Rampart
is the four-player tribute to the Atari Games arcade classic. Safe
behind your walls, you can unleash ships, planes, or missiles against
your opponents.
Castle
Walls: In Rampart, players would build
castles with Tetris blocks and then destroy each other in cannonball
assaults. This gave me the perfect opportunity to use pipes as makeshift
walls. If you observe, you'll notice that each player's pipe has
one vulnerable joint.
The
roads also contribute to the 'unfinished castle' look, fitting perfectly
in the Rampart universe while allowing greater mobility for wheeled
units.
Missiles:
Including a number of missiles was another no-brainer. Three missiles
may not seem like enough to do serious damage, but I think they
work perfectly as an added line of defense. Remember not to waste
these too soon - the computer launches them all at the very start
of the game. Don't make that mistake.
Diamond
Lake:
I began designing this level as the diamond formation you see above.
It took me forever to figure out what to do with it (each map needs
a hook), but I eventually settled on a giant lake.
This
is a great addition because it gives you the freedom to attack any
of the other three countries. The lake is small enough to cross
in a couple turns, and jsut big enough to evade a submarine if you're
lucky. And no reefs to hide in!
Airports:
Easy access to neutral airports give you the option of sending transports
and copters. I wanted a level that promises a little bit of everything.
The key is that you won't have enough money to spend on every toy
you want. You'll need to be careful managing resources.
Forests:
Each country contains a square section of sense forests as an outer
layer of defense. I shouldn't have to tell you how helpful this
can be during Fog of War games.
Bridges:
Each
country is connected by two bridges on each side. This reduces the
amount of bottlecks, which I absolutely hate. The Advance Wars
maps included in the game are seriously guilty of this offense.
For Rampart, there are 7 points of entry into your territory:
4 by land, and 3 by sea. The airports are the icing on the cake.
Bridges:
Should
you begin by securing your own country, capturing cities and bases,
or should you lead an early invasion? I enjoy this open-ended approach,
as it always requires you to pay attention to your friends, and
change tactics accordingly. You'll have a lot of fun with this one.
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