Rampart

Genre:

Strategy

Year:

1992

Developer:

Atari Games

Publisher:

Electronic Arts

Perspective:

Top-down

Theme:

Shooter, Real-time

Releases:

MAME 2003 (1990), Genesis (1991), Game Boy (1992), Atari ST (1992), Amiga (1992), DOS (1992), SNES (1992), NES (1992), Commodore 64 (1992), SMS (1993)

Also known as:

ランパート

Rampart is one of those games that once dominated gaming arcades around the world. Originally released by Atari in the late '80s, it is a rare gem that manages to be both simple and addicting from the moment you start playing. The game is divided into two main phases. The first is the fire phase, where your primary goal is to destroy as many attacking ships as possible. The better your aiming skills, the less damage your fortifications will sustain. Fire away and destroy! After a short period, the first phase ends, and the real challenge begins: the build phase. In this phase, you must repair and attempt to extend your fortress within a very limited time, using Tetris-like blocks as wall segments. These blocks can be rotated, just like in Tetris, but they will most likely not fit perfectly into the gaps in your walls. The larger the area you enclose and the more castles it contains, the more points you earn to buy new cannons. By the end of the phase, you must have at least one castle completely enclosed by walls; otherwise, you lose the game. Then, you can place additional cannons before the next fire phase begins. While this might not sound too interesting at first, you'll be surprised by how quickly Rampart captures your attention.