2004 Classic Game Now Free With PlayStation Plus
A classic video game from the year 2004 is now free with PlayStation Plus. More precisely, free with the PS Plus Premium tier across PS4 and PS5. This addition is part of the latest wave of PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium games, and as far as we currently know, there is no expiration on the offer, unlike other parts of the lineup.
In addition to a 2000 Capcom classic, PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers across PS4 and PS5 can download Frontier Developments and Atari’s RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 for free, bypassing a $30 purchase on the PlayStation Store in the process. This free PS Plus download is specifically for the Complete Edition, which brought the 22-year-old PC game to modern platforms, inlcuding modern consoles, in the 2020s. It also packs in all of the game’s DLC.
For those unfamiliar with the game, it is the third installment in the RollerCoaster Tycoon series, a construction and management sim where you run an amusement park that dates back to 1999. In the modern era, the series lives on through Frontier Developments’ spiritual successor, Planet Coaster. The IP itself, though, is largely inactive outside of re-releases and the occasional experimental release from Atari, which has struggled to carry forward the series without Frontier Developments steering the ship.
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, though, was a certified classic, selling over 10 million units in the 2000s and earning a solid 81 on Metacritic back in the day. That said, PlayStation fans across PS4 and PS5 haven’t enjoyed the Complete Edition quite as much as the original, as evidenced by the fact that it has a 3.13 out of 5 stars on the PlayStation Store after 274 user reviews. Most of these user reviews, or at least the negative ones, criticize the lack of improvements contained in the re-release and how it offers very little in value compared to just picking up an original copy. The game also hasn’t aged as well as its predecessors, largely because its move to 3D made it vulnerable to time. And 20 years is a lot of time in video games.
Nostalgia vs Reality
Nostalgia often seems better than it feels. You can see this in the announcement trailer above, which has over 1,000 likes to just 74 dislikes. At the announcement, PlayStation fans were very excited, and then the game arrived, and the realization that it’s two decades old sets in. And this isn’t a cheap realization because Atari charged $30 for it. Those with a PS Plus Premium subscription, who can download it for free, can relive the nostalgia for some hours before this sets in, get their fill, and get out without feeling like someone robbed their childhood for $30.
The good news is there are plenty of other options, especially for those subscribed to the most expensive tier of the Sony subscription. To this end, for a limited time, two of Rockstar Games’ newest games are free.