New Thrillville details @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on August 04, 2006

News: LucasArts' theme park sim is starting to come together.

With Thrillville for the PS2, Xbox and PSP, LucasArts is trying to create something that's never been done before. They're trying to make a theme park sim with a control scheme designed from the ground up for consoles.

So with that in mind, we got Jonny Watts, senior producer at developer Frontier and Shara Miller, producer at LucasArts to chat about some of Thrillville's more... um... thrilling attributes.

УWith Thrillville, as well as building and managing a theme park, you Сplay' within it,Ф explains Jonny Watts. УAll the attractions you design or place in the park Ц like roller coasters, mini-golf courses, go-kart tracks or thrill rides, first-person shooters and videogame arcades Ц are fully interactive and at the very least can be Сridden.' The majority are full-on games in their own right and can be played solo or up to four-player multiplayer. Plus, don't forget that you can talk to and befriend any guestЕor even flirt with them! There is a huge variety of gameplay that will entertain a wide range of people and keep them coming back for more.Ф

An engaging, lighthearted story further establishes Thrillville as the theme-park experience console gamers have been waiting for. What happens when your zany Uncle Mortimer has an accident in his lab and needs some help running his Thrillville theme parks? Naturally, he calls upon you to take over. УMeanwhile, you must contend with a rival theme park, Globo-Joy, that has heard about Mortimer's leave of absence and decided to take Thrillville down while he's out of the picture,Ф adds Shara Miller. УYou'll need all your building and managing skills to keep this rival at bay!Ф

In Thrillville, even otherwise mundane tasks such as training your staff have been revolutionized. УTo train a mechanic, you undertake electronics circuitry,Ф notes Watts. УTo train the groundskeeper, you frantically blast and suck litter and gunk with your vac-gun. And to train your entertainers, what else but a dance game?Ф

Miller believes that Thrillville's innovative control configuration will win over anyone underwhelmed by the complex building processes found in past theme-park console games. УI don't have to be a structural engineer to make a great coaster,Ф she says. УFrontier has analyzed the system of menus, mouse clicks, and trial-and-error that worked so perfectly for their PC Roller Coaster Tycoon games and boiled them down to the essential elements that make coaster building rewarding and fun. On consoles and PSP, I enjoy every button press and every swish of the analog stick I use in the building process. I always end up making stuff that's fun to ride Ц even when I start without a plan.Ф

The pair would go on to talk about some the game's nice numbers, including the 125 missions Thrillville will challenge players with. These missions include everything from building coasters or over 100 others attraction to helping the guy get the girl. And what about if you've got your friends over and a rainstorm has sullied a day at a real theme park? Well Thrillville's got you covered there too as Party Game mode will allow instant access to all of Thrillville's 2-4 player minigames.

Now, please wait until the ride comes to a complete stop before exiting the car. But first, check out these screenshots from the PS2 and Xbox versions: First five screens.