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Oh boy, a Rampage game. Not only a Rampage game, but a Rampage game that�s not the
original Rampage. Not only a Rampage game that�s not the original Rampage, but a Rampage
game from the current century. That�s got to spell disaster, right?
No! It doesn�t spell anything, because video games aren�t letters.
In fact, it�s pretty good. So...why don�t you just shut up, huh?
Hey, spell that one, wise guy. It�s Rampage Puzzle Attack for the GBA.
So the first thing I thought when I played this thing was, �Hey, I�ve played, like,
a million puzzle games with the same premise.� There is nothing original about Rampage Puzzle
Attack, but that doesn�t mean there�s nothing good about it. Contrived as it may
be, the game copies the right ideas and puts them together well enough to be a decent little
puzzler...even if it doesn�t feel very Rampage.
Rampage Puzzle Attack was released in 2001, and if you played a lot of PC games around
that time, you might recognize the gameplay as Drop Mania. It�s basically the same thing,
and that�s because it was done by the same team. So they took Drop Mania, attached a
familiar license and brought it to the GBA.
And as bad as that may sound, it�s actually a good game.
So if you�ve never played Drop Mania, Capcom�s Puzzle Fighter is also a pretty fair comparison.
To a lesser extent, even Nintendo�s Yoshi and Yoshi�s Cookie. Anyway, the idea is
you have these colored blocks at the top of the screen, and you have to release them to
the bottom. Keep all the same colors together, and when you drop a bomb, observe the rainbow-flavored
carnage.
It�s like nuclear Skittles.
So what makes this a Rampage game? Um...well, there�s a monkey. That�s about the only
thing that puts the Rampage in Puzzle Attack, which is a bit disappointing. It�s too bad
the gameplay wasn�t tweaked in some way to actually integrate Rampage. Even just aesthetically�like,
maybe the monsters could destroy the matches.
Instead, it�s just Drop Mania with some Rampage characters on the side. And while
Puzzle Attack certainly plays well enough, that�s definitely a little bit disappointing.
But fortunately, there�s a great amount of options and modes, especially for such
an early GBA release. The main mode strings together puzzles like levels, but there�s
also a Puzzle mode, which limits how many drops you can make. There�s a Marathon mode,
which is like an endless mode. And there�s also a Rescue mode, which is one way the game
does feel a bit Rampage. Each level has a monster trapped beneath an arrangement of
blocks, and you have to help set them free.
Not only that, the game also supports single-cartridge multiplayer, which is awesome.
Now, if there�s a problem with Rampage Puzzle Attack, it�s that...you can�t save your
game. It uses passwords, instead. And that�s a huge drawback. Password saves were antiquated
in 2001, let alone today. So going back and playing it now, that feels even more disappointing.
And that�s definitely something to consider.
You know, some of the greatest arcade games have had real trouble growing into a franchise...with,
like, good sequels and fun spin-offs. Rampage is one of them, so you might not expect good
things from a Rampage puzzle game that�s actually an old PC game reworked into a GBA
game.
Fortunately, monkey monsters are full of surprises.
And so is Rampage Puzzle Attack...a great puzzle game, if you know the password.