RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 follows time with the 3D and beautiful graphics you can see everything up close. And with the Coaster Cam you will be able to take the front seat of every rollercoasters. It almost feels like you are there in real life. This game also has two expansions so there is plenty to do.
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum. This is another game I played when I was a kid! Earlier today, I reviewed Jurassic Park: Dinosaur Battles, which I also played when I was a kid. I thought that game was terrible overall, and I recommend not even trying it. As for this game, I used to play this game, along with its prequels constantly because I love amusement parks so much. This game allows you to build your own theme parks, and make visitors happy while doing so. I played this game a lot when I was little. So, was there a good reason why I played this game so much, or was it just a coincidence? Let's find out. I have already stated what the gameplay of this game is like, it is a game where you get to create your own amusement park however you please. There's not much more to it, so I will go into more detail. You're limited only by your imagination on how you wish to create the theme park of your dreams. If you want to create an outer space themed amusement park, you can do it. If you want to create a park filled entirely with Roller Coasters, you can do it! Of course, if you just want to create a normal old park with nothing too special to it, you can always do that too. There are also several awesome rides to choose from to make your park the amazing park you want it to be. You can make Ferris Wheels, Merry-Go-Rounds, water rides, and of course Roller Coasters. Of course, making the amusement park of your dreams is only part of the game, the other important part is keeping your visitors happy. This is not too difficult however, as to do that you just need to add more rides, food and drink stalls, bathrooms, gift shops, scenery, and whatever else you can to keep guests having fun in your park. There are also multiple game modes. The first one is just the tutorial that teaches you how to play. The second one is the career mode. In this mode, you have to complete certain objectives while creating your park. You also have a limited amount of money which makes things more difficult. I found this mode to be very entertaining, as the objectives were varied enough to keep me occupied. The third one is Sandbox mode, which is my favorite mode out of all of them. In this mode, you have unlimited cash, and you are free to make your own amusement park however you want. There are no objectives, so this mode gives you the most freedom, and I love that. Finally, there is the scenario editor, which basically allows you to create your own career mode type scenarios. Believe it or not there's more! You can also create your own families to take into your parks, create your own roller coasters, and even your own scenery. All of this is supported by silky smooth mouse controls to make the experience more enjoyable then it already is. Overall, the gameplay is fantastic, no matter how you decide to play the game. As for the graphics, they look great, but they aren't perfect. The way I see it, everything in this game looks perfect, except for the character models. The characters in this game look a bit too cartoony. Normally I wouldn't have a problem with this, as I loved the way Team Fortress 2 did its cartoony graphics, but TF2 did its cartoony graphics with much more effort and polish than here. Here, all of the characters just look like stick figures. However, this is just one little thing. The graphics of this game are still great no matter how the characters look. The game presents itself very well as well. Everything in this game is easily accessible, and easy to understand. Nothing in this game is confusing in the slightest, making the game far more enjoyable. Also, it should be noted that this is the Platinum Version of Roller Coaster Tycoon 3. This package comes with the game and its two expansion packs. The two expansion packs are called Soaked! and Wild! respectively. Soaked! allows you to add water parks and water themed rides to your park. Wild! allows you to add wildlife and safaris to your park. Because of the inclusion of these two expansions, the game becomes even better! Overall, this game is a must-buy for anyone who loves video games, and especially those who love amusement parks. This game proves that video games don't have to be violent to be entertaining and fun. This is by far the most relaxing game I have ever played, and that's a good thing. The only bad thing I can think of for this game is the character models, but in the end, they don't really hurt the game all that much.
Gameplay: 10/10
Graphics: 9/10
Presentation:10/10
Overall: 10/10
This is NOT my full review by any means. I'm just quickly listing the pros and cons of this game that I can think of off hand plus a summary just to sort of give myself almost like an outline so I can write a full review possibly sometime later.
PROS:
+expands upon the regular Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 experience by adding both the Soaked! (water park) and Wild (Safari) expansion packs all on one disc to the already stellar experience.
+(still features 3d graphics, fully 3d controllable camera, tutorial mode, career mode, sandbox mode, (not enjoyable to me though), coaster-cam, advanced guest/peep behavior, guest/peep designer, scenario creator, advanced terrain shaping, night mode, mix-master fireworks display and custom music options, (although I have not learned how to do that yet.)
+ability to enhance graphics/visuals from game settings menu instead of purchasing an expensive graphics card.. (search on Youtube for help).
CONS:
-By far the most disappointing aspect of both this and the regular Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 game in my opinion is the research and development feature. Not only was I limited to a certain amount of content, (such as shops and stalls), in the game and the Cosmic Craggs scenario in particular especially, (which is the ONLY park you get to build from scratch by the way), but the game does NOT tell you when you have reached that limit despite telling you this in the first two games.. Why would this game or the regular Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 get any worse than the first two in any way? I lost hundreds of in game dollars because of this as I was researching additional content that I didn't have access to for whatever reason and it to me seemed like an easily avoidable issue in the first place.. It's bad enough to limit the player in this matter without an explanation but to not tell them when they have reached their research limit is beyond me.... Another downside to the research is that you are unable to filter out or exclude Soaked! or Wild! content when researching new new rides, shops/facilities/, scenery, pathways, elements, etc.... while playing the regular Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 aspect of this platinum edition. This aspect of the game clearly seems rushed to me. I hope this was changed in the much newer Planet Coaster which I believe is still Frontier's newest installment in the series. You shouldn't limit the player for unexplained reasons and if you do then you should at least notify the player when the limit has been reached to avoid unnecessary spending. This con alone lowered my score for this game from an 8 down to a 7.
-The gameplay is less challenging than the first two games for at least the first few scenarios.
-frame rate issue when zooming out of park.. (although even Madden 25 for Xbox One has frame rate issues when viewing from a distant.. instant replay for example and that was released nearly seven years later so that is a minor setback.. (most gamers don't build things for or manage their park from a distance anyways.)
I'd also like to note that sandbox mode is overrated considering that there is no challenge or strategy while having an unlimited amount of money and time to do whatever you want, whenever you want.. but there is still incredible replay value with the Career Mode alone in my opinion.)
Summary: The series has arguably improved in many ways since the addition of the original Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 game and this expansion pack adds even more enjoyment to the already stellar experience in which many came to know and love. Given the Soaked! and Wild! expansion packs, it is arguably the most complete Rollercoaster/Park construct and manage simulation game there is and should not be overlooked by those who can look past an arguably incomplete research and development feature and a few parks at the beginning whose objectives are a bit too simple for most familiar with how to manage a theme park.
This game is fun, at first. Boy does it get repetitive quickly. I can't imagine how boring it would have been without Soaked! and Wild! included. And even those barely added any enjoyment. No replay value to this game at all, as every mode and scenario feels like a replay already.
Roller Coaster Tycoon 3: Platinum sure does expand from Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 and its expansion packs. RCT3 has a lot more variety than RCT2, such as the addition of waterparks, zoos, more coaster types, more flat rides, and much more. However, this game's variety fails to trump the mediocrity of the gameplay and the realism of the game. The coasters in the game are incredibly jerky. In the end, the coasters become incredibly unrealistic. Some of the actual in-game rides and stalls look very cartoonlike, too. Also, this game has the worst set of ingame scenery, so that really downgrades from RCT2. Also, if you get a large scale park, the game will have some real serious lag to it unless you have a really good computer.
The game isn't terrible, but the fact that a key element of the game was made really bad makes this game half of what RCT2 was. I'd play RCT2 instead.
SummaryRollercoaster Tycoon 3 Platinum combines the excitement of rollercoasters with the fun of great strategy sim. RCT3 Platinum combines the roller coaster theme park fun of the Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 with included expansion packs Soaked! and Wild! Now enjoy more options than ever. Build your own water slide or create your own safari with r...