Publisher: Disney Interactive, www.disneyinteractive.com
Ages: eight and up.
Parental Advisory: None
While Infograme's strategic Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 has you building and managing amusement parks, Disney Interactive's Ultimate Ride Disney Coaster lets you design and then "ride" simulated roller coasters. Disney keeps coming back to this concept. It started with an interactive exhibit at the company's EPCOT park in Florida almost twenty years ago, and Disney released an earlier computer game with a similar theme some ten years ago.
Last year, the company released Ultimate Ride, which has evolved into the the latest, Ultimate Ride Disney Coaster. The twist here is that you can build and ride Disney-themed 3D coasters using Disney backdrops and props. It's generally a fun mix and a creative endeavor, especially for Disney fans. But the title appeals most to those who enjoy building things.
The game serves virtual Disney settings such as Toontown, Frontierland, Tomorrowland and Main Street and lets you customize coasters with some 60 props that are based on actual rides, buildings, streets and landscapes in Disney parks. You can also enhance coasters with triggers, which activate sound effects and animations such as fireworks.
Ultimate Ride Disney Coaster lets you virtually "ride" the coasters that you design. Here the game offers a first-person roller coaster view-just as if you're riding a steely beast-and applies ride physics with realistic gravity, accelerations, and momentum. A panel of Disney characters, including Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy and Pluto serve as judges and provide you with feedback.
An Imagineering Mission Mode offers 15 objective-based coasters and ask you to meet requirements established by Disney ride designers. Assignments here include an emphasis on storytelling or recreating Disney attractions with a twist, such as Space Mountain with the lights turned on. If you simply want to build coasters without constraints, a Free Form Building Mode lets you do so.
Ultimate Ride Disney Coaster looks great and offers lots of possibilities. But as a game, it's somewhat limited. For those with engineering mentalities, Ultimate Ride can be a blast. But for many others, once you've designed and ridden a few coasters, it's "been there, done that." But at a reasonable list price of $19.99, the title is worth a look and ride.
01/09/2003 www.daytrum.com Editorial Staff
pc - Ultimate Ride Disney Coaster
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