Amazon.co.uk Review
The latest instalment in a long-running success story for Bullfrog and EA. The "Inc" in the title shows the business bias--you start off at the bottom end of the corporate food chain and must work your way up to the top by pulling in the punters and keeping them happy while attending your park. That's also while you either satisfy all your immediate directors who have their own (five) departmental demands, or play one off against the other while you try and rise through the ranks yourself.
Satisfying them earns you Golden tickets, which serve as a second currency and allow access to the other Artic/Polar and Arabian areas of the park you are expected to run, along with their rides. Like the previous instalments, preventing people from being sick on your rides, especially the roller coasters, is a constant challenge, or if you're not playing properly, an excellent unintentional source of fun.
There's an element of the Sim Games that keeps you glued to the screen, namely that these areas must be closely managed to stop your visitors coming to physical or gastric harm. The roller coaster design section is more of an improvement to Theme Park than a total challenge to the game Roller coaster Tycoon, as you have the extended business to run--less than 50% success and you fail.
Mix in 18 different coasters to start with before you even build your own, three different customer types who might hate your star attraction and must all be pleased in their own way, and there's plenty to keep you entertained. It's also quite spec-friendly: 2-year-old machines (PIII/550 or Athlon/650) with 128Mb RAM and good 3-D cards can handle the graphics and any gore is likely to be cartoonist bodily fluids rather than Quake-style blood and gore.
It's good that an element of Bullfrog still exists at EA, and this shows the benefits of gaps between sequels for gameplay improvement, though fans may miss the fourth Zone from Theme Park World. If you enjoyed any of the Sim Series as well as previous Theme Park episodes, pick up your latest instalment here.--Kenneth Henry
Manufacturer's Description
A big-shot business consortium has just bought out
Theme Park Inc. and you've landed the Assistant Manager role! The President, a lovable old duffer, happens to think you're a better bet than anyone on the Board of Directors to take the reins when he retires! So, with a little bit of effort, you're in a prime position to become a Theme Park magnate! If you can juggle the twin priorities of keeping your customers happy and smashing ambitious targets set by the Board of Directors, you'll be in with a chance of shinning up the slippery pole of Theme Park management. With the ultimate aim of becoming the majority shareholder and snatching the Presidency, there are sure to be many pitfalls along the road to riches. One thing's certain, though--It's going to be one hell of an adventure getting there!
