When the first Retro City Rampage trailer surfaced two years ago, it promised something almost too good to be true: an original, downloadable, retro-styled, free-roaming, pop culture referencing, crime simulator. Vblank Entertainment, have you been reading my diary? However, successfully creating a game that parodies properties considered practically sacred to an entire generation of lifelong gamers is a lofty goal indeed.
While it seemed impossible that Retro City Rampage could live up to expectations, on October 9th Vblank Entertainment’s creation was finally let loose upon the world via Steam, PSN, and PS Vita (with an XBLA release soon to follow). Thankfully, not only does the game look and sound marvelous, but it’s incredibly fun to play, blending old-school themes, with various modern gaming mechanics to create an experience that is both new, yet deeply familiar.
But best of all, RCR is so densely packed with references, it’s enough to make even the most cynical, 30-something, pop-culture junky games journalist squeal with delight. To show you what we mean, we’ve compiled the following list of 51 of the subtle, and not so subtle, references we found in just the first 10% of Retro City Rampage. (WARNING: SPOILERS!)
VGChartz;s Adam Cartwright: "For a console that can only really be seen as a commercial failure, the PlayStation Vita did extremely well for itself in terms of software – more than 1500 games are available for it and that figure is surprisingly still growing each week, despite the hardware being discontinued earlier this year and despite the rhetoric suggesting it’s only a good machine for indie 2D platformers and niche Japanese RPGs.
Unfortunately certain genres didn't receive any representation at all and act as glaring holes in the Vita’s software library. Some of these just aren’t particularly popular on consoles in general, such as city builders, which have been niche for years. It’s these genres I’m aiming to look at in this article – what they are (including examples of some modern entries in the genres), why they weren't represented on the Vita, as well as some suggestions about what alternatives are available to scratch that itch."
For those who doubted the Shakedown: Hawaii team’s decision to release on the PlayStation Vita, which includes a physical edition, now may be the time to reconsider.
With the release of Shakedown: Hawaii coming tomorrow, Vblank Entertainment frontman Brian Provinciano took time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions from OnlySP.
this game is a blast to play.. Blast from the past too
There's a super troopers reference too!