Why spend a Benjamin for one day at a crowded amusement park? For less than 40 bucks, you can have unrestricted access to five unique parks and even create your own rides. Thrillville from LucasArts is another theme-park management game, along the lines of Roller Coaster Tycoon, but with a greater emphasis on personality, presentation and play. In this adventure, loaded with optional mini-games for one to four players, you are contacted by your wacky Uncle Mortimer who is so impressed with your roller coaster sketches he puts you in charge of his latest theme park, Thrillville. After you choose from the available characters (and if desired, customize their appearance), you are thrown into accessible tutorials to learn what's expected of you by Uncle Morty.

Gameplay is divided into five main areas, starting with "Guests," where you get to know the customers by walking around the park and trying to improve their happiness. In "Build" you create rides, food kiosks, midway games and even bathrooms. "Play" gives you the chance to have fun on all the rides from a first-person perspective, including mini-golf and roller coasters. In "Business" you make sure the park is making money by keeping an eye on income versus expenditures. And, finally, "Upkeep" requires you to hire, train or fire the park workers, and perform their tasks as timed mini-games.

You can walk the grounds to fulfill these goals, or you can take on 150 missions. In time, you will be able to access four additional theme parks. When unlocked, you can also play mini-games by yourself or "party" versions of these games with friends on the same television. It may not have the buzz of some other next-generation, high-definition games, but Thrillville offers depth and breadth for those looking for a fun and challenging theme park simulation. And you don't have to wait in a long line to play.