RollerCoaster Tycoon 2

by Atari

Product Features

• Run the ultimate amusement park, by setting up a preexisting park or creating one from scratch
• Work with the all-new Roller Coaster Designer to create the ultimate ride - All-new coaster designs, including a few famous coasters from around the world
• Include themes to make your park more interesting & draw new customers - Giant Garden, Wild West, Pirates, Haunted House and Children's Town
• Comes with 25 Six Flags roller coasters from 5 different Six Flags locations -- including Magic Mountain and Great Adventure

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000695GX
• Item Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: October 14, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (271 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,122 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #21 in Video Games > PC Games > Strategy
  • #28 in Video Games > PC Games > Simulation
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Nobody could have predicted the phenomenal success of humble, little Roller Coaster Tycoon. Such simple, addictive games had been tried before; even the whole amusement park idea had been done in Theme Park, but RCT exploded with unmatched success. Legions of gamers enjoyed the colorful graphics, the simple but ever-so-opinionated patrons, the easy-to-master financial model, and the thrill of building, testing, and then watching customers enjoy your own roller coaster--or watching with glee as they got sick after their first ride! Roller Coaster Tycoon had the winning combination of fun and mainstream appeal that catapulted it to the top of the charts and spawned two expansion packs, as well as a horde of imitators. (Just conduct a search here at Amazon.com for games with the word "tycoon" in them.)

Ironically, Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 itself is an imitator of RCT. Perhaps in an effort not to spoil a good thing, or perhaps to guarantee success with low-system-spec mainstream fans, Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 plays almost exactly like the original game--maybe too much like it.

The graphics are still 2-D, and if you didn't know better you'd swear you were looking at the first game. This isn't good considering that the first game came out in 2000 and looked dated even then. But the ability to play the game at a much higher resolution does alleviate some of this disappointment, and a closer look reveals a greater variety of animation, more people, and a smoother overall look. The audio is, again, fantastic. It's that perfect mix of screams, giggles, grumbles, retches, and carnival music that brings the scent of cotton candy to your nose every time.

New structures are available as well as some new rides, but the biggest change is the addition of themes. Want a Haunted Park? They've given you the artwork to create one. You'll also find a Wild West theme, a children's theme, and more. The scenarios are grouped more logically by difficulty, and fans will be delighted with a sand box mode that allows limitless free play. RCT2 has a wide variety of new coaster designs, including a few famous coasters from around the world--mostly from Six Flags theme parks. A welcome addition is the ability to open a separate screen where you can test and build a custom coaster, without worrying about space or money, before buying and placing it in the game. Perhaps the best new addition is the ability to raise and lower ground en masse, removing one of the most annoying features of the first game.

Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 isn't a ground-breaking sequel, but it is an excellent game for fans of the series. We wish they'd done more with the concept, brought it into 3-D, or used higher-resolution artwork, but the gameplay remains the same. And that's a thrill ride on its own. --Andrew S. Bub

Pros:

• Same addictive gameplay
• New coaster-builder tool
• Improved graphics resolution

Cons:

• The meager improvements don't really help already-dated graphics
• They could have done so much more

Product Description

More depth detail and creative freedom!Product InformationThe best-selling game that started the "Tycoon" craze ramps up the funwith all-new rides features and gameplay that make creating and running theultimate amusement park more fun more creative and totally addictive! Those of you that think you have mastered the previous 'Tycoon' games andcreated the most nauseating coaster designed the ultimate theme park or managedthe financeslike a top CEO can think again. RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 provides a new dimensionof creative freedom that allows you to take your parks and rides to anunprecedented level of fun.Break ground and start from scratch open the gates to existing parks or justcreate the most gut-wrenching roller coaster ride ever - now you can play yourway.As a RollerCoaster Tycoon there are NO LIMITS!New Features New gameplay options in RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 allow you to play your way and focus on the aspects of the game you love the most Includes 25 coaster designs and 5 Six Flags parks Take over the management of a pre-built Six Flags park or build your own custom Six Flags park from scratch Take on all-new challenging scenarios and balance all aspects of park and ride design and management Roller Coaster Designer - Now you can focus on designing the ultimate coaster without having to worry about cost constraints park guests ride maintenance and all the other challenges that come with the responsibility of running the ultimate theme park. Scenario Editor - Design your own challenging scenarios tailored to your individual gameplay preferences. Choose to play with or without money constraints set your park in the location of your own design set your own goals and more! Bigger Parks - Offers park maps that are 4X the area of the original game allowing you to build parks on a scale that was previously not possible. Vertical Scenery Construction - Provides a whole new dimension of building options by allo

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 110 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More of the same....fun, engaging, but sometimes complex, October 16, 2002

By 

Jayson (Rancho Santa Margarita, ca, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 (CD-ROM)

After many of the 'Tycoon' style games that have been popular over the last few years, the reigning king was a simple family style game called Roller Coaster Tycoon. After two successful expansion packs, developer Chris Sawyer waited well over a year to launch Rollercoaster Tycoon 2. The sequel is based on a no brainer..."Build it and they will come". Seeing that the first game and its expansions still sell well, Infogrames already has a large base of built in fans looking for more of the same, but will these fans love '2', and will this attract new fans? Time will tell.

Overall, the look and feel of the game remains relatively the same. A 3D isometric overhead view allows players to build a theme park from scratch and carry it through pre-defined scenarios. These scenarios have conditions such as have a park rating of X by year Y or have X guests by year Y or build N coasters of type T with an excitement factor of X.

The game ships with about 25 scenarios that are grouped in categories of difficulty: easy, advanced, expert, and Real Parks. The website RollercoasterTyccon2.com promises to have future downloadable scenarios, and one major enhancement over the original game is the inclusion of a scenario editor. Players can now create their own parks/games and trade among friends. You can control all variables from size of park, weather, rides available for research and more.

The 'Real Parks' are actual Six Flag parks from around the world that are pretty close to real world counterparts. You can choose to just manage them or alter them at will.

Game enhancements:
1) Park sizes can be double that of the original game and it supports a much higher screen resolution rate.
2) Scenery: All the original scenery from the RCT and its expansions are present as well as new ones including: Pirate, Scary, Medieval, Gears, Wild West, Giant Gardens and more. There are also more fences, water themes, roofs and walls and the ability to stack scenery makes it much easier to create buildings.
3) New rides: Well obviously there are more coasters but also other attractions as well on top of all the originals.
4) Coaster and ride options: There seems to be much more customizations available for coasters including new car types, special banks, queue line options, supports, signs & banners, special track types and more.
5) New shops and stalls: Again, all the originals and more including sun glass hut, ATM's, First Aid station, more food choices.
6) More music options. Many more styles of music can accompany your rides.
7) Coaster construction: Tool here has been revamped and now you can make/test/save/see coasters better than ever.

Now not everything is perfect in this game:
1) Graphics: Even though the screen resolution and park size has increased, the view is still the same as is the graphics engine. While there is more 'eye-candy' per-se, the overall look is still cartoony and has some 'jaggy' issues. Not to mention that hills, waters, mountains still look slightly un-natural as it did in the original.
2) Lack of scenarios that ship. There are only 3 easy scenarios, a handful of advanced, and more expert. This may prove complex for players who never had the first. Hopefully new ones will be available from the official website soon.
3) No major innovations in game play. I'd like to see new objectives, or disasters to overcome, or new behaviors of park guests, mechanics, handymen, mascots...still the same.

The largest adjustment fans of the original will have to make is getting use to the new construction and customization tools. While they have been expanded (a large plus), they have also taken on new 'handling' characteristics which is proving somewhat confusing for me. For old players, it's retraining how to this new interface and sub-menus...lacking in the 1st game. While this new interface does seem to be much more rich and deep, I truly found it wasn't as intuitive as the RCT 1. I was looking for information that seemed to be present in the 1st game easily, now I have to dig to sub-menus I'm not familiar with.

These were some of the reasons I chose o give it 4 stars instead of 5. Something's are just better off simple, not overly complex.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insane! Inforgrames' Best EVER!, November 22, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 (CD-ROM)

This is by far the BEST game Infogrames (and almost all other computer entertainment companies) has ever brought to the stores.
I have played the original game for a year now, and I never dreamed Cris Sawyer could think of this much more. But RCT 2 has it all. There are tons of new roller coasters-they have the LIM powered coaster, the Spiral rollercoaster, etc. You can also build other new rides that aren't roller coasters, like the submarines ride.
And there are tons of new shops, including Star Fruit drink stalls, first-aid stalls, and ATMs.
Guests are smarter, too. They don't get lost and just walk around in circles on large sections of pavement, and they like to watch rides being built, and they say that they're running out of cash.
Tons of new scenery options are available, including queue-line TVs, different bench/trash can styles, and many more sinage options. New themes include pirates, giant garden, and wild west. New music styles are also available, like Rock style 3, Moderne Style and Mechanical Style. You also have the option to build buildings with the scenery - roofs can now be placed atop walls, etc.
Did I mention that the gameplay is also easier, and the different features are much better organized? I suppose not. The best examples are the ride windows, where you have seperate tabs for the music, repairs, etc. Now, you can go to the repairs tab and adjust how often the ride is inspected, and view breakdown specifics, AND locate the nearest mechanic. There are also different entertainer styles--bandits, pirates, etc. are now available for you to clothe your entertainers with.

I'd better stop now if I don't want to be writing the next volume of Encyclopedia Brittanica, but overall, this is the BEST game I've played yet. I HIGHLY recommend it.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Review of all reviews, November 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 (CD-ROM)

Okay let's get started...

This game ROCKS!!

Here's a list of what it has (make sure to read it all too):

More coasters including the awesome Giga Coaster (Think of the Millennium Force).

More Thrill and Gentle rides

More scenery

The ability to stack scenery

A park/scenario maker

A roller coaster designer

Swooping banks on coasters

Changing the lift hill speed

More MUSIC

More land

Steep drops on some coasters (not just vertical)

*PARK RECREATIONS OF SOME SIX FLAGS PARKS*

Double paths to make your park look real

New water colors

Loops on Wooden coasters

New coaster SCREAMS!! and sounds (chain lift sounds and coasters rolling on the track sounds)

New look to menu stuff

Ability to change loan interest

New shops and stalls

New park enterances

That's all I can think of, but for anyone who hasn't played the first Roller Coaster Tycoon game should plan on buying this one instead.