Retro City Rampage

 PC
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 97 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 59 out of 97
  2. Mixed: 29 out of 97
  3. Negative: 9 out of 97

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  1. Nsaneme1
    Oct 15, 2012
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm a teenager who didn't grow up in the era of the 80s, and I found this game enjoyable, at times. The game starts out with your average tutorial, but as the game goes on the missions only get more and more frustrating. An example, of a frustrating moment in this game is the mission "sweaty" jumping. The objective of it is to get to the top of the floor. Sounds simple enough, but to make it more difficult it's all timed jumping. The timed jumping isn't that bad, but having to listen to the same music looping over and over again while attempting to complete the level is annoying. Now, the game's missions are difficult at times, and the game keeps you, as the player, coming back to see how the story unfolds. However, the missions sometimes feel too difficult maybe that is to emulate the NES was back then. Overall, the game is a good game, if you want to play it for the GTA feeling of it. The customization of the character is unique because there's multiple things you can customize about the character(hair, face, hat etc...) For the difficulty of the game, the annoying missions, the unique customization, and retaining the feeling of the an actual GTA game. I rate it a 6.… Expand
  2. violentine
    Mar 7, 2013
    6
    Retro City Rampage. It's a retro-looking GTA 1 (even more retro than gta itself). I didn't understand anything in the 5 first minutes of the game. Everything is very small and the constant flow of gaming parodies in the dialog, missions, buildings, cars (everywhere!) can be rather overwhelming. Things move on quickly and you may roam the city free or do the main questline that consists ofRetro City Rampage. It's a retro-looking GTA 1 (even more retro than gta itself). I didn't understand anything in the 5 first minutes of the game. Everything is very small and the constant flow of gaming parodies in the dialog, missions, buildings, cars (everywhere!) can be rather overwhelming. Things move on quickly and you may roam the city free or do the main questline that consists of fetch this and fetch that quests although breaking this grind momentarily by offering new toys to play with. The problem I had was that I didn't immerse to the "story" at all, the countless parodies make dialog and the story confusing and irrelevant. It was fun to throw people their mail and notice it was a parody of Paperboy (the game). What if you never heard of? It's just a mini-game. How about the other problems: driving is boring and different cars (making no sound when driving full speed!?) offer you nothing unique, weapons all feel pretty much the same except for explosives that get yourself killed easily and the often mentioned Meatboy minigame (as are the others) is just a distraction from the main game and only for the completionists. Only thing above average this game can offer you is a fantastic mini-game 'spot the reference'.… Expand
  3. Riskyreview
    Apr 19, 2013
    6
    This would have been amazing about 20 years ago now it's just an irrelevant parody lost in a new generation of games.
    This game fits better for something like the ipad so you can play it on the go instead of waisting time when you could be playing better games like bioshock or tomb raider.
  4. Rotondi
    Jan 7, 2013
    6
    I wonder if somene had been working on designing a candle that burned longer when Edison released the light bulb. Probably. Thinking up the concept of electricity is hard enough, but pulling the parts together and making it happen just gives the layman a migraine. It's lot easier just to improve something that already exists. Like giving horses sterioids or strapping a chair to the wingsI wonder if somene had been working on designing a candle that burned longer when Edison released the light bulb. Probably. Thinking up the concept of electricity is hard enough, but pulling the parts together and making it happen just gives the layman a migraine. It's lot easier just to improve something that already exists. Like giving horses sterioids or strapping a chair to the wings of a pelican. Retro City Rampage is a blast back to Grand Theft Auto 1 days, a message that is blasted all over your face until your blind. Every aspect of this game couldn't get more retro if it literrally transported you back to the days where wearing JNCO pants was cool; and along the way fuzed a pair of "turn everything neon" glasses to your skull.

    The beginning of the game is so just fast paced and loud that there should be a caveat: "Warning: This game may cause seizures." It's like, slow down little Bessy. You just got started. It's acting like your friend that can't stop taking Adderal for no apparent reason. You want to tell him to cool down for a hot second so you don't have to keep making efforts to avoid seeing him in public places. Sure your friend will eventually get over the problem, and if you're a good enough friend then you'll probably wait for that moment. Then finally have a chance to enjoy the game happily ever after. I, however, did not wait. Shows what kind of friend I am.    … Expand
  5. RagAndBoneMan
    Oct 19, 2012
    6
    As others have stated, it's a soulless nostalgia pandering game with ok controls but nothing to do with them. This has absolutely no personality of it's own and just tries its hardest to be liked by everyone and anyone that has been alive for more than twenty years. I love GTA style games but this one was obviously produced by someone missing the point. Parody does not simply meanAs others have stated, it's a soulless nostalgia pandering game with ok controls but nothing to do with them. This has absolutely no personality of it's own and just tries its hardest to be liked by everyone and anyone that has been alive for more than twenty years. I love GTA style games but this one was obviously produced by someone missing the point. Parody does not simply mean reference. Don't be suckered in with it's false charm.… Expand
  6. Wendigo2064
    Oct 11, 2012
    5
    The nostalgic pandering to my generation is obviously the game's selling point, but it's also my biggest problem with the whole experience. Perhaps I can't honestly call "Retro City Rampage" bad, but I can call it dumb. I know so many people, like myself, grew up with these other games, but where's the... well, new game? This is Wayan's brothers territory-- not a shred of original content,The nostalgic pandering to my generation is obviously the game's selling point, but it's also my biggest problem with the whole experience. Perhaps I can't honestly call "Retro City Rampage" bad, but I can call it dumb. I know so many people, like myself, grew up with these other games, but where's the... well, new game? This is Wayan's brothers territory-- not a shred of original content, but plenty of references to something better. More often than not, the fun of "Retro City Rampage" is getting the references... but that's the end of the joke. There are hundreds of gamer in-jokes, but very few actually impact gameplay. Some, like a poorly designed bit-trip runner sidequest, are so shoddily put together you'll want to just go play the real game instead. Underneath all this referential nonsense is a perfectly decent sandbox arcade game, but it takes some digging to find it buried under the thoughtless parody. The controls are tight, the game has depth, the world is just the right size for plenty of delicious secrets... but something slipped in the game aping. It makes me sad to see indie devs sinking under the weight of referential humor, rather than simply trying to make a good product. There is so little value in a joke like "Look, there's the game genie! Get it?" That a decently made game becomes irritating. But that may be just me. For anyone who wants a trip down memory lane coupled with a decent arcade game, well here ya go. Personally, I'll stick to indie games with some originality.… Expand
  7. Billick
    May 1, 2014
    5
    Retro City Ransom is a mixed bag. When it's good, it's quite good. I like the graphics and the soundtrack quite a bit, and a lot of the references are funny. The GTA1 style open world game play is a blast. The problem is that the game is too bogged down with unskippable, unfun filler missions. A lot of these are just half baked references to older games which are over as soon as you kindRetro City Ransom is a mixed bag. When it's good, it's quite good. I like the graphics and the soundtrack quite a bit, and a lot of the references are funny. The GTA1 style open world game play is a blast. The problem is that the game is too bogged down with unskippable, unfun filler missions. A lot of these are just half baked references to older games which are over as soon as you kind of figure out what you're supposed to be doing. This game probably could have been better had it been more focused, but as it is, I can't recommend it.… Expand
  8. meatwadf
    Jan 4, 2015
    5
    The game had a lot of potential, but a decent set of gameplay mechanics is weighed down by a non stop series of references that are used as jokes in the absence of any real humor or story. Would only recommend if the buyer absolutely loved pop culture references, and the game was on sale.
  9. sebastianali
    Aug 18, 2019
    7
    Retro City Rampage ofrece toneladas de contenido y parodias que te dejaran con la boca abierta, ademas de ofrecerte bordes decorativos a los costados que me impresionaron, sin embargo, a pesar de todo esto, a las 2 horas de juego ya te cansas con controles que dejan que desear, una historia que apesta y una jugabilidad repetitiva. Se podría decir que al igual que los juegos retro que noRetro City Rampage ofrece toneladas de contenido y parodias que te dejaran con la boca abierta, ademas de ofrecerte bordes decorativos a los costados que me impresionaron, sin embargo, a pesar de todo esto, a las 2 horas de juego ya te cansas con controles que dejan que desear, una historia que apesta y una jugabilidad repetitiva. Se podría decir que al igual que los juegos retro que no envejecieron bien, esta parodia sufrió el mismo karma.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

70
#70 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 25
  3. Negative: 1 out of 25
  1. XGN
    Jan 31, 2013
    75
    Retro City Rampage is a game that certainly has it's flaws, but if you lived through the 80's or 90's, this a game made for you. The adventure of Player is filled with references to that time period, and if words like Ninja Turtles, Mario, Contra and Batman bring back memories, you'll have great fun with Retro City Rampage.
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  2. GameStar
    Dec 14, 2012
    70
    I definitely had fun with Retro City Rampage, that much is clear.
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  3. Pelit (Finland)
    Dec 12, 2012
    77
    A stylish homage to old video games. It's just not particularly fun to play. What could have been a great game ends up just okay. [Dec 2012]
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