Rampage 2: Universal Tour is a little better than World Tour

Rampage 2: Universal Tour was released in 1999, and is the third game in the series. It is a sequel to World Tour, which was released in 1997. The gameplay had some minor changes, but it is mostly the same game.

One thing I like about this game is how it continued the story from the previous game. The plot isn’t anything special, but it gets the job done. I also like the inclusion of three new monsters.

This is still an arcade game. Not much was done to improve this for the home console, which is to the game’s detriment. I like it a bit more than the reviews at the time, but they made some very good points about the game.

TLDR: It is a little better than World Tour, but not that much better.

Narrative

ScumLabs creates three new monsters, and they go on a rampage to save the three original monsters. That is a quick rundown of the plot, but it isn’t everything! The game quickly jumps the shark and sends our heroes into space!

The story picks up from the end of the first game. George, Lizzie, and Ralph were captured and sent to different countries. Three new monsters, Boris, Curtis, and Ruby, break out of ScumLabs and go on a rampage. For some reason, they try to free the three original monsters.

Once this is done, they free an alien monster named Myukus and go to the alien planet. They go on a space-faring adventure to destroy the aliens. That’s it!

Much of the story is told through news reports, and even the aliens get one. It is a simple story that gets the job done. There isn’t too much you need to know about a Rampage game, after all.

Gameplay

There were some minor changes to the gameplay from the first game. I like that there are three new monsters with different stats, and each monster has a special attack controlled by a power meter. Aside from that, Universal Tour isn’t that much different from the previous two games in the series.

So, we have three new monsters, and you have to free the three original monsters. This gives the player a few more playable monsters. Here is a list:

• Boris – His special attack is the Rhino Charge, and his mega food is Salad
• Ruby – Special attack is the Lobster Can Opener, and mega food is Fish.
• Curtis – Special attack is the Rat Bottom Feeder, and mega food is Cheese.
• Lizzie – Special attack is Fire Breath, and mega food is Eggs.
• George – Special attack is Ape Stomp, and mega food is Bananas.
• Ralph – Special attack is Wolf Howl, and mega food is Steak.

I’m glad that each character has a special attack and a food that helps them more than other types of food. These were some nice additions to the game. This wasn’t enough to make a big difference to the game, though.

The gameplay will be very familiar if you liked the previous Rampage games. You destroy buildings, vehicles, and eat humans. There are some enemies, namely the police and military, that attack you. There are also limited continues in the game, which is a disappointment.

This is one of those arcade games designed to collect as many quarters as possible, which means the gameplay doesn’t always translate to the home console that well. Unfortunately, Midway didn’t make any changes to add value to this game. I can’t blame the developers too much since they did what Midway wanted.

Like the other Rampage games, this can get repetitive. There are a bunch of stages, and you have to destroy all the buildings to advance. There are a few bonus stages, but they’re few and far between.

Overall, I like this game a little more than the previous one. Having more monsters helps to make the gameplay a little different, and I like the idea of having a mission to accomplish. Aside from that, there isn’t too much to separate this game from Would Tour.

Visuals

I like the look of this game more than the previous one. The monsters feel less out of place than in Would Tour. I don’t have too much to say here; it isn’t all that different from the previous game.

It is cool that the game goes into outer space and has cutscenes. These are missing from the N64 version of the game, which is a shame. The new setting and the cutscenes are very cool additions to the game.

Universal Tour has a few good things going for it. It isn’t too different from Would Tour, but it tried some things with an alien setting and more monsters. Aside from that, this is a faithful arcade port that doesn’t look that different from the previous game.

Reviews at the Time

This game received poor reviews. Nintendo Power gave the game the highest score, while The Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine gave it the lowest. I’ll focus on the PS1 reviews, but it is interesting to note that the Game Boy Color version received better reviews than the two console ports.

 IGN gave the game a 5.2/10. This is a mediocre score, and the reviewer sounded very disappointed with the game. They wanted to see a 3D version of Rampage, and called this version “dull.” I have to agree with the reviewer here. The side-scrolling approach worked for the first game in the series, but it would’ve been better if the developers had tried to innovate a bit.

GameSpot gave the game a 4/10, which is a poor score. They call it a clone of World Tour, which isn’t all that fair. It felt like the reviewer hadn’t played an arcade game in a while. There are some good points in this review, and I do agree with the idea that this game should’ve tried something new.

The Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine didn’t pull any punches with this game. They gave it a 1/5. It isn’t too different from the other reviews. This was my first time using the Video Game History Foundation’s archive of video game magazines. It is very nice, but the load times take a while.

I think the reviews were a bit too harsh, but I get the sentiment. They wanted the developers to innovate more with these games. Instead, they stuck to the same formula that worked in the 1980s, but was very dated in the late 1990s.

7.5/10. I like this one a little more than Would Tour. The graphics and controls are better, and I like having three new monsters. The addition of special attacks also helped. The only problem is that the game isn’t different from the previous one.

Pros

• More Monsters
• Goofy cutscenes
• Better Graphics and Gameplay

Cons

• Repetitive
• Very Long
• Not too much fun on Single-Player

Conclusion

I had fun with this game. Rampage 2: Universal Tour is a fun game, but it can get repetitive as you have the same goal for every mission. This is a holdover from the arcade game, and it is a little disappointing for a home console game.

This can be said about all of the Rampage games. I like this game more than the reviewers at the time. There were some improvements from World Tour, but they weren’t significant enough to make a big difference.

I can only hope that the next game in the series is a little better. In 1999, players expected more from a game than just a faithful port of an arcade game. I wish Midway had taken some time to add value to this game.

If you liked this post, please check out my other Rampage reviews, like the NES game and World Tour.