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Value
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| | Genre: Simulation | | Min OS X: 10.5  CPU: Intel @ 1800 MHz RAM: 512 MB Hard Disk: 1500 MB DVD-ROM Graphics: 800x600 @ 32-bit, 128 MB VRAM |
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Final impressions All in all, RCT3 is a great game and a terrifically open-ended simulation. It always was a relatively demanding piece of software, and it's certainly possible for it to become fairly sluggish in large and complex parks. Nevertheless, for the most part it performs pretty well on modern hardware. I can certainly tell the difference between my current 2008-vintage 2.8GHz Mac Pro and the 2.5GHz PowerMac G5 on which I reviewed the original game: it's a whole lot more playable on my current machine, and some of the biggest third-party scenarios are usable now, where they bordered on unplayable before. Loading times still seem relatively slow for complex parks, but at least there's now a more meaningful progress indicator!It's the graphics of the game that have aged least well; and even with those, there are mitigating factors. As noted above, I was disappointed that the advanced rendering options (and even the anti-aliasing) failed to work on my nVidia 8800 GT; given that this was the standard graphics card fitted to Apple's pro-level machine only a couple of years ago, and considering that RCT3 Platinum predates that machine by a couple more years, it's pretty amazing that the graphics aren't perfect in all their most advanced possibilities on this card. Leaving that aside, the detail level of peeps and animals is really pretty low, and supposedly curved objects are very obviously made of flat segments. Notwithstanding those disappointments, however, overall I feel that RCT3 Platinum's graphics do still stand up quite well. There's enough detail overall to provide an immersive experience if not a photo-realistic one, there are some really nice atmospheric and lighting effects, and overall the game looks great. A final negative point about the graphics is the range of resolutions supported. I complained about this with the original, and the complaint stands. On my Apple monitor, which has a native resolution of 1920×1200, the maximum resolution I can use in full-screen mode is 1600×1200, so I'm stuck with black bars at the sides. If opting to play in windowed mode, the largest resolution I can use is 1280×1024. Why not 1600×1000? That's my favourite resolution for playing games in windows. Lack of full-screen support for the native resolution of my monitor is the biggest disappointment, though. Overall, I can't say anything different about RCT3 Platinum than I said about RCT3 five years ago, because it's the same game but with more content. In other words: this is a fantastic game, and if you like simulation games or strategy games, or you just enjoy funfair rides, you really should invest in a copy. If you have RCT3 already, then whether to upgrade depends entirely on how much you enjoy the game. The Platinum edition adds almost nothing in terms of gameplay; there are a few minor additions (such as the need to hunt down escaped animals in some scenarios, and keepers to look after animals and pools), but fundamentally the game is exactly the same. What there is is a great deal more of it, both in terms of resource content (rides, scenery etc.) and campaigns to play. Plus, of course, you'll gain compatibility with third-party additions (the ones that don't crash the game, that is!). If you're a fan of the original, I'd say that there's absolutely no question that you should invest in a copy of Platinum. The only reason not to upgrade is if you still have a PowerPC Mac, because this new version is Intel-only. Aside from that, Platinum is better in every way. My one and only personal bugbear is that the game insists that you insert the DVD into the drive before it will launch. In these days of digital downloads and increasing emphasis on laptops without optical drives, such draconian copy-protection is even less welcome than it was five years ago. I personally find the need to insert a disc a major detriment that often deters me from playing a particular game, especially if its disc isn't to hand. Aspyr has recently started putting some of its games on the Mac App Store, and I very much hope to see RCT3 Platinum joining that elite band before the year is much older. An open-ended strategy game like this, with which you might spend countless hours, is precisely the sort of game that you need to be able to launch at will, without worrying about the location of an optical disc. Having to insert one is much worse with a game like this, which has endless replayability, than with a game that you play through from start to finish and then put away, like a typical single-player FPS. Availability on the Mac App Store would liberate RCT3 Platinum from what's currently a significant drawback. However, don't let that drawback put you off buying the game. The Mac App Store, with its low-key copy protection, is clearly spoiling me, because most big-name games have had disc-based protection for years, and this will presumably continue to be the case for some time to come. The bottom line is that if strategy or simulation games are your thing, RCT3 Platinum is a premium example of the genre, and something you should buy without hesitation. The two expansions add a huge amount of value to an already content-packed game, and I have no hesitation in awarding the game full marks in the 'Value' stakes. Very strongly recommended. Pros • Fantastic value
• Potentially endless playability
• Lots of new in-game resource types
• Compatibility with huge quantities of third party resources
• All the good features of the original game, but more of them
• Small functionality enhancements over the original game
• Works better on modern hardware than the original did in 2006Cons • DVD must be in the drive to play
• CoasterCam glitches are still evident
• Occasional crashes with third party content
• Many enhanced rendering effects incompatible with stock 8800 GT graphics card
• Still a limited choice of screen resolutions; the now-common 1920×1200 is not supported
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