Rampage: Total Destruction

Gameplay

Rampage: Total Destruction, as with previous games in the series, has players destroying the environment to earn points. Other actions are available in addition to destroying buildings; people can be eaten and players can also throw vehicles to cause more damage. New to the series is the ability to climb on the front of a building to destroy it. Hidden in each city are tokens which, when eaten, will unlock new characters and special abilities. Playing well fills a character's special meter which can be used to utilize special abilities such as Rampage mode or the Roar power.

Total Destruction features four game modes. The first is a campaign in which players work to progressively take out cities around the world. King of the City and King of the World are competitive modes where up to four players compete. In King of the City, players strive to rule a city by dominating the most districts. King of the World is a series of King of the City competitions across various cities. The fourth mode is a time trial mode.

Plot

The story begins with a worker from Scum Labs showing a video about a man named George taste-testing the Scum Soda. Soda S ends up causing a mutation to George as the video ends. The man tells his boss Mr. Z that the Scum Soda had a reaction to a few individuals. When Mr. Z asks how many people went through the taste-test and had a negative reaction, the man states 30 (40 in Wii). When Mr. Z states that if the press gets a hold of this, Scum Labs will be ruined. The man states that they contained the damage as the esteemed scientist Dr. Vector tells Mr. Z that all the monsters have been cryogenically frozen and stored in specially-designed, high security storage containers. Dr. Vector states that as long as the subjects stay in the Cryo-Tubes, they pose no threat. It is also stated that the Cryo-Tubes are hidden and it's unlikely that anyone is ever going to find any of them. The man states that Scum Soda is going to be huge as George in his monster form climbs the building and grabs the man. Mr. Z tells the other people with him that they have a problem.

After the monsters tear through the country, the man returns from the hospital and informs Mr. Z that the Scum Soda is a hit, as nobody cares that they will transform into giant monsters. In fact, it implies that people actually want to turn into monsters. The game ends as Mr. Z and the man laugh in triumph as George rampages on TV.

Development and marketing

Total Destruction features two bonus games accessible instantly: the original Rampage and Rampage World Tour. The Nintendo Wii version also has a clip from the Cartoon Network TV series The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. In addition to the Cartoon Network clip, the Nintendo Wii version also features another city (Dallas), ten more monsters (three of which had appeared in previous Rampage games), and a fifth upgrade (Super Jump).

Reception

The GameCube and PlayStation 2 versions received "mixed" reviews, while the Wii version received "unfavorable" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.

Detroit Free Press gave the GameCube version a score of three stars out of four, saying, "It would be an improvement to allow your monster to tear through the Las Vegas strip, then head for Hoover Dam to cause some real havoc. But taking down cities one block at a time will have to suffice for now." However, The Times gave the PS2 version three stars out of five, saying that its "biggest problem" was "the lack of things to do, besides building-bashing and car-tossing." Entertainment Weekly gave the GameCube and PS2 versions a C+, saying that "After an hour or two of Total Destruction button-mashing, you’ll be ready to move on to Q*bert." The Sydney Morning Herald gave the PS2 version one star out of five, saying, "Those with a sadistic streak will enjoy hurling cars, gobbling victims and belching. But players will quickly tire of the repetitive button bashing required to raze buildings and swat hapless enemies."

Despite the less than positive reaction, the game sold over one million units according to Midway and the GameCube version earned Player's Choice status.