Previous Next

Sometimes, appearances can be devilishly deceptive. But this isn't one of those occasions. Rollercoaster World looks rubbish... and it is. The build-a-coaster genre hails back to the time of the humble Amiga and that's where this belongs, with its tragic attractions, appalling adornments and menus more basic than you'll find at a chimps' tea party.

There's plenty to do - two modes allow for a park management experience or the option to concentrate on the coasters, but either way there'll be tears. Building a coaster is a fiddly affair helped not one bit by the kind of presentation that even the winos who root through the Alton Towers bins would baulk at. One for park management and rub your eyes in rue at everything from the manky-looking hot-dog huts to trees that look like they've been drawn by your dog.

And yet, there is some pleasure to be had in creating a coaster and watching it successfully operate. Derailment is a trifle arbitrary but a clean run around a track of your own making invariably brings a mile. But then so does seeing a scruffy-looking kid kick Goofy in the gonads and those kind of chuckles come free.

Minuscule pleasure for a while but basically everything a theme park shouldn't be!