Been on holiday visiting relatives (and now have the most fabulous tan!) ;o)
Will be (slowly) ca...
Been on holiday visiting relatives (and now have the most fabulous tan!) ;o)
Will be (slowly) catching up on reads/rates!
Member since:30.10.2002
Reviews:16
Members who trust:21
You know what they say about people who play management/sim games… they feel the need to control something; as their own life is so chaotic and beyond their control. Well, I don’t believe that my life (despite moving home!) is too chaotic at the moment – but I do love to be in control!!! Actually, my excuse for gaming is that it’s a welcome break from actually doing any real work (perish the thought!) – and this game is my latest distraction!
I have owned this game a couple of times before – once on the PC (when it was first released – when my computer was too slow to cope with the higher levels!); and once on the Sony Playstation. I never did get around to completing it… and now that I have a real ‘kick-ass’ computer, I feel as though I should give it another try. The fact that the game was on special offer also helped – it was £10.00 at my local Game store (or three games for £15.00 – which I took advantage of; making it a mere £5.00!!!).
Okay, enough of the rambling – let me give you a brief synopsis of what the game actually entails; what specification your computer will need; and why I think it is so fantastic!
First of all, let me tell you that the makers of the game are Electronic Arts (EA) and Bullfrog – the same people that brought us other classic management games such as the well-known Theme Park (also an excellent game – in its day!!!). Theme Hospital was originally released in 1997 (from what I can remember!); and for me, it still hasn’t lost any of its appeal – despite the vast range of games that are now on the market, which are much more involved and advanced than this humble offering.
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
Basically, you are the manager of a hospital and begin the game with a building and a set amount of cash – with this you must compete against three other hospitals (they really
aren’t much competition; so much so, that you sometimes forget they are even there!) and strive to become the most efficient hospital in the district. This is achieved by building rooms (GP office; Psychiatric Dept; Wards; Operating Theatres; etc.); employing staff (and keeping them happy!); furnishing the place (potted plants; benches; drinks machines) – and basically satisfying the every whim of Joe Public with all his/her crazy ailments!
The game progresses through a number of levels; which is good if you’re not used to it, as the various features are introduced gradually – therefore giving the player time to get used to each variation without being overwhelmed with too much to build too soon on in the game. For example, on the first level you are only able to build a small selection of rooms and the public’s ailments aren’t as diverse – whereas, after a few more levels you will see a greater variety of illnesses; and of course, you will also be equipped with a greater number of solutions to their problems. In time you will even construct your own ‘research department’ so that you can develop new equipment as a means of combating any new diseases that your doctors may have discovered.
As you get to the higher levels, you are given larger buildings to play with – and also the option of purchasing more land – and believe me, you’ll need it… it’s surprising how quickly a couple of wards and an operating theatre can fill up your space; leaving you nowhere to put your staff-room or the toilets!
At the end of the day, it’s a management simulator – and that’s what it’s all about; macro and micro management. It’s all very well building an attractive ‘well laid-out’ hospital, but will that be enough to succeed – in a word, no! The game becomes more involved as you try to balance the books whilst at the same time – keeping your staff happy; setting your prices for the various treatments; avoiding rat infestations (!); paying off that bank loan; pleasing the visiting VIPs; and dealing with the incoming ‘emergency patients’. If that wasn’t enough, you also have to maintain a reasonable reputation throughout the community so that sick individuals will come to your hospital instead of going to the competition!
Okay, it’s getting to sound a bit involved and complicated now – but when you’re playing the game, it’s amazing at how quickly you manage to pick things up (at least that’s how it was for me – although I’m used to playing these types of games!); and I’m sure you won’t have a problem either! The game is actually suitable (according to the box!) for three year olds & upwards – although I do feel that a lot of the game’s features (as well as the humour!) would be wasted on anyone less than ten years of age (then again, things have certainly changed since I was young!!!).
ARE THE GRAPHICS ANY GOOD?
Well, surprisingly enough… yes they are. I remember thinking that Theme Park was an excellent game; that is until I had a nostalgia trip and nearly p**sed myself laughing when I saw how basic it actually was. With Theme Hospital though, I do believe that it was very advanced upon its release and upon returning after those few years (when the gaming industry has become considerably more advanced with all its 3D effects and the like!), I still find it an absolute joy to play. From what I can remember though, with my ‘older’ computer I found that the whole game slowed down excessively as I reached the higher levels and it couldn’t cope with the graphics as they are quite detailed. The movement of the characters (doctors; nurses; patients; rats; etc.) is very fluid and despite so much movement occurring at any one time, the game should be commended upon the fact that nothing gets corrupted – I’ve known some games to go all funny because there was too much going on; like the computer would get confused over which graphics belonged to which character!
WHAT’S THE SOUND LIKE? IS IT ANNOYING?
This is probably one of the most complained about features – but certainly not by me! The game has a soundtrack (basic funky/bleeping music) of eight tunes which change as you play the game – it provides decent background noise that you don’t even notice until you turn it off! There are a couple of tracks out of the eight that do eventually begin to grate on my nerves – but the game has the option of disabling any or all of the tracks; so you can eliminate the crap ones and just have the less annoying ones playing.
Aside from the music, there are also sound effects from what’s actually happening inside the hospital – like the use of certain machinery, etc. – but these just add to the atmosphere and are far from annoying. In addition to this, the player is treated to a variety of tannoy announcements from the reception desk…
“Doctor needed in slack tongue clinic” “Warning - Incoming patients with Bloaty Head!”
Some are relevant and can actually be quite helpful in pointing out where your staff should be when they are not in their rooms. Other announcements are just thrown in for amusements sake – as some of the outbursts can be quite comical!
ANYTHING THAT IS BAD ABOUT THE GAME?
Actually, I do have a small problem with the game – nothing too serious, and certainly nothing that would spoil any enjoyment; more of something missing, that would have made it even better than it already is. Basically, I don’t play these types of games to ‘win’ – I play because I like to organise and construct things that are attractive and efficient. Therefore, I’m not really that interested in progressing through levels so that I can have access to all items/equipment, etc. – I just want a huge space to build my dream hospital in! That is why I think the game should have included a ‘sandbox’ mode – an ‘open-play’ level with no targets or goals; just all available equipment for the player to mess about with. As this is missing, it looks as though I’ll just have to earn the right instead (!) by playing through to the final level – I’m sure it won’t be a disappointment!
Also, with the game being relegated to the ‘budget section’ – the instruction manual has also been taken from us and placed on the disc itself. Now this is fine for me, as I already know how to play it – but this can be really frustrating for people who want to read the manual as they experiment with the game. The only way this is possible is to print the damn thing out – wasting your own paper and ink (and time!); all because the companies can’t be arsed printing the manuals anymore (unless of course, it is supposed to be an environmental thing???).
SPECIFICATIONS?
According to the box, in order to run the game properly your computer needs to meet the following ‘system requirements’…
Windows 95, 98, or XP Intel Pentium 75 Mhz 16 MB free system RAM 55 MB hard drive space 4x CD-ROM drive
Bearing in mind that my ‘older’ computer was a great big pile of crap and it isn’t surprising that it had difficulty wit the game – it had problems using the desktop calculator! These days, even the cheapest of machines could probably ‘kick ass’ when it comes to these requirements – so you’ve got no excuses!!!
Thanks for reading – now bugger off and buy the damn game!!!
Drew - x -
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Theme Hospital's creators Bullfrog will always be synonymous with God sims--Theme ... more
Park,PopulousandDungeon Keeperbeing the cream of the crop--but this has got to be one of their quirkiest and most bizarre concepts so far.You are a hospital administrator...
Postage & Packaging: £1.94 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Bullfrog will always be synonymous with God Sims,Theme Park,PopulousandDungeon Keeperbeing ... more
the cream of the crop, but one of the quirkiest and most bizarre concepts has got to be their hospital management simTheme Hospital.You are a hospital administra...
Postage & Packaging: £1.94 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Dec 12th, 2002
exceptional by (2%):
very helpful by (98%):
