Theme Park

Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Japan
Genre: Simulation
Release: March 20, 2007
Platform: Nintendo DS

Reviewer: Eric

Theme Park was the game that started amusement park simulators. When this game was first released in 1994 I was happier than a two dollar bill. This game kicked so much ass; I was able to play it on my old, crappy computer! Not that it’s 2007 we finally get a port of Theme Park on the DS. Was it worth the wait?

Saying The Age of Kings is a bad game is a understatement. The game does control well, you can either use the D Pad and the few buttons the DS has or you can use your stylus. Two unique choices, both make the game enjoyable. Whenever I play I tend to use the D Pad and the buttons, for some reason the stylus is a little too sensitive here. There were some times when I didn't mean to click on a certain unit or building. Whenever you have a group of soldiers together it can be a little nonsense, but just stick with it or change the way you play.

Yes and no, Theme Park on the Nintendo DS is great, but it just doesn’t feel right. Theme Park got everyone excited and then Roller Coaster Tycoon came out. For the most part Theme Park didn’t age too well, either the DS version killed the game for me or this game really wasn’t all that great to begin with.

Fans of the DS should be excited; Theme Park is the first amusement park game right now. There have been some fair share of PC ports to the Nintendo DS, Zoo Tycoon and The Sims are the most popular choices. Theme Park is just like those games, you use the stylus as your mouse and whenever you hit a button or tap the stylus you are actually clicking on your mouse, in sense. It sounds great when you talk about it and for the most part it works that great, this isn’t the problem I have with Theme Park…

Since you are in controller of a theme park you need to do quite a few different things so you don’t see red. You need to keep up with the latest rides, hiring enough staff to tend to things, pay back loans, and take out loans, plant trees/flowers and about ten other things. There is a lot to do here and that is the problem I have with this game. Theme Park is difficult, it makes the far superior Roller Coaster Tycoon look like child’s play.

Half the time when I am playing Theme Park I don’t get too far so for me there is a lot of replay value. I am constantly restarting stages because I loose way too much money. I can’t keep up with all the people throwing away trash, people getting lost and my rides blowing up. If you don’t fix a smoking ride in a few seconds it will explode, leaving rocks that can not be deleted. The only way to survive this is to hire a new mechanic right away, which leads to money problems during the end of the month. Theme Park on the DS seems like it is against you from the start, if you don’t pick the right choice between cleaning up your park or building a new ride then you will loose.

Some of the same problems that haunted the PC versions of Theme Park are in the Nintendo DS version. Customers will randomly get stuck when they exit rides or by your path signs. Your helper, depending on who you pick at the beginning, will constantly tell you to build signs so people don’t get lost. This sounds easy, but whenever the people don’t follow the signs and get stuck on one of your rides you’re screwed. In order to fix this problem you have to destroy the ride and trust me this happens way too often in Theme Park, you are lucky enough to find where the stuck people are.

The graphics on the DS version of Theme Park are the same as the PC one that came out all those years ago. They may not be as good as today’s graphics, but they have a certain charm that will please retro gamers. Each ride has certain corniness to it as well, when was the last time you’ve seen a tree house ride with a huge elephant next to it? Theme Park does lack one thing that you’ll find in every amusement park simulator, it lacks realistic roller coasters. You only get to build two kinds of coaster with simple options to pick from. Don’t expect to pick this game up and build some of your favorite roller coasters when you are at Grandma’s house, you may be able to get away with building some of your favorite kiddy coasters.

Theme Park on the DS does have some new features that could be worth while. A few new rides, scenery and staff members have been added. If you have played Theme Park before then you’ll realize that all the new rides are the same as other ones just with a fresh can of paint on them. You can’t really expect too much here, the creators wanted to keep the same look to the game without making a true sequel (SimCoaster and Sim Theme Park don’t count in my mind). The best part to this collection is the stylus, all the games options are on the lower screen, you just need to click on their icons. Laying down tracks for rides and path ways are easy too, deleting them is a breeze as well.

Final Verdict
It may sound like I can’t stand Theme Park on the DS but I don’t. Even though the game has its fair share of problem it is still a solid amusement park simulator on Nintendo’s portable system, mainly since it is the only one available. If you loved the original game, like myself, then this is defiantly a nice treat, you will relive some of those moments you had whenever you first played this game. Just make sure you have a warranty on your DS, you may end up throwing it against a wall at some point during game play.

Rating
6 out of 10

Theme Park Trailer