Retro City Rampage: DX

Entertainium ( )

The game is one gigantic tribute to anyone that grew up with an NES, but it’s also a good introduction to newcomers of the great days of old. It’s very easy to pick up and play and the difficulty is about right. Some missions can be a little irritating, but not as irritating as past NES games could be. Auto-saves and the ability to save anywhere really help at easing tension.

Gaming Nexus (8.9 out of 10)

Retro City Rampage works as an always funny parody of Grand Theft Auto and classic games. But it's much more than that. There's some devilishly clever content here, including a solid action game with consistently humorous writing. Not every joke lands, but the experience is so dense with ridiculous fun that it's impossible to imagine somebody not having a good time with Retro City Rampage!

Cheat Code Central (4.2 out of 5)

I don't often admit to giggling in public, but Retro City Rampage had me giddy as a schoolgirl. I think it's safe to say that if the thought of 8-bit nostalgia appeals to you at all, this game will make you weep gigantic pixilated tears of bliss. Of course, it's also possible that those are actually tears of frustration. Either way, you should probably just man up and download this title. It's well worth the $15, even if you can't get past the tougher sections later in the game. Just try not to break any controllers, 'kay?

The Good Old Days (Staff Reviews only) (5 out of 6)

It's literally been years that I've been entertained this well by a game I didn't know before! Even more than the (admittedly funny) storyline, the totally free play, simply exploring all the corners of the city and discovering its many hidden secrets, is very close to my heart. Whether this will be the same for younger players or whether they will see it as just another mediocre and eventually forgettable curiosity, I don't dare to judge.

Gameplay (Benelux) (81 out of 100)

Retro City Rampage is een prima tussendoortje boordevol nostalgie, grapjes en knipogen en actievolle, op GTA geïnspireerde gameplay. Een kleurrijk aanradertje voor de liefhebbers.

Calm Down Tom (8 out of 10)

There’s certainly a lot of content crammed into RCR, not counting the cleverly hidden treasures. Some people may consider the price tag slightly high in view of the short story missions, and rightly so, but exploring every far reaching corner of RCR’s seething map is quite a challenge, one that I still have yet to do even after many hours of playtime. At heart, Retro City Rampage is a charming gesture to the games of our early lives, and for those who find joy in concentrated dosages of nostalgic freedom and destruction, this game will be worth picking up.

Chip Power Play ( )

Zum Glück verlässt sich Retro City Rampage nicht ausschließlich auf seinen koketten Parodie-Liebreiz. Es ist ein kompetentes Sprite-GTA mit Sandbox-Spielwelt und vielen Missionen, die meistens irgendwie an irgendeinen bestimmten Klassiker erinnern, aber auch für sich vergnüglich sind... meistens. Zum einen fängt die Steuerung das Gefühl der Vorlage nicht immer gut ein. Und der Schwierigkeitsgrad schlägt sporadisch arg heftig in Old-School-Schmerzregionen aus. Immerhin sorgen Challenges für kurze Abreagier-Zerstreuung jenseits der Story. Stilecht ist die Inszenierung mit Retro-Flair-Grafik und halsbrecherisch wirbelnden Chiptune-Rhythmen. Vor allem für Vertreter der Generation C64/NES ein wohliges (und preiswertes) Vergnügen. Auch wenn mich manche Mission angenervt hat, bin ich gerne wieder zu Retro City Rampage zurückgekehrt. Es hat Charme, Witz und die allseits begehrte „Mal was anderes“-Frische.

Games.cz (8 out of 10)

Tahle hra bezostyšně kopíruje Grand Theft Auto a ještě k tomu i celou herní kulturu osmdesátých let. Přesto je to vlastně neuvěřitelný originál a perla pro milovníky retra. Ani těch pár chyb a vysoká obtížnost by neměly odradit ty z vás, kteří si pamatují hraní na osmibitech.

4Players.de (80 out of 100)

Retro City Rampage ist kein gutes Spiel. Es ist nett und unterhaltsam, aber gleichzeitig auch simpel, flach und hohl. Was es aber ist, ist eine verdammt gute Sammlung an Erinnerungen daran, was in den 80ern und 90ern irgendwie cool oder angesagt war, eine Liebeserklärung an die Ära der dicken Pixel und des Plastikpops. Die Unmengen an Anspielungen und Insiderwitzen sind kaum in Worte zu fassen, wer mit all dem Wahnsinn aufgewachsen ist, der hier an allen Ecken und Enden liebevoll durch den Kakao gezogen wird, kommt aus dem Gackern kaum heraus. Wer keinen Sinn für diese Ära hat, der kann und sollte die Finger von RCR lassen - das hier ist von einem Wahnsinnigen für viele Wahnsinnige gemacht, die sich die Passion Pixel teilen. Alleine mit den ganzen Grafikoptionen hier hatte ich mehr Spaß als mit der Gesamtheit von Resident Evil 6.

Games TM (8 out of 10)

Even though Retro City Rampage does make several missteps, it manages to get so many things right. The end result is a fitting tribute to the halcyon days of gaming and an entertaining game in its own right.

GameSpot (7 out of 10)

The ride's a little rough at times, but Retro City Rampage's blend of open-world action and 8-bit style is goofy, novel fun.

videogamer.com (7 out of 10)

The best moments of Retro City Rampage come from a shared enjoyment of the past, such as when you realise you can stomp on the heads of pedestrians for bonus points or switch the game's colour filter to make it look more like a Mega Drive game. Here's a game that raises a glass to the past, and while Retro City Rampage is never as good as the strength of its references there's still plenty here for lovers of nostalgia to get involved in.

GameSpot (7 out of 10)

Back in 1987, when the NES was at the peak of its reign, the video game world was not yet ready for the open-world urban crime adventure. But today, a quarter century later, Retro City Rampage lets you experience what the genre might have been like if it had been introduced on that now-primitive platform. In terms of its gameplay, it's often not quite faithful enough to the games of the era that inspired it, and in terms of its difficulty, it's sometimes too faithful. But all in all, Retro City Rampage is an enjoyable experience in which old meets new to create something both fresh and familiar.

GameStar (Germany) (70 out of 100)

Ich hatte auf jeden Fall meinen Spaß mit Retro City Rampage, so viel ist klar. Die ganzen Anspielungen und Zitate aus einer vergangenen Ära wecken einfach schöne Erinnerungen. Zusätzlich steckt in einigen Dialogen eine Menge Witz, und anfangs kommt dem Spiel die GTA-Mechanik sehr zugute: Ich will alles erkunden, will neue Waffen finden und Chaos veranstalten. Wegen der nicht allzu großen Spielwelt ging dieses Gefühl bei mir aber bald verloren, und irgendwann macht es auch keinen Spaß mehr, wieder bis zum höchsten Fahndungslevel vor der Staatsgewalt zu flüchten. Trotzdem, meine Zeit in Theftropolis war super. Für den recht kleinen Preis kann man da schon mal zugreifen, besonders, wenn man in der 80ern und 90ern großgeworden ist.

AllAboutTheGames.co.uk ( )

It's needless nitpicking, and the very feature alone probably outshines 75% of all the in-game references and jokes when it comes to retro nostalgia (along with the excellent chip-tune music). And that's really the crux of the game - one big warts'n'all snapshot of the 80s. Your enjoyment will almost entirely depend on whether you still think white suit jackets over pastel t-shirts is a good look, whether loading noises from game cassettes make you tingle inside, or whether unmarked VHS tapes recorded off the TV give you a vicarious thrill of discovery. If so, add an extra star or two to the score.

Gamekult (6 out of 10)

Retro City Rampage s'adresse à toi, lecteur, qui as vécu ces matinées pyjama un pad NES dans la main, en attendant fébrilement le Club Dorothée et les Tortues Ninjas. Nourri aux références geek des trente dernières années, et en particulier de l'ère 8-bit, ce jeu indé tout en pixels accumule les clins d'oeil, les bons mots et les filtres graphiques, quitte à en faire parfois trop, mais toujours avec le même entrain et la même autodérision. Les nombreux défauts de conception, qu'il s'agisse du système de visée ou des missions étrangement calibrées, et une certaine forme de monotonie ne doivent pas faire oublier l'ambition de ce projet porté par un seul homme, qui aura réussi à nous emporter durant sept à huit heures dans son trip rétro. Même si le concept reste plus puissant que le résultat, on ressort satisfait de cette aventure faite de blips et de blops.

Retro Spirit Games ( )

If this game brings more fans to the retro and indie gaming community then that's great. I am sure people will shout this game's praises until their throats are hoarse. I'm sad to say I won't be joining them. Sure, this is throwaway fun with some mild chuckles and nostalgia thrown in, but it's a fairly charmless and shallow experience that offers no original ideas, won't hold your attention for very long, and tries far too hard to be hip and cool with its onslaught of references.

Jeuxvideo.com (12 out of 20)

Reto City Rampage n'atteint pas tous ses objectifs. Son aspect parodique manque de finesse, se limitant à faire surgir brutalement un clin d'oeil sans chercher plus loin, mais repérer les innombrables références devient malgré tout un jeu dans le jeu et un hommage encyclopédique au jeu vidéo et à la culture geek. Son plus grand charme demeure sa réalisation qui le ferait passer pour un jeu d'époque aux yeux d'un expert. Dommage cependant que ses qualités ludiques ne suivent pas toujours. Retro City Rampage reste un moyen agréable de passer le temps en se remémorant les temps anciens, quand on était capable de tout pardonner, vu qu'on n'avait pas le choix.

Gamegravy (5.5 out of 10)

If you can get past the smug, winking presentation and the callback joke humor that often falls flat, there’s a really good game to be played. One would think that with all the color filters and letterbox options – like Virtual Boy, which was released in 1995, by the way – there would be one that made this look like a semi-modern, palatable game.

IGN (5.3 out of 10)

There's plenty to like about Retro City Rampage from its nods to our childhoods to its easy to get behind gameplay to its arcade mini-games, but the story -- the main hook of the title -- just doesn't stand up. Player's quest is just an excuse to get to the next reference, the missions tend to be cheap, and checkpoints aren't forgiving.

GameSpy ( )

As a celebration of everything that made the 1980s and '90s gaming scene memorable, Retro City Rampage is an excellent museum exhibit. Its levels are a playable history lesson, from levels inspired by Robotron: 2084 and Tapper to an extensive list of visual tweaks that can make the 8-bit graphics look like it's being played on a GameBoy, DOS, or anything in between. It's certainly a love letter to a past era. However, as a modern game it's not nearly as successful. There's a reason why a lot of the design ideas of yesteryear have gone by the wayside over the past couple of decades: Many of them weren't very good.