Theme Hospital

The Good
A simple concept of build-and-maintain your very own hospital, but somehow, it's highly addictive. Fun and weird illnesses walk in onto your hospital property (such as spare rib, bloaty head, people with slack tongue), and it's your job to invite, diagnose, comfort, heal and make sure the patient goes home with a smile - in that order. Sound easy? Soon your hospital becomes so popular, it's simply a huge mass of patients walking about - but be careful - lack of warmth, bad surroundings and no seating can mean that your development turns into a rat-infested sick-covered hospital. Keep the regular VIPs happy and make sure you keep that budget tight!

But what is the good highlights of this game? Well, there are many. Comedic cutscenes of your hospitals' development give you laughs, making sure you employ the right amount of staff and their attitude is a welcome challenge, trying to keep your hospital warm, well-stocked, and smart is also a cute little addictive thing. The graphics aren't too bad, but you have to remember; this game doesn't focus on graphics - it focuses on gameplay, fun and addictive stuff (how many times have i said "addictive"? I just can't stress it enough!).

Realism is also a great factor in this game; for instance, in most games (like "Theme Park", for example) all employees stay in their job roles 24/7 without hassle, but this game adds realism and fun challenge by making your employees more than just "people who do stuff" - they need good surroundings to work in, good cash pay to live on, and time to chill out in the staff room. Same goes for your patients; they need to be cared for in the same ways. This game, despite its graphical downfall, it highly makes up for it by challenges, gameplay, comedy and pure fun - and that's exactly what games should be; fun.

The few levels don't seem like much, but they are fun and long and that's what keeps you playing - knowing that you'll get your money's worth out of this game, and the fun you deserve. The one-off rat level is also adrenaline-pumped and a sort of "relief break". Buying new property, moving and starting anew, and organizing your scheme into the best and ultimate hospital is a challenge (i've also said "challenge" quite a few times, too) but is sure fun.

The Bad
If anything, the graphics are the only thing that were bad. Maybe a first-person experience as a patient may have been a nice little extra, but the graphics are the only thing to be improved on. Seriously though, if this game were ever going to be remade, it would need better graphics, about one or two more levels, and possibly more structures, employees, equipment, etc. but that's probably all.

The Bottom Line
For fans of simulations and people who love to build and control things, you'll love this game. Like I said above, the graphics are the only downfall, but the highlights surely make up for everything. Due to its age, it can be found cheap but may be hard to find slightly. But honestly, one of the best simulations ever on the PlayStation and PC, until "The Sims" can along, but some reckon Theme Hospital is still even better, and at the end of the day, this game is pure fun and excitement for those who love games. If real hospital managers played this, their real-life hospitals would surely become great.

The Good
Absolutely everything. This game is a masterpiece and stands out in my games collection as one of my top 10 of all time. It's in the top 5 even.

You are given an empty building, and build a hospital. Starts off small, with a few doctors, general diagnostic, reception, pharmacy and a few other necessities. Then you get up in the levels and wow - that becomes one huge hospital. You buy more land and buildings and before you know it, you own a hospital empire.

I liked the challenge of this game, it wasn't just what it appeared to be - building hospitals. It was much more, as you had to research illnesses, keep the hospital clean, plants alive, patients happy, staff happy and the bank manager too.

The Bad
Not much really. It was excellent. I think it was probably that I had no manual and took a while to get used to it. But once you learn about everything you need, you can pretty much own it - easier said than done ;)

The Bottom Line
Such an original idea, a totally classic game - I adore it. Playing it on the 19' screen with a Playstation is another added bonus.

Get your hands on this game, its addictive and you'll love it.

The Good
A lot of people find the sound and music for this game irritating. Personally, I love it, from the "Essex girl" accent of the receptionist's announcements to the incredibly catchy music (my personal favourites being "On the Mend" and "Fortune"). The graphics were crisp, bright and a good example of what pixel art could still do in a game even in the 3D era. The humour was spot on, too.

The Bad
This may just be me not being very good at the game, but I found the learning curve to be somewhat steep, and I was pretty much done for after about six levels (the level where Baldness is introduced was my eventual stumbling block, although I had serious difficulty before that).

The reason I stopped playing though was because the game began crashing on me, and eventually ceased to load. A shame, because I still enjoyed the game even though I was having a tough time of it.

The Bottom Line
A fun game with wonderfully retro sound and visuals and a wicked sense of humour, but watch out for the learning curve.