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Shocking! Scumlabs International has made yet another mistake by
messing with nature, and now the ugly beasts of their science
experiment are fighting back. This time, new mutants Curtis the
Mouse, Boris the Rhino, and Ruby the Lobster have to obliterate
numerous cities in order to rescue the original mutants (George,
Ralph, and Lizzy). Of course this wouldn't really be a universal
tour unless you also defended the earth from an alien attack.
That's right: first you destroy the earth, and then you defend
what you've just destroyed against aliens who have come from the
far reaches of space to destroy what you have already destroyed.
The graphics are better than Rampage World Tour (
/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000021Y30/${0} ) and the cities are larger.
Some even have recognizable landmarks in the background. Still,
this game is for extreme fans of the Rampage series, because
everything else remains exactly the way you remember it. --Hugh
Arnold
Pros:
* Improved graphics
* Expanded cities
* Extended plot
* New mutants
Cons:* Easy, mindless game
Review
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Rampage 2: Universal Tour is, in fact, the third game in the
Rampage series. However, it does so little to distinguish itself
from last year's Rampage World Tour that calling it Rampage 2 is
somehow fitting.
In World Tour, you chose to play as Ralph (a giant wolfman),
George (King Kong incarnate), or Lizzy (a gigantic lizard), the
same three characters who had appeared in the original 1986
arcade game, simply known as Rampage. Universal Tour's story
opens shortly after World Tour ends: Our three heroes have been
captured, separated from one another, and put on display for the
world to see. But it seems as if the world simply can't stay
safe. There's been yet another accident at Scumlabs
International, and three more monsters have been created. Your
choices at the beginning of the game are Curtis (a speedy mouse),
Boris (the slow but strong rhino), and Ruby (a lobster with
above-average skills all around). Your first mission in the game
is to travel around the world, destroying cities and searching
for George, Ralph, and Lizzy. After approximately 75 levels,
you'll have all three of the original characters , which
will start your second mission - stopping an alien invasion.
While there's plenty of levels in the game, they're all pretty
interchangeable. Sometimes the buildings are a different color,
or the layout of the building is different, but you still just
pound all the buildings into dust, eat a few humans to keep your
life up, and proceed. The larger cities (San Francisco or St.
Louis, for example) have landmarks in the background that help a
little bit to distinguish them from other cities, but since the
landmarks are in the background, you can't interact with them at
all.
The sound effects and music in Rampage 2 are pretty average. The
entire soundscape is pretty muffled, and the music is an annoying
and repetitive mix of bad guitar rock. Also, the screams of
humans as they fall out of windows are enough to drive you insane
after an hour or so. Graphically, the game is pale and dull, and
looks about on par with what we've come to expect from
sprite-based games on the N64. In comparison, the PlayStation
version looks cleaner and contains more frames of animation.
Rampage World Tour didn't exactly set the world on fire, and
Rampage 2: Universal Tour doesn't bring along enough lighter
fluid to warrant picking it up. However, it is an easy game just
to sit down in front of and play. If you feel left out because
you passed on getting World Tour last year, or you've got young
children in the house, or you're looking for a game to play
mindlessly for hours at a time, this game is worth a quick
rental. --Jeff Gerstmann
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction
in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written
permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot
logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc. -- GameSpot Review
- Over 125 levels across the world including hidden levels, 6 playable characters with new and unique moves, Weather and lighting changes..