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How a game called Thrillville can be so dull is a question for the ages. Then again, nobody really plays simulators for their nail-biting intensity. The build-and-tend experience is a Zen undertaking that many gamers find boring. Those looking for a rush might think that the game's first-person rides and action games might bring at least a little adrenaline to the table. No dice. Thrillville takes experiences as visceral and heady as pulling multiple Gs on a roller coaster, racing go-carts and gorging on elephant ears and makes them feel numbing. 

Making the Magic

Thrillville the theme park is the brainchild of your Uncle Mortimer. He's a wacky inventor type who looks and acts, creatively enough, just like Doc Brown from Back to the Future. It seems that while he was busy cooking up new rocket fuels and ways to fit more zeros in the price of a soft drink his tourist traps fell into a state of disrepair. Your job, as a gifted roller coaster designer, is to take the reigns of his empire. Strangely, a lot of your day-to-day chores amount to sampling roller coasters and playing games. As if the only skill a McDonald's manager needs is the ability to eat a McRib. There is a bit of maintenance and employee training to be done and these are easily the most intriguing part of Thrillville. Blue collar tasks such as barf cleaning and electronics repair turn out to be the most fun for their modesty.

Carnie Culture

Your uncle might be crazy, but he's not that crazy. Thrillville won't let you build a park from the ground up. No, the geography of the place and all the major eye candy is set in stone. You get to place rides, erect roller coasters in pre-ordained locations and pepper the landscape with concession stands. This alone leaves a bit of room for customization, but nowhere near enough freedom to scratch the creativity itch. Thrillville simply hems players in too much to make them feel like they're really making something. Not much solace is found in the games either. Most are clones of proven genres. There's a first person shooter, an R.C. Pro-Am-flavored racer and a space game that bites R-Type. A handful of these might be fun for a couple minutes as party games, but if you have any desire to keep your friends bust out Guitar Hero II.

Tragic Kingdom

Jim Baker's Christian themed destination Heritage USA has been closed for 20 years and it's more interesting than Thrillville. There's just not enough to juggle in this low impact virtual theme park to keep sim junkies mesmerized. Roller coaster crafting is way too dumbed down to make the process feel like creation. And though you can pretty much tackle your park's problems however you want, a series of quests makes warping to trouble-spots a little too easy. As a sort of consolation prize Thrillville throws in a midway's worth of mini-games to make up for its yawn-inducing core play. Think we could just have the stuffed gorilla?

Article by: Gus Mastrapa
Video produced by: Jonathan Solin