Rampage: Total Destruction

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Pipeworks Software, Inc.

I've always had a little bit of a soft spot in my heart for the Rampage games – I love giant monster movies. However, at the same time, the Rampage games have never really hooked me, despite that soft spot. After all, destroying buildings, smashing cars, and eating folks while playing as a giant monster is fun and all, but traditionally, the series never managed to change the gameplay up enough to prevent me from getting bored after only a few minutes. Total Destruction didn't fix that for me either, unfortunately…in fact, in some ways, it's worse. It's odd for me to say that since Total Destruction introduces a big, ol' selection of new characters to destroy buildings with…but each character largely plays the same. Same goes with the levels…some of the details may be a little different from city to city, but most of the buildings start looking the same after playing for a while. A potential upside is that the developers attempted to give the player more movement in this game in comparison to other games in the series…unfortunately, this actually hurt the game more than helps it. Things that were relatively simple to do in previous games, like pick folks up to eat 'em, can be frustrating to do in Total Destruction due to the extra movement. Even with all of its flaws, though, I still couldn’t help but find mild enjoyment in causing mayhem and destruction with various members of the playable cast. Anyway, if you want a mindless game to pass 5-10 minutes of time, then Rampage: Total Destruction isn't an awful choice…but after a few minutes of playing, you may be wishing that you were playing one of the earlier games in the Rampage franchise instead.

Review added: 09/26/2022

Resident Evil 4

Also known as: BioHazard 4 (Japan)

Developer: Capcom

When Resident Evil 4 came out, people had been mumbling that the traditional style of survival horror was getting stale. Despite a very solid outing on the Dreamcast with Resident Evil: Code Veronica, which had been critically praised and well-recieved, Capcom set to work to redefine the series for the "official" fourth game in the series. Not only did Capcom hit the ball out of the park, they created one of the most memorable games of all-time. And, much like the original Resident Evil, they also heavily influenced many video games that came after it. I mentioned Resident Evil 4 being memorable. The most notable part, for me anyway, is the very beginning of the game, when you realize that you're not dealing with zombies. You're dealing with infected people that move quickly, have intelligence, and greatly outnumber you…and then once you feel like you've got the hang of everything and that you're finally safe…here comes the big guy with a sack on his head and a chainsaw in his hands. I pretty much just had enough time to pick my jaw up off the ground before the chainsaw feller took care of me in a single blow and I saw my first of many Game Over screens. With gameplay that was absolutely amazing for its time and so many memorable moments, Resident Evil 4 ensured that the Resident Evil franchise would continue on strongly even today. While some aspects of the gameplay seem a little dated now, and while some fans of the original games resented the change in gameplay direction for the series, Resident Evil 4 is still considered by many to be one of the greatest games ever made. Resident Evil 4 may be the high point in the history of the Resident Evil franchise, but it also happens to be one of the high points of video games in general.

Review added: 09/26/2022

Ribbit King

Also known as: Kero Kero King DX (Japan)

Developer: Infinity

Every time I put Ribbit King in my Gamecube, I wind up losing a bunch of hours to it due to its unique humor and gameplay…I really should revisit it more often than I do. Anyway, Ribbit King is a unique take on golf involving mallets instead of golf clubs and frogs instead of balls...It's called frolf, for those keeping track at home. And yes, that’s actually what they call it. Known as Kero King in Japan, this was the first entry of the franchise to make it to the shores of North America, and unfortunately, the last entry to make it to our shores as well. It's good, comedic fun and the story mode has some nice gags in the cut scenes as well. If I wore pants when playing video games, it would have charmed my pants off. Wait, that doesn’t sound right…I was wearing pants when I played, but they were charmed right off after knocking the frog into a few holes…That sounds worse. I should start over…but my delete key isn’t working. Ribbit King charmed my delete key off. The delete key is like the pants of the keyboard, after all. Drat. Anyway, if you like golf, but would enjoy a comedic, unique take on the sport, then Ribbit King is a great game to play. It's not perfect, but it’s still enjoyable. I highly recommend it if you enjoy humor in your video games.

Review added: 03/04/2021

Roadkill

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Terminal Reality

Roadkill is an interesting game. It’s kind of like a mix of Twisted Metal and Grand Theft Auto…so much that it even states that on the back of the game’s case. Basically, you drive around an open world, complete missions, and blow stuff up…all while listening to the various radio stations playing in the background. Much like Grand Theft Auto, it’s fun to simply just drive around and cause a bunch of carnage. When you get tired of that, you can participate in the missions…and if that gets old, you can always have some friends over and enjoy some Twisted Metal-style car combat. It’s not a bad game at all, honestly…a little rough around the edges, but overall, Roadkill is a solid little game. It’s fun to pop in from time to time just to wander around the game’s world and make random passers-by explode, but I also feel like it’s shy of being a truly great game…which may be why a lot of folks seem to have never heard of it.

Review added: 08/05/2021