Rampart (arcade game)
Encyclopedia
Rampart is an arcade game
, released in 1990 by Atari Games
, that combines the shoot 'em up
and puzzle
genres. It is widely-ported
, with versions for most contemporary systems.
At the start of each level, the player chooses the location of their fort from a number of options. This location is then surrounded by a wall to form a castle, which the player can then place cannons within. After this, an attacking round commences, followed by a repair round, where any damage to the castle must be repaired. If the player manages to survive the repair phase, he is given a short amount of time to place additional cannons within the walls of his fort (if he made room for them), after which the battle resumes.
This cycle continues until either the player fails a repair round, or enough ships in the enemy's fleet are sunk. When the opposing navy has been sufficiently depleted, the level is won, and the player may then choose another level from the island map.
using their respective cannons. The player can sink the enemy ships, while the enemy can destroy parts of the player's perimeter. Enemy ships move around while they fire, making it necessary to lead your target like in Missile Command
.
Ships come in three types:
Later levels feature "dark" versions of each of these ships, which are each capable of taking one additional hit before sinking.
shapes, these pieces have much greater variety, ranging from 1 by 1 squares that can fit almost anywhere to big plus and U-shapes. The pieces do not fall, but may be moved freely around the screen and placed in any spot that does not overlap something already on the board (walls, water, castles, cannons, grunts, craters, or the edge of the board).
At the start of the Repair phase, all the territory that is so damaged that there is no longer a complete, unbroken wall around it is lost. By placing wall pieces, the player attempts to "capture" territory by completing a wall around it. Before the timer expires, the player must have completed a wall around at least one castle (which may or may not be his original, "home" castle) or he loses. It is also advantageous to capture previously-placed cannons, as only cannons within the player’s territory may be used in the subsequent battle phase.
In the SNES and PC versions only, the cannons gained can also be converted in powerups:
Players shoot at each other’s walls during the Battle phase and try to make it difficult for them to survive the next repair round. If a player is unable to repair his wall, he must insert another credit to remain in the game, but cannot do so more than three times. The last player remaining is the winner. If all the players remain in the game for an operator-adjustable number of rounds, they engage in a "Final Battle" at the start of the last combat phase, and if there isn’t a clear winner at the end of the following repair phase, the winner is determined based on score.
, Sega Master System
, Mega Drive/Genesis
, Atari Lynx, PC
, Macintosh, Commodore 64
, Amiga
and Atari ST
platforms, separate versions for Game Boy
and Game Boy Color
, and also separate versions for the Nintendo Entertainment System
and the Famicom
. The arcade version of Rampart is also included in the Midway Arcade Treasures
compilation, available for the Nintendo GameCube
, PlayStation 2
, Xbox
and PlayStation Portable
consoles, and with Gauntlet on the Game Boy Advance
. Note that most of the home versions of Rampart change the game in non-trivial ways. The Japanese (NES) Famicom version includes 7 training levels and 3 difficulty settings. It also features an extensive multiplayer mode for two people. Many options can be chosen, such as number of cannons to start with and so on.
There are also several open-source games based on the gameplay of Rampart, such as
Kajaani Kombat and Castle Combat.
A PlayStation 3
port was released on the PlayStation Network on May 10, 2007. Although it is mostly identical to the arcade version, it also supports internet multiplayer play.
Games based on Rampart are also available for iOS
devices, such as Zen Wars and High Tides.
games around a decade later. Gameplay similarities include defending a territory by erecting defensive structures, and making repairs between multiple rounds of attacks.
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
, released in 1990 by Atari Games
Atari Games
Atari Games Corporation was an American producer of arcade games, and originally part of Atari, Inc..-History:When, in 1984, Warner Communications sold the Atari Consumer division of Atari Inc...
, that combines the shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
and puzzle
Puzzle
A puzzle is a problem or enigma that tests the ingenuity of the solver. In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put together pieces in a logical way in order to come up with the desired solution...
genres. It is widely-ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
, with versions for most contemporary systems.
Overview
In Rampart, the player is in control of a set of castles, which they must defend, by alternately shooting at attacking ships (or other players), and repairing any damage done to them within a time limit. Surrounding this castle is a wall, made up of small blocks, completely surrounding a region of the board. This area is considered the player's territory, and it may contain one or more castles, and any number of cannons. The maintenance of this territory is the primary focus of the game.Gameplay
The single-player game consists of six levels. The ultimate aim is to destroy a fleet of attacking ships while repairing any damage the fort sustains.At the start of each level, the player chooses the location of their fort from a number of options. This location is then surrounded by a wall to form a castle, which the player can then place cannons within. After this, an attacking round commences, followed by a repair round, where any damage to the castle must be repaired. If the player manages to survive the repair phase, he is given a short amount of time to place additional cannons within the walls of his fort (if he made room for them), after which the battle resumes.
This cycle continues until either the player fails a repair round, or enough ships in the enemy's fleet are sunk. When the opposing navy has been sufficiently depleted, the level is won, and the player may then choose another level from the island map.
Phase One: "Prepare for Battle"
In an attacking round, the player and enemy ships fire at each otherusing their respective cannons. The player can sink the enemy ships, while the enemy can destroy parts of the player's perimeter. Enemy ships move around while they fire, making it necessary to lead your target like in Missile Command
Missile Command
Missile Command is a 1980 arcade game by Atari, Inc. that was also licensed to Sega for European release. It is considered one of the most notable games from the Golden Age of Video Arcade Games...
.
- Single-sailed ships shoot at your walls and move around, but do little else. It takes two shots to sink one.
- Double-sailed ships require three hits to sink, and if they reach the shore they deposit grunts, small tank-like objects that multiply and move around during the repair phase. They can be shot with cannons and destroyed by surrounding them with walls, but they tend to get in the way and are capable of destroying castles if left unchecked. Grunts adjacent to walls during battle can destroy them to get inside a player's area. (In some home versions of the game, placing a wall on top of a house also creates a grunt.)
- Red ships require 5 hits to sink, and their shots leave fiery craters whenever they strike a wall. These craters must be built around during the repair phase, and each persists for three rounds. (Some home versions make this a random number of rounds.)
Later levels feature "dark" versions of each of these ships, which are each capable of taking one additional hit before sinking.
Phase Two: "Build and Repair"
In the repair round, the player must repair the damage done to the wall surrounding his territory. They are presented with a random series of shapes, and must place them on the island within a time limit to keep their castles surrounded by walls. While superficially similar to TetrisTetris
Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
shapes, these pieces have much greater variety, ranging from 1 by 1 squares that can fit almost anywhere to big plus and U-shapes. The pieces do not fall, but may be moved freely around the screen and placed in any spot that does not overlap something already on the board (walls, water, castles, cannons, grunts, craters, or the edge of the board).
At the start of the Repair phase, all the territory that is so damaged that there is no longer a complete, unbroken wall around it is lost. By placing wall pieces, the player attempts to "capture" territory by completing a wall around it. Before the timer expires, the player must have completed a wall around at least one castle (which may or may not be his original, "home" castle) or he loses. It is also advantageous to capture previously-placed cannons, as only cannons within the player’s territory may be used in the subsequent battle phase.
Phase Three: "Place Cannons"
After a successful repair round, the player may gain extra cannons (the number depending on the number of castles captured) to be placed in their territory.In the SNES and PC versions only, the cannons gained can also be converted in powerups:
- The Balloon floats at the beginning of phase 1 to the most powerful enemy ship (for singleplayer) or cannon (for multiplayer) and converts it to the player side for the successive fighting round.
- The Supercannon is bigger than the usual cannons and fire red projectiles, which sink any ship in one hit or leave a permanent fire if they hit the landscape
Multiplayer
When playing with two or three players the game is similar, except that instead of fighting against enemy ships, the players each have their own area of land separated by a river, and they shoot at each other’s walls. In multiplayer mode, cannons can be destroyed if they take enough hits, there are bonus squares that are worth extra points when captured, and there are no grunts or craters, but the game is otherwise similar.Players shoot at each other’s walls during the Battle phase and try to make it difficult for them to survive the next repair round. If a player is unable to repair his wall, he must insert another credit to remain in the game, but cannot do so more than three times. The last player remaining is the winner. If all the players remain in the game for an operator-adjustable number of rounds, they engage in a "Final Battle" at the start of the last combat phase, and if there isn’t a clear winner at the end of the following repair phase, the winner is determined based on score.
Strategy
Within Rampart each element of the game interacts with the others in subtle ways. It is generally easier to capture an unowned castle than repair the wall around a starting castle, but without the benefit of the home castle’s cannons the player will have a tough time. Building close to the water will allow the player better aim, and to get more shots off during battle (each cannon may only have one cannonball in the air at once), but enemy ships will also get more shots and castles close to the water are more vulnerable to grunts. Building more cannons gives the player more shots in battle, but once placed cannons cannot be removed, and too many cannons can make it almost impossible to survive a repair phase. These tradeoffs give Rampart its charm but also make the game difficult to master.Ports
Rampart has been ported to the SNESSuper Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, Sega Master System
Sega Master System
The is a third-generation video game console that was manufactured and released by Sega in 1985 in Japan , 1986 in North America and 1987 in Europe....
, Mega Drive/Genesis
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
, Atari Lynx, PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
, Macintosh, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
and Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
platforms, separate versions for Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
and Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
, and also separate versions for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
and the Famicom
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
. The arcade version of Rampart is also included in the Midway Arcade Treasures
Midway Arcade Treasures
Midway Arcade Treasures is a collection of 24 arcade games developed by Digital Eclipse and released by Midway for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC....
compilation, available for the Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
consoles, and with Gauntlet on the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
. Note that most of the home versions of Rampart change the game in non-trivial ways. The Japanese (NES) Famicom version includes 7 training levels and 3 difficulty settings. It also features an extensive multiplayer mode for two people. Many options can be chosen, such as number of cannons to start with and so on.
There are also several open-source games based on the gameplay of Rampart, such as
Kajaani Kombat and Castle Combat.
A PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
port was released on the PlayStation Network on May 10, 2007. Although it is mostly identical to the arcade version, it also supports internet multiplayer play.
Games based on Rampart are also available for iOS
IOS
iOS is an operating system for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Apple TV.IOS may also refer to:-Companies and organisations:* Illinois Ornithological Society, American state-based bird club...
devices, such as Zen Wars and High Tides.
Legacy
Rampart arguably influenced the first tower defenseTower defense
Tower defense is a subgenre of real-time strategy computer games.The goal of tower defense games is to try to stop enemies from crossing a map by building towers which shoot at them as they pass. Enemies and towers usually have varied abilities, costs, and ability costs...
games around a decade later. Gameplay similarities include defending a territory by erecting defensive structures, and making repairs between multiple rounds of attacks.