Verdict: About as thrilling as a trip to the dentist.
British developer Bullfrog pioneered the concept of an amusement park on your PC with the release of Theme Park back in 1994. Starting off with a barren plot of land, you had to develop it into a thriving theme park, and make it both profitable and fun. Then along came Roller Coaster Tycoon. Now you could not only lay out the theme park, but you could also design your own intricate rides: racetracks, log flumes and, of course, roller coasters. It was a huge hit and spawned two sequels.
Late last year, Thrillville hit the shelves. While it let you play all the various coin-op games that you find in fun fairs (or at least, spin-off games), Thrillville's main focus was park management, rather than construction. Rides could only be built in fixed locations, and roller coaster design - such that it was - was pretty basic. It received a lukewarm reception, although you could do a lot worse for £20.
Thrillville: Off the Rails is the sequel, and three things become glaringly apparent within a few minutes of playing it: firstly, this is little more than an add-on pack; the PC version is really just a basic console conversion; and finally, the game is designed for kids and young teenagers.
So what does Off the Rails bring to the party that you didn't have with the first Thrillville? Well, it has 20 new roller coaster rides, five new parks (with a total of 15 sections) and another 14 mini-games, bringing the grand total to 34. However, it uses the same graphics engine and interface as before, and the entire presentation and style is aimed at kids; all the character avatars are young teenagers and the tutorial is a tad patronising.
As before, the game focuses on park management. To find out what your park needs, you have to talk to the various visitors, and it's at this point that the game stops being fun and turns into Russian roulette. Basically, as you chat to each visitor in turn, you're given multiple choices on where to direct the conversation, from 'I love to see penguins at the zoo' to 'In 1971 an American astronaut played golf on the Moon'. If they like your answer, they become your friend, except that you're given no clue as to which direction you should take - it's a purely random choice. The trivial chat is also badly disguised edutainment. Why else would you tell people that 'Britain's first female prime minister was elected in 1979'? What's more, there are hundreds of guests in your park, and after spending 15 minutes hitting the mouse button for the third time, you just can't be bothered anymore.
There are also the cut scenes with your 'oh-so-whacky-uncle' who invents new rides. It's the sort of mindless pap you'd expect to see on children's TV, produced by someone who couldn't direct traffic on Orkney. Let's face it, you'd have to be really easily entertained to appreciate being told that every day is 'fun fun fun' as your uncle's tie turns into a roller blind.
The list of gripes is endless. You can only build rides in fixed locations, many of the rides are so unrealistic as to be farcical, collision physics is non-existent in places (there's nothing like watching your character float through a ride) and sitting on the roller coaster feels like sitting in traffic on the M25, only less exciting.
The only redeeming features are the various mini-games, which you can play once you've built the corresponding arcade stall. However, the novelty quickly wears off, and if you wanted to play old retro games like that, you'd crank up MAME.
If you're an adult then Thrillville: Off the Rails manages to be both overly complex and dumbed-down (which is no small achievement). It's dull, irritating and ultimately pointless. However, with a price tag of less than £20, it makes the ideal gift for someone who's too old for Fuzzy Felt and too young for alcopops. Everyone else should avoid this game at all costs.
