Retro City Rampage (RCR) made a great showing at the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) 2010, and it’s shaping up to be a really fantastic game. If you can picture the open world of Grand Theft Auto 1 and 2 re-imagined into an 8-bit setting, and then mashed with popular 8-bit era gameplay mechanics, and sprinkled liberally with pop-culture references and good humour, you’ll have an idea of what this game is all about.
Players take on the role of a young upstart criminal who is trying to make a name for himself in the city of Theftropolis. A master criminal going by the name of ‘The Jester’ hires the player as a henchman, and a crime spree ensues. Throughout, the player is dogged by Captain O’ Farva and his police force.
There are numerous nods to 8-bit gaming culture, such as light gun weapon, which is homage to Nintendo’s Zapper (used in games such as Duck Hunt). When shooting enemies with the weapon, enemies light up with a large white square, something Duck Hunt players will instantly recognise.
Players can jump on enemies like Mario, pick enemies up and throw them, dash across busy roads Frogger style, an even engage in some 8-bit cover system shoot-outs.
Plenty of other 8-bit era references appear throughout, and half the fun will come from discovering everything. If you ever felt that GTA was missing a Yoshi-cycle and a Zelda sword, this game will realize those dreams.
There will be over 20 weapons to discover, such as a bionic arm, spread shot gun, the light gun, molotovs, rocket launchers, and even a scythe. Over 30 different pedestrian squishing vehicles are also promised. What would an 8-bit game be without power ups? RCR will have plenty, such as a flying suit and speed shoes.
RCR is targeted for Wiiware sometime in the next six months, although according to IGN, who spoke with developer Brian Provinciano at PAX 2010, the implementation of a bunch of ‘wish list’ features could push it back further.
Provinciano also had a brief conversation with Kotaku at PAX, saying that he hopes to have the game out by December for Wiiware, and possibly one other console system.
Let’s hope for a PC release in the future as well – this kind of game would probably do extremely well on digital distribution platforms.
Mere words cannot adequately describe the sheer 8-bit awesomeness of Retro City Rampage, so have a look at the official trailer below:
Be sure to check out the MyGaming Retro City Rampage Screenshot gallery as well.
If all that has got you interested, a lengthier demonstration recorded at PAX 2010 can be found at Game Trailers showing off the great looking story gameplay mode.
Share your first impressions of Retro City Rampage on the MyGaming forum.
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