When Retro City Rampage came out initially in 2012 and I picked it up for my PS3, it failed to grab me for whatever reason. I've recently started playing the DX update to RCR on my Switch, and I find myself enjoying it quite a bit this time around. The DX release contains a number of meaningful improvements over the original incarnation, and playing on the Switch enhances my enjoyment even further because the game is so well-suited for handheld play on a nice, bright 720p screen.
After rediscovering RCR I started looking into Shakedown: Hawaii, and man is this game shaping up to be a big step from RCR. It's not even a sequel as I had originally surmised. Shakedown is shaping up to be its own thing entirely, this time relying less on references and more on traditional satire/parody of real-world shady business practices and capitalist culture.
Check out this trailer to get up to speed with the type of game design that Shakedown: Hawaii will be employing.
We're looking at a potent mixture of 2D open-world design with aspects of classic twin-stick shooters and seemingly some light business sim elements too. I'm getting Vice City vibes from both the tropical setting and the overarching goal of taking over the entire city.
And it's all wrapped in an entirely new art style from RCR. Whereas RCR utilized 8-bit-esque visuals and sound to enhance the nostalgia effect that it was going for, Shakedown: Hawaii doesn't seem to be as beholden to any particular hardware era's style. The new art we're seeing in Shakedown is simply much higher detail and sporting far more fluid animation than what we saw in RCR. The end-result doesn't look like a 16-bit game, per se, but rather like something in between 16-bit console capabilities and the type of presentation we saw in arcade games like Metal Slug at the time. It's just doing its own thing, and it looks great in my opinion.
I'm also really digging the far more robust character customization options that we'll be getting in Shakedown, as shown in the GIFs below. It looks like this time around we'll be able to mix and match different hair styles, facial hair, accessories, hats, etc. and apparently even select the color of each custom component as well. Good stuff.
_____________________
Check out this page to learn more about the game, which hopefully will release sometime this year as planned. I understand if it gets delayed, but I would love to be playing this on my Switch come Christmas time if Vblank Entertainment can get it out the door by that time.
After rediscovering RCR I started looking into Shakedown: Hawaii, and man is this game shaping up to be a big step from RCR. It's not even a sequel as I had originally surmised. Shakedown is shaping up to be its own thing entirely, this time relying less on references and more on traditional satire/parody of real-world shady business practices and capitalist culture.
Check out this trailer to get up to speed with the type of game design that Shakedown: Hawaii will be employing.
We're looking at a potent mixture of 2D open-world design with aspects of classic twin-stick shooters and seemingly some light business sim elements too. I'm getting Vice City vibes from both the tropical setting and the overarching goal of taking over the entire city.
And it's all wrapped in an entirely new art style from RCR. Whereas RCR utilized 8-bit-esque visuals and sound to enhance the nostalgia effect that it was going for, Shakedown: Hawaii doesn't seem to be as beholden to any particular hardware era's style. The new art we're seeing in Shakedown is simply much higher detail and sporting far more fluid animation than what we saw in RCR. The end-result doesn't look like a 16-bit game, per se, but rather like something in between 16-bit console capabilities and the type of presentation we saw in arcade games like Metal Slug at the time. It's just doing its own thing, and it looks great in my opinion.
I'm also really digging the far more robust character customization options that we'll be getting in Shakedown, as shown in the GIFs below. It looks like this time around we'll be able to mix and match different hair styles, facial hair, accessories, hats, etc. and apparently even select the color of each custom component as well. Good stuff.
_____________________
Check out this page to learn more about the game, which hopefully will release sometime this year as planned. I understand if it gets delayed, but I would love to be playing this on my Switch come Christmas time if Vblank Entertainment can get it out the door by that time.
