 Review By: Matt Flanagan |
Developer: | Pipeworks Software |
| Publisher: | Midway | |
| Genre: | Action | |
| ESRB: | Everyone 10+ | |
| # Of Players: | 1-4 | |
| Online Play: | No | |
| Accessories: | Nunchuk | |
| Buy Now: |   |
Rampage: Total Destruction for Wii is a next-gen port of Midway’s last-gen installment in the Rampage series. The game really hasn’t strayed far from its mindless 80’s arcade button masher roots, and stays simple and repetitive. Unfortunately, the game may be TOO simple and repetitive for today's audiences, and the linear level progression isn't exactly going to provide varied gameplay. While doing the same thing over and over again has always been a staple of the Rampage series, it isn’t something that’s going to fly very far with mainstream gaming audiences nowadays who have come to expect deep storylines and intense action.
One thing I noticed is that the game seems a good deal easier then the previous games. As in other Rampage games, you're tasked with destroying a bunch of cities, doing so one block at a time (the cities are actually larger then one block this time around) while being attacked by police officers, army dudes, etc. who come out to defend the city. The game features limited sidescrolling with even more limited background interaction, and overall manages to retain the same feeling of a game engine that would've been cutting-edge 15 years ago.
Unfortunately, the few attempts to bring the game up-to-date wind up hurting more then they help. The buildings are still destroyed in a tile-based fashion, but your character moves smoothly instead of tile-to-tile, so you'll often have to try a few times to find the spot you need to hit. This gets annoying, especially when youre trying to smash stuff faster then somebody else in multiplayer.
The tounge-in-cheek presentation of the game is exactly what you'd expect from something with the Rampage name on it. Billboards and business names are loaded with puns that make sure to remind you that you're not playing a serious game, and the people spout clever one-liners whenever you eat them, but unfortunately the phrases are repeated way too often and will wind up getting on your nerves after a few hours of play.
The graphics aren’t exactly impressive, as they’re slightly better then the GameCube version. Considering the GameCube version wasn’t exactly a graphical marvel, that isn’t saying much. The music isn’t really anything special either, and like I said the sound effects repeat much too often, but both of these are understandable seeing as how the game didn’t exactly have high production values.
Multiplayer combat isn’t as stressed as in previous Rampage games, as most of the special moves are obviously designed with smashing buildings and not other players in mind. Playing with a friend in co-op is fun, but playing against a friend is clumsy and awkward.
Like the GameCube version of the game you’ll find a pack-in of the original Rampage and World Tour, and that's a good deal when you consider that the NES and N64 ports of these games would run about $5 and $10 respectively if they were offered on the Virtual Console. Particularly since you'll probably wind up enjoying the older games more then the new one.
The Wii controls honestly feel tacked-on, in that they don’t make the game any easier or more immersive and wind up feeling gimmicky and confusing. The game is playable when you get the hang of the control scheme, but it's not like the Wiimote adds anything that couldn't have been done with a standard controller. Basically, there really isn't much to the controls to really distinguish this game from the previous-gen version that would make it worth buying again (especially since you can play the GameCube version on Wii anyway), but otherwise the game is worth the budget price tag and will keep you entertained.
Bottom Line:
If you can look past the ancient gameplay mechanics (even with Wii controls), you’ll find a game that does exactly what it set out to do: keep you entertained with mindless button mashing for a few hours.
| Pros: | Cons: | Final Score: |
|---|---|---|
|
| 5.8 |
Posted: 2006-12-26 17:48:23 PST