Sim Theme Park is yet another game that has been so smoothly interfaced to the Mac setting that I wouldn't know from playing it if the game was developed for a Mac or PC. It's one that my kids (ages 10 and 7) have enjoyed playing, and easy to learn. While I didn't find it challenging enough to hold my interest for long, it is fun playing around with the variety of things you can do in the game, and something my kids very much enjoy.
You can play the game in two different modes, Instant Action Mode or Full Simulation Mode. In Full Simulation, you are playing toward a goal of earning keys. You must earn golden keys in order to unlock new theme parks. There are four parks in Full Simulation mode, but only two require just a single key: the Lost Kingdom and Halloween World. Wonder Land and Space Zone require you to collect multiple keys before you can unlock the gates to them, so you have a goal to work toward in while playing in full simulation mode.
I spent most of my play time in the Instant Action Mode, because I found it easier to learn the game that way. Research happens automatically in Instant Action, and rides can't be upgraded, but otherwise I haven't noticed differences between playing in this mode and the other. Spending a few hours playing around in the Lost Kingdom has allowed me to figure out how changes I make in the park affect the guests' enjoyment of the park, as well as how to manage my employees. And I must say that it isn't always easy to make everyone happy and balance the available funds at the same time. Just figuring out what visitors need in a park - such as how many bathrooms in a given area compared to how many drink and food stands - took some time. Reading the manual before I started playing would have helped me avoid some of the errors I made, but it was also fun to learn from my own mistakes.
In the Full Simulation Mode you earn golden tickets by having guests reach a certain happiness level, or having a certain number of guests come to the park. Golden tickets allow you to purchase new "mystery rides," which increase the popularity of your park. You also can research new rides and attractions in full simulation mode. Because there are more things to keep track of, I felt busier when playing in full simulation mode than I did in instant action mode, and it was harder to turn a profit as well. It did take quite a while to earn enough tickets to earn my first key (for every 3 tickets you earn, you get another key), and since it took 5 keys to open Space Zone, I never did play enough to unlock this particular theme park. I also haven't yet spent enough time playing to earn a challenge from the Advisor. The Advisor is a little pop-up guy who helps you out along the way by explaining what each window does, offers hints and tips as you play the game, and rewards you for a job well done. You can turn off the tutorial part of the advisor once you feel comfortable with the game, and even turn off the advisor itself if you want to, though the messages still appear as text messages on the side of the screen.
Note: There is an online feature built in to the game, but because of the limitations I've set for internet connection on our Mac-mini, we're unable to use this feature. According to the game manual, by going online you can publish parks you've created and share them with others, chat with others about the game, download new rides for your parks, and subscribe to a newsletter.
The game is much more complex than I thought it would be upon first hearing about it, but it is another one of those games where I wish I could speed up time so that the action keeps moving. I get bored easily once I've gotten a park running smoothly, while I'm just waiting for time to pass so I can earn new rewards, or wait until a problem comes up. I suspect this is why the game doesn't hold my attention as well as it has held my kids'. They seem to enjoy just playing around with spending the money they are given, creating strange designs in their park, and seeing just how big of a park they can make, for example, much more than I do. I'm more goal oriented than that, so I play to win more than just have fun. This isn't at all a flaw with the game design, though. It just means that I tend to play until I've created a park that is self sustaining and making a profit, then go and do something else rather than spending hours at a time playing the way my kids would if I let them. We've had no problems at all playing it on our Mac-mini, even with just a one button mouse, so it is a great game that I can just let my kids play
I’ve played computer games since college, addicted first to story type games like Might and Magic. I have 3 children who also love computer games. My oldest son is a typical kid who loves the challenge of pressing the right combination of buttons and levers on a joystick in just the right way to make something happens, and frequently gets frustrated with mom’s slow fingers. ;) We use computers for both education and entertainment, and sometimes even bribery for good behavior.
The “glory days” of computer gaming for me were when games like Spectre Supreme, Pirate’s Gold, the Might and Magic series, the original Prince of Persia… those sorts of games were coming out on a regular basis. Back then I owned a Macintosh and was a die hard Mac fan. I was one of the first in my area to buy an iMac and on it learned the joy of playing games on the internet like daily crossword puzzle and “mind bender” type puzzles. My first online RPG was given to me for Christmas the year EQ was released, and I was hooked from day one. I played EQ for about a year. I started playing DaoC during late alpha testing, and was hooked on it.. well, to be honest I still am. I’ve tried pretty much every MMORPG I can get my hands on, from big names like EQ, to more obscure ones such as Underlight. I’ve been writing for IMGS since the first DaoC guide, and find I love the challenge of learning a game and presenting what I’ve learned (and sometimes my opinions), to other players.
I’m not a very strong player as far as learning PvE or quick reaction times, so I tend to stay away from games where I’m pitted against someone else in a way that requires physical (rather than mental) response. I still enjoy story and puzzle games, and in a way that’s how I still approach online games. I would much rather spend hours working through a quest than 5 minutes in combat against another player. I still get lost in simulation type games, obsessing over them until I’ve gotten them beaten. And I like being able to sit down at the computer when I’ve got less than half an hour and playing through a few levels of a puzzle game. I tend not to like first-person shooter type games, or anything with person to person violence, so I steer away from them unless they are fantasy based settings. All in all, I enjoy computer gaming so much that my life feels incomplete somehow when my computer is down.
