Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 review

Intro :
Since Roller Coaster Tycoon 1, Chris Sawyer is a revelation in the game industry. The game still sells good, after a few years. The 2 expansions brought many rides & scenarios with them. Now Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 is under us, and it seems to be a good game.

1) System requirements

The system requirements are kept low, so most people can play the game. The minimum requirements are:

OS: Windows 98/Me/XP/2K
Processor: Intel Pentium II 300 MHz
Memory: 64 MB (128 recommended)
Hard Drive Space: 120 MB free drive space (200MB free recommended)
CDROM drive: 4x Speed (8x recommended)
Graphics card: DirectX 8.1 Compliant Video Card with 8 MB RAM
Sound card: DirectX 8.1 Compliant Sound Card
DirectX version: 8.1 (Included)

2) The first impressions

When you open the game for the first time, you can see the same interface as in rct1. The background is changed, but that’s all. You can choose between different categories of levels: Beginners park, Challenging parks, Expert parks, six flags parks, and other parks.
There are relatively less levels, but you can make your levels yourself with the Scenario editor. Graphical there’s not so much changed from rct1. The graphics are a bit old, but the gameplay does it.

3) New functions / disappeared functions

There are some new functions, but also some functions that disappeared. You can’t click the “New Game” button anymore, but you must click on “Quit Game” to go back to the main menu. Now you also build your own buildings! This is a great tool. You can build a roof above an entrance or a path, build your own castle,...
There is also a fine tool for removing your scenery: You select the land you would like to remove, and you remove all the items at once. And if you build a ride, you don’t have to remove the trees anymore, the trees remove by themselves.

4) New rides

There are many more roller coaster, and this a very good thing ;-) .The gentle rides, thrill rides, water rides are a bit updated. The transport rides are also a bit updated, but they have now Trams, American Steam trains, The shop collection is very big, almost too big you can think.
A good tool also that if you build a ride, you can build the ride with already included scenery. So you can have a total Roman ride, is a Jurassic Park ride. You can also save your self-made rides with your self-included scenery.
The new tool with the Roller coasters is you can choose for a “ Continuous Circuit with block sections “. If you build block brakes on your ride, the car will stop there and the next departs. So you have less chance for a crash.

5) Building ride/scenario Tool

There are also a few new tools. There’s a ride- and scenario editor. You can make your own scenarios and rides!! The rides are now with a photograph that was not possible in RCT1. You can save the rides with your self-made theming, that’s a good thing.

6) Scenario/Ride exchange

At http://www.rollercoastertycoon2.com you can exchange your rides with other people. So you can have many roller coasters in your game ;-).

7) Conclusion

Rollercoastertycoon2 is a good game, with an ultimate game play. The graphics are a bit old, but the game play does it. There are some positive and negative points, but if you see everything together, you won’t miss it. Building your own theme buildings, roller coasters, thrill rides, 5 six flags parks are included in the game, so you can see and play your favorite six flags park ;-). Buy the game, you wouldn’t regret it!

Game play : 17/20
Graphics : 12/20
Sound : 15/20
Total : 73.3 %

Added: October 27th 2002
Product reviewed: Rollercoaster Tycoon 2
Reviewer: LORDrazer
Score: 7/10

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