A Lynx conversion of the classic Bally Midway arcade game, Rampage, first released in 1990.

It’s a satirical monster-bashing game, where the aim is to destroy various skyscrapers and the military forces protecting them.

Up to four connected Lynxes can play Rampage simultaneously apparently, although very few people will get to experience that these days. Which leaves just the single-player game to enjoy, even though it’s a bit limited and repetitive overall.

The graphics are cute, but a bit bland (the truth be told), and the screen scrolls around to accommodate the expanded cityscape – unlike the original arcade game, which takes place on a single, non-scrolling screen.

Just like in the original, you choose whether to play as George (the ape), Lizzy (the lizard), Larry (the lab rat), or Ralph (the werewolf), and you go out into the world to cause as much death and destruction as possible. The premise is funny and the game mechanics boil down to climbing up buildings and punching the hell out of them. The monsters can also jump, and can grab people from windows, or from the ground below (and eat them). When a building has been weakened enough it will then start to shake, indicating that it’s going to collapse. If you are holding onto a building when it falls then your monster will be hurt, so the idea is to jump away before that happens.

As the game progresses the number of buildings increases, and the military forces trying to stop you become more numerous, with better equipment.

Rampage on the Atari Lynx is a reasonable conversion. And, while certainly not a dazzling game, it does provide some entertainment for a short while. It’s not without its faults, but it’s not a disaster either. I would’ve liked to have tried the multiplayer version of the game, but that’s just a pipe dream with emulation. Unless anyone knows any different? If you know how to get multiplayer working in a emulator, please comment below.

More: Rampage on Wikipedia