System: Nintendo Entertainment System
Title: Rampage
Publisher: Data East
Circa: 1988
Overall Rating:
 

Intro

 Everyone’s seen Godzilla and just as many people have had the urge to level a city as a Giant monster like that fine reptile. At least for the Nintendo version, you can play as either George or Lizzie.

Story

You’re off to destroy the continental US! Maybe with a friend or with a pizza. The little blurbs between the cities can be entertaining

Gameplay

Technically, this game doesn’t end. It apparently does cycle a limited number of time before resetting the counter. It took me and a friend most of the night, but we managed to play through an entire cycle. It was something else to see that we had dominated the VAST majority of the US. There were only a few places on the East Coast that got skipped, but I figured next time. This game did grate on me during that play-through though. Still, for a young boy to stay up late in for the explicit purpose of finding out if there was an end to Rampage deserves remembrance. There were several versions of this game released. Incidentally, the Atari Lynx had the greatest amount of character selection with Lizzie the Lizard, George the Gorilla, Ralph the Wolf and Larry the Rat. The NES version reviewed here only has George and Lizzie. Not going to complain all that much.

Multiplayer

A competitive style of play here! You and your friend (for the NES) are after who can destroy the most buildings per stage, thus getting the higher score. Of course, if your “buddy” wound up as a human and you happened to be nearby … they made a good snack.

Controls

Very simple controls, as per typical format for the NES. D-pad to move around as well as to scale the builds and direct you’re your punches (Upwards, straight ahead or down).

Graphics

Average at best for the NES. The biggest qualm many have with the game is the constant reuse of backgrounds and stages.

Sound Effects & Music

The crumbling is good, as are the punches that hit other players and the smashing sound, destroying a portion of the building. The music itself gets boring after 10 minutes and annoying after 30. It is highly recommended to have your own soundtrack for any extended play-through of this game.

Obscurity:

This game is definitely more well-known thanks to some reincarnation on various collections. It also got a few sequels, unlike several other, sometimes more deserving games reviewed here.

Summary/Author’s Take

It is a solid game, with a few glaring flaws. I’ve been playing it for a very long time and enjoy it much more in short burst. It isn’t a game to play alone, I will confirm that. Pizza helps, as do some other things, like friends. It's just one of the games it's fun to play, but the few qualms will bug you after long enough. It is a wonderful game to have played. But I will saying playing it through to the restart of the cycle? Thanks but no