Rampage! (Atari, NES, Sega Master System)
So so so many systems… Did we get a good Rampage! port?
LOCR Producer: Rampage was an incredibly significant game here in Australia, and even though it’s getting older now, we definitely thought it was worth looking at both the game, and the history behind it.
Rampage itself is a simple premise. Leveling city blocks.There’s a handful of monsters to choose from, different powerups can be found in-game and you’ll be up against military helicopters, tanks and the police. The game is hyper-simple, and that’s why it worked so well in arcades. At home, the game feels incredibly shallow; It’s fun to play through with a friend but this game has one really big thing going for it, it’s got one of the most incredible histories in Australia.
In Australia, it’s widely documented that the emergence of Rampage in arcades and at home on the Atari 2600 simultaneously drew attention to the slow progress of home consoles which caused a panic among the gaming communities; they wanted the arcade experience at home. The gaming market bottomed out, the consumers became far too aware of what they’re missing out on. Luckily, only a year or two after Rampage was released, so was the Mastersystem and the Nintendo Entertainment System. All that lost interest in videogames was quickly regained by the extremely popular Rampage port for the SMS. (source unverified)
Rampage is probably not a game that you’ll be fishing for on your day off, but you might try leaving it on your coffee table so your friends see it and offer to play a round or fifty.