Thrillville: Off the Rails

Thrillville: Off the Rails is a theme park simulation video game developed by Frontier Developments and published by LucasArts. It is the sequel to the 2006 game Thrillville. The game was released worldwide in October 2007.

Thrillville: Off the Rails
Developer(s)Frontier Developments
Publisher(s)LucasArts
Producer(s)Michael Brookes
Designer(s)Daniel Gould
Programmer(s)Stefan Mars
Artist(s)John Laws
Writer(s)Greg Orlando
Composer(s)
  • David W. Collins
  • Jesse Harlin
Platform(s)
Release
Genre(s)Simulation
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

The Xbox 360 version of Thrillville: Off the Rails was made backwards compatible on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on November 15, 2021.[6]

The PlayStation Portable version of the game was made available on PlayStation Store for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on December 19, 2023. [1]

Plot edit

The player's Uncle Mortimer (Brian Greene) congratulates the player for making Thrillville one of the best theme parks in the world and for ridding Globo-Joy from the competition in the first game. However, he warns the player that Globo-Joy and Vernon Garrison might try to get revenge. It is later shown that each of the parks have been sabotaged by Globo-Joy and Garrison with Globo-Joy manipulating critics to give Thrillville Stunts bad reviews, overrunning Thrillville Otherworlds with their own robots that can get into attractions for free, hypnotizing guests into acting strangely in Thrillville Giant, and using disgruntled employees to sabotage in Thrillville Explorer. It also later becomes apparent that a Globo-Joy spy somehow worked into Thrillville's employment and is stealing the park's ideas for Globo-Joy. After some sleuthing, the player discovers that the spy is actually Vernon Garrison Jr., the son of Globo-Joy's president who pretends to be a guest named Tim Twinklefingers. After defeating Garrison Jr. in a round of Robo KO (a fighting game-esque minigame with two robots fighting each other), he is fired and removed from Thrillville and is sent home, though he vows revenge.

Gameplay edit

Like the original game, Thrillville: Off The Rails is a strategy and simulation game about being the park manager of all of the Thrillville theme parks. The game allows the placing and deletion of attractions and buildings such as flat rides, food and drink stalls, bathrooms, games, and also contains various minigames to play both in the park and in the game's "Party Play" mode, along with editing and allowing the players to ride their own roller coasters inside each of the Thrillville theme parks.

Reception edit

The game received "mixed or average reviews" on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[25][26][27][28][29][30] Most critics cited that the mini-games are a welcome addition, especially for multiplayer; however, the game was criticized for its so-so graphics, including the PC and Xbox 360 versions. Critics also cited some cases of repetitiveness in gameplay.

References edit

  1. ^ "AU Shippin' Out October 15-October 19: The Orange Box". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 15, 2013. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  2. ^ "News About Frontier Developments". October 5, 2008. Archived from the original on October 5, 2008. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  3. ^ "Thrillville: Off the Rails Preview - Preview". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  4. ^ "WHO'S MAKING GAMES FOR NINTENDO SYSTEMS? EVERYONE!". GamesIndustry.biz. October 12, 2007. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  5. ^ "Frontier's David Braben". Eurogamer.net. October 15, 2007. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  6. ^ Warren, Tom (November 15, 2021). "Microsoft's Xbox backward compatibility program returns with 76 new games". The Verge. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  7. ^ Gibson, Ellie (October 28, 2007). "Thrillville: Off the Rails (Wii)". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  8. ^ a b c Juba, Joe (December 2007). "Thrillville: Off the Rails (PS2, Wii, X360)". Game Informer. No. 176. p. 143. Archived from the original on January 16, 2008. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  9. ^ Erickson, Tracy (October 22, 2007). "Review: Thrillville: Off the Rails (X360)". GamePro. Archived from the original on January 27, 2008. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  10. ^ Colin (November 9, 2007). "Thrillville: Off the Rails Review (X360)". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  11. ^ Provo, Frank (November 30, 2007). "Thrillville: Off the Rails Review (DS)". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 20, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  12. ^ a b c d e Thomas, Aaron (November 5, 2007). "Thrillville: Off the Rails Review (PC, PS2, PSP, Wii, X360)". GameSpot. Archived from the original on July 17, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  13. ^ a b c Theobald, Phil (October 22, 2007). "GameSpy: Thrillville: Off the Rails (PS2, PSP, X360)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on October 28, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  14. ^ Theobald, Phil (October 22, 2007). "GameSpy: Thrillville: Off the Rails (Wii)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  15. ^ Platt, Dylan (November 8, 2007). "Thrillville: Off the Rails - NDS - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 9, 2008. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  16. ^ Zacarias, Eduardo (October 31, 2007). "Thrillville: Off the Rails - 360 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  17. ^ DeVries, Jack (October 18, 2007). "Thrillville: Off the Rails Review (NDS)". IGN. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  18. ^ a b Clements, Ryan (October 17, 2007). "Thrillville: Off the Rails Review (X360, PC)". IGN. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  19. ^ a b Clements, Ryan (October 17, 2007). "Thrillville: Off the Rails Review (PS2, Wii)". IGN. Archived from the original on April 26, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  20. ^ Clements, Ryan (October 17, 2007). "Thrillville: Off the Rails Review (PSP)". IGN. Archived from the original on May 20, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  21. ^ East, Tom (December 25, 2007). "Thrillville: Off the Rails Review (Wii)". Official Nintendo Magazine: 86. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  22. ^ "Thrillville: Off the Rails". Official Xbox Magazine. December 2007. p. 76.
  23. ^ "Thrillville: Off the Rails". PC Gamer: 72. March 2008.
  24. ^ "Thrillville: Off the Rails (PS2)". PlayStation: The Official Magazine. No. 1. December 25, 2007. p. 82.
  25. ^ a b "Thrillville: Off the Rails for DS Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  26. ^ a b "Thrillville: Off the Rails for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on May 18, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  27. ^ a b "Thrillville: Off the Rails for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on January 11, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  28. ^ a b "Thrillville: Off the Rails for PSP Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on June 14, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  29. ^ a b "Thrillville: Off the Rails for Wii Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 30, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  30. ^ a b "Thrillville: Off the Rails for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on March 5, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.

External links edit