Posted on: August 3, 2014
Dudenacious
Verified ownerGames: 163 Reviews: 3
An authentic homage to '80s gaming
Retro City Rampage takes the gameplay of the early bird's-eye view GTA games and beautifully transports it to an 8-bit world. Everything about this game bleeds authenticity. The graphics feel as though they'd be right at home on an NES. Environments are vibrant, colorful, and fun, with little touches like jackhammering construction crews, breakdancing street performers, and amusing signage filling virtually every screen. The music is held to the same four channel limitation composers faced on an NES, with wonderfully creative, classic-sounding results. The only liberty taken is the amount of stuff occurring on screen is well beyond what any NES could handle without incredible stuttering, but that is one area where being untrue to the era is desirable. So many indie titles going for an 8-bit style have mismatched sprite sizes and lazily composed/stolen music, so RCR's efforts to get it right stand out as being especially laudable. The game is clearly designed for people who grew up in the late '80s/early '90s, and it relies heavily on nostalgia for that era. References are dropped to virtually every major game title of the time as well as pop culture phenomena like Saved by the Bell and Ghostbusters. Like so much reference-based humor, it is hit and miss, but the throwback gameplay sequences that come hand in hand with the jokes are faithful and enjoyable. Bottom line: Highly recommended for people looking for a good throwback gaming experience.
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