Up this week on the Playstation Store, you can grab the belated Devil May Cry 4 demo, disappointing Flashback sequel Fade to Black and the awesome Theme Hospital. At just £3.49 you can play this Bullfrog classic on your PS3 or send it to your PSP.
Theme Hospital has a strong taste of that eccentric, irreverent British humour; it’s a game about creating an efficiently run and cleverly designed hospital for maximum speed in processing, diagnosing and curing patients, where the patients suffer from Bloaty Head Syndrome, Slack Tongue, Hairyitis and an Elvis Complex.
The god-game side was created by some of the simulation genre greats and the hospital side was probably designed by Dr Sues.
Despite the small confines of a little hospital, especially in comparison to a Theme Park or an expansive Movie Studio, Theme Hospital packs more decisions and micromanagements into each medicinal building than some fully fledged god games; you’ve got to get the temperature of each room right, maximise seating for comfort and capacity, provide food and facilities for patients and pool tables for staff rooms. You’ve got to fix machines that break down, sort out rat infestations and, every now and again, prepare for an earthquake.
Theme Park is filled with buckets of imagination, a hypodermic injection of humour and a rat-shooting minigame (in the PC version at least). It’s needs a constant plane-spinner’s attention span and concentration level to keep your hospital running, your patients happy and the Grim Reaper at bay.
Bullfrog disbanded and went totally defunct in 2004 where Peter Molyneux and crew went on to Lionhead to make Black & White and Fable, three Bullfroggers went to Mucky Foot to design the brutally underrated Urban Chaos and some went on to make… Catwoman. Can’t win them all.
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I had this on PC a looooong time ago. Such a brilliant game.
Having the original Flashback on the Virtual Console is something that I’m very much looking forward to. Fade to Black in no substitute that’s for sure.
As for Theme Hospital, the PS1 version is really slow and hard to control with a regular controller so unless there’s some way to play it with a USB mouse i wouldn’t really recommend it.
BTW Mark, what Urban Chaos do you say is underrated? The 3rd person PC/PS1 action game with a black female lead or the more recent FPS with a ballistic shield one? I avoided the former at its time based on bad reviews (PS1) but I was a bit curious about the other at one point.
Who the hell is Dr. Sues?
I’m as-uming you’re referring to the author of ‘Green Eggs And Ham’ and the like.
Anyhoo, I always preferred ‘Theme Park’. And Another World > Flashback > Fade To Black
Oooshka:
Yeah, he used to write crazy children books, and I assume this is what he’d think goes on in a hospital.
Theme Park’s cool, but I hope you don’t think Another World is anything to do with Flashback!
Alochetano:
The GTA clone with Tomb Raider inspired Darcy Stern for PS1/PC was really awesome, If I remember correctly. Not sure about the new one, but I know it’s nothing to do with the PS1 game :P
This was damn better then the original Theme Park. Great graphics, sounds, music, and it all worked really well, and was more fun too.
Theme Park was paltry to this. I still have it – I played it last year, in fact. I might have to complete it some day – the last few hospitals are so huge!
And rat shooting minigame is totally FTW!
In a testament to the game’s awesomeness and intricate nature, there are full guides to the later levels, complete with colour coded maps and all!
Great fun.
Wow! I love this on PC and now on PS3. Must download…
I love the little details like heating etc.
Woot! Must play now….
The graphics are very good and improved and bmuch better than the first theme park. Awesome game
@McBacon
I know Another World has no direct link to FTB and Flashback but I think you could call them ’spiritual successors’.
You guys need a proof-reader. Sorry. You just do.
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