King Atari Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 I want to like Rampage. I guess it's okay, and I certainly love the concept; having grown up with the type of movies it's inspired by, it's right up my alley from a plot (ha!) standpoint. But MAN, after a few levels, I'm good. It's just too repetitive for me. I've never owned the 7800 version. I'd gladly pick it up if I found it cheap enough locally, simply to bolster the library and partake in some then-current arcade action, but Rampage in general has just never done much for me. My brother had (has) the NES edition, and he liked the game far more than I did - years ago, anyway; not sure what his thoughts are now. And even that terrific-looking SMS port, once the "wow!" factor wears off, you're left with that same monotonous gameplay. Honestly, my favorite port is the 2600 version. Not because it's better than the others, but because, like Double Dragon, it's a release that shouldn't have happened, and I get a real kick out of that. Obviously the graphics are at a bare minimum, but I find it no less playable than any other version. In fact, I think I've played the 2600 port more than any other; not because I was having such a rollicking good time, but rather because I pointlessly wanted to see how Cleveland was rendered on the console. So, yeah, there's that... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Thag Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 Rampage is what I call a 'chill game'. It's the kind of game you devote an hour to without really trying to hard. No high score, high pressure kinda stuff. Just a simple, repetitive, entertaining game. I tend to play it before bed on my Lynx. It doesn't wind you up the way most arcades do.For me, it's a mood. When I want to play a game and my brain is tired, games like Rampage are what I go to. Like others have said above, it's also a fun, chill, have friends over kinda game that is not so hard you can't have a conversation while you are playing 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wongojack Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 I think it has all been said The good Simple gameplay Not much to think about Fun to destroy things Plenty of ports to different platforms Kids love it The bad Too simple gameplay No point or ending No real way to improve Not enough variety in environments What's with the wolf? I got the C64 version, and I remember having the actual retail packaging (a sleeve), so I must have paid money for it. I tried to find some deeper gameplay and fun in there, but it was quickly obvious that without the pressure of losing a quarter that there wasn't really much going on. I had this same realization with Gauntlet. Both of those games are just fine on the C64, but what is the point if you can just last forever by pumping fake money into them? So I think of Rampage as one of those games that taught me a lesson: Be critical about your game purchases and think about how you'll play the game before buying. Nowadays I would only play this on a cabinet and if there were some friends to play with (preferably children). I think playing this with kids would still be pretty fun. That being said, King Atari's post makes me want to play the 2600 version . . . 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82-T/A Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 Yes, it was one of my favorite games as a kid. I didn't have a 7800 as a kid, bought that as a young adult, but I used to play Rampage on the PC... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 (edited) As a kid, I loved Godzilla in his Hanna Barbera cartoon and then later the old movies. And I loved King Kong as well. So Rampage caught my eye because it was different and kind of dark comedy I was in about the 10th grade when Rampage was out for the 7800 and the NES. Was my last free summer before my mom made me get a job, so it was a summer of playing video games and swimming in the building pool. I ended up first renting the NES version and playing with my friend on his system for hours. It was cute, but honestly, the novelty wore off fast and we eventually put it away without finishing it. That winter, my mom and I took a trip to Florida and I bought the 7800 version. I suppose part of it was because I wanted to tell my friends "hey look - the 7800 has big name arcade games too!" Honestly, it had the same problems as the NES version for me. 132 levels that I played through over Christmas with a perpetual continue. It dragged on after a while and I learned the hard way that it just repeated. Having Ralph in this version was nice. It also wasn't much of a showcase for the 7800. The title screen was great, but the monsters had that muppet baby look, the buildings had poorly chosen colours and no detail. It looked like a downgrade to the NES version, which didn't look remotely as good as the SMS version. Over the years, I've had it on other systems too. The Tandy Co Co 3 version looked terrific and you could play three players. The SMS version also looked great. I got the rare Atari 8bit one and quickly sold it. I've also had it on compilations on the GameCube. All in all though, they are the same to me. A fun diversion for a minute that gets old fast. I'm glad KevMos3 is cleaning up the 7800 graphics though http://atariage.com/forums/topic/272859-rampage-graphics-hack/ Edited May 8, 2018 by DracIsBack 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+slx Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 There aren't that many games of that era that allow you to play as the monster so you can't be too picky. Didn't find it riveting either. A pity Crush, Crumble & Chomp is a slow BASIC game. It could be much better in machine language or something faster than BASIC. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarifever Posted May 9, 2018 Author Share Posted May 9, 2018 I'm glad KevMos3 is cleaning up the 7800 graphics though http://atariage.com/forums/topic/272859-rampage-graphics-hack/ Despite all my negativity on the game in general, if that update got a cart release, I would of course still buy it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 It's very repetitive, unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fingolfin Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 (edited) Yes. I enjoy/enjoyed playing Rampage and Rampage World Tour in the arcade. It eats/ate many quarters/tokens but is/was still incredibly fun to play giant monsters crushing city buildings, eating people by the handfuls and taking on the army. There should have been improvements made to the original game and gameplay for replay value, both in the arcade and at home. Greater monster powers -- awesome monster specific powers like atomic breath for Lizzie, quake/tremor jump or ground punch for George and catastrophic wind/bad breath or maybe increasingly greater dexterity and quicker movement for Ralph -- and power-ups for those powers would have helped a lot both for creating a learning curve/fostering greater appreciation of getting better or more adept and for replay value. What? The giant monsters from Rampage lack unique destructive powers? This sci-fi based monster movie inspired game doesn't follow sci-fi monster movie conventions by having special destructive powers for the irradiated humans turned monsters? Aw pshaw! Monster specific powers and power-ups for them would have to keep balance within the game and not be too powerful; however, it would have been great to see the monsters in Rampage do more than just smash and eat. It would allow for more and more varied destruction and add a lot to monster vs. monster combat! So I can assume from posts here that the 7800 version is not so good? I've played the A8 NTSC version and like it, as many of you all have said, for a few minutes. And there are no in-game skills to develop/master: just the very simple controls and equally simple gameplay to be had (over and over). Edit/addition: While at the arcade, I usually play/played simpler games like Rampage or Pac-Man to relax and take a breather from more intense games like Robotron, Defender/Stargate, Blaster, and Tempest. Also for variety. Edited May 10, 2018 by Fingolfin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 Monster vs. Monster (as in a legitimate fighting game) would have been a cool feature for the home versions. Smashing buildings to grab toilets and bricks to throw at your opponent. Snatching busses, tanks, airplanes and helicopters to throw too. lol The main story could have been a subplot to that really. Beat the hell out of the other monster while wreaking havoc. Guess SNK beat them to it with King of Monsters. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 Anyone else remember this oddity from history? My friend had it (I think) before Rampage was out and I thought it was cool back then 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubersaurus Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 I actually don't get the hate for the visuals in the 7800 game. I thought they were pleasantly clear on my old tv, and that the monsters were pretty cute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 Anyone else remember this oddity from history? My friend had it (I think) before Rampage was out and I thought it was cool back then Yep I had this for my Apple IIe. I had a ton of fun just moving around destroying stuff, but I never actually beat any of the objectives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+thanatos Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 Anyone else remember this oddity from history? My friend had it (I think) before Rampage was out and I thought it was cool back then Never heard of that one before, but I wish I had, looks fun! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BydoEmpire Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 Anyone else remember this oddity from history? My friend had it (I think) before Rampage was out and I thought it was cool back then That was a good one. I also liked "Crush, Crumble, Chomp" which was pretty similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 That was a good one. I also liked "Crush, Crumble, Chomp" which was pretty similar. I think Movie Monster was basically an updated remake of CCC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Dragon Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 Anyone else remember this oddity from history? My friend had it (I think) before Rampage was out and I thought it was cool back then http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGUARnv8F9Q Loved this on C64. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarifever Posted May 11, 2018 Author Share Posted May 11, 2018 I know I'm pretty down on the game here, but I'm watching through Gaming History Source's comparison video (I'm sure everyone here is familiar with these amazing videos), and the 7800 doesn't come in too badly compared to a lot of versions. The Amstrad looks surprisingly fast and fun and has neat music. The Atari 8-bit version is not great, and the Apple II version is total garbage (I am assuming it is an emulation problem, as even the Apple should do better than that). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 The Apple II version is quite good given the limitations of the system. Its a little slow but very playable. As a rule, most emulators dont do justice to the Apple II. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam242 Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 I really enjoyed Rampage for its graphics and gameplay (especially with a friend in two-player mode) BITD on my Amiga. No experience with any other ports. Can't imagine the A8 did it justice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 I really enjoyed Rampage for its graphics and gameplay (especially with a friend in two-player mode) BITD on my Amiga. No experience with any other ports. Can't imagine the A8 did it justice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarifever Posted May 11, 2018 Author Share Posted May 11, 2018 (edited) There's something disjointed about this version I do not like. The way the monsters and helicopters look like they came from a 2600 game, the tanks sort of look like they're moving cardboard cutouts in front of the screen, while the backgrounds look like they came from a superior version clashes really badly. It's like if a 2600 game had a Vectrex/Odyssey 1 overlay. Edited May 11, 2018 by Atarifever 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Dragon Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 Anyone else remember this oddity from history? My friend had it (I think) before Rampage was out and I thought it was cool back then http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGUARnv8F9Q Ironically this is free with PS+ for PS3 this month... Nearest modern day equivalent i have played: https://youtu.be/6yXHsacC_oE 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebor Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 AAARGH! Does anyone recall the game? I played this quite a bit with some friends back in the Tandy/DOS heydays: A few years back, an Arcade port was recovered and added to MAME as well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 AAARGH! Does anyone recall the game? I played this quite a bit with some friends back in the Tandy/DOS heydays: aaargh_sm.png A few years back, an Arcade port was recovered and added to MAME as well. Yes! Almost forgot about it (despite owning the game), but it was a fairly popular Amiga title too. Plays well and pretty fun actually. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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