Rollercoaster Tycoon 3

To date, the Rollercoaster Tycoon series of games has been immensely popular, held in high regard by both strategy fans and coaster enthusiasts alike. There are few other games like it, and so the option to build and run your own theme park was well received. The only thing lacking in these games was the opportunity to ride them, in a virtual sense of course. But with the series finally approaching the age of 3D gaming, all that has changed.

Despite its vast change in appearance, the premise behind RCT 3 remains the same as its predecessors. Given a substantial amount of cash, players must, as park manager, turn a baron piece of land into a bustling and profitable theme park in order to fulfil the criteria of a given scenario. Early stages will see players purchasing and installing small fairground rides to maintain a working profit that will hopefully bring in the cash needed to expand further. Once the ball is rolling, your income will accommodate bigger attractions and custom rollercoasters that, in turn, will boost the popularity of your park and turn over even greater profits.

Efficient use of the land given to you is vital for maximising turn over, but you'll also have to employ engineers to keep your attractions safe, cleaners and gardeners to maintain an attractive park and even entertainers to prevent boredom. Food stalls, toilets, benches and litter bins are all crucial to maintaining a healthy balance in your park - the best advice we can give is to look out for your customers and listen to any feedback they offer.

The second and perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of RCT 3 is the player's freedom to create and build their own rollercoasters as they see fit. Now presented in full 3D, would-be theme park managers can now construct any number of wooden, steel, inverted, vertical, launched, flying and 4D coasters and even try them out via a front seat view. Design has thankfully been kept simple, negating the need for a tutorial, and the game's new 3D perspective helps players to overcome the visual obstructions that plagued the earlier games.

And that's about it. With all of the above, free design options, a massive collection of scenarios and a sizeable library of pre-designed coasters, Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, like it set out be, is the best in the series and among the finest in the genre.