Rampart
System: Genesis
Release Date: September 1991
Developer: Silicon Sorcery
Publisher: Tengen
Genre: Strategy
Secure your castle and beat back the invading marauders in Rampart! What I remember about Rampart is that is was my cousin Curt’s favorite game for awhile when it hit consoles. I was little and didn’t really understand it, but now that I’m an adult, I have a new appreciation for it. You’ve got to battle your way around the island you call home over many levels. Are your armies strong enough?
Every game begins by starting on beginner or veteran difficulty. You then choose one of the castles as your home base. Up next is the cannon placing portion. You begin with two and just put them where you can. Then it’s time to defend your castle. There are ships. Lots of them. You use your cursor to control the cannon fire. There are three different kinds of ships, some more dangerous than others because they launch flaming cannonballs. These will put a damper on your plans if they hit too much of your territory.
After a moment or two, that phase ends and you see the destruction you’ve had to endure. Thus begins the repair phase. You’re given random pieces of wall, or rampart, that you must place to complete a perimeter. There can be no gaps, and corner to corner doesn’t count. This is a frantic 20 seconds or so. The pieces are random and can be anything from one block to a z-block tetromino, to a u-piece, or even a cross! If you don’t complete a full circuit, you lose a continue. Though you do get to come back with a couple extra cannons in an attempt to make your comeback easier.
If you can plug up the holes in your walls quick enough, you can begin to expand to the other castles on the map. Each castle you take over gives you an extra cannon placement each round and adds to your firepower. This is so much easier said than done, though. If you weren’t good enough to sink all the boats, they may drop ground troops off to attack the vacant castles and then you. If your aim is true, you can blast everyone that’s in your way and advance to the next level. I was only good enough to get to level 2, but I know I’ll be playing this again.
Graphics: 2.0
The graphics are plain, but get what you need to know across.
Sound: 2.0
The sound is a flurry of cannonball firing, some voice clips, and a very percussion heavy ditty when you’re building.
Gameplay: 3.0
The idea of the game is super solid, but rotating pieces and placing them with the cursor is not always precise.
Difficulty: 2.5
Not getting pieces that will fit where you need them to go is ultra frustrating, but you get a few chances to get it right.
Fun Factor: 3.0
This is actually pretty fun and it’s quick, so excellent when you just have a few minutes to spare.
Overall Rating: 2.5
Rampart earns a B-. I never really played this to my memory and I probably would have enjoyed it a lot.