so you wanna be a tycoon?
Well, I do.
I'm looking for a new game to buy (because I just have so much free time on my hands to play games..). I'm interested in a sim/tycoon type game. I love Roller Coaster Tycoon, to give you an idea of what I'm looking for. And I'm much better at managing things than people, so I don't want to play any of the Sims games (been there, done that, tortured my Sims to death for the hell of it). So I'm looking at games like Mall Tycoon. maybe Zoo Tycoon (maybe managing animals is easier than managing people? Is there a "animals go on wild rampage and take over the world" option?)..I like to know that if I buy a game and get bored with it, there's always the option for mayhem. Like locking your Sim in a makeshift closet until he pees all over the floor and then dies from starvation in a pool of his own urine, or making the roller coaster users puke all over each other. But most of all, I just want entertaining game play and the ability to have some control over people/places/things to make up for my sad lack of control in my own life.
Any suggestions?
Comments
Michele - ever tried any of the sim city games ? Very cool. You can probably pick up SC 4 fairly cheap at this point. Lots of tycoon-ish fun.
And you can always cause earthquakes and alien attacks if you get bored.
Posted by: sherard | February 28, 2005 07:38 AM
Try "Locomotion" by Chris Sawyer. It's the updated version of Transport Tycoon. It uses the same interface as the Roller Coaster Tycoon series, so it would be easy to pick up and play without having to wade through too many instructions.
Posted by: JohnO | February 28, 2005 07:56 AM
If you never played it, Rise Of Nations is awesome. I play at least once a week.
Posted by: JimK | February 28, 2005 08:39 AM
We've always got room for another baseball team owner...
Posted by: Solonor | February 28, 2005 08:57 AM
Populous.
Seriously tho, I would recommend Rise of Nations or Sim City 4 to fill any God complex needs.
Posted by: Zoloft | February 28, 2005 09:09 AM
Monopoly Tycoon. Very fun. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite have the opportunities for sadism you describe. Or multiplayer, natch. But still fun.
Posted by: dorkafork | February 28, 2005 09:11 AM
sim city 4 is awesome. definately try that one. my sister is all about some zoo tycoon....she adores that game. considering that it's relatively cheap, you might as well check it out.
Posted by: tiffany | February 28, 2005 09:25 AM
Well if you have a sadistic bent and would enjoy destroying other people with your army of recently aquired minions I would suggest Dungeon Keeper 2 (A little old, but an amazing game where you are basically the master of hell destroying "good" people) or Evil Genius (much newer, prettier graphics, less cool, but you are a criminal mastermind). These things combine sim games with fighting games, I like DK2 because if you torture your people they like you more. Also DK2 is so old you could probably get it for like 10 bucks somewhere.
But that's if you're interested in doing more than just building things obviously.
Posted by: Shinobi | February 28, 2005 09:59 AM
You have to be careful, because there are a lot of ass tycoon games out there. (And by that I mean bad games, not ones where you actually control ass). Check www.gamespot.com for good reviews. The consistently good series are Railroad Tycoon and Roller Coaster Tycoon, and of course Sim City 4 which I think is the most addictive.
Rise of Nations is a real time strategy game, and unless you like clicking frantically to keep enemy forces at bay as they attack you, you will hate it. I like RTS games, but Rise of Nations is combat based, not a "sim/tycoon" experience.
You might also look at an old game called "Black and White" where you control a giant animal that is a god to the villagers and use that to develop a civilization.
Posted by: Pauly | February 28, 2005 09:59 AM
I've played Black and White before, and loved it.
I also don't want to control armies and shit - I just want to build, for the most part and deal with humans less extensively than things.
Posted by: michele | February 28, 2005 10:07 AM
"... I like DK2 because if you torture your people they like you more."
LOL. That just makes me giggle, for some reason.
Posted by: Trish | February 28, 2005 10:15 AM
SimCity 4 is a good choice, especially with the Rush Hour expansion pack - it adds tons of "U-Drive-It" missions that let you do evil things (like taking a tank or attack helicopter to parts of your town) for bonus money or other perks.
Rise of Nations is good and all, but there're no "tired of this game" mayhem possibilities.
Zoo Tycoon isn't bad, but for me it lost its shine a little too soon. I've only played the first; can't speak to the sequel. However, the first should be reasonably cheap now, and it is fun to unleash lions and tigers and bears and tyrannosauri on your unsuspecting clientele. (insert sadistic laugh)
Posted by: Keiran Halcyon | February 28, 2005 10:38 AM
And, oh, yeah - nobody's mentioned some of the best fun in SimCity 4 yet: build a beautiful burgeoning metropolis with millions of inhabitants - and destroy it with meteors and giant robots. Sure, earthquakes are fun, but they just can't match the satisfaction of annihilating society with an intentional nuclear meltdown or firestorm.
Posted by: Keiran Halcyon | February 28, 2005 10:42 AM
Populous was my fave 80's game......but it's not what you are looking for.
How about a good game of Spider?
Posted by: Easycure | February 28, 2005 10:57 AM
If you like business, and building industrial empires, Railroad Tycoon 3 is great. Although there's not much sadism action to be found.
Posted by: Jonathan | February 28, 2005 11:23 AM
So...ya wanna destroy stuff? Getting tired of dealing with people? Three words for ya...
Grand.
Theft.
Auto.
Combines the best of both worlds! Cause mayhem AND kill the people that bother you. Hook yerself up with a few cheats and WHoa boy...hours and hours of wholesale slaughtering goodness.
Posted by: Wayne Fielder | February 28, 2005 11:53 AM
Ho's n Niggaz Tycoon Pimp Bitch is great, specially with 17 types of blingmobile
Posted by: g | February 28, 2005 12:34 PM
If you want really really bad, try "Mall of America Tycoon".
Really. It looks really tortuously bad.
I haven't played any sim games since Roller Coaster Tycoon 2, so I don't have any good suggestions. My game playing of late has been Half Life 2 and Ratchet & Clank.
Posted by: Keith | February 28, 2005 12:39 PM
You know, if you're considering other genres, I'd highly recommend Knights of the Old Republic. The first one should still be available at your local Wal-mart or Target for cheap, and it has some very rewarding moments. Sometimes you just gotta Force Choke somebody, y'know?
Posted by: Keiran Halcyon | February 28, 2005 01:09 PM
I'm not sure what new game, but you mentioned Rollercoaster Tycoon.. #2 was good, too.. never played 3, though.
Wasn't it a ball to pick up the characters (and the people), drop them in the water and watch them drown??
better yet, designing rollercoasters that blew up and killed 30+ people at a time... body count, baby!!!
Posted by: Jim S | February 28, 2005 01:27 PM
Mall Tycoon sounds like it has potential for control and mayhem
Control by proxy over all those kinds of self-centered moronic people who make your life hell everytime you step into a mall.. You know those kind of people...might even be therapeutic.
Posted by: Angel | February 28, 2005 02:38 PM
If you are looking for a little sadism with your real-time strategy games, there is a whole host of Tycoon-like games that are adapted to the warfare context.
The Total War franchise is much loved, and the newest incarnation is based on the ancient Romans, and is very highly rated. There's even Battle for Middle Earth -- the same game adapted for Tolkien fans.
The economics of warfare are key, not the tactical hand-to-hand stuff. It's all about the strategy, and you win or lose on your allocation of resources such as cash, farming, weapon-building, training, etc.
I plan to use these mad skillz to take over the world in a couple of years, so if you want a piece of the action, you ought to start playing now.
Posted by: George at Snapshot | February 28, 2005 03:59 PM
Someone suggested Locomotion, as the "sequel" to Transport Tycoon. Really, Transport Tycoon or Transport Tycoon Deluxe are far better games than Locomotion. The ease of use is much greater (just for laying down tracks). And it's not like they improved the graphics in the 5 year period. And if you want to get destructive...you can always stop your train on the road...and build another train and have it destroy your competitor's trucks! Wooo What fun!
But for something that you can be really destructive at, I guess SimCity 4 might be better. The time invested into getting a city running in SC4 can be quite long though.
FWIW, if you want to know more about Transport Tycoon or Transport Tycoon Deluxe http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=1631 is a great place to start.
Rise of Nations does have Nuclear weapons though...for when you get tired of it, but that's more of a C&C type game than a Tycoon or SC game.
Posted by: Joel B | February 28, 2005 04:01 PM
Michele, Zoo Tycoon is the way to go. Especially if you get the one that has the 2 expansion packs included. My typical games go like this.
- Build a thriving zoo.
- Nurture my animals and keep them happy so they will have babies.
- Let the visitors get used to a pleasant zoo experience
- Laugh maniacally as I remove a section of the lions/T-Rex fencing and watch the zoo visitors run screaming as they are chased down and mauled. (no really, you can actually do this)
Posted by: Tim | February 28, 2005 05:38 PM
Now that's what I'm talking about!
Posted by: michele | February 28, 2005 05:40 PM
Ha, Tim beat me to it. I have to agree with him about Zoo Tycoon. I especially like that you can name guests things like Alfred H and have all of your visitors attacked by birds. The shrieking and ensuing mayhem is priceless.
I prefer to have the animals do well and the people die. I'm still trying to get over the polar bear/penguin incident.
Posted by: SharonO | February 28, 2005 09:36 PM
There's a sim game of politics where you pick a candidate and tour the country and try to get him elected president
I don't remember what it's called, and probably isn't fun anyway, but is a weird little thing I thought you might wanna know
Posted by: CriscoBoy | March 1, 2005 11:13 AM
I played a game similar to that on my C64, Crisco.
Posted by: michele | March 1, 2005 12:19 PM
Evil Genius is the game I am now addicted to.
-Build base in a mountain on an island
-choose from three evil different megalomaniacs
-Build traps to kill/confuse pesky secret agents/tourist
-interrogate anyone, including your own defecting minions, using an industrial mixer or other things (humorous, not gory)
-send minions all over the world to steal/plot/or cause mayhem
-great sense of humor
-no micro managing your forces, just tag items with what you want done, someone will carry out your orders
-have evil scientists research and create new devices and traps
-World Domination, but if you want to think small, the Tycoon games are just fine…
Posted by: dark_indy | March 1, 2005 01:20 PM
The politics game above is "The Political Machine". It's not bad, but overly simplistic and more like a board game than a real strategy sim.
Posted by: KBG | March 1, 2005 04:46 PM