Rampage: Total Destruction Review





Developer: Pipeworks Publisher: Midway Games
Release Date: April 24, 2006 Also On: GCN and PS2

Some games age well. Other games are games that people have fond memories of, but playing them again only reminds them how far video games have come. Rampage, to many people, is in the latter category, and Total Destruction, while a competent and entertaining game, will probably not be enough to dissuade many people of that notion, even at its budget price of $20.

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Graphically, there’s nothing to complain about in Total Destruction. The graphics are decent, but they do not come anywhere near maxing out the graphical capabilities of current-generation systems. Everything looks nice, however, and you will never be confused as to what something is supposed to be, which is something you expect in a current-generation game. Overall, the graphics are slightly better than would be expected from most budget titles. On the sound front, what sound there is is utilized well. The screams of people and the other voice acting really comes off quite well. The music, while far from extraordinary, is not bad in and of itself. Suffice it to say there are no major complaints to be leveled at the sound, but there are no majorly awe-inspiring elements to it either

So far as the gameplay goes, if you’ve played Rampage or Rampage: World Tour, you have the idea as to what this game is like. You choose a monster, you go to an area of a city with a bunch of buildings in it and you destroy stuff. It truly is not a difficult concept to comprehend at all. However, Midway has made a valiant effort to modernize the game. The first major change that you’ll notice is that the game now takes place in three dimensions, allowing you to climb the sides of buildings or the front of them. Adding this third dimension to the game was a very good idea as it improves the presentation of the game significantly and also makes it seem more realistic.

The second major change is in the area of unlockables. You unlock monsters by finding them in the various areas of the game, and each monster can unlock four special moves by completing various objectives in the levels. Even though each monster unlocks the same four special moves, they each need to unlock them individually, adding significantly to the replay value for those who truly care to take the time to unlock them all. However, the game gets repetitive enough that most people probably won’t bother to do so.

Speaking of special moves, the monsters are equipped with an attack set that far outdoes the punch/kick mechanic of World Tour and definitely is above the punch-only of the original Rampage. This adds significantly more depth to the game as the different attacks do different amounts of damage to the buildings but also are worth different quantities of points, making you think more strategically as to which attacks you are going to use.

Like the other Rampage games, this game also has multi-player in some modes so you can destroy cities with your friends, although a mode where the city didn’t matter and you tried to kill each other might not have been a bad addition to the multi-player options (some people, like Kyle, just decide to attack the other human player for the fun of it). Also included with this game are the arcade versions of Rampage and Rampage: World Tour. They play well and accurately to the originals, but, for those of you who own the first two titles in the Midway Arcade Treasures series, they are virtually meaningless. Putting them in was still a nice gesture though.

In conclusion, if you are a Rampage fan, you will likely enjoy this game and at the $20 price level, there’s little reason not to buy it. If you’re not a fan of Rampage, then this game probably won’t change your mind, so I’d recommend trying it before buying it. Still, anybody who just wants a game where the objective is to destroy stuff could have justifiable cause for adding this game to their collection.

Graphics: 6
Sound: 7
Gameplay: 6
Creativity: 6
Replay Value/Game Length: 5
Final: 6.1
Written by Martin Review Guide

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