The RollerCoaster Tycoon franchise holds a special place in many gamers' hearts, and most can recall a time where they spent countless hours building up parks in one way or another. Now that RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition is available, players may be wondering whether or not it's worth diving back into. Though the game itself may not have changed much, those playing it and the gaming industry have changed drastically, and this has a greater effect than one might realize at first. Even so, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition is packed full with content and has something for everyone to enjoy.

For those that may not be as familiar with the franchise, RollerCoaster Tycoon places players in charge of an amusement park, tasking them with managing and growing it to the best of their ability. Throughout the course of the game, players will grow from an idealistic entrepreneur with a plot of land to a tycoon with a theme park that could rival Disney World. Of course, this takes time and effort, and things can get complicated rather quickly depending on how deep players want to go into RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition's many different systems.

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Ultimately, most players will have one of two experiences. Veteran RollerCoaster Tycoon players will probably find the game to be an extremely nostalgic experience, and will relish the chance to dive headfirst into everything that the complete edition has to offer. With a basic understanding of the game's mechanics ahead of time, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition is a seemingly endless supply of fun and entertainment. And given that the Complete Edition includes both expansions as well, returning players may even find something new to explore by creating water parks and safaris.

Unfortunately, new players will probably have a much different experience, as things can be very overwhelming when trying to learn the concepts necessary to run a successful park. When players are just starting the game, especially if this is their first experience with RollerCoaster Tycoon as a franchise, there is so much to learn that playing the earliest levels in Career Mode can seem daunting, and playing the Sandbox Mode might feel like a waste of time.

Even the tutorial level can be difficult for new players, as managing money, guests, and employees is a lot to take on. What's more, though the game is full of helpful tutorials that teach players the basics, there are so many in quick succession that it is easy to forget information or simply feel the urge to skip past walls of text and get into the gameplay. Unfortunately, doing so will leave the player vastly unprepared and unable to perform more advanced tasks such as building custom roller coasters and fine-tuning their park experience.

What this boils down to is a game with a very steep learning curve. Many new players may find themselves getting bored slogging through the countless help pop-ups and monotony of learning how to play the game and abandon it before it really kicks off. In truth, though, this is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it's unfortunate that RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition is so hard to pick up for new players, but those that put the time and effort into learning its nuances will find a very rewarding experience. Between the already expansive Career Mode, both of the included DLC packs, and the endlessly enjoyable Sandbox Mode, players will almost never run out of things to do. The Complete Edition includes the Soaked! expansion pack, which introduces water slides, pools, and a host of new Career Mode missions, and the Wild! expansion pack, which adds animals, safaris, and yet more Career Mode levels.

The creative aspects of building a custom roller coaster or water slide is also a huge draw, as nearly anything is possible with the tools given to the player. This benefit is somewhat hindered by the frustrating controls, however. Though the PC version controls are likely much more intuitive, the Nintendo Switch controls can be very difficult to grapple with at times. Players will often find themselves struggling with the view and selecting certain tiles or objects. This aspect alone is a major letdown, as the learning curve might not be so steep if the game simply had more intuitive controls. Instead, more time is spent trying to remember what button does what than actually building roller coasters.

Players that are able to look past these flaws will still find enjoyment in RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition, whether that comes from the complexities of managing many different moving parts or the simple joy gained by meticulously crafting death traps for park guests. The game truly shines in its sandbox mode, which allows players free reign to build whatever they want without worrying about money, objectives, or restrictions that are in place by Career Mode. Certain things are still locked out until the player completes the career mode, however, so those wanting all the options should keep that in mind.

Overall, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition is in no way a bad experience, but it isn't a particularly great one either. Though veteran players may find great joy in returning to this classic, new players will probably have a completely different experience. The game's expansive Career Mode and in-depth mechanics are undermined by its failure to teach players and the overly complicated control scheme. Players should consider getting RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition only if they are veterans to the franchise, enjoy resource management in gaming, or are newcomers that have a desire to put in the time to learn and understand the game. That said, it is free on the Epic Games Store for the first week after its release, so uncertain fans may want to try it out there.

RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition is available now on PC and Switch. Game Rant was provided a Switch code for this review.

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