If you handed me a six foot wide blueprint paper and a pencil, I'd sooner wear the pencil to dust than design a safe and operational roller coaster. If you put me in front of a computer with a mouse and keyboard, and load up Roller Coaster Tycoon, within a matter of minutes I'll have a ride equally unsafe and borderline inoperable up and ready to (try and) go. Unlike reality, the several dozen digital park-goers who meet their doom on my ride to hell won't put a red flag on my reputation in life. I'll simply load up another map and try again. Roller Coaster Tycoon presents us all with the ability to create the most deadly, the most terrifying, or (if you're looking for virtual business success) the most thrilling roller coaster we can dream up. It is simple as picking the type of coaster you want, be it wooden, steel, stand-up, or sit-down, and clicking into place the pieces you want. Loops, drops, climbs, and corkscrews are all available with the click of a few buttons, and the more dedicated designers can send their tracks through tunnels or even intertwine them with other rides. There are a wide variety of maps available for play, each with their own set of objectives to meet, usually along the lines of reaching a certain park rating by a certain year. As your theme park thrives, more people will enter your park, and the more people that enter, the more virtual dollars you'll rake in. These you can spend on expanding your park with additional rides, such as Merry-Go-Rounds, Ferris Wheels, or (my personal favorite) the Scrambler. Those wishing to go a little more in-depth towards the business end can choose various marketing campaigns for their park, set individual prices for rides and food stands, and select their focus of research and development. But make no mistake, Roller Coaster Tycoon has a greater focus on creativity than it does on representing a realistic business model, and that's where it shines. My only true gripe with the game is that when building a roller coaster, if you end up (like I often do) creating a ride far too intense for anyone to ride, or you simply wish to change a small section of tracks, it can be a hassle to cycle through each and every piece and make sure everything is properly lined up. I tend to find it easier just to demolish and rebuild my coaster from scratch, than to attempt fixing or changing it. All said and done, I highly recommend that anyone who missed this gem of nineties gaming to spend the $5.99, and acquaint themselves with the roller coaster architect hiding inside. For those of you like me, who spent many an hour in their youth delicately constructing their park (after homework), I also highly recommend that you spend the $5.99, and reacquaint yourself with a classic.
