Roller Coaster Tycoon

Copyright: Kkids.com

RollerCoaster Tycoon is a winner! This is a wonderful program, which is eerily reminiscent of the older Playstation game Theme Park. There are aspects of this program that greatly improve on that game, however. The graphics here are great, and the sound incredile. This one is a winner for all gaming fans, and in particular those who have enjoyed the Sim programs in the past.

You are in control of your own theme park. The emphasis here is oviously on the rollercoasters, ut you will have control of all rides, concessions, and overall design and maintenance. This will require capital, however, so you will need to uild carefully. You can uild your rollercoasters as high and fast as you like, ut they need to make you money. The program plays out much like other Sim programs, giving you control of most aspects of the park.

There were some features that stood out as particularly nice in this program:

• Super surround soundE which simulates the ride movement, and changes as you wander the park.
• Good graphics, which only og down slightly as your park fills with people.
• The aility to design the landscape, missing from the older Theme Park program.
• Read your visitors thoughts, and watch for trends.
• Research new rides as your capital grows.
• Multi-player options and Internet ride swapping.

Features testers wished were included:

• A time adjustment to speed up the action. Some scenarios seemed to take a long time to play out. Many other sim programs include a 'speed up' option.
• The aility to more specifically control where research money is spent. Research money goes to find new rides for your park.

Your kids will love this program. Tester complaints were extremely minor. You will be impressed with the theme park sounds which emanate from your computer room.

Bottom Line: A super theme park game which allows you to control most aspects of park development. A good choice for kids who have enjoyed simulation programs in the past.

Ratings: (based on KBkids.com's 4 star rating system)

Overall: 4

BrainGain: 2 1/2

FunFactor: 4

EasePlease: 3 1/2

See Roller Coaster Tycoon programs and add-ons at Amazon!