Did you know that there was a PSone sequel to Theme Park and Theme Hospital named Theme Aquarium which only released in Japan? The maritime attraction simulator is a bit of an underground gem, and it’s bemusing to think that the idea has barely been explored since. Megaquarium, fortunately, brings the fun of making your very own Sealife Centre to the PlayStation 4 – and with Sony’s system seriously short on park builders, it fills a nice gap in the console’s library.
Functioning just like those aforementioned Bullfrog classics, the campaign shows you the ropes, as you install tanks, purchase fish, and generally try to keep your guests entertained. Each poisson has different requirements, so you’ll need to add heaters, food distributors, and shelter to keep them happy. Creating an efficient aquarium, with the right kind of sealife, staff, and facilities takes time and effort – and it makes the sandbox mode particularly entertaining, as you bring your nautical site to life.
The visuals – which lean on block colours and cartoon characters – can be a bit flat, and the controls can be cumbersome when carrying out more complicated tasks. However, there’s a great business management experience here; the gameplay may seem shallow at first blush, but plunge a little deeper and you’ll find plenty of depth. Considering that this is an underrepresented genre on console, may we recommend you consider it as a complement to Two Point Hospital this Christmas, as you remember Theme Park’s infamous slogan: “Big business is big fun.”
Comments 18
Hmmmm.... this could be a good pick up. Any other attraction builders on ps4?
As a freshwater tropical aquarium owner, I've had my eye on this for a while. This feels more like a summary than a review however.
@BorderlineJon I know. I was like what is this article? It feels like a summary or list, but one thing's for sure, this ain't a review.
@TowaHerschel7 @BorderlineJon We've introduced a new Mini Review format which we've been experimenting with for a while now. We probably need to better distinguish these smaller reviews from the full-length ones, as not everyone appears to have grasped the concept yet.
@get2sammyb i mean yall could of at least spent 100 hours playing it before you reviewed this game that not alot of people will even care about. What was u guys thinking?!?!
Edit: sorry just so much negativity lately, is it hard to even want to run a website anymore. Everyone complains for others work, i mean at least u guys reviewed this game that ived never heard of....ranting i know. My bad.
@ellsworth004 Haha, don’t worry about it. The feedback is good: we just need to make clearer what’s a Mini Review and what’s not.
When we introduced these we were thinking about those short columns you usually find in the back of magazines. We wanted to give games like this coverage instead of none at all, hence the different format.
@get2sammyb well u have thicker skin than me my friend. Keep up the good work! 😃
@get2sammyb Two questions; how does the frame rate hold up? It was quite laggy on PC during the later levels.
And more importantly; How do the controls actually work in this version?
@Octane Controls are a bit cumbersome. Lots of tabbing between different menus. It works, but it’s obviously not perfectly suited to a DualShock.
Frame rate is fine, although I’ll admit that I haven’t built a wild aquarium yet.
@get2sammyb I've played this on PC with keyboard and mouse, but how does it translate to the DS4? Do you a reticle you're moving around with the control stick or something like that?
I am not a fan of the mini reviews it just feels like an expanded verdict. Short format works better with videos.
Thank goddess I'm not part of the writing team or a "Mini review" would probably a 1000+ word joint 😂
I like these though, short and sweet is what you want at times. Especially good for a quick read whilst walking round on playground duty!
All you need is a bit of better branding... Maybe mentioning it in the article title it's a mini review? Along with it's own section in the tabs and tags or whatever
Game sounds good. Haven't played one of these types of games since Theme Park World for PS1 that my daughter begged me to buy her... Might have to give this a look at some point!
@get2sammyb ah ok, well yes that makes sense then. Being properly distinguished would certainly alleviate things I'm sure. I know some games require long reviews due to their nature. I have reviewed Vita games in the past, and the flipside is some games it is difficult to write long reviews on.
@get2sammyb Lazyness is a now a 'new format'.
If nothing else the brazenness of that statement is impressive.
@Miiamoto Haha, if you say so. Always willing to accept constructive feedback but I don’t think calling us “lazy” is constructive in the slightest.
We have access to the data and know how reviews for certain titles perform. The objective with these was to cover games we wouldn’t ordinarily have the resources to cover in a more efficient way. We experimented with Indie Bin, but this is what the idea evolved into.
It’s inspired by the shorter reviews you used to get in magazines which rattled through three or four games on one page. Just because we have unlimited column inches online doesn’t mean we should always use them.
@hotukdeals To be honest, expanded conclusions is exactly what we had in mind, so at least we were successful in that regard.
@Octane Yes, exactly that. There are also menus that you can tab to.
@get2sammyb I love you really. You guys do good stuff over here.
@Miiamoto All good, appreciate the feedback!
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...