Whee.

My Coaster sim fix like many people began with Roller Coaster Tycoon on the PC. I finished nearly every stage and simply could not get enough of it. When I heard about Coaster Works for the Dreamcast I couldn't wait to get it. Unfortunately it couldn't wait for me to finish it and it was over in way too short of a time.

Gameplay
8/10
This is a hard catagory to rate because you don't really play anything. This game is NOT like Roller Coaster Tycoon where you constantly micromanage each little detail. Instead you design just a roller coaster, not a whole park. My rating then is based on two things, the ease of use of the interface and the fun that is to be had.

The interface while at first intimidating is quite good. The screen is divided into 4 views. Each view is basically just a 3D line image with no textures. It really likes like any random CAD (Computer Aided Design) program you'll see. Luckily, it is far less complicated.

The top left box shows the view from the front of the coaster. This view is useful for getting a sense of how titled your banks are and how sharp your turns are. The top right view is the one I found myself using most, it is an overhead view of the coaster. This view is relatively 2d with the only 3d images being the obstacles that are sometimes on the courses. This view is useful for making yoru coaster go where you way. It helps you stay within the boundaries. The bottom left view is a 2d view of the side of the coaster. I rarely used it as it did nothing but show your height.

In addition to the boxes there is overlayed a bunch of info about your coaster. You can see info on your height, horizontal angle, vertical angle, and degree of bank. With this info alone and the 2d overhead view you should be able to do just fine. There is an additional view which is basically a free floating 3D model of your coaster. You can move the camera around using the control stick to see it from whatever angle you choose. This angle is also useful but definitely isn't necessary.

Designing the coasters is pretty easy. In each stage you are given certain limits within which to work. In the first stage the maximum angle you can use is 40 degrees. This limits to creating a pretty basic coaster. Level 2 ups your limit to 80 and is really the first time you'll need to use banks. If you don't bank your turns the G force will be too high and your coaster will fail in testing.

Level 3 allows you to do full 360 degree twists and in my opinion is the most difficult level. The requirements for thrill and Gs are pretty high here and you don't get a lot of stuff to mess around with. The 4th level removes all your limits and gives you access to premade loops (you can actually use them earlier but you have to design them yourself). The final level (told you it was short) allows you to use everything from before and adds corkscrews. By the time you reach this level you'll have the game down and should be able to pass it in just a few tests.

After you finish that level you get access to the Dream area. It is a huge area with no limits whatsoever on angles, gravity, speed, nothing. You can build your coaster to run upside-down the whole time if you so choose. This is pretty fun and definitely adds some much needed replay value to the game. Trying to out-build your friends here could keep you entertained for a good week or so.

Sadly, thats the whole game right there. Rarely can I describe every level of a game in a review. This game is just too dang short. Its focus is way too limited as well. I wish I could do more than just build and test coasters. Still, the game is really fun and addicting for the time it takes to finish.

Graphics
7/10
The game looks great but there are some complaints. First of all the graphics are very plain. There are just basically big wide open parks. There is very little detail to speak of whatsoever. Still, the 3d views of the coaster as you watch the test is very cool. The graphics are smooth and the framerate is very high. The sight distance is also pretty good.

Sound
2/10
Never have I been some driven to turn the sound off of a game. When you are running the tests you hear nothing but simulated screams. Since level 3 took me about 20 tries to finally get the Gs right I heard approximately 47 trillion screams. It got quite annoying I'll have you know. Would it have been that hard to mix it up a bit?

Overall
6/10
If this game was integrated into Roller Coaster Tycoon we'd have a perfect game on our hands. My only complaint about Tycoon is the relatively basic coaster creation interface. My complaint about Works is the lack of extra features. So, I say put the 3d modeling of Works into the feature of Tycoon and you'll have a great game. Still, this game is pretty fun and it is quite cheap afterall.

Rent/buy?
Rent it first, you'll beat it and you can decide from there if you think you'll ever play it again. The game retails for $20 so its not like you're going to lose much by getting it. Still, there are other $20 games I'd get first (Project Justice and Mars Matrix jump to mind.) Still, the game is definitely worth playing at least once.