I think, this is the best roller coaster game ever! Creative, fun and fairly complex...in 3D!
Congratulations to the developers (Frontier)!
But I agree with others...$20 is little bit pricey!
I always loved the RCT series, reminds me of my childhood being next to my brother watching how he played. I agree that is too pricey for a "dated" game like this, but right now that is in the winter sale I bought the 3 games for under 20 bucks, being my favorite game of all times I think it's worth it! Grab it while you can and enjoy!
I've played all of the RCT games since day zero, even sharing parks and competing with others online, so you could call me a 'hardcore' fan.
When the 3rd version came out the community shunned it. It had silly hardware requirements for its time, which made it sluggish on our prehistoric machines, the user interface was (and still is) clunky and tedious to use, and it was released on the back of two horrific expansions for the 2nd game, which basically caricatured the best part of the game - theming.
Having said that, this game is still fundamentally the original Rollercoaster Tycoon at its core, which makes it an excellent game. The actual building mode is still very enjoyable, and being able to explore your creations in 3D has been the missing piece for years. Admitedly the UI takes some getting used to, and even then is frustrating, but it is by no means game breaking.
When landscaping, heed my advice and stick strictly to isometric blocks, you will quickly find yourself annoyed at disjointed landscapes if you use any of the brush tools. Hand crafting every block of land IS fun, just look at Minecraft! Plus you can create stunning vistas this way.
I love the rides (except the pre-themed ones), the water slides, and the whole look and feel of this game. They undoubtedly could have done more here and there, but in general it is an excellent addition to the series, and in a nut shell, everything you'd expect from a sequel (especially one developed by another studio)... better in some places, less charming in others.
Buy the game, jump straight to sandbox mode, and enjoy.
In this game you build and manage a theme park. The big attraction of this game is building roller coasters by your own design. The UI for building is a bit dated, but it gets the job done. The best part of the game is you can switch to first-person view, and ride your virtual coasters.
This game lacks any dynamic challenges, like competitors or variable economic environment (e.g. trying to retain your credit rating with a negative balance). So it becomes a one-dimensional time-management game: build some things to get cash, and then sit back until you have enough cash to build the next thing. It can be quite fun to put together your own roller coaster, but the core game isn't very gratifying.
Also it suffers from bugs. There's rendering bugs: e.g. transparent walls underground, and garbage clipping below the ground. There's logic bugs: e.g. people getting stuck in rides under certain conditions. And there's also other bugs e.g. people mysteriously ending up in unused parts of your park. It would take too long to explain exactly how these affect the game, but in short: they're not game breaking, but very tedious, or ugly.
The roller coasters behave a bit static/unrealistic, because it has backward compatibility with old roller coaster designs from previous games. It takes a bit getting used to; personally I find it to be less fun the better I understand it, but I'm someone who tries to get maximum ratings for my designs. If you forget the game mechanics, it can be quite fun to ride ridiculous draconian life-threatening contraptions of your own design.
If you have a sort of a scale-model-building mindset, it can be quite fun and relaxing. (Though the sounds might be annoying to you.) The game provides some building blocks with which you can build themed sceneries. It's all tile based, and not all parts fit together. If you like such building exercises in other games, this is probably a game for you. If you're looking for a fun challenge, it probably isn't for you.
First off: I had played 1 & 2 before this game came out and I enjoyed both of them quite a bit. I will acknowledge that this one somehow is missing some bit of magic that the others had.
That said, it's still an amazing game. It is a lot of fun and offers more variety than either of its predecessors. More importantly, it has yet to be surpassed by a followup because there hasn't been one.
If you are interested in building a theme park and roller coasters, this is still the most recent option, and so I have to give it a nod. Even if you enjoy 1 & 2, heck, especially if you enjoy 1 & 2, this game is worth getting as it is a solid game in its own right.