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Retro City Rampage: DX, a top-to-bottom remaster of the original game, will launch on PS4, PS3 and PS Vita on November 12.
The new version supports Cross-Buy, meaning your €7.99 purchase will work on all PlayStation formats. There’s also a 20 per cent discount during launch week for PS Plus members.
DX will also replace the old version on the PS Store, but the original will remain downloadable for those who own it. You will, however, need to pay to get the DX edition. The original version will also be accessible from the DX version by selecting the option in the game’s help & options menu.
The new edition is based on the 3DS version released earlier this year. Developer Brian Provinciano explains what’s new below.
Graphics
New zoom modes, a dynamic camera and a new lightweight HUD bring you closer to the action. Up close, the action packs more punch and driving feels much faster. The new 3X zoom option’s tailored specifically for the PS Vita, but also available on PS3 and PS4. Car engines were beefed up in RCR updates after the very first release two years ago, but the new dynamic camera doubles the *ooOOMPH!*. You’ll feel the difference when you compare 1X to 3X zoom and economy cars start to feel sportier. Once again though, purists can still play with the original zoom mode and original status bar style HUD.
The two graphics modes give you the option to amp the graphics up or trim them back. The updated “RETRO+” graphics mode delivers more eye candy with better shadows and more effects. The new “8-BIT” mode on the other hand, makes the game look even closer to something dug up from the ’80s.
More video filter options are also included, from colour modes to a widescreen tube border. You can now also eliminate the border completely but still use the scanline or dot-matrix filters.
Missions
Every single mission has been touched up, offering a better experience overall. Certain missions have been edited to improve pacing. In Death Cam VHS, for example, you won’t need to clear so many enemies during the melee section. During the car dodge tutorial, you won’t need to jump so much. It’s little changes like this which just make for a smoother ride. They’ve also been hand tuned to work with the new 3X zoom mode, making the new PS Vita experience the best it can be.
Controls and weapons
Controls have been tweaked. You can now jump immediately after firing weapons, making dodging enemies even easier. Weapons have been rebalanced, some boasting more damage, many with more satisfying effects. The cars and explosions blast more effects too – but purists can still stick to the classic “8-BIT” for more authentic ’80s experience.
A new weapon select screen can be toggled, pausing the game mid-action and enabling you to more easily switch weapons when your inventory’s full. It also supports touch on the PS Vita.
The PS4 version also has optional vibration support in case you want to feel the pixels thud under your pixel tires.
Arcade Challenges and Trophies
The weapon updates noticeably improve the Arcade Challenges, but many challenges have been reworked themselves as well. Second-Rate Sprees, for example, now run 30 seconds instead of 60, tightening rounds up to dethrone your friends from the leaderboards.
Two completely separate sets of leaderboards are now included, so ‘RCR:DX’ players won’t be facing off directly against players of the original ‘RCR’ mode.
With the freedom to rework things from top to bottom, ‘DX’ was able to boast a brand new trophy set too, which is now easier to 100%
Hijacking weapons
The city now has more to do, populated with weapon trucks. Getting the right tool for the job’s now a lot more convenient. You can purchase your weapons or try your luck and attempt to hijack them. Spelunky shop keeper style, so to speak.
Losing the cops
The wanted level system and police AI have been deepened to create more of a cat and mouse metagame. Instead of running, if you stop to fight, clearing the screen of cops will help get them off your tail. Defeating three or more cops will spawn a Cop Coin which lowers your wanted level. You can still also spray your vehicle, find coins, or change your look with a new haircut, but this makes it much more fun and convenient. It’s balanced out with slightly more challenging police. If want to make things even more challenging, you can disable the coin drops from the pause menu.
Minimap, touch and UI
The new HUD brings a larger minimap with it, which now displays more than just missions and challenges, also weapon, spray and power-up shops, as well as enemies. You can also set it to display other locations, such as specific shops. The larger minimap makes navigating the city much easier as you’re able to see all of the roads and alleys ahead, choosing the optimal route to a destination.
You can zoom into the minimap with a single button press now, as well as set waypoints. The entire front end and UI have been redone for the PS Vita, including touch support.
Parking garages
‘DX’ brings massive parking garages to Theftropolis. You can park one of every vehicle equipped however you like (that’s 54 parking spots!), and access them from any other garage around the city like a vehicle teleporter!
Jukebox
For chiptune fanatics, ‘DX’ now includes a 147 track music jukebox, enabling you to queue up hours of the incredible music composed by Jake ‘virt’ Kaufman, Freaky DNA and Norrin Radd.
More info on Retro City Rampage will be announced in the coming month, Provinciano teases.
Source: EU PS Blog
