Introduction

Developer: Bullfrog
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Sim Theme Park official page: http://www.simthemepark.com

Kid's Play

It's been over five years since Bullfrog released the first amusement park simulation game, Theme Park. Though it was quite a resource hog at the time (high resolution would even bring a mighty 486 DX2-66 to its knees), Theme Park was one of the most fun and innovative games of its time. It put you in control of your very own amusement park, leaving the player in charge of everything from ride placement, staff wages, concession stands, and even a bit of ride design. The game was a godsend for type-A personalities, a triumph of micromanagement. Theme Park allowed you to control even the most miniscule aspects, like the prices of your food and sideshows, the chance of winning sideshows, the amount of ice you put in your drinks, and the amount of salt in the fries. Rides would break down and require repairs, bathrooms had to be placed in the park for your patrons, and when it rained in your park, the costumed entertainers you hired would hand out umbrellas to all the park guests. What detail! Most of all, Theme Park was a showpiece for Bullfrog's signature personality, as evidenced by the humorous and creative rides, the fact that sickened guests would vomit at roller coaster exits, and the general "cuteness" of the art.

A smorgasboard of food shops

Looping coaster!

Beaten to the punch

Fans of Theme Park have been clamoring for years for a sequel - Bullfrog responded a couple of years ago with a similar game called "Theme Hospital," which put the player in charge of a cartoonish health care facility. However, no true descendant of Theme Park appeared until earlier this year when Hasbro released Roller Coaster Tycoon. RCT, like Theme Park, featured 2D graphics, and tons of micromanagement, but some of the new aspects it brought to the table included high resolution graphics (1024x768), extremely customizable rides and roller coasters (the game would tell you max G-forces and speed of your coasters - they could even plunge into underground tunnels), and a limited ability to rotate your view of the park. What RCT lacked was any 3D support and a true "personality" like Theme Park had.

Entering a mushroom

Birdseye view of a Space Zone park

Last but not least

Though Sim Theme Park (called Theme Park World outside of North America) arrived on the scene later than RCT, it contains a lot of features that differentiate it significantly from Hasbro's entry. First off, Sim Theme Park features true 3D graphics, which can be accelerated through Direct 3D. What this means is that the amusement parks you build can now be zoomed in and out, and rotated smoothly on the fly, something that's never been done before in a game like this. More importantly, Sim Theme Park allows players to enter "camcorder mode" and walk through the park in first person. Not only that, but this camcorder mode allows you to get on your own rides and experience them in first person! To top it off, Bullfrog has chosen to move away from the generic amusement park feel and include 4 specific themes for your parks to give them a more fun flavor.

Queueing for the jaw dropper

Not seeing the bottom is bad news