I remember my brother and I pestering our mother during school holidays to take us to the local games store, which now that I think about it was that local (sorry mum!). We use to hire a few games each to get us through the holidays, with a number of time us fighting over who got to play what and when which resulted in me often being player 2 as I was the youngest. One game in particular was Theme Hospital. We had hired it a few times before we acquired our own copy, which I believe is still somewhere around the house.
Now for those that don't have an original disc, I have seen many on eBay for less than $10, however you can buy Theme Hospital as well as many other older games off of www.gog.com (Theme Hospital link: http://www.gog.com/game/theme_hospital). Good news is that it is very cheap! $6.49 (AUD). GOG also have a 30 day money back guarantee if you decide you no longer want to play. The file size is so small that you really don't need to worry about computer space (160MB). The good thing is that it works for a different range of computers: Windows (XP, Vista, 7, 8) and Mac OS X (10.6.8). The download file uses DOSbox so don't be worried if you boot up the file and the screen goes black with white writing, it's just part of the game booting up.
(DOSbox art)
(Example of game booting up)
(The opening title)
I had forgotten how addictive this game was. I had planned to play a level or two whilst I waited to jump onto Destiny (PS4) with a friend, however it turned into 7 levels and 4 hours later... Oops! Those 4 hours brought back so many memories, mainly the different diseases that patients would come in with like; Invisibility, The Squits, King Complex, Bloaty Head, and Slack Tongue.Opening up the level map it reminded me of when I was younger and how far I had gotten back then, which actually wasn't that far. I only ever got up to level 4 (train picture) back then so it felt pretty good going further than that during my first play through now that I'm older.
(Level map)
Everyone always talks about the humour of the game. The crazy diseases, how they got them, and how to cure them. Watching a patient with Bloaty Head get his head popped and reinflated was always a favourite of mine, and that still hasn't changed.
Yes it is a dated game, yes it is easy to pick up, yes the interface is simple, and yes the graphics aren't the greatest but for 1997 it was pretty great. It was a game that made me think about what I wanted to be when I grew up, and playing this I wanted to be a Doctor (sometimes haha. Like any kid my mind changed so often that it was hard to keep up). This game is addictive and will take you on a nostalgic ride to your childhood. Highly recommended for those that played it as a child and want to relive those memories as well as those in the younger generation that maybe looking for something different to play.
I would rate the game a 8.5/10 for nostalgic value. Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to my childhood of wacky patients, crazy treatments and bubbly music for a few hours :)
