Ever since I played Theme Park on my Sega Mega Drive back in the early 90s I have loved games that let you make a theme park. There have been a few over the years, but I honestly think that Planet Coaster here could be the best we have ever had!
I recently decided to start playing SimCoaster. I installed it on my laptop that is running Windows 7. It worked for a while and after a while (and a lot of in-game successes) it crashed. It displayed the 'game.exe has stopped working'. I ran my computer in. SimCoaster dismisses the elegant design of its predecessor, and instead favors the often-overwhelming amount of management found in the original Theme Park.
If You Build It They Will Come!
The main goal of Planet Coaster is to build the most rad and most awesome and let’s not forget profitable theme park on the planet! You start off with just some land and very few resources at your disposal. Little by little though you will expand your park. Finally getting enough money to get that new ride or make an expansion is a really cool experience.
Mo Money, Mo Problems!
Money management is a big part of Planet Coaster. You will need to take out loans in the early part of the game to be able to buy things to get your park up and running. You also need to pay employees wages and set the price for entry and things inside your park. You can charge sky-high prices for stuff which may sound great at first, but it can make your park patrons not happy and that is the last thing you want.
Building and managing your park gives you a lot of ways to play around. What I liked was how simple the game kept things. While you have a lot of options at your disposal, Planet Coaster never makes you feel overwhelmed.
Your Park, Your Way
The way that the game lets you micromanage every part of your park is really cool. you do not like the color of that gift shop? Well, you can change it. After some thought, you think the carousel would be better on the other side of the park? You can change that too. I got super addicted and was obsessed with my footpaths being just the way I wanted! You can get really in depth with the layout of your park and I found that to be a lot of fun.
What About The Roller Coasters?With a name like Planet Coaster, you know that roller coasters play a huge part in the game. You have all kinds of roller coasters that you can make. There are some pre-made ones which are great for your first couple. These are made in different styles so there is plenty of variety with the default coasters.The real fun though comes from making your own coasters! You can make them faster than a jet engine, crazy high and have more loops than it should. There is a delicate balancing act as you need to make the roller coaster fun, but if you have your riders puking or if it lasts too long their excitement and happy level will go down. There is a lot of trial and error with the roller coaster building, but that is a huge part of the fun.
Three Game Modes
I was surprised that Planet Coaster did not just have one game mode. Challenge Mode is the mode that is most like a game like Theme Park. Career Mode will set you different challenges as you play, make and run your park. Sandbox is a mode where you can go nuts and just do whatever you want!
I think that Planet Coaster is a truly fantastic game. It is the best evolution of the theme park building sim that I have seen. It is very easy to get the hang of, but they have made it so the UI and all of the things you can do are very easy to learn. If you love games like Theme Park, Sim City, and other building type games. Planet Coaster is a game that you have to play. Just be warned, you are going to get very, very addicted to this game!
Pros:
Play Sim Coaster online, free Game
- The visuals are much nicer than they needed to be
- Tons of choice for creating the dream coaster
- Run your park your way!
- Offers you three different game modes
- Offers hundreds of hours of fun!
Cons:
Play Sim Coaster online, free Play
- It is easy to get addicted to this game
- Getting your dream coaster just right can be a little tricky at first