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Sim Coaster or Sim Theme Park Expansion Pack?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 32 / 35
Date: February 08, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I enjoy sim-games. I have all of them. From the original Sim City to the latest, Sim Coaster, I got 'em. I just have to tell you, I was not very impressed by Sim Coaster. If you take Sim Theme Park, add in some different rides and have the whole thing require more micromanagement input from you, then you have this game. The graphics are the same caliber and the rides have been given a facelift, but basically it's a whole lot like Sim Theme Park.

Granted, I'm the type of person who really likes Roller Coaster Tycoon (RCT). I like the detailed abilities RCT gives you like building underground, inside buildings...etc. Sim Coaster doesn't give you these abilities. It's more of a park- management type sim than a park-building sim.

Sim Coaster isn't a bad game, it's colorful and has decent graphics. If you don't have Sim Theme Park, it might be worth a look. If you do have Sim Theme Park, that same look will bring on a strong sense of deja vu.

What Sim Theme Park should have been!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 30 / 33
Date: February 26, 2001
Author: Amazon User

When I got Sim Theme Park, I was very disappointed. It was very challenging to keep your money balance normal, let alone high. When I got Sim Coaster, I expected what Sim Theme Park was like. Man, was I wrong! Sim Coaster is like Sim Theme Park with everything it needed. You can finally charge for rides. Roller coasters and log flumes seem to cost a lot less. Sim Coaster is a more detailed version on Sim Theme Park. Yeah, it has an annoying advisor (female this time), but she isn't as picky as the original adivsor. In Sim Coaster, you can get opinion summaries to improve the ride easily. Gardeners are added in this game to water plants. Though there is only three parks in this game, they are better than the ones in Sim Theme Park. To open up different parts of the park, you must complete objectives given to you. Staff can be trained to do new things such as janitors being able to fight fires, or guards with first aid to cure sick guests. Challenges are given, too, but you don't have to start them right away, they are listed and you may start them anytime you wish. You can also do more than one at a time, and most of them have a preparation time which gives you time to set up before to challenge starts. Overall, this game is awesome, so don't buy Sim Theme Park and buy Sim Coaster!

Best theme park game yet

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 32 / 38
Date: February 02, 2001
Author: Amazon User

If you're a fan of games like Roller Coaster Tycoon, SimCoaster is not to be missed. Just as in Roller Coaster Tycoon, you build and manage a theme park. But SimCoaster takes this to a whole new level with a much easier to use interface (esspecially coaster building) and awesome 3D graphics that let you walk around the park and ride the rides. Best of all, you DON'T NEED A 3D CARD to play. I love Roller Coaster Tycoon, but it's a bit dated (at least two years old). Pick this one up

Much better than Theme Park World

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 18 / 18
Date: February 07, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The original Theme Park (1994) was, for its time, a fantastic game. It had great graphics, beautiful sound and it was very challenging. Last year the sequel, Theme Park World, came out. I found it a huge dissapointment. The graphics were pretty good and sound as well, but the game wasn't challenging at all. It returned it the day after I bought it (I finished (!) it in 1 day) Now there's SimCoaster (or Theme Park Inc.) It uses the graphicsengine of Theme Park World. Like I said, the graphics were pretty good a year ago, but now they're a little dated. Still it's very amusing to see your park running and there's no other game that lets you ride your own coasters! The thing that's really good about this game is the gameplay. The game starts off a little easy but when you progress through the game it gets very challenging. Just like Rollercoaster Tycoon you'll get cetain 'missions' so you've got a goal to play to. This keeps you playing. If you like these kind of games you should buy it!

Fun, but not the best

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 15 / 17
Date: May 05, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I recently purchased SimCoaster. It is not exactly like Roller Coaster Tycoon (RCT). It has a lot more micromangement. For example, you have to make sure the facities are always clean, etc. You even control how much salt is on the french fries. I prefer this game over RCT because RCT focuses more on building the roller coasters and then sort of watching the park grow. Here, building the coaster is just part of it. More important is that the business is good all the time. You have to read ride summaries, and be constantly checking on the visitors. Otherwise, people lose intrest in your park. You can't stop building or researching. It's definetly harder to be prosperous (it takes a few minutes to get 15 visitors!). I like the challenge though. People are talking about how annoying the advisor is. She is pretty annoying (I built a ride and not even two seconds later she said "Build a path to your ride. The visitors can't get in"). You learn to deal with it though. One plus from RCT is that in Simcoaster you really get to build and manage it. That beats the downsides of the game. The graphics are a whole lot better than RCT. They are almost 3-D. However THE GAME IS SLOW. I guess its because the graphics are very detailed. It's a pain to wait a long time for the game to load. You really need a computer that can handle it. So I guess overall it's a fun game but it requires TIME and PATIENCE and you need to stay on your toes. If you are looking for a RCT clone, this isn't it. I liked managing the park, because in real parks thats how it is. However not everyone does. If you don't, get RCT.

The Real Truth About SimCoaster

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: August 12, 2001
Author: Amazon User

It's time the truth was known. SimCoaster is NOT a sequel to Sim Theme Park. Here is the main reason: The game is actually called Theme Park Incorporated. Electronic Arts was going to make a game called Theme Park Inc. in which the player must complete challenges and different objectives in their theme park to get the the top of the corporate ladder and take over as president of the theme park corporation. But they dropped the idea; and later renamed the game to SimCoaster. The game is not at all similar to Sim Theme Park: it involves with managment more than building a theme park; and you still have to build a theme park, but it revolves more around a theme park MANAGEMENT simulator game more than being a build-it-up theme park game. So I just wrote this review to tell you that if you don't want to worry about manaagement in this game, this game is not for you. Otherwise, this game is bright, cartoony, and colorful. You have to satisfy a range of visitors, (kids, adults, grandparents,) keep your rides and money stable, and worry about company objectives at the same time. It may sound complicated, but it is fun, and more like a real theme park. So even if you don't want a theme park manamement game, try this anyway. It's just a game.

Fast Frentic Fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: February 17, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game is alot of fun, though it is more hetic than Sim Theme Park. It gives you much more control over the park, though it has its downsides. Alot of things like training and research that pretty much handled themselves, you now have to plan out. In STP, as long as you had adequate staff and a staff room, the employees didn't complain, but now you are showered with raise and strike demands. The coasters are cool, but where are linear induction coasters? The coaster design tool is a waste, since I design my coasters around existing constructions. Also the roster of available rides is much bigger, contingent on completing challenges and activating run down rides. Dealing with customers is more challenging in that you have a diverse mix of kids, adults and seniors. I wish though the three theme areas were laid out as one park, as money and golden tickets do not transfer between parks. I also wish the game would give me time to tweak the park, but it is constantly throwing new assignments.

Horrible in EVERY possible way

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 8 / 11
Date: April 17, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Don't let the SIM family name fool you. This game is a disgrace. My 10-year old daugther received it for her birthday and excitedly torn into the package (Sorry honey, we can't return it). I never heard of SimCoaster but installed it with high expectations (afterall, "The Sims" is great). Less than two minutes into the game, I was convinced it was something from a sofware discount bin, circa 1994. SimCoaster has some of the cheesiest graphics I've seen in the last six or seven years.

While the packaging and design are clearly aimed at young childern, the main objective of the game is the mundane task of "managing" a theme park (and some people think bloody games like Quake or Doom lead to violent outbursts). As you work--you can't call this "play"--a perky and annoying in-game assistant regularly reminds you that the "workers are unhappy," "a ride has broken down," or the park's customers "aren't having much fun," to which my daugther responded with an unsolicited "Neither am I."

Enough said. If you love your children, avoid this game. It would be too expensive even if it was free.

SIM COSTER

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: February 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I THINK THIS IS A VERY GOOD GAME. THIS TEACHES YOU TO HANDLE MONEY WISELY. RATED E FOR EVERYONE TOO. VERY AWESOME! EXCELLENT PLAYING RULES. I LOVED THIS GAME TOO! I COULD NOT LEAVE IT ALONE. VERY ENTERTAINING. YOU WILL LOVE IT TOO!

Great Coaster Simulator, but...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: January 07, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This software comes with two modes - a mode where you can build and ride on a roller coaster, and a mode where you do that while you're also controlling a theme park. I love the coaster simulation part of it - you can build realistic coasters and then take a virtual ride thereon - that part is fantastic. One of the drawbacks with the coaster building part is that it can be very tricky to make loops and corkscrews work properly - you've gotta have a steady hand while you're building it. The editing features are powerful and fairly straightforward - and there's a helpful guy on your screen to point out when you've got problems.

In the amusement park mode, I found the elements they added to enhance the realism of the experience to be, well, annoying. You have to deal with hiring and firing staff, and trying to keep them happy. You have to hire enough janitors to keep the park clean, and deal with where each janitor "concentrates" their time - and the tools to help you find problems with these assignments are very poor. I found it difficult to figure out why a given restroom hadn't been cleaned when a janitor was right there, just sitting there.

Also, the researchers. You have to keep these "delicate genius" (thank you, Seinfeld :) types happy and motivated so they'll come up with new and fabulous rides for your paying public. You have to keep track of these folks - keeping them tasked can be a full time job.

I would have liked it if you could turn off the reality factor and just use all of the possible rides and attractions to build a super fantastic park all at once, then play with the park and deal with the janitors, security, and food service folks - in short, operate the park. I didn't find this to be possible.

Still, this is a fun game if you've got the patience.

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