and allowed players to ‘theme’ different areas of the park. You can specify different types of music in different sections of your park, or individualize each ride with a different tune. The overall sound is excellent – the screams and the background murmur are realistic, and if you closed your eyes, you’d think you were at a real amusement park.

As previously mentioned, the graphics of the park and of the attractions are incredible – the reflection of the sun on the water and on the steel coasters is unbelievably realistic. The designs for the coasters are well-thought out, however some are less thrilling than others. The information stands and washrooms are genuine and creative looking, and the food and merchandise stands are elaborate in their design. While it adds to the game, something simpler would be more realistic, as Frontier Developments hasn’t necessarily aimed for complete realism in all aspects of the title. The options with the food and merchandise stands are great – you can choose what to sell, how much to sell it for, and how much of the condiments and extras are put onto each food item.