Rollercoaster Tycoon

One of my favorite PC game series over the last decade has been Rollercoaster Tycoon and I still continue to play all versions today. With Rollercoaster Tycoon you are in charge of an amusement park that you either create from scratch or take over and try to provide the best experience for your guests. In this particular Squidoo lens we are going to take a closer look at all things related to Rollercoaster Tycoon and why it is still a hit after so many years.

Believe it or not Rollercoaster Tycoon 1 came out in 1999 and was originally released to Windows and later would be released for Microsoft XBOX. Now Rollercoaster Tycoon 1 is actually really difficult to find now and for those of use who are still lucky enough to own the original CD it remains a must play game.

The cool part about the scenarios for Rollercoaster Tycoon 1 is that you are still able to get the scenarios and play them on Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 if you know where to look. They are a very fast download and easy to install.

Along with Rollercoaster Tycoon there were two expansion packs released in the following years: Corkscrew Follies and Loopy Landscapes which completely added to the game making the replay value so much higher

As mentioned earlier it is difficult to find Rollercoaster Tycoon but if you come across a CD make sure to grab it fast

After Rollercoaster Tycoon was such a runaway hit it was no surprise that Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 was going to be released and it was in 2002. Again this series was created by Chris Sawyer and published by Infogames.

The main difference between Rollercoaster Tycoon and Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 is that the building of structures and rides were much more enhanced and the scenarios quickly stepped up in difficulty. As I mentioned with Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 it is possible to upload all of the scenarios from the first Rollercoaster Tycoon and play them all over again with better graphics and building tools.

Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 also had its expansive packs this time including Wacky Worlds and Time Twister.

Now with Rollercoaster Tycoon two came the ability to download your custom rides and scenarios so other players from around the world could enjoy them as well. The cool part is most of the Rollercoaster Tycoon custom scenarios and rides can still be found online

Then there was Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 and no longer Chris Sawyer was at the helm and unfortunately this part of the trilogy was just not the same as the first two versions of the game. Do not get me wrong Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 is a solid game and will stand up to any simulation PC game on the market today it just seemed to be missing something

Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 had to ways to play the game. You can start in Career mode and basically build your reputation game in the amusement park world or you can basically do what you want and complete scenarios which is what most long term Rollercoaster Tycoon preferred.

Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 also had two expansion packs: Soaked and Wild

RollerCoaster Tycoon 3D or also known as Rollercoaster Tycoon 4 has been rumored for years and apparently it is suppose to be coming out sometime this year, 2012. There are a ton of rumors about what the game which will actually contain but again it is all rumors so far. As for fans who have been waiting forever for Rollercoaster Tycoon 4 it is unlikely to live up to the hype.

Pretty much ever since Rollercoaster Tycoon came out there has been trainers that are meant to basically break the game wide open. Most of the Rollercoaster Tycoon trainers allow you to own all the land, have all of the rides immediately and of course a ton of money to create your ultimate dream amusement park

Unfortunately there are problems with Rollercoaster Tycoon trainers and that is they would not allow you to actually save your game in the middle of it unless you had the Rollercoaster Tycoon patch The Drexler Patch. Again whether or not The Drexler Patch would work would depend on the version of the Rollercoaster Tycoon you had and where it was issued.

Trainers were also specific to certain games so a Rollercoaster Tycoon trainer that would work with the second version would not work with the original version and vice versa. Of course later versions of Rollercoaster Tycoon came out that would render the use of trainers completely. Not sure why they did this but they did.