I even been playing for half an hour and I had already run over the A-Team beaten up the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles thrown Doctor Who out of his Tardis and stolen Doc Brown's DeLorean. All of this happens before the story of Retro City Rampage has even really begun. Retro City isn't really about experiencing a perfectly formed story. The game which is essentially a demo of the Grand Theft Auto series is more about throwing around pop culture references from the 1980s to the present day.
The gameplay of Retro City Rampage is clearly influenced by the great GTA and many of the missions offer no major surprises: Drive from A to B, shadow a target, shoot someone or something or steal a monkey and then make your way back. The game have 60 plus missions look like this but when even the Player gets bored of the same old A to B missions you'll realize that Retro City Rampage's gameplay foundation isn't sustainable for very long. But that's not really the point. Far more exciting than the missions is the way they're staged. The question of what the next great role model has been chosen will drive you further and further through the game.
What's going on beneath Retro City Rampage's 8-bit skin is also impressive. When the game references stealth sequences from Metal Gear Solid, Paperboy or the journey through the sewers from Ninja Turtles it never quite reaches the level of its respective originals but for the most part it's still entertaining. Let's not get this wrong: Retro City Rampage is not a boring game. Even if it does have a few long stretches the core is a lot of fun. Racing through the streets at Sonic's speed and jumping on passersby, setting them on fire as a human torch or engaging in shootouts with the police provide plenty of entertainment.
I wonder why no developer during the NES era thought of incorporating such a mechanic into their games. The contrived story, exploring Retro City Rampage is a joy, especially in Free Roam mode.
