iPhone Review: Theme Park Madness
by Dave Pitchforth
Publisher/Developer: Movile
Genre: Rollercoaster simulator
Price: $2.99
Verdict: A poor rollercoaster simulation best played by people who enjoy being frustrated
Pros: Nice variety in the 18 tracks available, simple controls
Cons: Frustrating gameplay may make you want to throw your iPhone through a window
I have always loved theme parks. From the variety in rides, to the silly fairground style games, to the fun atmosphere that always seems to be there, they’re always fun places to be. So you can imagine how eager I was when I was offered the chance to review Theme Park Madness, expecting it to be perhaps something like Theme Park or Rollercoaster Tycoon, or a cut-down mobile version at least. Imagine my disappointment then when I found the game name to be rather misleading, having very little to do with theme parks as a whole, and instead having a whole lot to do with rollercoasters.
Theme Park Madness is a game with a really simple mission – get the rollercoaster car from one end of the track to the other, as fast as possible, and in one piece. This sounds quite easy in theory, but the reality can be very different. Controlled by either pressing the right side of the screen to speed up, or the left side of the screen to slow your car down, you have to traverse the various climbs, descents and loops without crashing your car and sending the passengers flying away in their parachutes.
The controls and idea of the game probably make it sound pretty simple, but each of the 18 tracks will offer you varying challenges. You’ll come up against multiple loops one after the other, nearly impossible climbs which require you to hit a high speed before you even attempt to climb them, as well as near vertical drops which will end your ride in a split-second if you approach it too fast. As you’ll find out, your car is not stuck to the track like glue, so if you hit the peak of a climb at speed, or go too fast over a drop, your car will leave the track and get some air time. This will be the reason why you’ll fail levels as often as you will. As you have to go at high speed to make it up some of the steeper climbs, you will undoubtedly find yourself leaving the track when you don’t need to, unintentionally taking a header into the track at the wrong angle and crashing. Jumping the track isn’t always a bad thing, as doing so and landing back down will score you some bonus points, and looks pretty cool in the process.
Not only do you have points to score, but trophies you can try and collect for each level. As you go fast around the rollercoaster, you’ll see trophies for things such as high speed, big jumps and going really fast around bends. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t help itself by not actually revealing what trophies are actually available, so you’ll need to figure them all out through playing the various levels.
Unfortunately though, the style of gameplay on offer here leads to the main problem with the game. Each level is fairly short and as you go through it will no doubt crash a few times. This inevitably turns each level into a memory challenge, knowing where you can go fast and get away with it, and where you need to slow down before a steep drop or high peak causes you to crash and restart the level. As the game is zoomed in pretty close to the car and the track you don’t get any real chance to look ahead, this means crashing in each level is a virtual certainty. This can lead to a lot of frustration with the game as you may think you’re doing great, only for a blind drop to appear and bring your attempt to an abrupt end. If only the camera was zoomed out a little more, or perhaps gave you an overview of the entire rollercoaster before each level, you’d feel more in control and much less likely to get frustrated when you crash.
As mentioned, the game features 18 different levels, each set in a different location, such as Paris, Japan, Brazil, Outer Space and more. Each level has its own unique look to it, themed after the location, and it’s pretty easy to tell where you are based on the backgrounds you can see as you travel the rollercoaster. The graphics for the car and rollercoaster itself are fairly basic but functional, they serve the purpose but not much more. The music falls into the same category – bland and uninspiring, without ever being offensive enough to annoy you and reach for the mute button.
Theme Park Madness unfortunately felt very much like a letdown when playing it. I like the idea of the game, trying to reach the end of a complex rollercoaster by controlling the speed of the car. Unfortunately, due to a viewpoint that’s a touch too close, passing most of the levels becomes an exercise in memory skills as you try to memorise all the points where you need to slow down to stop yourself becoming a stain on the rollercoaster. If they could change the viewpoint slightly, or include an overview of the coaster before you attempt each level, perhaps in a future update, I would feel much better about the game. As it stands though, for $2.99 there are much better games out there and I have difficulty recommending this to anyone.
