2015/7/4: Nintendo 64: Waialae Country Club, Rampage 2

[VideoGameCritic]

Comments are welcome.

[jon]

Nice reviews. As for the Rampage series understand the negative reviews it's gotten, but the computer version kicked ass. I had it in the late 80s and it was awesome, and then I played it on the consoles and it sucked.

[Tron]

Schizophrenic swing meter? Is the speed random of does it for fast for drives & slower for pitching? Some golf games have a faster pace for driving, but a slower pace for short shots. That makes sense, though I prefer a consistent speed for all shots. Your review makes it sound completely random.

Rampage is a series that had a ton of potential, but never progressed past elementary arcade game play. It's too bad that the home versions didn't change the gameplay to better suit consoles.

[Rev]

Good reviews. I've never understood how Rampage managed to get so many sequels (home console versions) since it was so boring. For being a game about destroying things you would think it would be more interesting... Sadly, it's not.

[jon]

That's a game that I could see being good if they made it with modern 3d, scaling buildings and all that, making it really intense. I played the NES version and it absolutely stunk, but the computer version was great.

[JustLikeHeaven]

I really love the Rampage games. While I fully acknowledge that they're not really good games, I still love them. I'm sure it has to do with my love of King Kong, Godzilla and other Kaiju films. Any game with giant monsters causing destruction will instantly win points with me.

I think the Rampage games continued to get better and the most recent PS2/GC/Wii edition were the best in the series. Though the N64/PS1 games were also great time wasters.

This is a series that is ripe for modern version. I have no clue who owns the rights now that Midway is gone. I bet with recent news that The Rock signed on for a movie adaption means a revival might be in the works.

I'd like to see someone make Rampage into something special while maintaining it's arcade roots. I don't want a game with a heavy handed story. Maybe just give the Monsters stats that can be leveled up...maybe a tech tree for cool special powers. Then make each city self contained with certain destruction objectives. Like if you're in London maybe you have to fight your way through to destroy Big Ben. I think there is a ton of potential for an extraordinary game with this series. Keep the campy Toho style tone...if they made it ultra gritty and serious it would be a major mistake.

[txsizzler]

On your Waialae Country Club review, I did have a moment of pause when I read this, ".. and the color guy is worthless ("Good putting")."

Who is the "color guy"?

[JustLikeHeaven]

He's talking about the color commentator. It's the guy who provides brief quips during a televised sporting event, but doesn't do the play by play commentary.

[Tron]

I really love the Rampage games. While I fully acknowledge that they're not really good games, I still love them. I'm sure it has to do with my love of King Kong, Godzilla and other Kaiju films. Any game with giant monsters causing destruction will instantly win points with me.

I think the Rampage games continued to get better and the most recent PS2/GC/Wii edition were the best in the series. Though the N64/PS1 games were also great time wasters.

This is a series that is ripe for modern version. I have no clue who owns the rights now that Midway is gone. I bet with recent news that The Rock signed on for a movie adaption means a revival might be in the works.

I'd like to see someone make Rampage into something special while maintaining it's arcade roots. I don't want a game with a heavy handed story. Maybe just give the Monsters stats that can be leveled up...maybe a tech tree for cool special powers. Then make each city self contained with certain destruction objectives. Like if you're in London maybe you have to fight your way through to destroy Big Ben. I think there is a ton of potential for an extraordinary game with this series. Keep the campy Toho style tone...if they made it ultra gritty and serious it would be a major mistake.

I like where you're going w/ this. I'd like to see a limit on the "cheap unavoidable hits". For an arcade game they should be expected, but for a console game in 2015 it's time to do away w/ some of that. I'd like more health & an easier way to identify healthy food vs damage taking items. I'd like a side-scroller where you actually move through a city, maybe 4 screens of buildings w/ some more variety.

[JustLikeHeaven]

Yeah, good call on the cheap hits. A new Rampage game would need to be more suited for console play. It can retain the easy pick up and play arcade gameplay...just don't make it seem like the game is trying to get you to sink more quarters into your PS4.

I think what I've always wanted out of a Rampage game is special powers for each of the monsters. Something to make them feel different. Maybe give them a short energy bar for secondary attacks. I want Lizzie to have atomic breathe, and George to have a sonic roar or something. They could get very creative with it. Like I said, make it so the game has a rudimentary tech tree with passive and active abilities. Make it so that if the VGC played the game as George he might have leveled him up into an invincible tank, with a healing ability...while my game with George could feature an ape that dished out fast attacks and moved around quickly.

Also, I think it would be neat if the monsters each had some sort of weakness. Like George the ape would become weak or lose life if he accidentally killed a beautiful blonde woman (as a homage to King Kong). Stuff like that would be great.

The main thing though is the game would need to convey the destruction properly. Rampage has ALWAYS been about climbing buildings, destroying them, eating people and attacking the military. That needs to be the focus. Make climbing up the buildings fun and easy to do. Make the destruction of the buildings a spectacle!

I don't think there is a franchise out there with more cool potential that has never actually been tapped.