Retro City Rampage DX
Heavily resembling an earlier 8-bit game-hence the name-, Retro City Rampage DX is an open-world top-down self-aware adventure filled with popular culture references from the 1980s. The player takes the roll of a character name Player who resembles a greaser ‘cool kid’ from its said zone of reference. With heavy influence from the Destructoid crew (back when Jim Sterling was involved), this game features an abundance of weapon types, game and player modifications, and humorous themes. Apart from the content I would like to feature in the exposition of this review, a very noteworthy act by the creators of Retro City Rampage was the free update involving the Director’s Cut (DX) edition, which was supplemented to each other platform as well as Steam.
Here are just a few reasons to give this game a try:
Open World - Similar to the first two Grand Theft Auto titles, Retro City Rampage DX utilizes a top-down open-world approach, which permits the exploration of the vast overworld on foot or with one of the game’s many unique vehicles. Within this sandbox are varying side missions, shops, secrets (featured later), a primary story arch, and non-player characters which stride throughout the area with their own agendas. Seeing as though the Player can wreak havoc in many different ways with both a large inventory of weapons and objects as well as utilizing vehicle collisions, police pursue the same principles as they would in early Grand Theft Auto titles: kill the Player. Apart from this perspective, the actual missions within the world are quite enjoyable; the primary quest-line advances the story and side quests typically give the Player access to unique equipment, vehicles, and services.
Free Roaming Mode - When the Player wishes to experience the sandbox action to Retro City Rampage DX without having to focus on missions appearing on the mini-map and the loss of money as a death penalty, Free Roaming mode is always available from the Main Menu. Though some of the features are not accessible as they would be through the main game-such as completing various missions-, Free Roam spawns the Player with nearly every weapon available and practically pats you on the head while saying, “Go have fun!” There is absolutely not penalty for death-with a life tracker humorously tracing the Player’s deaths in the negatives-but the same overworld ‘police chase you if you do something bad’ theme still applies.
Humor - Retro City Rampage DX features references mostly from 1980s popular culture such as Yoshi from the Super Mario Brothers and pop icon Michael Jackson, and presents these fairly bluntly throughout the territory. One instance would be a useable Warp Pipe-originally seen in the Super Mario Brothers franchise-which takes the Player to a run-down sewer system that presents themes from other titles such as Pitfall. Somewhat subtle remark placements, however, can be viewed in the game, though it does help to know or have heard of at least some icons from the 1980s to understand these.
Secrets - I prefer to allow Players to delve into this item on their own terms, but Retro City Rampage DX retains its 1980s gaming feel by packing secrets all over the map, with both simple and complex means in which to attain and discover them. There is an array of enjoyable hidden content within this game, from unlockable Player skins to special objects. Keep an eye out! My word of advice: write down those codes; you will know what I mean.
TL:DR - Though simple, Retro City Rampage DX is a highly enjoyable title that melds traditional themes with a ton of awesome gameplay mechanics. I do apologize for not writing much about this game in comparison to other titles, but I must admit that this one is one of my favorites regardless. I highly recommend giving this game a try; this is not a high-budget AA title, but its charm alone is what makes this game so engaging, with gameplay that entices the Player to continue the trek. Thanks for reading.
Do you feel this review helped in any way? Feel free to visit my Curator Page at Spearpoint Reviews.
Originally posted August 24, 2015. Last edited May 1, 2018.
Here are just a few reasons to give this game a try:
Open World - Similar to the first two Grand Theft Auto titles, Retro City Rampage DX utilizes a top-down open-world approach, which permits the exploration of the vast overworld on foot or with one of the game’s many unique vehicles. Within this sandbox are varying side missions, shops, secrets (featured later), a primary story arch, and non-player characters which stride throughout the area with their own agendas. Seeing as though the Player can wreak havoc in many different ways with both a large inventory of weapons and objects as well as utilizing vehicle collisions, police pursue the same principles as they would in early Grand Theft Auto titles: kill the Player. Apart from this perspective, the actual missions within the world are quite enjoyable; the primary quest-line advances the story and side quests typically give the Player access to unique equipment, vehicles, and services.
Free Roaming Mode - When the Player wishes to experience the sandbox action to Retro City Rampage DX without having to focus on missions appearing on the mini-map and the loss of money as a death penalty, Free Roaming mode is always available from the Main Menu. Though some of the features are not accessible as they would be through the main game-such as completing various missions-, Free Roam spawns the Player with nearly every weapon available and practically pats you on the head while saying, “Go have fun!” There is absolutely not penalty for death-with a life tracker humorously tracing the Player’s deaths in the negatives-but the same overworld ‘police chase you if you do something bad’ theme still applies.
Humor - Retro City Rampage DX features references mostly from 1980s popular culture such as Yoshi from the Super Mario Brothers and pop icon Michael Jackson, and presents these fairly bluntly throughout the territory. One instance would be a useable Warp Pipe-originally seen in the Super Mario Brothers franchise-which takes the Player to a run-down sewer system that presents themes from other titles such as Pitfall. Somewhat subtle remark placements, however, can be viewed in the game, though it does help to know or have heard of at least some icons from the 1980s to understand these.
Secrets - I prefer to allow Players to delve into this item on their own terms, but Retro City Rampage DX retains its 1980s gaming feel by packing secrets all over the map, with both simple and complex means in which to attain and discover them. There is an array of enjoyable hidden content within this game, from unlockable Player skins to special objects. Keep an eye out! My word of advice: write down those codes; you will know what I mean.
TL:DR - Though simple, Retro City Rampage DX is a highly enjoyable title that melds traditional themes with a ton of awesome gameplay mechanics. I do apologize for not writing much about this game in comparison to other titles, but I must admit that this one is one of my favorites regardless. I highly recommend giving this game a try; this is not a high-budget AA title, but its charm alone is what makes this game so engaging, with gameplay that entices the Player to continue the trek. Thanks for reading.
Do you feel this review helped in any way? Feel free to visit my Curator Page at Spearpoint Reviews.
Originally posted August 24, 2015. Last edited May 1, 2018.
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