The change of humor from Retro City Rampage was this game's biggest mistake...
Shakedown: Hawaii is the "sequel" or successor to Retro City Rampage, on the surface both games seem very similar, it even feels like the 16-bit upgrade of Retro City Rampage as if it was its successor from the SNES like with Super Mario Bros and Super Mario World.
Though the similarities are only the basic idea of a GTA 1/2 clone with pixelated graphics, this game uses a totally different story/mission structure compared to Retro City Rampage. Shakedown Hawaii is about a has-been company CEO who tries to keep his company afloat in modern days using the outdated gags of "Old good New bad". This game would've hit harder if it came years earlier because the whole "old good new bad" has unfortunately been done to death by so many sitcoms, cartoons, and a bunch of other types of media.
The mission's structure is nothing like Retro City Rampage, they are just small repetitive gags about what I've previously said and the gameplay consists of usually stealing a car, killing a shop owner, ... And it gets old quickly, especially with how none of the missions are rememberable and completing them doesn't really give you anything other than money which is what the game tries to focus on but without doing anything with it.
The main gimmick of the game runs around being a CEO rebuilding his brand by buying stores, houses, and many other monopoly assets to earn more and more money. Though the money actually serves nothing, you just play to buy lands, and that's it, the post-game is just waiting a virtual day to get paid and then buying more buildings over and over, there's nothing to do in this game once you've completed all of the missions.
Outside of the gameplay and story, this game is wonderful in the graphics and audio department and it's obviously its biggest highlight. Retro City Rampage looked charming but it never really was visually impressive, while Shakedown Hawaii Really shines with its 16-bit art style and soundtrack.
Shakedown Hawaii was a game I've waited for years to come out, I was a huge fan of Retro City Rampage and I couldn't wait for more, when I first played it on the Epic Game store I really enjoyed it but I didn't really think about the flaws since I was mostly just happy the game came out, but after a new objective playthrough 4 years later it really made me realise how flawed this game is, but it's still a blast to roam in the city and have some general sandbox fun.
Shakedown: Hawaii is the "sequel" or successor to Retro City Rampage, on the surface both games seem very similar, it even feels like the 16-bit upgrade of Retro City Rampage as if it was its successor from the SNES like with Super Mario Bros and Super Mario World.
Though the similarities are only the basic idea of a GTA 1/2 clone with pixelated graphics, this game uses a totally different story/mission structure compared to Retro City Rampage. Shakedown Hawaii is about a has-been company CEO who tries to keep his company afloat in modern days using the outdated gags of "Old good New bad". This game would've hit harder if it came years earlier because the whole "old good new bad" has unfortunately been done to death by so many sitcoms, cartoons, and a bunch of other types of media.
The mission's structure is nothing like Retro City Rampage, they are just small repetitive gags about what I've previously said and the gameplay consists of usually stealing a car, killing a shop owner, ... And it gets old quickly, especially with how none of the missions are rememberable and completing them doesn't really give you anything other than money which is what the game tries to focus on but without doing anything with it.
The main gimmick of the game runs around being a CEO rebuilding his brand by buying stores, houses, and many other monopoly assets to earn more and more money. Though the money actually serves nothing, you just play to buy lands, and that's it, the post-game is just waiting a virtual day to get paid and then buying more buildings over and over, there's nothing to do in this game once you've completed all of the missions.
Outside of the gameplay and story, this game is wonderful in the graphics and audio department and it's obviously its biggest highlight. Retro City Rampage looked charming but it never really was visually impressive, while Shakedown Hawaii Really shines with its 16-bit art style and soundtrack.
Shakedown Hawaii was a game I've waited for years to come out, I was a huge fan of Retro City Rampage and I couldn't wait for more, when I first played it on the Epic Game store I really enjoyed it but I didn't really think about the flaws since I was mostly just happy the game came out, but after a new objective playthrough 4 years later it really made me realise how flawed this game is, but it's still a blast to roam in the city and have some general sandbox fun.