Rampage: Total Destruction

"In an age of increasingly complicated games, RTD is a breath of fresh air."

INTRODUCTION:
Often, there is a rift of opinion between the official reviewers' ideas of what a good game is and the general public's idea of what a good game is. Often, the guys who get paid to review games are the guys in the right (See: Most games based on children's television shows and movies), but never have I seen a larger difference in opinion between the official and the freelancers than Rampage: Total Destruction.

STORY - An engrossing narrative? Who needs it?
Scum Labs is at it again. They've released a new product, Scum Soda, that - you guessed it - turns anyone who drinks it into a monster. But don't flee in panic just yet! Professor Vector, a scientist working for Scum Labs, has created little capsules that shrink and capture those nasty monsters, and he's hidden these capsules away in buildings. But - wouldn't ya know it? - He's missed a few. And three of the ones he's missed just so happen to be George, Lizzy, and Ralph. What a funny coincidence, huh?

Okay, so the story kinda sucks, and once you get past the opening movie, there really is no story to speak of. BUT this is a goofy, nonsensical game, and goofy, nonsensical games need goofy, nonsensical stories. Plus the opening movie is nicely done with slick graphics and good voiceacting, and is also pretty darn funny to boot.

GRAPHICS - Ooh, the pretty explosions!
These graphics are quite nice for a late-gen GameCube title, and more than do the job. The characters all look adequately creepy/cool/ridiculous, and the explosions and scenes of general mayhem are excellent. Have your monster knock down a streetlight and watch the electricity fly. RTD is easy on the eyes... unless you're playing as one of the more naturally ugly monsters.

Unfortunately, some characters closely resemble others in animations. Despite having 30 different monsters, there are about 5 or 6 “animation groups” these monsters fall into, like “Ape-shaped beast” or “Monster with tentacles”. Some monsters also make the same noises, which is a bit disappointing, but if you have over 2 dozen characters, it's likely at least some will be clones no matter what game you're playing. Look no further than Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (complete with 46 different ninjas!) and Super Smash Brothers Melee (Link AND Young Link! AWESOME!)

SOUND - Just where do you think YOU'RE going?
After 20 minutes of playing RTD, you'll have heard the above quote spoken approximately 34 times. Although the voices of the many pathetic humans in RTD are nice, they also start repeating way, way too early. Old ladies say "Oh, dear!". Bikers go "You wanna piece of this?!". Businessmen cry "I JUST BOUGHT THIS SHIRT!". Creative, yes. Repetitive, also yes. But that just gives you more incentive to eat them. They're quite tasty.

Most of the time, you'll barely even hear those pesky humans, as your monster will be roaring, buildings will be crumbling, and helicopters will be hovering. RTD is full of chaos, and just listening to it gives that impression.

The music is rather unnoticeable. It fits well, but it neither grates on the ears nor really stands out. Nothing special.

GAMEPLAY - Classic arcade action... but where's Ruby?
RTD's gameplay is similar in many respects to the older Rampage games: DESTROY EVERYTHING PUNCH EAT KILL RAWRGH. One aspect it differs in is a pseudo-3D interface: You can (technically) move on a 3D plane. However, you can only climb on three sides of a building (The back is inaccessible) and you can only climb on the part of the sides that is closest to the camera. But, if you need to, you can also go in front of buildings to eat people and take out vehicles. Control is a little confusing at first but you'll likely adjust to it quickly. To scale a building, you just run up to the side and press against the wall. Climbing the sides can be slightly problematic but if you're just running into the wall and not scaling it too often for your liking, just climb from the front (which is easier) and go to the side by crawling left or right.

RTD offers 30 playable characters, some of which are quite tough to unlock. If you don't have time to bother with such niceties, there's a cheat code you can use to get them all instantly. There's a wide variety of monsters, ranging from expected mutations like Dinosaur, Ape, Alien, and Lion, to more offbeat ones like Ram, Giant Squid, and Tortoise. There's even an Ungulate, which you'll probably need to Google to figure out just what the heck that is. Monsters differ in speed, jump, and power, but they can be played pretty much all the same. My personal favorite is the squid, followed by his female counterpart, the nautilus.

Instead of the old Rampage formula of like ten thousand different short cities, RTD offers only seven cities, each with 8 to 10 “blocks”, short stages resembling the levels of the older games in size. This cosmic downsizing is offset by the fact that the levels offer plenty of incentive for replay: You start with only 6 monsters, and must find those weird containers to unlock most of the rest. Monsters will only appear if you are playing as one of a few certain “trigger” monsters. Like, say, to get Monster G, you can play as Monster A or C but not B, D, E, or F. This means lots of trial and error... or a look at a guide. The last few appear by fulfilling other requirements. Not only that, but there are 4 super-powered attacks (such as a roar and a ground-pound), and you need to unlock them individually for all 30 monsters by completing special challenges, which usually boil down to “Eat/find X things/people” but occasionally involve destroying a boss, taking down a certain number of vehicles or objects, or popping a character-shaped balloon. Completing every mission will also earn you yet another monster… who then needs to get HIS special attacks. It's ridiculous, and you'll be kept busy for weeks if you're dead-set on unlocking everything.

Also included are three other modes: King of the City (compete for most points with up to 4 players), King of the World (multiple King of the City rounds for an ultimate champion), and Timed Run (just what it sounds like). You can play these three modes with a mix of friends and computer-controlled bots, or even alone if you want. The main Campaign mode allows for a second player, but they need to be human, not a bot. Playing with another monster or three can be incredibly fun, but if your friend is more interested in hitting you than the buildings, you're toast. It takes too long for your monster to recover after being hit by another monster, meaning your “friend” can just wail on you over and over while a third player (possibly a friend of Player 2) can destroy everything and win the round. It's cheap, but luckily the bots don't try this.

RTD also includes the first two Rampage games: Rampage and Rampage World Tour. Rampage Universal Tour is noticeably absent, and, oddly enough, despite 30 monsters Midway didn't include any of the monsters introduced in RUT, including Ruby the lobster and Boris the rhino. There's a new rat character to “replace” Curtis (hilariously named “Rhett”), but it's disappointing that I can't play as a giant mutant lobster, although the giant mutant nautilus makes up for it.

BUY OR RENT?
If you've played Rampage before and hated it, you may wanna sit this one out, since, although they've added a good amount, it's likely not enough to change your opinion. If you've played Rampage before and loved it, though, buy this immediately: It's the ultimate Rampage. The fact that you can get it for only 20 bucks just sweetens the deal.

So, to sum up:

THE GOOD:
- 30 characters, lots to do and unlock
- Simple and easy to learn; good for the non-gaming types in your family to play with you
- Slick graphics and explosions
- Much bigger cities than in the past
- Rampage and Rampage World Tour included
- Multiplayer very entertaining with the right people
- Bots in multiplayer for the lonely folks
- Only 20 bucks!

THE BAD:
- No sign of anything from Rampage: Universal Tour...
- ...Including Rampage: Universal Tour itself
- Some character models/poses are reused a bit too often
- Climbing buildings occasionally problematic
- Not as many cities as in the past
- No minigames like in RWT and RUT
- May get repetitive for some
- Some of the monsters are downright stupid

THE UGLY:
- Official reviewers impressions

Rampage: Total Destruction hasn't exactly been a darling of the critics. It's been bashed for not offering anything new and for being an old, washed-up has-been of the gaming world. These guys are looking at it the wrong way. See, the thing is, Rampage isn't about offering an extremely deep experience. It's not about brains or strategy or puzzles. It's not about all that egghead stuff. With all the involving and complicated games coming out these days, Rampage offers a break from the strategizing and the need to memorize 40 different types of actions using every button on the controller. RTD does right what it sets out to do: It offers a classic, old-school, entertaining smashfest. And there's something to be said for that.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/05/06