We're set for a rollercoaster video game face-off next week

There's nothing quite like a video game face-off, and we've had a few good ones over the years. Mario vs Sonic. Street Fighter vs Mortal Kombat. Call of Duty vs Battlefield. FIFA vs PES.

Now, add RollerCoaster Tycoon World vs Planet Coaster to that list.

Overnight, Atari announced a Wednesday, 16th November release date for RollerCoaster Tycoon World. That's the day before Frontier's rival coaster sim Planet Coaster comes out, on Thursday, 17th November.

Both games will be available to buy on Steam. Next week, there will be blood.

So, let's assess the chances of each contender. Well, Planet Coaster looks fantastic, has been well-received by players and will, hopefully, turn out to be the RollerCoaster Tycoon spiritual successor fans of the famous series have been clamouring for for years.

RollerCoaster Tycoon World, however, has had its ups and downs. It's changed developer a number of times as the graphics and feature set has come under scrutiny.

RollerCoaster Tycoon World has been in Early Access on Steam since March 2016. On Steam, it carries a "mostly negative" user review rating. It's easy to see why.

In its defence, RollerCoaster Tycoon World launches with a brand new progression mode, a new user interface and main menu, as well as performance improvements.

It looks like there's a clear winner here, then, but if recent events have taught us anything, it's to expect the unexpected.