14 DAY TRIAL // Atari this week unleashed RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 on iOS with much fanfare, promising a delightful experience based on the fan-favorite RollerCoaster Tycoon franchise from PC. Sadly, many of those who plucked their $2.99 / €2.49 are expressing immense frustration with the game.
“Create and share the amusement park of your dreams and construct incredible roller coasters and rides to keep your visitors happy. Create the best park, unlock new materials, and exchange coaster blueprints with friends online to become the ultimate RollerCoaster Tycoon,” reads the description.
In exchange for your $2.99 / €2.49 and some additional in-app purchases, the features list says you get 20 pre-designed coasters, a slew of other park attractions, the ability to build your own “electrifying rides and create the ultimate amusement park,” and basically everything else that made the PC version of the game an instant hit with the public.
Avid fans of the franchise decided to take the plunge and get the mobile version on their iPhones and iPads. Sadly, for many of these people, the game had few benefits to offer.
User Jake92691 disappointingly writes his review on iTunes: “This is not the roller coaster tycoon that we all know and love. It’s a terrible freemium game that is nothing like the original franchise. I would pay more money for a version that remains true to its roots. Don’t buy this.”
It’s hardly even a freemium game, since it costs money both to download and to get additional features, something that makes you feel like the developer has tricked you. Something that user Ddrplaya seems to echo in his own review of the RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 Mobile:
“Nothing like paying for a freemium game,” this person writes. “I love rct but this is not rct. This is just a cheap shot at making money, way to disappoint your fans.”
Others have a bit of praise for the graphics and the gameplay experience in general, but still complain about a lot of features, such as the annoying background music.
Some downloaded the game without looking at the requirements and ended up with an unusable app icon on their Home screens, like lason1864: “Hopefully, the developers will allow it to work on 1st gen iPads! The app installs but will not run!”
With more 1-star reviews than any other rating given to this game, and by looking at the harsh comments from players, it becomes pretty obvious that RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 Mobile is not exactly the must-have title Atari had promised. Which wouldn’t be so disappointing had Atari not been a pioneer of computer gaming.