Roller Coaster Tycoon is one of the best PC games ever made. No contest.
The first Roller Coaster Tycoon was amazing and the second Roller Coaster Tycoon was pretty good too.
And then the third Roller Coaster Tycoon was okay but moved far away from the game’s original winning formula.
That’s why so many people are excited about Roller Coaster Tycoon World. The new Atari project is the latest sequel to the Roller Coaster Tycoon series and fans of the game are extremely excited.
Here are 5 things you need to know about the new Roller Coaster Tycoon game, Roller Coaster Tycoon World:
5) Simplistic roller coaster construction
In the first three games of the series, players had to construct their roller coasters section by section. This allowed you to build steep hills, sharp curves, and crazy loops and some of the wildest coasters the world has ever seen.
Roller Coaster Tycoon World throws that system out the window. In World, you simply draw in some track with your mouse and then tweak and pull the height and curve of your roller coaster using various nodes.
You can delete parts of your coaster by highlighting sections of the track. The new node and grid system is totally different from what RCT fans are used to, but it sounds like it provides enough freedom to keep fans happy.
4) You can play online and develop four interconnected theme parks
In a first for the series, Roller Coaster Tycoon is moving online. You can now develop four separate theme parks in a multiplayer server with your friends.
Your theme parks are connected by monorail – but that’s it. You don’t share cash or guest ratings or any of that stuff. Instead, you simply share the same general area.
This opens a wide range of opportunities. You could have four different themes in your server, for example, like a Wild West section of the park connected to the Martian landscape part.
Atari is also being very careful to mention that the game is offline-enabled as well – so single player builders won’t lose anything from this experience.
3) There will be four separate themes with unique rides, themes, and mascots
Speaking of separate themes, Roller Coaster Tycoon is expected to have four different themes. Each theme is based on a unique style and will have its own mascot.
There’s a pirate area, for example, as well as a sci-fi area, a western area, and a 50s era America area.
Each theme comes with its own rides, music, and imagery. Nothing stops you from jumbling all themes together into a single corner of your park, but it would probably look better if you separated theme.
2) Expect a higher-quality level of presentation
Early previews of Roller Coaster Tycoon World constantly mention the presentation quality. Specifically, Atari is focusing heavily on the game’s presentation.
What does that mean? It means that gamers will enjoy things like being able to ride in first-person view on roller coasters. It also means that you’ll get to experience your theme park in more ways than just a top-down view. Expect your park to feel more like a cohesive theme park experience than just a collection of interconnected rides and areas.
1) It will be released in “early 2015”
We do not yet have a firm release date for Roller Coaster Tycoon World. What we do have, however, is a broad release date: early 2015.
What does that mean? It means we can probably expect RCT World to appear on store shelves and Steam servers before March 2015.
Can’t wait? Reload the original Roller Coaster Tycoon and recapture the magic of the first great tycoon game. It’s one of those games that never really gets old.
