Rampage: Total Destruction
It’s total destruction alright, one block at a time
Tags: Rampage: Total Destruction Categories: PS2 Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Jun 11th, 2006
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rampage: Total Destruction (title page) | 1 - 2 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Arcade | No | ||
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Rampage. Monsters destroying cities. Punch and kck down buildings to level them. It’s a basic formula that was born of the arcade days. One of the more visceral games of the time (I mean, really, what other game gave you permission to be so destructive) it has seen life on consoles and retro compilations but never really received an update until now. Rampage: Total Destruction is designed to be more than a sequel, but to take the game into a new era. While the basics are still there, sadly the game doesn’t quite make that jump we were promised.
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That’s not to say Rampage: Total Destruction is a bad game. On the contrary, it’s quite fun. I mean, really, who doesn’t enjoy virtually smashing things? It’s a bit deeper than any Rampage before it as well, but ultimately it falls short of being the “next step” that the franchise needs to be in order for it to retain its relevancy in the future. Hopefully Midway will learn some lessons from this entry in the franchise.
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Rampage: Total Destruction has players taking on the role of a monster (there are just a few to start with and many more to unlock throughout the game) and using a variety of attacks take down buildings within a specific area. There are a few variations on the punch and kick and each monster has special abilities to unlock. These are achieved by meeting specific requirements for a level, which can range from eating a specific number of types of people (10 mimes or 5 bikers) destroying a specific type of environment (4 lam posts) or eating a specific number of certain things within the buildings (such as burgers or candy bars).
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Players can pick up and eat any of the pedestrians, or kick them into the air. Every vehicle on the screen can be picked up and thrown at the building, which will cause damage to the building making it a little easier to destroy. Each of the monsters have the same basic attacks, which ultimately is one of the failings of the game. There is a great variety of monsters, but there’s no real reason for it. The levels aren’t terribly different, so having a variety of monster attacks to take down certain types of buildings better isn’t necessary here. Yes, it will make sense to go through the game switching out the monsters in order to unlock each of their special attacks, but there really doesn’t seem to be any point to doing so.
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One of the big upgrades for the franchise with this iteration is the change to a 3D world. Sadly, the implementation of it is lacking in that the game is little more than a glorified 2D world. The monsters are able to go in front of the buildings as well as the sides. There are two lanes of traffic on the streets as well as an active sidewalk. The presentation is great, but if you’re going to make it a 3D world, then make it a truly 3D world, much in the way that Atari’s Godzilla games were done.
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So if the 3D implementation is poor and there isn’t enough of a variety in the monsters then why bother picking this up? Because the basic gameplay is still fun. It’s cheap, and comes with the original Rampage and Rampage: World Tour. If you haven’t picked up one of the Godzilla games, or War of the Monsters then pick those titles up first. They can be found for the same price if not less, and have much of the basics that this title does. If after playing those games you feel the need for further destructive expression, then pick up Rampage: Total Destruction.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Basic gameplay intact + Multiplayer + Plenty of monsters + Original games included |
7.6 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Monsters too "samey" - 2.5D passed off as 3D - Controls are somewhat "loose" not allowing for prices power-up grabbing at times |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Fans of the genre should pick this up. Those that are interested and are drawn in by the low price should seek out some of the other games that are out there first. Rampage: Total Destruction really appeals only to the hardcore monster smashing fans unfortunately. | |
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Tags: Rampage: Total Destruction
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Jun 11th, 2006 and is filed under PS2 Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
