Rampage: Total Destruction

Bigger doesn't necessarily mean better. [jan. 2007, p.106]

There is still something incredibly satisfying about beating your buddy up until he shrinks down to a little naked person and then eating him for lunch.

If you already own it on the previous consoles there isn’t much here to warrant a second purchase, but with a few tweaks and some polish this game could easily make a comeback in the world of games.

It's not a triple-A title by any stretch -- with its gameplay quirks and audio that sounds recorded in a bus-station bathroom -- but it captures the sense of simple fun that Nintendo was shooting for with this new-fangled console.

If you were a big fan of Rampage and have been thinking "I'd like this more if I could physically punch instead of button mash!", then you're pretty much the target audience.

A sloppy, unimaginative title that on the Gamecube was barely passable and on a next generation console is just not acceptable!

I think this game’s real value lies in the simplicity and accessibility that would be really good for an enjoyable party game or as a rental.

In concept it is a great game, but the execution and half baked controls really ruin this game that would have been on gamers must have list.

Why stick to an old formula when it’s not as fun compared to games of the current generation? Still, there can be some nostalgic fun with Rampage, so it isn’t a complete write-off.

Shoehorning in the most basic of Wii motion-sensing controls isn't enough to make a clunky, repetitive game like Rampage fun--if anything, it just makes it more annoying.

The developers failed to take good advantage of the Wii's controllers, as swinging punches becomes boring after half an hour.

What's most disappointing, however, is how pitifully the game's "attitude" falls on its face. Every last unfunny quip issued by the traffic chopper, every painful Arnold Schwarzenegger impression, every ham-fisted racial stereotype is so poor that you can't help but wonder "what were they thinking?"

The main game feels buggy and lacks that classic feel, and for an added $10 on top of the original $19.99 price tag there's no way to justify its Wii existence.

Midway tries to resurrect their fun Rampage franchise on the Wii and fails miserably. Get ready for some simplistic controls and extremely dated visuals.

Repetitive button mashing in a mechanical 20-year-old game that's completely lacking innovation. Will the army ever nail these outdated and dull monsters? [January 2007, p.44]

The bottom line is that the core gameplay is tedious beyond belief - so much so that I doubt you'd even get value from renting it.

Trying to adapt the controls from earlier incarnations of the game for the remote left a nigh-unplayable mess filled with crude sounds and very little to endear it even to fans of the series. If you really want to get your fix of playing as a giant monster demolishing buildings, play the cheaper and better incarnations of the game for previous-generation consoles or wait for the older games which are bonus features in this title to show up on the Virtual Console.

There's always one dreadful launch game (remember the GameCube's "Universal Tour"?) and Rampage: World Destruction is the Wii's. Even if you once enjoyed "Rampage" you won't like this. [Jan 2007, p.82]

So while this could be construed as the first Wii budget release, to date it’s certainly the worst release for the system.