Is anyone still keeping count of the number of Tycoon games? The amount of different permutations of the same idea is getting ridiculous and it’s not just one company that’s responsible for churning all these games out. I kid you not, these are actually on shop shelves as you read this: Monopoly Tycoon, Oil Tycoon (a certain president’s favourite, no doubt), Pinball Tycoon, Trailer Park Tycoon, School Tycoon, Traffic Tycoon, Mall Tycoon and finally my favourite; Fish Tycoon. Seriously guys, developers and publishers out there, however fun it may be to dream up ever more ludicrous concepts for games and then see if they sell, the joke’s ultimately on you.

But there is one Tycoon, just one, that rises far above the rest and is actually worth your money. The RollerCoaster series has taken over the legacy of Theme Park and has since improved upon the core formula to produce one of the finest management games to date. When I first got RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, I must admit that I was a bit skeptical. Even though my colleague had given it full marks, I couldn’t help but be a bit wary of a game with ‘Tycoon’ in the title. Yet as I played, I was drawn in by everything about it; the addictive gameplay, gorgeous visuals and intuitive interface had me hooked within hours. Make no mistake, this is no ordinary Tycoon game.

Which brings us smartly on to RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Soaked!. A classic expansion pack in every way, it adds a ton of water-park-themed content to the original game, expanding its lifespan even further. The most obvious addition are pool complexes, which incorporate all sorts of new items for you to play with. Pools can be built in several shapes and heights, then furnished with wave machines, lights, diving boards and ladders. Outside of the basic pools, you’ve got tiled areas upon which you can place items like loungers, lifeguard stations, showers, lights and so on. To finish off your creation, you then link the complex to the rest of your park via a changing room which acts as an entry and exit point.

While only certain items can be placed within pool complexes, notably no shops, there are other new aquatic items which can be used outside of these areas. Lakes can be landscaped, then furnished with dolphin and orca shows, water jets, boats and so on. The fireworks system has also been updated, now including water and laser shows which can be used in conjunction with your own music library. There’s now also the ability to tunnel through the scenery, although I expect many people prefer to keep their parks as flat as possible for ease of placing rides.

If you haven’t realised already, all this new content fits right in to the current game, so you can build pools and their associated slides right next to your other rides. In fact, Soaked! also includes new items which aren’t water-based, such as sixteen rollercoasters and various shops. A couple of interesting additions are passport stations which encourage people to visit different areas of the park by offering prizes for obtaining a certain number of stamps, and loud speakers which can be used to give a more immersive feel to your park by using either in-game tracks or your own music.

Graphically, the game remains largely unchanged, with the exception of the new liquid physics. Water looks and acts realistically as visitors plunge into it from rides and you can even create whirlpools using your cursor over the surface. As a result of this visual improvement, the strain on your graphics card will be a little higher than the original, especially when there are thousands of people wandering around your park. The developers have done well to give a very wide range of detail levels though, so the game is playable whether you’re on a low- or high-end system.

So, the big question; is Soaked! worth your hard earned cash? I’d say a resounding ‘yes’. It adds a wealth of new content to the game, not just around the water theme but in other areas as well. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 feels more complete and polished with the expansion, so fans of the original game shouldn’t hesitate in picking it up.