For Wii fans, nothing is perhaps more disappointing when developers quickly rehash an old game slap a few less than compelling motion-sensing controls on the front cover. True, while some Gamecube or Playstation 2 ports have incorporated some genuinely interesting use of the Wii remote, Rampage: Total Destruction represents the more half-baked end of the development spectrum. Then again, it probably doesn’t help matters that the game isn’t all that entertaining to begin with, let alone why it should be made anymore interesting with Wii controls.Building off the 80s arcade favourite, Rampage: Total Destruction is a simple-minded, city smashing romp where the aim of the game is simple- destroy everyone and everything in your path. And, indeed, things couldn’t be more abundantly simple than that. You pick a monster, choose a city (not that you have much choice to begin with) and then proceed to wreck everything in your path. Each city is made up of various sectors that you must annihilate in order to progress to the next one, most of which are virtually indistinguishable from each other. As one of several monsters, you are able to perform a relatively basic selection of moves to level each building in the area to the ground. To do this, you’ll use the Wii remote, which takes “advantage” of the new motion-sensing technology at hand. It has to be said, though, that Rampage uses these controls in any other way but compelling.
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| The aim of the game is simple; pick your favourite monster and lay waste to cities all over the world |
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The military will call in the big guns to put a stop to your plans, however |
While your basic punch and jump are mapped to the A and B buttons respectively, swinging the remote to the left and right, or slamming it in a downward motion activates the more complicated manoeuvres. These actions are problematic at best, and a lot of the time you’ll find your monster performing a completely different attack to the one you intended on doing. Likewise, there’s little to no feeling of connection to the moves you are doing, and most of the time the game will have you hammering away at the Wii remote no different than you would mashing away at a button (which is what you’d do on the Gamecube or PS2 versions) Essentially, the controls, when compared to other games, feel incredibly tacked on, and come off more frustrating than they would had you been using a normal control pad. There’s no justification for them whatsoever. Aside from mashing things up every turn, you are presented with certain challenges for each stage. These do virtually nothing at all to splice up the action, simply requiring you to kill a certain number of pedestrians, eat a requirement of food items or simply destroy a specific object or vehicle. If you accomplish this, however, you will be rewarded with ample points or, even better, a new move. After consuming enough food (whether that be actual food or people, naturally), you’ll boost your Rampage power bar, culminating in a brief power boost in which you will be able to lay waste to pretty much anything in a matter of seconds.
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| Building windows contain various power-ups and other useful items to aid you in your quest of destruction |
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You can destroy virtually everything around you, albeit in a very limited radius |
Of course, you’re not just placed in the middle of the city to destroy all at your own leisurely pace. You have a time limit to complete each section of the city, and various Police, SWAT or military patrols will attack periodically, constantly hampering your progress. Even so, aside from the bigger threats, such as helicopters or tanks, there’s little reason to fear for you life unless you are incredibly slow at completing your task. Even the end of level bosses are ridiculously simple, and simply require you to avoid their stupidly easy attacks and swat them with your giant hand/paw/tentacle or whatever assorted ligament your monster happens to possess. At the end of the day, though, the fundamental flaw with Rampage is that it’s simply too repetitive and stuck in its ways for its own good; there’s not enough depth or variety to each mission to warrant interest, even when you get to the games latter stages. The multiplayer mode is somewhat better, where you’re able to team up with a friend to tackle the games campaign mode, although it doesn’t necessarily take longer to bore two brains instead of one. Fans of the series will be pleased to know that the original Rampage and Rampage: World Tour is included as a bonus, though.
Visually speaking, Rampage isn’t a joy to look at either, let alone play. While the monsters are quite interesting from a design point of view, the game pseudo-3D environments are practically recycled on every mission, presenting you with the monotonous task of bashing up the same, flimsy card-board looking city blocks over and over again. The games frame rate is equally unimpressive, leaving you to tackle each mission in a clumsy, rickety manner.
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| Increase the mayhem for up to four players |
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Complete challenges to increase your repertoire of moves |
Things are slightly more promising from an aural point of view, with a particularly amusing soundtrack accompanying the on screen action. Likewise, sound effects, from screaming pedestrians to loud explosions, all create something of a destructive atmosphere, even though they are repeated more than you’d probably care to hear in a single play session. Overall, Rampage: Total Destruction only proves one thing for the franchise – it’s probably better off left in the past. While it is certainly entertainment for a quick fifteen minutes or so, the games repetitive, generic gameplay doesn’t make for a worthwhile purchase. Likewise, the games controls are something of a insult to what the Wii is fully capable of, and certainly don’t justify the purchase. When it comes down to it, Rampage would probably do better as that 80s coin-op used to entertain for a mere pound coin, rather than shelling out for the full asking price.
Top Game Moment: Levelling an entire tower block and feasting on its occupants can be oddly satisfying.
