It has been expected, but there are only a few weeks left for ‘ Retro City Rampage ‘ to reach our consoles. The expectation generated by this unique 8-bit-style ‘Grand Theft Auto’ is tremendous. This weekend, during Idéame, we were able to test the game to bring you a first contact and see if the game of VBlank is up to par or not.
‘Retro City Rampage’ going back to the 80s, through the front door
Before starting to get into the subject, let’s make a short introduction for those who don’t know this title. We start from the base of the sandbox, a genre that has been elevated, among others, by the ‘ Grand Theft Auto ‘ saga. The pleasure of being able to walk at ease and do the badass is a certainly attractive idea. We take this proposal and put it in the time machine to go back twenty-five years.
That we meet? ‘Retro City Rampage’. An action game that draws directly from the influence of the Rockstar franchise. I do not deny it at any time, in fact its resemblance to the first two installments of the series is more than obvious. However, far from being a cheap copy, we find a new title, fun and above all that brims with charisma in every pixel.
Besides taking this idea, VBlank takes a lot of references to audiovisual culture . To that of the medium itself: the video game. The nods to titles like ‘Megaman’ ‘Duck Hunt’ or ‘Metal Gear’ are unmistakable and their introduction, far from being a misused catchphrase, blends seamlessly into this curious world. There are also nods to other formats, such as television series or movies.
The game will put us in the role of “the player”. No, it is not a redundancy. This is the name of our protagonist who is immersed in a time travel and will be received as a kind of saving hero. A somewhat surreal plot but that perfectly threads the different events that will occur throughout the fifty missions into which ‘Retro City Rampage’ is divided.
50 missions, 30 challenges, and tons of weapons to wreak havoc
We take the remote, in this case the Wii, and start playing. The controls on foot are simple and intuitive: a button to jump, another to perform actions, another to get into a vehicle and another to change weapons. You already know the rest of the pause and movements configuration.
When it comes to driving vehicles, the catalog is extensive, we see that at the beginning the experience is different . The direction of the cars and motorcycles is reminiscent of that of the first ‘Grand Theft Auto’ is a bit harsh and it is not that the speed is especially high. However, once we get used to it within a few minutes the experience becomes more pleasant and not so frustrating.
As a macarilla game where destruction plays an important role, the action could not fail to be present. We will have a complete arsenal of weapons that will go from our knuckles to the bazooka through pistols and tributes to other titles: a bionic arm, a sword and a shield … The arsenal is varied and the missions themselves will force us to use one and the other.
The gameplay fits very well with the style of the titles it pays tribute to. Possibly the first sensation of those who have been in the world for a short time is strange, but those of us who have been playing for years will be all very familiar , a point in their favor. During the time we were testing ‘Retro City Rampage’ the sensations were really good.
Visually, as you have seen in the published images and videos, the game is shown in that 8-bit key that is so reminiscent of the classic NES . All the details have been taken care of with great care and there are no elements that are out of tune. Brian Provinciano and company have done an excellent job with level design and art direction.
The first impressions, after playing the first missions of the game and the arcade mode, have been really good. ‘Retro City Rampage’ complies a priori with all the hype it has generated . We will have to test it in depth and see if this contact is not a mere mirage. By the way, the game will be translated into Spanish.
Fifty missions, many challenges at our disposal and a detail in its favor: it will reach a lot of platforms so you will have no excuse not to try it. Your departure date: the month of May. The date has not yet been specified and, according to Brian Provinciano, this depends on the calendars of the different distribution platforms.
Retro City Rampage | Nintendo Wii
- Platforms : Wii (analyzed version), PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita and Xbox 360
- Developer : VBlank Entertaiment
- Distributor : VBlank Entertainment
- Released : May 2012
- Price : To be confirmed
‘Retro City Rampage’ is an action game that, based on the sandbox and other titles such as ‘Grand Theft Auto’. All this with a retro aesthetic very much in the style of NES games, the amount of winks and references is enormous.
Video | vimeo
