Game:

Mutant Rampage: Bodyslam (1994)

Duration: 3:47

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Mutant Rampage: Bodyslam is a pretty good single-player beat-em-up for the Philips CD-i (in the vein of Double Dragon, Final Fight, etc.), and the only game of its kind ever released for the system. Released in 1994, the game was developed by "Animation Magic Inc." who also developed the first two "Zelda" CD-i games (which have long since become legendary "Poop" material), but does not feature the same amateurish MS-Paint caliber cutscenes (though they are still wildly cheesy and hilarious) and has more complex programming from a gameplay standpoint. In addition to nice resolution cutscenes and clean visuals for its time, the game features a high-quality soundtrack and the game plays both music and sound effects together, making it one of the more impressive games in the CD-i library. You can also adjust the levels of the music and sound, change difficulty and lives, and save and load game progress. From a gameplay standpoint, it's mostly your bog-standard beat-em-up where characters have various attacks (some which shave health and one which takes a lot of health but basically KOs normal foes) and traits (fast character, average character, strong character, etc.) except you can tag characters out at certain intervals (where they heal on standby) and where enemies have certain traits uncommon to games of this type, such as picking up health and other items when they are threatened. With this in mind, you must be slightly more strategic and can use Tag pads to your advantage to knock out some pesky enemies like aerial types. Avoid being surrounded.

The game takes place in the year 2068, where the great centers of civilization have fallen into decay, radiation has created various mutant lifeforms, and cybernetic technology has created a class of bionically augmented athletes and warriors, making (mostly) normal humans who can compete in anything globally a vast minority. The most popular pastime is now "Bodyslam", a no-holds-barred, hand-to-hand combat sport set in the ravaged locales of old cities. For years, no humans could compete in this gruesome televised event on the cybernetic circuit, but you play as three humans who wish to restore the pride of humanity and challenge all the augmented warriors. Going by the name of "The Naturals", you've issued a challenge to the mutants that can't be ignored and you have to prove that you have what it takes to compete. The odds are against you, but with your wits and skill, you CAN come out on top and win the circuit.

Throughout the game's many levels, you'll fight your way through using your hands, feet, weapons, and special moves. Each character has their own set of lives and uses. Tory Swift is the fastest and is good against aerial threats and slow enemies. Daemon Stone is a good balanced character for "testing the waters" and seeing how dangerous the challenges ahead are. Rack Saxxon is the slow but awesome character of the group with good range with his basic attacks, is strong, and is even deceptively fast with sliding kicks and jump specials. If a character loses all their lives, they cannot be used for the duration of the game, so keeping characters out of the action is sometimes essential until you can get some extra lives for them.

The graphics are pretty good; the background details are more impressive than the limited animations shared by player characters and enemies, which are mostly bog-standard two or three frame animations, though special attacks look a little better (especially the desperation attacks which can do things like make the background waver). The cutscenes are sharp and look nice, even if the actual animations look unnatural or overdone-- this game requires a DVC (Digital Video Card) btw. The music is actually really good and sets the mood for the game perfectly. We have a game sample and introduction video, both with the proper audio and no sound skips :). If you want a few good laughs, watch the introduction first. I played as best as I could with that awful two-button paddle controller and actually got lucky a few times in this video, where things turned out surprisingly well. Enjoy.