Rampage: World Tour
Reviewed by Scott McCall
Continuing the wave of updating classic games for new
technology, Rampage: World Tour, which appeared on the
PlayStation and Saturn, has somewhat surprisingly found
a home on the N64. Although the 64-bit port doesn't add
anything new, its three-player capability puts it ahead of its
32-bit cousins in terms of fun and replay value.
Rampage: World Tour originally arrived in the arcade as a
three-player update to the original. Midway opted to keep the
classic gameplay and perspective while only updating the
graphics and sound in the sequel. Even though people who
feel nostalgic for this game are happy Midway didn't change
it, one has to wonder what Rampage would be like in 3D?
As stated, Rampage: World Tour contains the same gameplay
mechanics as the original. That means you punch, kick, and
jump your way through the levels. The object is to destroy
as much of the level as possible -- hopefully all of it -- before
the evacuation team comes in and blows up the city. The
levels extend multiple screens in all directions. Along the
way, you also have to deal with robots, the armed forces,
crazy individuals, and much more. You'll be taking quite a
beating, so you'll need to find and eat food, not to mention
people, too! There are also occasional bonus levels to help
break the monotony, and because the game is called Rampage:
World Tour, you'll destroy cities around the world by finding
special flags. Finally, the unlimited continues are very helpful
in a game like this in which you die so much.
The control in Rampage: World Tour is sufficient but not
superb. You do have your choice of using the Control Pad or
the Control Stick, and you can change the controller configuration
for the three actions. However, the N64 controller doesn't
quite feel natural for a game like this. Rampage: World Tour
also supports the Rumble Pak, but it's not worth using because
of the constant swapping with the Controller Pak that you
have to do.
Graphically, Rampage: World Tour is surprisingly impressive
in motion. The levels can be huge and sprawling, and everything
is large, bright, and colorful. The sound is not bad, either.
Unfortunately, it's all in mono. The sound effects are nice,
with a fair amount of good voice samples and some cool
destruction sounds. The hard-rockin' music would have been
much better in stereo, but it can also get quite repetitive.
Nevertheless, the audio gets the job done.
As a one-player game, Rampage: World Tour is definitely not
worth the price of admission. As a two-player game, it gets
quite a bit more fun. And as a three-player game, it becomes a
decent party title that's better than the 32-bit versions. (By
the way, in the multi-player modes, you can all pick the same
character and can beat each other up.) With approximately 130
levels, there are a lot of towns and cities to destroy. Unfortunately,
will you really want to destroy them all? For me, I much rather just
go pop in my 8-bit versions than spend $50+ on Rampage: World Tour.
Graphics: 3.4 out of 5
Sound: 3.3 out of 5
Control: 3.4 out of 5
Gameplay: 3.3 out of 5
Lastability: 2.9 out of 5
Overall: 3.3 out of 5