Jack Red reviews Rampage series

Hi everyone I'm Jack Red, along with Mortal Kombat series there was another Midway franchise I love. Obviously Warner Brothers owns their games now but sadly haven't done much with Rampage. I only got to play four Rampage games only missing the time travel entry. I could break the rules to do a quick review based on my experience on an emulator playing it but I simply refuse.

Also I still haven't seen the movie. But I heard a lot of great things about it. I am starting to see a theme. If you expect popular games to get good movies to only end up with bad ones. But take a forgotten classics out of no where it gets a good movie. Now isn't that confusing or what lol.

1. Rampage

The original Rampage is a classic arcade game that's ported to many consoles. I got to play it through Midway Arcade Treasures 1 & Rampage: Total Destruction. The original version doesn't have a real end. Yes a common theme many 80s arcade games had. You play as George, Lizzie or Ralph to destroy cities.

Now that sounds simple enough but many things are trying to kill you. Thankfully you can play with two people. The sound design is alright at best. There isn't a lot of changes in the levels themselves. I am not going to lie it can fun for a little while. Then it could suddenly become boring to you. For me I can get up to almost eighty levels before that happens.

Rampage in some of it's ports was given an ending. In fact in Atari Lynx port, they added a fourth monster named Larry a giant mouse. There is no bosses anywhere in the entire game. There's also no mini games of any kind or a method to alter the level selection. I would say it is a fun game but it will take really wanting to technically beating the game.

Trust me it took me hours to get up to the highest numbered level before it resets to level 1. Honestly I like the concept of being giant monsters destroying cities. A concept done better than some Godzilla games that followed. I would say it's in the middle of the pack. I can only recommend it to fellow Rampage fans.

2. Rampage World Tour

There's exactly no hiding it, Rampage World Tour is hands down the best Rampage game. There's a long gap between the classic Rampage & this. At first you would think this is going to be horrible. Then wow this actually ends up being a great updated version. Despite the title as well as adding more cities in the world to destroy.

Yeah I should mention in the original Rampage you only destroy cities in the United States. This game really does take you around the world. How many games can you honestly say delivers on that? Rampage World Tour does have mini games even if you are playing alone. It will add competitive ones for players to face each other.

Thank god they made more of a effort to differ every single city. You also can at randomly find this icon that can alter where you are going now. Eventually no matter how often the path changes every single level has to be played. There's a hidden fourth monsters you can temporary play as named V. E. R. N. that flies around.

He also can instantly destroy small building while taking out a single floor of a building in one hit. He ends up being the best monster of the game. Now officially I owned this on N64 being the only port in the 90s to maintain the three players. I also got to play the arcade version through Midway Arcade Treasures & Rampage: Total Destruction.

This game is very addicting to play for what it brings to the table. Sure it technically isn't a master piece like so many games are regarded as. But for an updated version that came a long time after the original version being this good I'm impressed. Rampage World Tour is truly an unique experience more people need to play.

3. Rampage 2: Universal Tour

Believe it or not, Rampage World Tour got a sequel called Rampage 2: Universal Tour. This was released on a few platforms since it wasn't originally an arcade game. The roster adds four more monsters with one having three variations with their own names. Yeah kinda weird considering it's the giant alien monster.

We get a new giant mouse character named Curtis. It only has been a few years since Rampage on Atari Lynx port we had a giant mouse terrorizing people. I would have to say the best two monsters are Boris and whatever name you want for the alien. I also say that because the game will only let you through using codes to have only one alien at a time.

There is a way for two players having two different versions of the alien characters in game. Sadly there's no possible way to have all three in one place. I do like the details to some of the cities this time around. There isn't a lot of levels involving space. Considering Rare made Blast Corps that also attempts a similar concept as hidden levels on Nintendo 64.

I felt that nailed being in the universe much more. Even if it is a vehicular destruction game. Rampage 2: Universal Tour is still a good sequel. Unfortunately beyond this entry the franchise starts to get worse. This game does have some great elements to keep it refreshing for awhile. Sure it won't be a home run like the previous entry but it's miles better than what followed afterwards.

4. Rampage: Total Destruction

OMG how did they screw up Rampage so frickin bad? I only have one positive thing to say about it. As stated earlier on, the first two Rampage games are also playable. In the Wii version, there's more levels & monsters added. Sadly none of that helps the game in fact it further drowns the legacy. They attempted what felt like an incomplete 3D experience that comes more awkward.

I quickly got confused if I was doing any real damage to just one building. Oh yeah you know it's bad when something as simple as damaging a building isn't exactly clear. The levels play more like rounds than how the other Rampage games does it. This by itself replaces breaks for in between the levels further taking away from the experience.

Let's be honest, Rampage always done well with a small roster. But wow why is there so many monsters in this one I'll never know. Also a lot of them are too similar to other monsters. This could affect coop game play since some monsters are very similar in how they play. When this happens in a fighting game it quickly takes away from playing it.

But considering it happened in this game, I felt more like they just wanted an excuse to have more monsters. I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up rushing the game out. Even the controls are a total mess. For something that usually relies on getting the controls simple & easy to memorize. They sure didn't do a great job at using the Wii remote & nunchuck.

I felt like I needed to tie my shoes than actually playing an Rampage game. There's not enough variety in every possible category. This game would've been a lot better with more work done on the controls with a much smaller roster of monsters. I loss interest in record time playing this abomination.