Theme Parks are being spawned across the globe. Theoretically, there could be so many of these surreal kingdoms of entertainment that they occupied more space than the 'real' world. Everyone will travel to work in a green plastic caterpillar, and it will be chips for tea every night...

And where there's fun and tinsel, there's chocolate coins to be made. Bullfrog should be minting some more off the back of Saturn Theme Park, a conversion that comes just months after the magnificent Megadrive cart. This time there is not snipped features, or cut corners. Every puking sound effect, fancy graphic, every sweetie wrapper is there for your delectation.

As before, Theme Park features the same vast array of rides and shop units. Fill your park with these to attract the punters, then rack up the prices to make a return on your investment. The more expensive units come later, after your development team come up with bigger attractions.

A feature missing from the Megadrive but restored to the Saturn is the stocks and shares screen. This is available in the full version of the game (the most difficult). It allows you to purchase stock in your competitors' park, with the aim of making money from their success. However, if you decide to play with competitors, they are also in the position to buy stock and threaten a takeover.

The return of the stock ordering system to Theme Park is a mixed blessing. This feature, omitted from the Megadrive game, involves replacing the fries, cokes, lollies, etc. from your food stalls, when they begin to run out.

A diagramatic warehouse shows your supplies. Thankfully, this repetitive chore is only necessary on the full game, and the warehouse capacity has been increased to make it less frequent.

You hire and fire staff to keep your staff functioning, and the workers on the Saturn version are just as bolshy as those previously. However, this 32-bit version features more faces than the 16-bit, which had just a single entertainer. Now you are able to hire different types of entertainer and assess their effect on visitors.

The nastiest feature of the Megadrive game was the lack of a save option. There are five on the Saturn, and with a RAM cart the potential is unlimited. Loading and saving is extremely easy, too.

This conversion of Theme Park is very close to the 3DO version. It's Bullfrog's first business sim.

Create an amusement paradise: make money, keep punters happy, win awards...

There are some who think that games like Theme Park should be the sole preserve of PCs. Not at all, proved by this elegant Saturn version, which is the easiest Theme Park to get around yet. From my point of view I wanted to know how it compared to the Megadrive version.

Well to casual observers, the differences seem to be mainly graphical - which is a testament to the awesome level of the 16-bit conversion, but at the same time there is disappointment that Bullfrog didn't add any noticeable first time 'tricks' (especially when we hear the Playstation version is due some).

But this doesn't take into account the speed, share options and rendered clips that this version offers. Bearing in mind that most Theme Park players are fanatics and purist, they couldn't possibly sit out this 32-bit version, supersmooth as it is.

Theme Park is an extremely fine game, and this version maintains the standard as you'd expect, replacing some of the features the egadrive sensibly left out.

But there's a slight feeling of anti-climax in Bullfrog failing to add anything to an existing game for its Saturn release. True, many other PC and 3DO games will arrive on the system without enhancements, but it would have been gratifying for Sega owners to have some new perspective on the game, which is a year and a half old.

Moaning aside, this is the fastest and most controllable Theme Park yet, wisely keeping the simplified icons, and easy-to-follow sub menus. And the core game is as fun and absorbing as ever, with the movie clips a frivolous but welcome addition.

If you have a Saturn, don't have this on the Megadrive, and want something more substantial than the likes of Panzer Dragoon, make your way to the turnstile.

Graphics 82%
P. Bright, gaudy, brash. Just like your average Theme Park.
N. No new perspectives or features.

Animation 85%
P. The game handles an incredible amount of animated sprites at one time.

Music 74%
P. Very fitting.
N. Fitting eans ear-wrenching, key-hopping organ-ground ditties.

Effects 86%
P. A mixture of background crowd and spot effects that aims to create an atmosphere and succeeds.

Playability 90%
P. The game's great asset is the freedom it offers: it's one big puzzle that you set yourself.
N. There is a lack of direct control that won't suit some.

Lastability 89%
P. There is effectively no 'end', only further development, but there is a competitive element and a save function.

Overall 90%
Theme Park as it was and is, with its small flaws and great qualities. We can't argue with that.