DS gets fun of the fair with Theme Park

It's brash, bright, occasionally scary, and scented with cheap cologne and fried onions. Obviously then, there's nothing the inhabitants of Pocket Gamer towers enjoy more than a day out at the fair – especially if we get to go home clutching a goldfish in a bag.

Sadly Nintendo couldn't manage to cram smell-o-tech into DS, so we'll have to rely on our other senses when it comes to EA's remake of its classic Theme Park game for the handheld.

It won't be all fun and games. We'll have to get our calculators out, because, this being a simulation game where you take the role of the brains behind a theme park, the only way to win is to keep tight control over your finances.

Spread across 16 locations around the world, you'll start out with a plot of land and pile of cash, your goal being to invest it well and build the most incredible theme park possible. Moving from simple rides and entertainers to huge rollercoasters and upmarket gift shops, the more successful you are, the more complex rides you'll be able to research.

The more exciting you can make your theme park, the more visitors you'll get and the more money they'll spend. And once you've fulfilled the specific challenges set in one location, you'll be able to move on to try and deal with more complex situations elsewhere.

Helping you through the tricky decisions – should you hire Psycho the clown or the Amazin' Squidman? – will be your very own park advisor. Each performer or ride comes with its own pros and cons in terms of excitement and cost versus reliability, and you'll also have to deal with more complex macroeconomics tasks such as negotiating loans with your bank manager.

The bottomline always comes back to the punter. Conveniently, you'll be able to tap your stylus on any visitor in the park and see what they think about your attractions.

Still being coated in layers of toffee and candyfloss, Theme Park DS is due for release sometime this spring.