RTT experimented with some new gameplay applications which turned out to kill the vibe that made the series interesting.
There are some games, though, that benefit from simplicity. The Rampage, series, for example, had gone by the exact same principle since its inception in the mid eighties, until the PSone-exclusive Rampage Through Time hit the market in the year 2000. Up until that point, playing a Rampage game had never been more complicated than having a few monsters destroy buildings and eat humans. Rampage Through Time, however, experimented with some new gameplay applications, most of which turned out to kill the vibe that made the series interesting in the first place.
At first sight, Through Time looks exactly like what you would expect from a direct sequel to the quirky and fun Rampage 2: Universal Tour. The visual presentation, be it the menu, the character selection screen, or the in-game graphics, is pretty much identical to what we've seen in Universal Tour. The playable monsters in Rampage Through Time are the same as in its predecessor, with the addition of a warthog called Harley. As soon as you enter the first level, though, you'll notice some rather alarming differences. For starters, there is virtually no 1-player mode. You can go through the adventure mode by yourself, but you'll always be accompanied by two computer-controlled monsters.
On a more positive note, the level layout, as well as the music, is more varied in this game than in any of its predecessors. As the title of the game implies, the monsters travel through various levels modeled after historical gimmicks, such as Ancient China, the Wild West, and World War 2, destroying history as we know it. Each era is accompanied by a characteristic tune, all of which are excellently composed.
Tragically, only three stages can be played for each historical period, after which the worst new feature of this game shows its ugly head: an obligatory minigame. You will actually have to play a minigame against the two computer characters, and win in order to progress. Basically, the city destroying-stages serve as a prelude to these minigames. Destroying buildings and vehicles, and punching your fellow monsters will give you a slight advantage in the subsequent minigame. If you lose, it's game over, which is rather frustrating as the fundament of the entire series, which is destroying everything you come across, is basically rendered useless. Each historical period has its own characteristic minigame, and some of them are actually quite difficult, causing them to frequently interrupt the gameplay experience that makes Rampage what it is. And that gameplay is basically what old Rampage fans will look for when buying this game.
The minigames themselves aren't particularly bad, though. Most of them actually would've been enjoyable if they weren't violently shoved down the player's throat every 3 levels. Most of them consist of shooting targets or eachother, and puzzling. Had their role in the game been more discrete, they would've been a very good addition to the overall gameplay, but the lack of balance causes them to be little more than a vibe-killing annoyance.
While Rampage Through Time was the most varied and technically polished Rampage game of its time, it's the least playable, and thus the least enjoyable, save for perhaps the outdated original. Although it's respectable that the developers tried to take the Rampage series into a new direction, this entry lacks essence. Any enjoyment that hardcore Rampage fans manage to destillate from this title will likely be killed off when they take a moment and think about how good this game could have actually been.