Title: RollerCoaster Tycoon 3D
Developed By: n-Space
Published By: Atari, Namco Bandai
Based On: RollerCoaster Tycoon Series
Console: Nintendo 3DS
Genre: Tycoon
Review Conditions: Nintendo 3DS, Physical Media
Special Thanks: Namco Bandai Partners for providing me with a copy of this title to review
Developed by Chris Sawyer Productions and released in 1999, Roller Coaster Tycoon for the Windows PC was in my books a great game, and warranted two sequels released in 2002 and 2005 respectively. From then there was nothing… until 2011 when it was announced by n-Space that they would be developing the long-awaited sequel on the Nintendo 3DS and have since released it. Despite my skepticism as to how they would bring everything that made Rollercoaster Tycoon good to the portable console, I remained excited about its release. Unfortunately while there were some things that were still as good as they used to be…. the game overall failed to live up to expectations.
Gameplay
As it has been with all previous installments in the series, the primary goal is to develop your own theme park using tools provided, open said park and watch as the guests and hopefully money rolls in as they use all your attractions. In this aspect, the game hasn’t deviated from this formula and it does provide a solid goal towards building rollercoasters/attractions/food outlets which will appeal to the guests while ensuring your park and its staff remain in a job. Managing your employees and running the park is decent enough, but when it comes to the creative aspects of RollerCoaster Tycoon 3D… they prove to be more tedious than anything else.
The main complication of this game is with the user interface and overall presentation – with it not taking into account and using the 3DS’s features enough. The interface is cumbersome (More-so I found on a non-XL console screen) with poor reactions to touchscreen presses and even then will often require you to go back and forth through several sets of menus to find what you are after (Outside of selecting a specific ride or attraction this relies on sometimes vague pictures). Placement also requires a bit of practice although fortunately does get better as you learn the ropes of the game – but is hardly the pick up and play experience I would have expected. Developing an actual rollercoaster was the most tiresome experience and while you can develop some really fancy creations it was more trouble than it was worth…. except for one aspect I will discuss later on.
The game includes several modes including a Coaster Creator which I found to be the better means of developing coasters, a generic sandbox mode which provides the primary RollerCoaster Tycoon experience and a Story Mode, which served as a solid tutorial for the main game and provides you with more objective based gameplay. I wouldn’t have minded them scrapping this mode and implementing it into the Sandbox Mode as the story is weak and unmemorable.
I have played quite a few n-Space Nintendo DS/3DS games in the past from Heroes of Ruin to Skylanders: Giants, and many of them were really good and worked well with the limitations of the device. Granted there would only be so much they could do for the console in terms of RollerCoaster Tycoon… but I think they were capable of much more than what was delivered gameplay wise. There were fun-times to be had playing it but this was mingled with problems that in the end enticed me to reinstall the previous games on my PC.
Design
The one aesthetically appealing point of RollerCoaster Tycoon 3D is the moment you finish a ride and can go on a virtual ride on it. Especially when coupled with the integration of the 3D effect it works well. Outside of this the visuals are okay for a Nintendo 3DS game and the game does provide a number of different localities to base your park on from the standard grassy plains to outer-space. However, when you take in to account the limited number of designs you are provided with for attractions if you are after a park that looks good you would really need to turn to the PC games as the graphics only do their job so well.
Music
The game comes with a standard music set which does its job well although is nothing too memorable, and aside from a few sound effects of the rides there is nothing that really gives you that fun and exciting feeling that you should get from a theme park.
Overall
Overall, I was left disappointed with RollerCoaster Tycoon 3D. There were some aspects of the game which were great including being able to experience your custom built roller coaster with the 3DS’s 3D capabilities but was let down by a lack of customization options and a clunky user interface that proved too tedious for my attention. If anything I would have liked to see them develop the next major PC installment in the series, or even an attempt at a console version which may not have suffered so much from limited control and visual options.
Final Score
Storyline/Character Development: E+
Design: C
Music/Voice Acting: D
Gameplay: D
Replayability: D+
Personal Opinion: D
Overall Score: D
