| Author | Review |
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DaShAg
200,886
TA Score for this game: 1,093
Posted on 24 August 11 at 11:00, Edited on 16 October 11 at 15:31 |
This review has 41 positive votes and 2 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
Introduction
A lot of people would consider this a whore game and although the achievements are very easy, I disagree. The other day I watched the Rango flick with my girlfriend and was totally blown away by the CGI and character design. The movie somehow reminded me a lot of an old xbox game "Stranger's Wrath", the difference being that Stranger was a bounty hunter and Rango is a sheriff, but the way the characters looked and animals dressed up in wild west clothing totally gave me that flashback. The story wasn't the greatest but after watching the movie I immediately looked up the Rango game on TA. Hmmm very low ratio ? Could it be....So I looked for some videos and came to the conclusion that this game looked like a lot of fun. Easy kids game? Sure. However after playing some “hardcore” games it's very relaxing to chill out with an easy game, just enjoying it without worrying about achievements. So I just ordered it, not fully knowing what to expect. But let me tell you, it doesn't disappoint...
There's a new Sheriff in Town
At it's core, Rango is an action platformer like we have played oh so many times in the past. Yes, I am talking about you Mario 64. Rango's attacks vary between melee attacks and a shooting mechanic. Some additions have been thrown in the mix, like an uppercut for example, in which you throw the enemy high in the air and juggle them with your shots. It's all fairly simple but because the game is pretty short it doesn't get boring. Further there is a lot of platforming, some wall climbing, pole swinging and rope balancing, yes this is your typical platformer. Other gameplay mechanics involve rides on a Road Runner, flying on a Desert Bat and even some golfing...yes golfing. The Golden Bullet mechanic also deserves a mention. In the movie Rango is a lucky shot and in the game this is carried out with the Golden Bullet. It's a bit of a lame gimmick but works because it ties in with the movie so well. After firing the Golden Bullet from your weapon you can control it in “bullet time” to hit a few bulls eye targets, this will activate some sort of Rube Goldberg sequence in which Rango's lucky shot surprisingly does exactly what he wanted.
Throughout the game you collect Sheriff Stars for dispatching enemies and destroying crates. These Stars work as the currency and can be used to buy various upgrades like more ammo, more health, stronger attacks etc. There are also a few power-ups to be found, which will turn your pistol into a Dynamite thrower, a Machine-gun or a Shotgun for a short period of time.
Presentation
This game certainly has the same charm as it's movie counterpart. Basically, all the key characters from the movie are in the game, only Rango is playable though. The game is a completely unique story and apart from the characters this game has nothing to do with the movie at all. There are 9 levels to be explored with most of them being in a wild west setting. One of the later levels is a complete twist, with an 8-bit world thrown in there which, in my opinion, looked brilliant and is complete with pixelated enemies and environments. There's also a dream sequence which is so damn trippy, it totally caught me off guard. If you've seen the movie you probably love the Owl Mariachi Band. In the game they just randomly show up, standing above an arc you walk under for example while playing their song and commenting on your journey. Touches like this gives Rango so much charm.
Graphics
The game stays true to the graphical style of the movie but it's hit and miss, really. The characters look okay, while Rango himself looks great. The levels themselves have some pretty good architecture and layouts, although in contrast the environments around them look dull and uninspired. Like I said earlier, the 8-bit level looks brilliant but the dream sequence afterward, although I loved it with all it's charm, kinda looks bad. So all in all the graphics are okay, don't expect any fancy new techniques like you see in newer games, but I would like to add that I loved how the shadows looked.
Sound
The music in this game is great ! It starts as soon as you're in the menu with the great theme song. The spaghetti western style music throughout the game really gave it some extra charm and made it more mellow and relaxing. Also, the Mariachi Owls, god I loved it when I passed them. “Hey Gringo, doing good !”.
The sounds effects are alright but some can get annoying, especially the pistol's sound. The voice actors do a pretty good job of impersonating the cast members of the movie. You can hear it loud and clear that this Rango is not Johnny Depp, but he does sound like him and the same goes for the other characters.
Achievements
Very very easy. The only ones I had left after 1 playthrough were the ones for collecting a certain amount of sheriff stars. Instead of grinding the same level over and over again like people advise in the solutions, I just played through the game again. I mean why not ? It's a fun game !
Closing Comments
You can't really go wrong with this title. Surely some would say it's a whore game only played by people for the GS but that's not how I see it. I used the word "charm" a few times now but it fits this title so well, it just has so fricking much of it. Tired of boosting “Seriously” ? Just finished a long ass RPG ? Take a break with this game, no stress, just some good old platforming. The people who loved the movie should already own it, or at least gave it a rental.
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