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Thrillville: Off the Rails Review for PC

Thrillville: Off the Rails Review for PC

Thrillville will throw you for a loop! Just try not to vomit…

Ever since I saw this game, I thought that it was just going to be another Roller Coaster Tycoon clone. I remember when Roller Coaster Tycoon was all the rage, and clones of it seemed to be everywhere. But I was very pleasantly surprised by this game. Though it is meant for a family-oriented audience, this game proved to be very fun, and a whole lot different than Roller Coaster Tycoon.

Thrillville: Off the Rails screenshot

While Roller Coaster Tycoon focused mainly on park construction and was more of a sim type game, Thrillville: Off the Rails focuses on the total theme park experience. You begin the game by picking a character and customizing it to look however you want. And while it’s not a very deep level of customization, you can change things like your character’s hair and clothes. Then you go straight into training for your new position as manager of the new Thrillville Park. As manager, your duties include developing new rides, planning marketing schemes, and most of all, keeping the guests happy.

Of course you can’t do it alone, and one of your first tasks in Thrillville is to employ a staff. And not only do you have to hire them, but you have to train them too. But lucky for you, training involves some pretty fun mini-games that are related to the task at hand. For example, to train your entertainers, you play a rhythm-based mini-game. To train your groundskeepers you have a challenge where you target and aim various trash and vomit articles for cleaning. And although the latter doesn’t sound all that fun, trust me, it is.

Thrillville: Off the Rails screenshot

In fact, much of your time being the park manager of Thrillville will be spent playing mini-games. Most of your attractions can be played as arcade games, and many of your guests love to challenge their park manager to see who the best at various games is. And the great thing is that there’s a wide variety of these games. There’s a western-based first-person shooter game, there’s a galaga-type spaceship game, there’s even a game that pays direct homage to the Mario franchise. So if you’re into classic gaming, you’ll definitely appreciate all your choices in Thrillville: Off the Rails. Of course, classic games aren’t the only thing that Thrillville plays homage to. Several icons from the world of music and movies get their turn here too. For instance, one of your missions is called “Paranoid Android.” Random Radiohead reference, anyone?

Another big duty in Thrillville: Off the Rails is talking to the guests. There are a couple reasons for this. First of all, the customer is always right, and they can offer valuable insight into way to improve your park. Talking to guests can also improve their happiness and the overall ranking of your park. But more importantly, there are representatives from your evil rival Globo-Joy in the crowd who are trying to bring your park down. By talking to certain guests you can uncover Globo-Joy’s suspicious ways and thwart any evil schemes they might have plotted at your expense.

Thrillville: Off the Rails screenshot

But as we all know, no roller coaster game would be complete without the feature everyone looks forward to the most: the build-your-own-roller-coaster feature. And for the most part the build your own roller coaster mode works well here. You start off by selecting a type of rollercoaster, and then laying down tracks and adding “Woah” moves. These moves are various high-end track designs that enhance the thrill factor of your ride. However, you can’t have too many “Woah” moves in your track because they will also increase your coaster’s vomit rating, which will make less and less people go on your ride. Once you’ve finished your coaster, you can test drive it and watch how it looks from your choice of a first-person view, a backseat view, or an outside view. My personal favorite was the backseat view because you can almost feel the wind in your hair when you look over the track as you take one of your wicked dives. I know when I watched my coaster, the Cotton Candy Seizure, take several 90 degree drops with a dizzying amount of corkscrew turns, I felt a little dizzy myself.

Of course, the Cotton Candy Seizure was not too popular with those in the Park because, although it had a thrill ranking of 100, it also had a vomit rating of 100 too. The only qualm I had with the create-a-coaster mode was the linear way that you build the track. Instead of choosing several track variations from a HUD display, you have to scroll through your track options manually, which is not only time-consuming, but a little frustrating as well, especially when you want to find that one right piece and have to scroll through a bunch of pieces you can’t use just to reach it.

Thrillville: Off the Rails screenshot

Graphics-wise this game is surprisingly good. As I said before, the roller-coaster test drives look particularly good, but there are other areas where the visuals in this game shine as well. For instance, there are several cinema scenes where you consult with the mastermind behind Thrillville who gives you helpful advice from time to time. These scenes are animated exceptionally well, and have a very good amount of detail.

Sound in this game is also done very well, and features excellent voice acting. Since talking is a big part of this game, the voice acting had to be done well to make sure that you don’t give up on such an important part of the game. And thankfully, all the characters sound emotional and realistic. Sound effects are also spot on, especially with all the realistic ride noises. One part of the game that was surprisingly good was the music. Although there is some popular music thrown in there for good measure, most of the songs you hear while wandering around Thrillville are original compositions just for the game, and they actually sound pretty good. I actually looked up some of the people responsible for these tunes, and although they were all completely unknown to me, I have to give credit where it’s due. These songs were pretty awesome.

Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised by Thrillville: Off the Rails. Sure it’s a family-oriented game, but it was so fun that its kid-friendly nature did not hinder it in the slightest from being fun for gamers of all ages. And any comparison between this game and the classic Roller Coaster Tycoon are unfair because the games have completely different focuses. I can honestly say that I appreciate both games, for taking a simple idea and approaching it in two different ways. And while I will always have a special place in my heart for the constructive approach (and destructive possibilities) of Roller Coaster Tycoon, I think Thrillville: Off the Rails has also earned a special place for its innovative approach to the rollercoaster game.

Features:

  • Visit 15 themed areas, like Battleville, Winterville, Spaceville, and Aeroville, all spread throughout five new parks.
  • Distinguish your rides even more with enhanced customization options. Attach animatronics, flowers, and flaming hoops to all of your coasters and rides.
  • Smarter guests, better dialogue, and more focused two-way conversation make Thrillville’s socialization aspects even more amusing than before.
  • Conversation more directly impacts the story than in the original Thrillville.

    4.1

    Overall Rating Great
    Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

    Rating out of 5 Rating Description

    4.3

    Graphics
    Very nice to look at. Coaster graphics are especially impressive.

    3.7

    Control
    Pretty good, but functionality is a little weird during the coaster-making.

    4.5

    Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
    Original music, voice acting, and sound effects are all very well done.

    4.0

    Play Value
    There’s so much to do, from building roller coasters to chatting up random strangers, not to mention all those minigames! This one will have you playing for quite some time.

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