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Overrated and Overpriced

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 41 / 42
Date: June 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

With this expansion, Roller Coaster Tycoon is getting into questionable territories.

1) The so called "new rides" are actually rides you already have, just with different cars. And the cars is breaking the game away from its realistic nature. For example, you can have "Football" vehicles on your roller coaster. These corny additions are making the game more like Sim Theme Park - unrealistic.

2) Many of the objects, like trees, now take up four squares instead of one. The look and design is different - making it look like a completely different team put together this expansion.

3) The scenarios greatly limit the number of Scenery Themes you can have in your scenario (many only allow ONE). Thus when trying to place a prebuilt coaster, you'll get the message, "scenery Unavailable for this Design" again and again and again.

4) Many of the prebuilt coasters also say that the car design for the coaster is "unavailable" and therefore could affect performance of the ride. Um... hello??? Why put the prebuilt coaster in there if the cars that go with it are unavailable?

5) There are several new bugs that are introduced with this so called "expansion pack". For one, the clear scenery object no longer works on several trees that you must now manually remove before you can place a ride. On some maps, the scrolling feature is [messed]up, making it so that you can't scroll to certain areas of the park.

6) Another new annoyance and limitation is that on the majority of the scenarios, they don't allow you to use the landscape tool at all! They might as well remove it from the game!

Wacky Worlds is a very disappointing Expansion Pack and if it is an indication of things to come, then the Roller Coaster Tycoon franchise is in a lot of trouble as corny cartoony items replace realism and limitations replace fun. I'm almost to the point where I'd like to see Microsoft's Zoo Tycoon team take over this game because the current makers are doing it no justice.

Add on so soon?

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 29 / 31
Date: March 08, 2003
Author: Amazon User

OK - the good news is - this seems to be worth =some= money.

This expansion pack (you will need the original Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 to use this) adds a lot of new scenery like the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, and other scenery to make parks an international experience. There are almost 20 new scenarios, 50 new ride types, and about 250 new game elements, mostly scenery.

OK - the bad news is - I don't think it's worth the current price of admission.

A lot of the "new rides" are just re-designs of old coasters. There's no new stores or other new goodies. Still only the Scenario Editor allows you to use the mountain maker. Many of the new scenery elements take up a lot of slots on the scenario editor. For instance, the "Golden Gate Bridge" needs five (5) slots - thus taking up room that could be used for other park scenery.

With this coming out so soon after RCT2, I can't help but ask if this was just a way to squeeze more dollars out of RCT fans. I would have been much happier if these "extras" had been included with the RCT2 first disc. Sure, we might have had to wait a little longer for RCT2, but we would have gotten a much more developed product. This "extra" pack had to have already either been in development or already totally developed for the short time between RCT2 and the first expansion pack release date.

I'll be watching carefully for any future RCT2 releases within a year - and see if they might include "Wacky Worlds" as an extra feature, just as they did with RCT1's "Loopy Landscapes" (which also included the add-ons from RCT1's "Corkscrew Follies"). Those who want to save money might want to wait till the end of the year, when either a third disc (with this second disc included) might be released, or the prices come down as they do for all video games.

Recommended, but only for Roller Coaster Tycoon purists.

Biggest Disappointment in any Game or Expansion - Ever

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 17 / 17
Date: May 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Let me begin by saying I have been playing RCT since it was first released. The expansion packs for RCT1 offered new rides and stalls. I was always pleased with those.

It claims to have 50 new rides. Listen up -- NO NEW RIDES! None! The Twist or Scrambler has been morphed hmm, lets see...5 times. So you have 6 scramblers that look different. They made a killer whale ride -- guess what that is -- the submarine ride. You now have dolphins that were jet skis. They added a turtle instead of logs for a "new" flume ride. There are two new flying saucer rides that just look different. They made unimaginative new rollercoaster trains that really look stupid -- ie, the taxi cab coaster (?) , turned the inverter ship into a Chinese Junk ship -- same stuff in different clothes. As I went through the rides, I was so amazed -- amazed how they can get away with saying there are 50 new rides. But let me reiterate, folks: NO NEW RIDES WHATSOEVER. No new types of coasters...No new food stalls. NOTHING, but some really tacky scenery.

The bad outweighs the good. . .

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 20 / 22
Date: May 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I understand I'm reviewing an "expansion" pack as opposed to an actual game "installment," but Wacky Worlds is still rather disappointing.

If you're looking for new scenarios and lots more scenery to play around with, then you'll be completely satisfied with the Wacky Worlds expansion pack. But if you're a diehard RCT fan like me, you'll be extremely disappointed.

Sure, there's great new scenery and 17 new scenarios based on famous landmarks and tourist attractions worldwide - but that's it! The 50 "new" rides are nothing but graphic rebuffs of existing tracks in previous versions of RCT and are only available in the scenarios that fit their "theme" - which is frustrating. There is absolutely no creative freedom in Wacky Worlds.

Ever since the original RCT came out in 1999, we have been screaming at Chris Sawyer for not more items to scatter across the map, but more CONTROL over the design capabilities of the game. Chris Sawyer is not paying any attention to the very people who have made the RCT game series a hit in the first place - US! If you want us to build the park "of our dreams" - you've got to give us the control to do so, and loads of new scenery just doesn't do the trick. Wacky Worlds is far too constraining to even make an attempt. Take for example, the Killer Whale Submarine ride - you can only use it in the Antarctica scenario. Some scenarios don't allow free-form landscape design among other things. There's no option to have all rides and attractions available to combine the tools together so we have something to work with.

Chris Sawyer is forgetting the concept of QUALITY - NOT QUANTITY! No number of scenery additions - no matter how large - is going to vaporize what RCT gamers have been craving.

When is the scenario editor not going to have any contraints and allow all items to be added and accessed? When is the map size not going to have a maximum scale? When are we going to be able to import our own customized creations into the game (scenery, etc.) to build our "dream" park? When is the rollercoaster design going to be simple (as it is) yet with the ability to be tweaked to our own needs (vector lines and curves from other rollercoaster simulators come to mind)? When are the ride ratings not going to be ridiculously "childish" (for lack of a better word)? And when is RCT's game engine going to allow us to take the rider's seat on our own rollercoaster creations? That's what graphics cards are for. The competition is already ahead of Chris Sawyer there.

Chris Sawyer needs to LISTEN to the people he's marketing the game to, LEARN from his mistakes, and take what others have done and make it better. Only then will the RCT series be all that we've dreamed it can be.

milking the franchise

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 18 / 19
Date: May 08, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I was seriously looking forward to this add-on, since I thought there was still so much more they could do with Rollercoaster Tycoon 2. However, this is not an add-on worth the same price as the game itself.

* Chris Sawyer seems to still demand you play the game his way. There is no way to use new designs in old save games that I can find. You're extremely limited in the number of items that can be active on any particular map. There is no reason for this.

* Most (like almost ALL) of the new designs are simply different cars for old vehicle designs. For example, one "new" design is a TGV-themed coaster (TGV is the French bullet train). It's simply the LIM-launched coaster with different looking cars--yet it's marketed as a completely new type of rollercoaster.

* The popular mountain-editing tool is still missing from in-game. You can only use it in the scenario editor.

* Some of the new game elements count for multiple objects against your object limitations. The suspension bridge is a pretty poor take-off on the Golden Gate Bridge. It takes 5 separate object elements to use it--which means there are 5 other objects (walls, flowers, or other things) you can't use.

* The "North America" theme really should be called "USA" theme.

* The manual is horribly underwritten. Things are purposely omitted so you can "discover things on your own"...or buy the strategy guide.

Don't Waste Your Money or Time on This!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 19 / 22
Date: August 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

RollerCoaster Tycoon is probably the best amusement park simulator game out there. The add-ons, Corkscrew Follies and Loopy Landscapes were great additions to the game. Then came the sequal, RollerCoaster Tycoon 2. It was between good and bad, but for the most part, good. Now, RollerCoaster Tycoon 2: Wacky Worlds. I hope none of you waste your time and money on this piece of [garbage]. It is by far the worst add-on for the RollerCoaster Tycoon series. Everyone wanted newer flat-rides, and they gave them to us, but they were just the same ride with different theming on it, like tea cups and cars and such. There were no new roller coasters or any new rides. They were all just modified from the oens in the original first two games. The worst part though would have to be the scenery objects... Some of them could be useful at times. I really think that the new scenery pieces look horrible and don't look anything like the original game's scenery. You can tell that the creator of the game, Chris Sawyer, had no part in this game... Hopefully, he will in the Time Twisters Expansion Pack. That game sounds un-[romising too...

So, I advise anyone not to buy this game, but go and buy RollerCoaster Tycoon 1 and 2 with the add-on packs, Corkscrew Follies and Loopy Landscapes.

Not worth it at all. . .

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 15 / 17
Date: May 15, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is just wrong! When the original RollerCoaster Tycoon game came out years ago - THAT was a smash; the new RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 : Wacky Worlds Expansion Pack - ? - that's a bunch of [hooey]!

The new "more than 50 rides" available in this expansion pack are merely different train styles or track substitutions. I think there's five different versions of the same rollercoaster - but they're different only because the cars are different designs. Chris Sawyer and Infogrames Interactive need to understand that taking an old ride, polishing up the cars and slapping a new name on it - does not make it NEW! Now if the box said "50 new car designs" then I would have known beforehand and wouldn't have wasted [money] on this wasted bulk.

And that's not all, the "wacky" themes are pretty bland and not creative at all. Sure, it's clever in some surreal way, but it loses it's appeal five minutes after initial game launch. If I'm sick of it after five minutes, I doubt I'll want to finish off the 17 new scenarios in this expansion pack.

The four things Chris Sawyer does not take into consideration for RollerCoaster Tycoon are. . .

(1) Scenario Editor. When using the scenario editor you are limited to the number of objects you can select - that needs to go. You should be able to use ALL of the objects and have a completely dynamic palette for constructing your park and not worry about skipping some options and hope not to regret it when you can't find the tool upon creation of your park. There is no limit to creativity, so don't limit our options. Simple as that.

(2) Map size. It's understandable that some people play this game just to pass the scenarios and feel like they accomplished something with their day, but I like to create my own parks - and sometimes the map size constraints don't make it too easy. Trust me, guys, in some cases, size DOES matter.

(3) Design. RollerCoaster Tycoon has come a long way since its original release years ago, but the element of design in the rollercoasters isn't exactly realistic. Game-wise it's okay to obtain context-sensitive "ratings" on your rollercoasters - but come on! - some of them are so unrealistic that sometimes you can't help but wonder if you should build a rollercoaster with one hill and the station brakes just to get people to attempt riding it. How many people go to a park and say "Rollercoaster 1 looks too intense for me!"? I know I don't. There should be an option to turn ride ratings OFF.

(4) Rollercoaster Design. If you've ever played NoLimits Rollercoaster Simulator for the PC, you'll know what I'm talking about. Now THAT'S rollercoaster design. If you guys just implemented some of the design capabilities from that program into RCT, there'd be one less problem. Rollercoasters curve - and are most often free-form - they aren't rigid and boring in appearance - there is a continuous smooth curve to them. That needs to be touched up.

Sometimes it just feels like we are restricted to play this game a certain way - and no other way for that matter. I don't want to feel like a prisoner - creative freedom is much more liberating.

Expansion packs are supposed to make the game BETTER. Add all the car designs you want; add 50 more themes; it doesn't make a difference. You can't mask these elements from the game by marketing new installments just to cover up the above things you fail to direct your attention to.

To wrap it up. . .don't waste your money. . .consider P2P.

Not clever, not imaginative, not fun, not cheap.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: May 13, 2003
Author: Amazon User

First of all, this does not work or play like the RCT 1 expansion packs. All it does is fill your RCT2 directories with new stuff, and you use your original RCT2 disc to play it.

Secondly, of all of the "new" roller coasters, I have yet to find one that is not simply an old roller coaster type with new cars or scenery for that Scenario, and if you want to use the Asian roller coasters (for example) in ANY OTHER PARK, forget it; the game doesn't let you mix and match.

Thirdly, of all of the "new" (slightly revamped) coasters available, none of them come with pre-designed tracks that I have found. I don't enjoy building my own tracks, but if I want to use any of these new coasters I am forced to build my own.

Finally, of all of the neat things that they could have done to enhance the Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 experience that we all enjoy, this falls very very short for the money that they are asking for it. (When are those of us with expensive graphics cards ever going to be able to ride our rides?)

Total Dissappointment

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 10 / 13
Date: May 23, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is without a doubt the worst RC Tycoon installment, I was happy with the scenery but the stupid and idiotice new rides, and the ride trains, you take the arrow suspended, a nice decent coaster, and turn the trains into swinging monkeys! What the... I am into tycoon to build parks for realism not ignorance, I guess the creators must have had some debt to pay off or else Chris Sawyer wouldnt have let this ... get released!

MY FINAL WARNING!!! DO NOT BUY THIS GAME!!!

Absolutely terrible

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: September 01, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The expansion is nothign but a collection of very very poor scenery items. Nearly all of the items are not to scale with the game and they do not fit with the artistic style. There are no new rides, contrary to what they say, there are only new cars for your existing rides. And while that may sound good, only a few are actually enjoyable. This expansion is the worst of the worst. Avoid it at all costs unless you hate having an extra ($)

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