Rampart

If you're feeling nostalgic for a kinder, gentler, or at least down- and-dirty form of warfare check out Rampart. This land-sea battler and arcade title sends you back in time to the Middle Ages for medieval action/strategy with a Tetris twist.

Ships Ahoy

The protagonists in this game are the Blue Knight and the Red Knight. In the One- Player mode you defend a series of coastal castles from attacking galleons.

You begin by choosing a territory to conquer and a castle to defend. Prepare for battle by strategically placing three cannons in your castle. As the enemy ships approach off-shore the volleying begins. They're trying to take out your walls and you're trying to send them to a watery grave. Ar har har!

Cannonball Sandwich

At the end of each round you repair your castle's walls with shaped blocks that turn in any direction -- a la Tetris. You're also trying to expand your walls to include surrounding castles. The more territory you cover the stake out your territory the more points you score and the more cannons you get -- all of which enable you to defend yourself when more ships appear in succeeding rounds. Conquer all the castles in a territory and you move to the next one -- there are six different territories in all.

In the Two-Player mode you're landlocked. Both players occupy castles, blast away at each others' walls, and make repairs between rounds. Whoever conquers the most castles wins?

Post Battle Report

Rampart's graphics and sound are nothing to shout about, even though a surprisingly good digitized voice calls out commands. But strategy and intense play with a puzzle twist kept us on the ramparts long after we'd run out of sea chanteys.

Rampart is battling its way through all the game systems. Now it's hit the Lynx. The graphics in this game make you torget r-that you're on a portable, and the sound is incredibly realistic.

Ram'em

Like the other Rampart games, I time is of the essence. You have 15 seconds to place your two cannons, 10 seconds to obliterate E your opponents with bombs, and 26 seconds to rebuild your original castle and fortify additional castles with Tetris-like shapes. These shapes may not fit exactly, but make sure your there are no holes in your castle's fortress.

In the first fight, you only need to win two battles to conquer the land. In the next, you have to win three and it keeps getting harder. You get two tries to win each level's minimum requirement of battles. After you have successfully fortified your castle in 26 seconds, you get to add additional cannons to your old set. This makes cannon placement important in order to max out your cannon supply.

After conquering six coastlines, you'll move on to your final challange of protecting an entire island. If you get tired of playing the computer (no easy task), you can link up another Lynx and play yourfriend.

Imperialism

Rampart hasn't changed much since it's coin-op predecessors. In fact, it's gotten better and you can take it with you. It's pretty linear fighting, but on the Lynx your aim is not as easy to control. However, the hot graphics and believable human voices and sounds are enough to check this game out. If you like the original, you'll love the portable version.

Take a little trip back in history to an era when knights and lords ruled the land. To a time when a man's castle was truly a castle. Back to the Middle Ages. In Rampart, by Atari, you take on the role of master builder and conqueror as you try to protect your castle from an invading armada and other overlords. Armed only with a battery of cannons, you try to sink the invading ships before they reach shore, or destroy your opponent's castle walls before they destroy yours. Simple, right? Not quite.

Rampart is a one-to-three-player game that features two buttons and one trak-ball per player. The two buttons are used to start your game, turn new pieces of your wall and place those pieces and cannons into position as well as firing your cannons. The trak-ball is used to move either the fresh piece of wall or cannon into position, and also to aim your cannon fire once you're in combat.

If you select a one-player game, your opponent is an invading armada that's controlled by the computer. Before you start, though, it's time to select a location on the map; there are four different locations with varied shorelines to pick.

You also have two difficulty settings to choose from: the recruit level is for beginners and offers the player a chance to learn the game. It doesn't take long to realize that you're going to have to shoot fast and place the pieces of your wall quickly in order to survive. The veteran level is for the advanced player who would like to start off hard and reap the reward of 5, 000 bonus points. The game scores low, so 5, 000 points would be the same as 1 million points in a game like Star Wars.

Once you've chosen the location, you'll be asked to select a castle to defend, but here's the tricky part: some castles, as you can see in the photo, are close to shore, which cuts down on the time it takes your cannonballs to travel; but having your castle up against the water means you'll have to get an exact match to repair a hole in the wall. On the other hand, some castles are farther away, but this gives you more room to build and repair your castle. It depends on what strategy you want to take that will determine which castle to select.

All of this will make sense as soon as you finish the first wave of battle, when the screen clears to show an outline of your castle wall or, more accurately, what's left of your castle wall. Then you'll have approximately 15 seconds to make all repairs and surround your castle once again. The problem is that the pieces that you use to repair your walls are different shapes, much like those found in Tetris, and because the pieces appear randomly, you may not get the perfectly fitting piece when you want it. This more often than not is the reason you end up defeated.

Other problems can occur if you allow the crew of one of the enemy ships to come ashore. They'll slowly work their way toward your castle in tank like vehicles, devouring all other non-protected castles along the way. Once they reach your castle and prevent you from completing a wall, it's "game over".

There are three types of ships you'll face. One is a large two-sail schooner that's very slow, a sitting duck. Another type of ship is a warship that is fast and difficult to sink. Both of these ship types require two hits to be sunk. The third type, the red-flag ship is another story: the cannonballs this ship fires will do severe damage to your castle and the ground it hits, causing you to have to work around these areas. It also takes a few hits to bring this ship down. If you can survive this wave, you'll usually see a "Your Army" conquers sign appear on the screen.

For a multiplayer game, the first thing you'll do is select what army you want to be. They come in the blue, red and orange variety. If you're playing a two-player game, you'll have five castles to choose from and protect, whereas in a three-player game you'll have only four. The object here is, simply put, to destroy the walls of your opponent (which are separated by a moat) and become the medieval overlord of your block. All other aspects of the game remain pretty much intact.

What initially attracted me to this game wasn't the graphics or sound, both of which are plain and simple, the highlight being a voice yelling out "cease fire" in a deep monotone. It's the game play, which could be best described as an updated and medieval version of Missile Command. Each time I've played Rampart, three to four hours have disappeared in the blink of an eye, and if's no wonder when you realize this game was programmed by the same designers of such hits as Cyberball, Paperboy and 720 degrees. All I have to say is, great game, guys!

The arcade classic, Rampart, is making a new appearance on the portable Lynx! Relive moments from historic England as you struggle to build your castle, only to have it destroyed by a fleet of marauding ships! Place cannons in your castle walls to blow the ships out of the water! Eight levels of action keep you fighting to protect your lands. If you want a perfect strategy game for your Lynx, look for Rampart!

Protect Your Castle and Lands

One of the most popular arcades to incorporate trackball control is now being adapted to the Atari Lynx!

Journey back to the days of merry old medieval England. Where castles rose and soldiers fell. It is your job to pick the right castle and then defend it by placing a barrage of cannons wherever you can most advantageously put them.

The rounds are simple. First, you create your castle empire. After that, the enemy troops will then attack your palace and try to take out your surrounding walls. Your job is to fire your cannons and destroy the enemy ships and troops before all of your walls are lost. Then, you will be allotted a certain amount of time to rebuild your walls and expand your kingdom. Fans of the arcade, be appraised of this winner from Tengen!

Can you build a fort bigger and better than the competition? Place cannons strategically for defense.

Tengen grabbed the rights to this popular Atari Corp. coin-op and they have succeeded in duplicating the feel and play of the arcade game. A good 2 player game too!

Rampart is everywhere, but Electronic Arts has lit the fuse on the best Rampart for a home system, yet.

Ready, Aim, Fire!

Rampart is a simple and fun cannonfest. First you pick a castle on a land mass. You then have several seconds to fire volleys of cannonballs from your castle towards an invading navy while they're shooting at you. The view of the castles is overhead, but you see enemy ships from a 3/4 overhead perspective. Your objective is to obliterate all the enemy ships. After each exchange, you must also beat the clock to repair your castle walls, or you lose. Win and you repeat the game on another piece of territory.

You get three addicting games -- Normal, Two-Player, and Super. Normal is you versus an armada of ships. Two-Player pits you and a friend castle-against- castle. Super ups your firepower and unleashes new enemies, such as the deadly floating gun platforms and the awful Kraken sea monsters. You can pick three challenge levels and all of them will blow your mind. Super has 16 levels, but Normal and Two-Player can go on forever!

Repairing your walls under the gun pumps your adrenaline and adds an entertaining Tetris twist to the game. The CPU flashes a section of wall that you must rotate and move to fit into damaged areas.

When you lose three games, you walk the plank. Versus the CPU, your enemy prods you with his sword as your character yelps and screams. In Two-Player games, the winner prods; the loser suffers.

Go Boom

Rampart's a blast! It features exciting, strategic, long-range gunning with challenging, Tetris-like shape handling. If you have a thing for castle building under pressure, take on Rampart. It'll really bust your walls.

Ahoy, Genesis gamers! Tengen's brewing up Rampart for 16-bit screens. In this coin-op translation, one player must defend his or her beholden castle from seaboard invading fleets, or two players can struggle for the rule of the realm. You knock down each other's fortresses, then build 'em back up with new walls and more guns. Let the cannonballs fly with Rampart!

Rampart is the latest arcade conversion for the NES from Jaleco. This game can be considered one of the most unique titles available on the market. The whole object of the game is build a castle, cannons and all, fight a tremendous battle with invading pirates, and then rebuild your castle again.

There is a lot of strategy in this cart. For instance, when you are rebuilding your castle you are given a number of different walls resembling pieces from the game Tetris. You must seal up all sides of the castle in order for it to be used in battle. You only have a few seconds to complete your castle. You must also place you cannons in strategic locations. It is best to have your cannons as close to the enemy as possible so that the cannon balls don't have such a long distance to travel.

Rampart also features a two-player mode in which you and a friend can build separate castles and blow each other to smithereens, and of course, start all over again.

Strategy game lovers will really appreciate Rampart from Jaleco. Originally in the arcades, it has now been translated for the NES. Your objective is to build your castle and fortify it with cannons. After fortification, you will be attacked by enemy ships. Destroy them, and you can expand or rebuild your castle with assorted pieces, but do it before time runs out! Rampart is definitely a welcome change to NES!