Review: Rampart, A Classic DOS Game, Is A Waste of Money
Rampart for the PS3
I was a huge fan of the classic DOS game called Rampart, so naturally I was excited to see it available for download on the PlayStation Network for just $4.99. Little did I know how disappointed I would be to find the game barely even works. I actually sent customer feedback to Sony about the game, but that was several weeks ago and I haven’t heard anything from them.
The game of Rampart is about castles defending themselves from sea invaders. You start the game by picking one of several castles on a map, then you place some cannons inside your castle walls. When battle begins, you try to take out as many enemy ships as possible in a brief amount of time while those ships fire on you. When time is up, you have a limited amount of time to rebuild your castle walls and enclose your central tower, otherwise you lose the game. If you’re quick enough, you can enclose another tower and get a bunch of extra cannons to go along with it.
Graphics and Sound (2 out of 5)
This PS3 version of Rampart looks just like the classic version with blocky 8-bit graphics and very simple sounds. Absolutely nothing was done to update the look of the game, which I think is a shame because it could easily take a makeover that would make it appeal to a new generation of gamers. Otherwise, the only appeal it has is to older gamers like me who remembered the original and wanted to play it again.
Control Problems (1 out of 5)
What kills all the fun in this game is the controls, because they simply don’t work. When you have to rebuild the castle, you put the walls in place using randomly generated Tetris-like pieces. You have to line up the pieces just right in order to make a solid wall. The problem is that the controls do not respond well. You might have to hit the left direction button twice just to make the piece move one space over, while other times you only need to hit it once. When you are having to rebuild on a timer, fumbling with the controls makes the process nearly impossible. It’s like trying to type on a keyboard where the space bar gets stuck every other time you hit it.
Overall (1 out of 5)
I think the PlayStation Network really stuck it to their customers with this $4.99 Rampart game. A little bit of touching up could have easily corrected the control problem, because I think it renders the game unplayable. Even if it is less than five bucks, that’s still money that I would rather have put toward something that actually works.
