Having the skills to manage your park is just as important as the ability to design a ride. If you succeed at RCT, it's not just because you've designed a kick-ass rollercoaster. RCT is just as much a tycoon game as it is a theme park simulator. When comparing it to the original however, RCT 1 seems a lot more focused and coherent. If it seems unfair to eliminate a game because of such a minor flaw, it's because RCT 2 is otherwise an excellent game and very similar to RCT 1. This may be compounded by the fact I've only ever played the second game with both expansion packs installed, but to me it felt disjointed and unnecessary in comparison to the first game. There may have been 100 rollercoaster types, but 90 of them were just steel coasters with a different car design. RCT 2 has more variety in the different themes, rides, parks and buildings, but could at times get a bit overwhelming. The first and second games are very much alike, but they differ in a few ways. The rides and themes can be awesome, but it has never really approached the brilliance of the other two games. It was a theme park simulator, but it wasn't really a tycoon game. You could do it in Theme Park World, but while TPW was fun it just didn't have that same feeling that RCT 1+2 had. Being able to ride the rides was something I always wished I could do as I played RCT 1 as a kid. RCT3 modernised the RCT franchise and added some great new features. Personally I think the first RCT game is the best.įirst, I'll rule out the third.