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FerreTrip: 2014-09-19 06:20:33 am
FerreTrip: 2014-09-19 06:20:33 am
FerreTrip: 2014-09-19 06:20:33 am
Nuzlocker and wannabe speedrunner
I know, I've decided to do a couple runs already, and I never get to even working on them, but this time, I might actually go ahead and try it. Strike while the iron's hot and all.
Anyway. There's a game out there that isn't all that great, but is still good for a bit of catharsis (if you're good enough at it): Rampage: Total Destruction. It's currently the last title in the Rampage franchise, and at this rate, that's how it's gonna stay; people didn't really like it. They liked it enough for a Wii-release (get it? 8D) with some extras, buuuut otherwise fell flat. It's relatively repetitive (particularly if you disregard challenges), it kinda feels like they put more effort into the NPC quips than the voices of the player characters (many characters sound almost exactly the same, grunts and all), there is very little in the way of animation variety, and the levels can get very long and annoying. Oh, and you need certain monsters to punch a certain window at a certain block in order to unlock another monster most of the time. And the music is...well, pretty lame. The only thing you can really say is that it doesn't take itself seriously and it knows it. So maybe the bad was supposed to be part of the joke, and it retains much of the series' arcade chaos, and many blocks have at least some different flavor. Until you turn it to rubble, of course.
Regardless, I'm a fan of big critters. Not really big critters happily eating and otherwise killing people (thankfully, the lighthearted nature of the game helps with that), and maybe not so much breaking stuff, but still, big critters are big. And this game is full of 'em. And instead of having them move as slow as molasses like most giants do, they can be pretty sprightly. (Probably helps they're tiny by giant monster standards--no more than, like, 3 stories tall, max. Most buildings are still neck-crackers for them.) And the final monster you get is a super-strong butterball, which I always find amusing. So I picked this game up yearrrrrs ago. Like, when Tips & Tricks was still around. And shelved it after a while like so many other titles.
But now, I decided to try and pick it up again for some strange reason or another with the intent of running it. And it's not bad, I guess, just still not one of my favorites. And I found myself blazing through it much faster than before and with far less pain since I began using a walkthrough on GameFAQs. (Many of the missions leave it likely that you'll fail to find what you need before the whole building falls down due to the punch holes you gave it while searching for the darn thing.) After a day of playing through it, I have come up with a few ideas.
All Cities%
This is basically the flat-out quickest. You go through all the levels in Campaign mode focused solely on busting up a relatively teeny swath of cityscape and may use any monster you have unlocked from the get-go. You get to ignore all but the final boss, since the requirement for beating the last block is usually to destroy the building, not the boss. (The final level flips this, and in fact destroying the building utterly will preeeeetty much screw you over.) You of course should avoid game overing, but you simply retry the block if you do; if you find yourself about to game over on a hard city when starting a block, you might wanna game over asap so you don't potentially game over right as the final building falls and before the result screen (which, frustratingly enough, actually happened to me last night once while trying to do a challenge with a not-so-great character). There is probably more strategy involved, such as managing your Rampage meter so you fill it at the times you most need it, but much of the game is RNG-heavy if you do anything besides getting onto a building and Jump Smashing it to the ground. Which is boring, so it might not be the most entertaining run. (It IS a challenge trying not to die in the later levels, given how you've got missiles and bombs going at you left and right in addition to painful bullet fire.)
1P Co-op Any%
Campaign mode 2P but with only one actual player. This is the same as above, but actually probably faster; see, if it's co-op mode, enemies will split fire between the players. You can use this to your advantage to go and do stuff without taking as much damage. It's kinda cheap, though.
2P Co-op Any%
Campaign co-op any%. Of course, two monsters are better than one. Leveling cities twice as fast is great, but there are two problems: Friendly fire (which can cause MASSIVE damage) and requiring another human being. Thus, this category is impossible for me.
New Game%
This is the same as Campaign Any% except that it's from a fresh file. You have access only to the monsters you have at the start and that you unlock along the way. This is probably the most traditional, beat-story-mode-asap type of speedrun and has the challenge of using different characters for certain situations, accomplishing certain challenges so that you can continue on your merry way with at least Jump Smash and Multi-Spin (to extend jumps, reaching other buildings more quickly), and basically going through with what may perhaps be sub-optimal monsters.
Challenges%
This is Campaign with all the challenges/missions done in one go. This can and will be a really tough one to do, but it might be more entertaining since you're doing a different thing every single block. However, this one is far more RNG-prone, since there are many missions that can end up failing if you accidentally level a certain building (looking at you, train mission in Chicago) or depending on random window person spawns when you gotta eat 10+ of a certain type. It's also the slower run, given that you're wasting time doing the mission AND destroying the block. But as said before, this is probably more entertaining.
All Star%
No. Just no. This means all challenges, getting a par star for each city, and collecting all monsters. And you would have to do this from a fresh file. And it would take FOREVER. (The game gives you 8-10 minutes per block, and some missions will have you rushing to destroy the block after finishing them.) It would showcase the most monsters, but definitely the least fun of the possible runs for the runner. Biggest challenge, though.
I'd be up for Campaign Any%, 2P Co-op%, and New Game% at this point. If I do anything like record some runs, I'll post 'em here for people to peruse. Prepare to see much Edwin.
Anyway. There's a game out there that isn't all that great, but is still good for a bit of catharsis (if you're good enough at it): Rampage: Total Destruction. It's currently the last title in the Rampage franchise, and at this rate, that's how it's gonna stay; people didn't really like it. They liked it enough for a Wii-release (get it? 8D) with some extras, buuuut otherwise fell flat. It's relatively repetitive (particularly if you disregard challenges), it kinda feels like they put more effort into the NPC quips than the voices of the player characters (many characters sound almost exactly the same, grunts and all), there is very little in the way of animation variety, and the levels can get very long and annoying. Oh, and you need certain monsters to punch a certain window at a certain block in order to unlock another monster most of the time. And the music is...well, pretty lame. The only thing you can really say is that it doesn't take itself seriously and it knows it. So maybe the bad was supposed to be part of the joke, and it retains much of the series' arcade chaos, and many blocks have at least some different flavor. Until you turn it to rubble, of course.
Regardless, I'm a fan of big critters. Not really big critters happily eating and otherwise killing people (thankfully, the lighthearted nature of the game helps with that), and maybe not so much breaking stuff, but still, big critters are big. And this game is full of 'em. And instead of having them move as slow as molasses like most giants do, they can be pretty sprightly. (Probably helps they're tiny by giant monster standards--no more than, like, 3 stories tall, max. Most buildings are still neck-crackers for them.) And the final monster you get is a super-strong butterball, which I always find amusing. So I picked this game up yearrrrrs ago. Like, when Tips & Tricks was still around. And shelved it after a while like so many other titles.
But now, I decided to try and pick it up again for some strange reason or another with the intent of running it. And it's not bad, I guess, just still not one of my favorites. And I found myself blazing through it much faster than before and with far less pain since I began using a walkthrough on GameFAQs. (Many of the missions leave it likely that you'll fail to find what you need before the whole building falls down due to the punch holes you gave it while searching for the darn thing.) After a day of playing through it, I have come up with a few ideas.
All Cities%
This is basically the flat-out quickest. You go through all the levels in Campaign mode focused solely on busting up a relatively teeny swath of cityscape and may use any monster you have unlocked from the get-go. You get to ignore all but the final boss, since the requirement for beating the last block is usually to destroy the building, not the boss. (The final level flips this, and in fact destroying the building utterly will preeeeetty much screw you over.) You of course should avoid game overing, but you simply retry the block if you do; if you find yourself about to game over on a hard city when starting a block, you might wanna game over asap so you don't potentially game over right as the final building falls and before the result screen (which, frustratingly enough, actually happened to me last night once while trying to do a challenge with a not-so-great character). There is probably more strategy involved, such as managing your Rampage meter so you fill it at the times you most need it, but much of the game is RNG-heavy if you do anything besides getting onto a building and Jump Smashing it to the ground. Which is boring, so it might not be the most entertaining run. (It IS a challenge trying not to die in the later levels, given how you've got missiles and bombs going at you left and right in addition to painful bullet fire.)
1P Co-op Any%
Campaign mode 2P but with only one actual player. This is the same as above, but actually probably faster; see, if it's co-op mode, enemies will split fire between the players. You can use this to your advantage to go and do stuff without taking as much damage. It's kinda cheap, though.
2P Co-op Any%
Campaign co-op any%. Of course, two monsters are better than one. Leveling cities twice as fast is great, but there are two problems: Friendly fire (which can cause MASSIVE damage) and requiring another human being. Thus, this category is impossible for me.
New Game%
This is the same as Campaign Any% except that it's from a fresh file. You have access only to the monsters you have at the start and that you unlock along the way. This is probably the most traditional, beat-story-mode-asap type of speedrun and has the challenge of using different characters for certain situations, accomplishing certain challenges so that you can continue on your merry way with at least Jump Smash and Multi-Spin (to extend jumps, reaching other buildings more quickly), and basically going through with what may perhaps be sub-optimal monsters.
Challenges%
This is Campaign with all the challenges/missions done in one go. This can and will be a really tough one to do, but it might be more entertaining since you're doing a different thing every single block. However, this one is far more RNG-prone, since there are many missions that can end up failing if you accidentally level a certain building (looking at you, train mission in Chicago) or depending on random window person spawns when you gotta eat 10+ of a certain type. It's also the slower run, given that you're wasting time doing the mission AND destroying the block. But as said before, this is probably more entertaining.
All Star%
No. Just no. This means all challenges, getting a par star for each city, and collecting all monsters. And you would have to do this from a fresh file. And it would take FOREVER. (The game gives you 8-10 minutes per block, and some missions will have you rushing to destroy the block after finishing them.) It would showcase the most monsters, but definitely the least fun of the possible runs for the runner. Biggest challenge, though.
I'd be up for Campaign Any%, 2P Co-op%, and New Game% at this point. If I do anything like record some runs, I'll post 'em here for people to peruse. Prepare to see much Edwin.
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