Redneck Rampage

Redneck Rampage
Developer(s) Xatrix Entertainment
Publisher(s)
Director(s) Drew Markham
Producer(s) Chris Benson
Bill Dugan
Greg Goodrich
Designer(s) Drew Markham
Programmer(s) Rafael Paiz
Barry Dempsey
Artist(s) Michael Kaufman
Claire Praderie
Composer(s) Mojo Nixon
Reverend Horton Heat
Beat Farmers
Cement Pond
Engine Build
Platform(s) MS-DOS
Mac OS
Release DOS/Windows:
  • NA: April 30, 1997
  • EU: 1997
Mac OS:
Genre(s) First-person shooter
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Redneck Rampage is a 1997 first-person shooter game developed by Xatrix Entertainment and published by Interplay. The game is a first person shooter with a variety of weapons and levels, but has a hillbilly theme, primarily taking place in a fictional Arkansas town. Many of the weapons and power-ups border on nonsensical, and in some ways it is a parody of both first shooter games and rural American life. It features music by psychobilly artists such as The Beat Farmers and Mojo Nixon. The game has been re-released on GOG.com and Steam with support for Windows and macOS.

Gameplay

Redneck Rampage is a first-person shooter and offers a variety of ways for the character to regenerate health or hit points. These power-ups consist of moon pies, pork rinds, beer and liquor. A small supply of each can be carried for future use (the two exceptions were pork rinds and Delicious Googoo Clusters, which were used automatically upon being picked up). Each of these power-ups had distinct disadvantages: The more food the character ate, the more flatulent he became (represented by a "gut" meter in the user display), making it difficult to sneak up on enemies as the character would move forward and make a distinct fart sound frequently after eating. However, eating food did decrease the "drunk meter" slightly (see below).

When drinking alcohol, the health was restored and as an added benefit the character became somewhat less affected by enemy fire. This only worked to a minor degree, and the more the character drank, the less coordinated they became. This was measured on a "drunk meter" in the user display. Toward the high end of the meter, after consuming a large amount of alcohol, the character movements would become erratic and the user would have difficulty controlling the character as he moved in directions that did not correspond to the input on the keyboard. The in-game video would also become grainy and less viewable. At the maximum drunk level, the character would simply fall down, followed by the sounds of vomiting and the loss of all motor regardless of user input. All of these effects would pass after a few minutes as the character sobered up. During this time, the character can not use weapons and is essentially defenseless. The side effects of both power-up types forces the user to use them sparingly and gives another reason to avoid damage during gameplay. However, one other power-up, moonshine, gives the player increased speed for a brief amount of time, at the end of which both the "drunk meter" and the "gut meter" were reset to zero.

To end each level, the player character Leonard has to whack his brother Bubba on the head with a crowbar.

Plot

The game's plot revolves around two brothers, Leonard and Bubba, fighting through the fictional town of Hickston, Arkansas to rescue their prized pig Bessie and thwart an alien invasion. The brothers battle through such locales as a meat packing plant and a trailer park, and battle evil clones of their neighbors. There are also male and female alien enemies. The bosses are the Assface and the leader of alien invasion, the Queen Vixen.

Add-ons and spin-offs

Cuss Pack

The Cuss Pack, an add-on which added stronger language to the game, was released. The add-on was available for download on Interplay's online store, but users had to pay $1 with a credit card to ensure that the buyer of the add-on was of adult age. The add-on was included on the CD for the Mac OS version.

Redneck Rampage: The Early Years

The Early Years is a limited version of Redneck Rampage, which allows players to play the first five levels. It also features eight multiplayer deathmatch levels.

Redneck Rampage: Suckin' Grits on Route 66

Redneck Rampage: Suckin' Grits on Route 66 is a 14-level expansion pack for Redneck Rampage. It was developed by Sunstorm Interactive. The add-on contains several new locations and textures, as well as a new ending.

Redneck Rampage Rides Again

Redneck Rampage Rides Again is the sequel to Redneck Rampage, and includes 14 new single player levels, 7 new multiplayer levels, new enemies, weapons, and vehicles, including motorcycles and swamp boats. After Leonard and Bubba crash-land a UFO, they find themselves in the middle of the desert (Area 69). Along the way, they are hunted by aliens and must blast their way through jackalope farms, Disgraceland, a riverboat, a brothel and various other locales. It was developed by Xatrix Entertainment and released on May 31, 1998.

Redneck Deer Huntin'

Deer Huntin' is a hunting game using the same engine as the previous games in the series. It was developed by Xatrix Entertainment.

Compilations

  • Redneck Icechest of Value is a compilation that includes Redneck Rampage: Suckin Grits on Route 66.
  • Redneck Rampage/Redneck Rides Again Dual Jewel is a compilation that includes Redneck Rampage Rides Again.
  • Redneck Rampage: Family Reunion is a compilation that includes the original game, the Cuss Pack add-on, Redneck Rampage: Suckin Grits on Route 66 and Redneck Rampage Rides Again. Another edition of the Family Reunion contains only the original game and Rides Again.[1]
  • Gamefest: Redneck Classics includes original game, Redneck Rampage: Suckin' Grits on Route 66, Redneck Rampage Rides Again, Redneck Deer Huntin', Redneck Rampage Theme Windows 95 theme pack, and a Redneck Rampage Screen Saver.[2]
  • Redneck Rampage Collection includes all but Deer Huntin'.

Reception

In the United States, Redneck Rampage debuted at #7 on PC Data's computer game sales chart for May 1997.[3] It claimed 13th place the following month,[4] before falling to positions 17 and 20 in July and August, respectively.[5][6]

Reviews for the title were mixed, but even the harshest reviewers were able to appreciate the game's energy and sense of humor. Arinn Dembo writing for Cnet Gamecenter gave the game three stars, and said it deserved "big points for its psychobilly soundtrack", "big points for being genuinely funny at times", and offered "good fun using a crowbar to beat aliens, 'Old Coots' and 'Billy Rays' to death".[7]

Redneck Rampage was nominated in the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' first annual Interactive Achievement Awards in the category "Computer Action Game of the Year".[8]

References

  1. ↑ Redneck Rampage: Family Reunion Archived July 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. at IGN.
  2. ↑ Gamefest: Redneck Classics Archived January 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. at IGN.
  3. ↑ Staff (September 1997). "READ.ME; PC Data Best-Sellers". Computer Gaming World (158): 31.
  4. ↑ GamerX (August 5, 1997). "June's 30 Best-Sellers". CNET Gamecenter. Archived from the original on May 17, 2000.
  5. ↑ GamerX (August 29, 1997). "July's 30 Best-Sellers". CNET Gamecenter. Archived from the original on February 23, 1999.
  6. ↑ GamerX (September 24, 1997). "August's 30 Best-Sellers". CNET Gamecenter. Archived from the original on May 6, 1999.
  7. ↑ Dembo, Arinn. "UFO's, Big Rigs and Bar-b-Q: A review of Redneck Rampage". Cnet Gamecenter. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
  8. ↑ "1998 1st Interactive Achievement Awards". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. 1998. Archived from the original on October 23, 2010. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
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