![]() Playing through the story and exploring Theftropolis leads you to uncover nearly 40 “sprees” which lampoon the often pointless side-missions of the Grand Theft Auto universe. Ironically, it’s the moments that do which are some of the strongest. Talking to Provinciano, he noted that he didn’t want Retro City Rampage to feel like a collection of mini-games. And this is to say nothing of the last hour or two of the game, in which the stages depend on so much tough-as-nails classic pattern recognition and precision that beating them slowly deflates any sense of victory. Missions which mock the fetch and follow quests of eras gone by don’t improve on that style of play, but rather repeat it. Several depend on the timed, expert use of the game’s vehicles, but the controls leave a lot to be desired when it comes to weaving in and out of the city’s labyrinthine alleyways. Some will send you all the way across town to meet a friend of the doctor’s, only to have them give you a power-up that you use for one minute and then never revisit again. Of the 62 story missions in the game, it’s not an exaggeration to say that roughly half of them are a wash for one reason or another. It’s on this front, unfortunately, that Retro City Rampage is less dependable. The social contract of Provinciano’s walk down memory lane dictates that beyond the nostalgia - when the references become too scattershot (and they do), or go entirely over some players’ heads (and they will) - there should be a compelling game beneath it all. That kind of playfulness comes at a price, however. Retro City Rampage is The Friend Who Wants To Stay Up Late With You Talking About Your Childhood: The Game. For players steeped in the media of the last several decades, the result is a chaotic playground of sorts. With tongue firmly in cheek, Provinciano skirts the limits of the law to pack the game with a more genuine, deeply embedded sense of gaming history than perhaps any title to date. Speaking of Mario, hopping on the heads of enemies pairs seamlessly with gunplay as a method of taking out threats and nuisances. and the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game… turtles who you earlier beat up when they came out of the sewers. Later, you’ll help Lee arm some bombs in an underwater sequence reminiscent of Super Mario Bros. ![]() You’ll assist Major Lee Solid in protecting his weapons business by wreaking havoc with a bionic arm to give his competitors a bad name. It goes well beyond iconography to define the mechanics and flow of the game. Like a quilt made out of pre-millenial childhood, the game world is stitched together with hundreds of references to TV shows, movies, and – most importantly – video games from the 80s and 90s. Think the GTA-meets- Back to the Future plotline contained a dense set of references? Think again. The plot may take you all over the place, but Retro City Rampage is a game occupied with the past. Seizing on the good doc’s plight as a chance to cause havoc, Player cuts a swath through Theftropolis on a series of missions and mini-missions that are linked to a mystery straddling the past, present, and future. Using a crime-ridden open world as its foundation, Retro City Rampage casts you as the opportunistic “Player ” a thug who gets caught up in a time-traveling doctor’s attempt to repair a futuristic car. Finally released last week, it has evolved into much more. It started as an experiment to recreate Grand Theft Auto III for the NES, known at the time as Grand Theftendo. Activating one for the first time is an experience all at once nostalgic and frustrating: two words which seem to encapsulate the earnest but bumpy ride through Retro City Rampage.Īlmost ten years in the making, Retro City Rampage is the brain child of developer Brian Provinciano. They give you extraordinary powers, but also revoke your ability to save the game until you shut it down and return. Strewn about the fictional city of Theftropolis are live cheat codes. Looking for Retro City? Just strap on your nostalgia goggles.
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