Break the vent with the Crowbar and go in. Keep going straight until you find another vent, which again needs to be broken. Stay crouched and kill the Coot to grab his Speedloader. Then, press the use key against the large row of cabinets to open up a drawer on the top which has Key 1. Push the box along the bloodied tiles to make jumping up to get it easier. Go behind the operating table first to find the Scattergun, then go through the big double doors. You can go up the staircase and look around past the other set of double doors to find a Hunting Rifle. When you're done listening to the demented phonograph, go down the staircase across the first double doors. Use the Scattergun to kill the Hulks around the bend. If you lure them out, you can also shoot the bombs they drop to do not insignificant damage to them. There's quite a lot to do at the next hallway, but if you don't care about getting 100% kills, you can turn left and go past Area 06 and Area 11. Then, turn right at the junction. Go down the stairs and turn right there, where two more Hulks show up. Kill them, then head where they spawned and turn right. Open the chain-link door and follow the hallway, while staying on the lookout for the hitscanners that can shoot you through the curtains. You'll eventually find a switch to press, so flip that.
Go back and travel back up the stairs, passing Area 06 and Area 11 again, and you'll find a new set of doors with a green texture has opened up. Follow along the path from here until you get to the next junction. Go into the right-most office and step on the desk, which opens up the bookshelf to your right. Key 2 is behind there. Now, backtrack all the way back to Area 11, where the chain-link door can be opened. Go straight after you've ran around in the side path and the secret vent you can break down, along with the four sequence switch on the other side of the door. Go down the staircase and keep going straight, where you'll get to a blue room. Turn right and press use on the cabinet that's slightly protruding to extend it out. Jump on that to get over the chains blocking a ladder. Up on the platform is Key 3. Get out of the blue room and use the third key on the gray door on the right. Hulk jumpscare! Once you've killed the Hulk, Bubba's just down that hallway.
How'd we go from a bank vault to an asylum? Did Leonard and Bubba get knocked out and shipped off to here, or did the bank vault close and then get separated from the building? Well, either way, you don't have guns. After performing your "daring" escape out of the cell you're confined in, you're sent through a pretty expansive asylum. There's a lot of optional content in here and most of it isn't particularly worth your time, only really serving to stuff monsters into random places and hiding negligible health and ammo. At some point you get pretty much all the shells you'll ever need, and if you find the Hunting Rifle you'll be fully set for the entire map once you get the AAG. The only monsters in this map besides a couple of Mosquitoes in the courtyard are Coots, Billies and Hulks, which makes combat repetitive and uninteresting. Apart from The Incredible Jumpscare at the end, nothing in this map will give you too much trouble. Nut House is a pretty boring filler map that drags down the pace that Downtown Hickston had to the grave.
Is what I would say if I didn't like this map, because I happen to actually think that it's quite good. I don't like Nut House's gameplay, but I happen to think its extremely rich visually. The first leaves a strong impression, but on the outset it doesn't seem like it'd be the case. It's just a vent and a poorly textured box, right? But something about it just makes me feel uneasy. The only texture in Leonard's cell (as well as all of the other cells) is a black couch cushion texture. With the phonograph in the background playing an awful 15 second soundbyte in a level where you are probably playing without any music, it feels unexpectedly cold in here. Then there's all the portraits that are hung around the place... a woman with her eyes blackened out. A baby with a worried expression holding two axes, as if they're not holding them because they want to, but because someone is making them. The sound design is also another high point of this map. Aside from the phonograph, there's also the constant chatter in the main hall. There's obviously not enough things in the map proper to justify why the hall would be so loud, so what's going on behind the scenes? It's very strange, and I wouldn't want to visit this place if I were to be given the choice. Nut House's content is repetitive and uninteresting, but it's the start of the rabbit hole in terms of its visuals.
7/10.
This post has been edited by Quacken: 13 April 2023 - 09:37 PM
About the tornadoes in E1L4, it's strange to know that they could get out of the trailer park. Now I think I remember seeing that happening in Civvie's video as well, where the tornado followed him to the Bowling Alley. So it must be a Rednukem bug. Because it clearly doesn't happen in the original DOS version.
Before posting my E1L5-E1L7 reviews, here's a bit of a trivia that I forgot to mention earlier:
The pickup truck at beginning of the game, can be stopped by shooting it with your pistol/shotgun enough times. Then it will no longer be a hazard to you and you can get close to it without dying.
The dogs have 200 hp and as everyone says, they are far too strong for such a "low-level" enemy. I feel if they had 100-150 hp at most, they would be much more tolerable.
While I still haven't tried to see if you can "kill" a tornado, I know there is a third tornado in E1L4 that was supposed to show up on higher skills but for some reason, it is tagged as 32767, which means it would only appear on the -1 skill setting. Yes, there are some weird quirks about the game that I read a few months ago, including more skill levels and the enemies were supposed to do EVEN MORE DAMAGE on hardest skills. You can find more details here on this page, though note half of the page is a placeholder from the Duke3D page: https://kb.speeddemo...cs_and_Glitches
On that note, I didn't post any secrets guide earlier, so here is a playthrough by pagb666 if you want to hunt down for secrets: https://www.youtube....DSG22zRgxMGwHuC
I am keeping my walkthroughs written for E1 in spoilers. I will probably write a little walkthrough for E2 maps next week if there's enough time, though Quacken already beat me to it so far that I don't know if I should waste my time writing the walkthroughs.
Diary Air Farms
Kills: 108
Secrets: 6
Clusters: 0
Leonard: RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!
Portrait: Leonard and Bubba driving the pickup truck.
Side note: I had to replay this level because on first attempt, I got 107 kills, which was lower than in my previous playthrough. Don't ask me why enemies disappear outside of the map sometimes. It happens in other build games as well (mostly in Duke3D and Blood, very rarely in SW). And yes I killed every animal, as well as gibbed every corpse of cows and dogs. On second attempt, I got all 108 possible kills.
I got the pun with the level title even back in 2017 when I played the game first time. I won't go into further details, as you should be able to tell what this map is all about.
As for the actual level... oh man. It's so bad in the wrong ways. It could have been a better version of the first level but the shitty design choices drag it down considerably.
Spoiler
When you start, depending on the difficulty chosen, either you are surrounded by a few enemies and a single Powder Keg or many enemies and many Powder Kegs. On the first two skill levels, it's not too bad but on skill 3 and above, you've got about 5 enemies shooting you while being surrounded by Powder Kegs. If anyone shoots them and you get caught in the explosion, you will die! What's even worse is the fact both this and the previous level lack health boost items, thus you are limited to 100 hp maximum, so you can't survive the explosion if you are caught. Be sure to have the quicksave button handy!
Oh yeah, you are given the Ripsaw right away (probably to make up for the fact you start the level with the crowbar selected), which takes up the slot 7 and it is the first time you are using this weapon, so if you didn't watch the intro demos, then you wouldn't know how it works. It usually one shots the weaker enemies but if you somehow miss, the ricocheting projectile has a nasty habit to hit you back and hurt you badly or even kill you! It's a bit similar in behavior to the Freezethrower from Duke Nukem 3D, except the projectile hurts a lot, at least if hits you before it bounces many times (each bounce will reduce the damage of the projectile until it stops on the wall).
Oh yeah and much like the Shrinker/Expander in Duke Nukem 3D Atomic Edition, the Ripsaw has an alternate melee mode where you press button 7 again. It is a fairly powerful weapon overall but somewhat forgettable, so you are better off putting it away and using the other more practical weapons.
You will also probably run into a Powder Keg (assuming they weren't blown already) and it will get selected as a weapon (slot 9, alongside the Bowling Ball) which once again, is best to collect it and then forget about it, so you keep it in inventory to prevent autoswitching to it when you come across another one, considering you can carry only one of them at a time. And the powder keg is more dangerous to YOU than it is to your enemies, so just put it in your pocket and forget about this useless piece of shit. At least in Duke3D, you could carry ten Trip Mines and use them strategically, even if I personally don't get to use them much. By comparison, the only real use of a Powder Keg is to blow up the alien hulks and cracks from a distance. And maybe as a last resort if you are out of the dynamites.
Now about the level, after the miserable opening section, you have to deal with tons of dogs and hitscanners, as well as an occasional Alien Hulk (there are three in total on harder skills). And the worst part is that this level isn't that generous with the health pickups, on top of there being no health boost items, so you will actually be hurting for health at some points. Luckily, there is a toilet inside the house you can take a piss occasionally to refill 10 HP and I highly recommend doing so. Just make sure to clear the house, first.
Before entering the house, I advice going forward and kill those few rednecks and the Alien Hulk in front of the dead cow. There is a door requiring a key. Now go back and enter the house. Clear it and use the back door to exit. If you are low on health, open the fridge to collect various health pickups. There is also a Whiskey bottle on the table.
After clearing the backyard, enter the barn to kill a few more enemies and explore further. You might find some secrets, like the Crossbow that you might have missed in the previous level!
Go towards the long path, kill the enemies (including an Alien Hulk!), save and now you have to choose between left and right paths. The right path is optional and contains a few mosquitos. There is a well you can swim into and when you surface, you will find an unofficial secret area with extra goodies and even one poop minion.
Go back and now take the left path. This leads to a house. Kill the enemies and get behind the house to find a hidden switch that will open the door inside the house. There is another alien bastard you have to take out, as well as a bunch of shitty monkeys. The FIRST key is right here near the furnace.
Backtrack to the beginning and go to the path with the big door and the alien hulk you killed at beginning. If you didn't explore this path at first, then kill the enemies and open the gates with the key. Watch out for enemies waiting in the corners! Kill the dogs, mosquitos and rednecks and eventually you will see a gate in front of you that is locked. You will find the key later on, as it's the exit.
Once again you have two paths to choose. I recommend choosing the right path first. And save if you haven't already! Kill the enemies and collect the second Key inside the barn, which is guarded by TWO dogs!
Go back and now go the other path. THREE of the secret areas requires you to lure a pig to jump on it and access them. Due to the pathetic jump height you have, this is the only way to reach them, so DON'T KILL the pigs until you have gotten the goodies! But at same time, kill the enemies around you, so they won't bother you while you are struggling to lure the pig to the exact spot where you can reach the secrets with your crappy jump height.
There is another path you have to choose. Go right first, to kill the enemies and collect the Hip Waders, which are the Protective Boots equivalent. But unlike Duke3D, RR doesn't have any damaging floors (at least not until the sequel), so walking on mud/poop just slows you down, even when you are in air. Having Hip Waders will negate the effect and allow you to run on the muddy surfaces. Of course the item gets used fast, so don't think it lasts forever!
Go the other path and kill the enemies around, open the gate and press the switch, now go around the building to the opened hatch, climb up the stairs and collect the third Key! Backtrack to the gate earlier and open it to exit the level. I highly recommend backtracking to collect everything, if you are playing continuously.
Overall, another mediocre level that's dragged down by various annoyances. It's shorter and easier to navigate compared to the first level but at the end of the day, it is just another bland map. Maybe the next level will be better?
Sewers
Kills: 70
Secrets: 4
Clusters: 3
Leonard: I bet this place just crawling with them damn shit monkeys!
Portrait: Pig in the back of the pickup truck.
Holy shit! It's time for the infamous SEWERS level! This level is infamous for being the worst level in the game and one of the absolutely WORST levels ever made in a FPS game. Seriously, WTF they were thinking when they designed this shit?
This whole thing is a confusing mess with switch hunts everywhere and even some well hidden switches (you know which one I'm talking about). However, while I didn't find the level as confusing as other people did, it depends a lot whether you can find the switches or you will wander around the level for about an hour or so. It can take you as little as 20 minutes or as long as several hours to finish this shit. I will try my best to describe this level, though I'd strongly recommend watching a walkthrough instead.
Spoiler
As the previous level ended, you fall down into the sewers. Ahead are shotgun and lots of shells. Grab them if you need them. Your main weapon in this level will be the shotgun and occasionally the pistol/dynamite. The ONLY enemy type you encounter are the shitty monkeys. They don't deal too much damage but they are very annoying, difficult to hit with every weapon (especially when they are standing in the water), they make annoying sounds and their poop projectile resets your aim and also glitches the screen flashing for a few seconds. And the worst thing, they can sometimes glitch and get stuck inside the walls OR if they do the alternate self-destruct attack, then they DON'T ADD TO KILLS and will prevent getting all the kills! This may not be an issue if playing on skills 4 and 5 due to enemy counter reading N/A, so you will never know how many you missed. From my experience, I can tell this level contains 70 of them on harder skills.
If you are trying to hit them while they are in water, then consider using dynamite to kill them. Just be sure to not hit yourself or you lose large amount of health or even die. If not interested in 100% kills, then just run past them.
When you get to the room with bars blocking the center, you must activate FOUR switches underwater. After that, the path in the middle will be opened.
After you resurface, climb up the stairs. If you look behind, you will notice a switch you have to shoot from far away. I don't think this is mandatory for progression but it will at least open some unofficial secret areas with goodies. There's various unofficial secrets in this level, so you are encouraged to explore, as they offer substantial rewards!
I won't offer further help for the middle parts of the level, as I have a hard time describing all this nonsense but at the end of the level, when you manage to raise the water and you go to the middle column, look up to find a hidden switch in one of the sides. This will open the four nearby doors. Remember that only TWO switches are the ones that you should press to unlock the exit. If you remember seeing a map earlier, it gives you a hint for those two correct switches. The correct switches are C and D. Afterwards, the exit will be open.
Shitty level. Hopefully the next one is better!
Smelting Plant
Kills: 164
Secrets: 5
Clusters: 2
Leonard: Bubba? Gotta be close now!
Portrait: Same as the previous level. Probably meant to show a different portrait of Leonard and Bubba driving the pickup truck, according to the graphics present in the game files. But due to a game bug, this doesn't happen.
After getting out of the Sewers, Leonard manages to make it to a smelly plant.
Spoiler
Kill the shitty monkey and remember this location, as you will need to come back later! Clear the main room and go outside to kill even more enemies. Look out for poopy monsters suddenly coming outside of walls.
Enter one of the buildings and go right path to find an elevator. Kill the shotgunners and collect the dynamite sticks. Open the door to find a hidden shotgunner and a box of dynamites. Blow up the crate to access a tiny room with more enemies. Open the door and blow up another crate. Here lies the FIRST Key!
Go back to the previous corridor and use the key on that panel to find out an Orange Switch! Press it and go back to the beginning of level! The door is now opened. Insert the key into the switch to open those gates underwater that you may have stumpled upon before, right next to a locked door and where the poopy monkeys were coming out of the wall.
Kill the enemies, swim until you surface outside the pool. You will also have to kill an Alien Hulk, at least on the harder skills. Collect all the ammo and look carefully to find the SECOND Key hidden in one of the corners! This damn key is very easy to miss!
After you got the second key, drop down and go to the locked door, near where you opened the gates last time. Kill the enemies and go around the railyard. Be sure to look for enemies firing behind windows!
Afterwards, there's a few locked doors you will need to come back later. Go the path that doesn't require the key. Clear the rest rooms (including the storage room) until you get to do a bit of platforming to grab the THIRD key.
Go back to the locked doors. Clear the rest rooms until you get the part with two tubes and two switches. This part is confusing, as pressing the switches don't seem to do anything at first. You need to open those windows and dive in the water. The switch opens/closes one mechanism (or bars) underwater. Just try every combination (turning one of the switches on, both on or both off) while diving underwater, in order to solve this puzzle and unlock the nearby door. It's stupidly confusing for no reason at all and I had to look up a walkthrough on YouTube to solve this stupid puzzle in my first playthrough from 2017.
Afterwards, kill the enemies in the next room. Do some platforming carefully to not fall down into poop, as it will take a while to get back up, though you might want to go down to kill a few poopy monsters. Note that even if you are in air, you will be slowed by the poop, unless you still have the Hip Waders from the fifth level.
After platforming, be careful at yet another Alien Hulk and insert the key. This should open a door underwater (you get what I mean). Jump in the MIDDLE tube and find an open path. Eventually you will need to go up and find yet another damn switch, which will open the way leading to the boss!
Anyway, after surfacing and before dropping down the hole, make a backup save and either backtrack to grab everything in advance (this is a point of no return) or if just interested in finishing the level, drop down and prepare to meet the game's first boss: ASSFACE! Boy, his breath sure stinks like shit!
On a more serious note, Assface isn't too bad to take out and he is surrounded by a couple of those poop minions but you may get killed by shooting too close with your crossbow if you wish to take them all away quickly. Not to mention in the corners where you will find various useful items, one of them will be open and you will fall into a pit and die. So be careful where you step!
You will notice the boss is shrinking after he is taking damage, so eventually he shrinks into nothingness and the level finishes. A short shitty cutscene will play with Leonard saying "Chew on that, you pile of crap!" in the background and after it ends, it will show a picture of Leonard and Bubba's ugly faces, which is the same screen used when the game is loading the intro demos or the next level.
After that, look at the level stats and prepare to advance directly to EPISODE 2! Yes, the game advances immediately to E2 with your arsenal intact, though you will soon lose your weapons, you will see that later. I know the story doesn't make sense and it's not explained how Leonard escaped from that room at end but I will not insist on that too much, so I will jump to the conclusion.
Overall, this level was okay and I can see it compared to "The Abyss" from Duke Nukem 3D (being that both are the last E1 level from their respective game) but while impressively designed, it was another confusing stinky mess, with many unnecessary puzzles that slowed down the action. I'm mostly referring to the last few parts where you insert a key somewhere and opens a door somewhere.
Conclusion: The first episode was kinda on the mediocre side. This is just my opinion of course. It's got some nice looking levels, though also some really bland, brown and ugly looking ones that were a pain to play through years ago on my initial playthrough. With most of the enemies encountered being the two main hitscanners, the poopy monsters, the dogs and an occasional Alien Hulk thrown in once in a while. Don't worry about the enemy variety, you will get to encounter a few new enemies starting with the second episode and the level design will hopefully improve and become more diverse and interesting.
I feel like if the first episode didn't have that awful Sewers level (maybe instead was the secret level? if RR had secret levels), it would have scored higher. As it stands, I really don't think most E1 levels compare favorably to the ones from Duke Nukem 3D. It also doesn't help that RR didn't have a shareware version released (the free demo with the cut-down first level doesn't count, nor do those two retail demo versions). It's as if they were aware that people will not buy their product if they give away the first episode for free. But they could have at the very least provided the entire first level for free, especially if compared to other games released at that time which provided at least a few levels for free. But no, they wanted Redneck Rampage to be "special" compared to other games of the time. Especially with the fact the game has no secret levels to find and no patches were ever released to fix the game's various annoyances/glitches.
On the bright side, I beat the first episode without dying and never had to check walkthrough videos to see how to proceed, so the RR playthrough was much more enjoyable this time around!
Have a nice weekend and for those Orthodox people like me, have a Happy Easter with your family!
This post has been edited by FistMarine: 14 April 2023 - 04:06 AM
Putting my own observations on the E1L4 tornadoes: On Raze specifically they seem to be locked to moving within the trailer park, based on my own observations. Seems like the tornadoes are just infinitely tall monsters as they seem to have pretty similar movement AI to the other monsters in the game, just with some extra randomness thrown in. Raze in general seems like a really stable way to play Redneck Rampage. I don't know if I've spent too much time playing Blood or not and I'm too good with shotguns, but hit detection and auto aim have been really solid and consistent. It's only really Turd Minions and Dogs that I have a consistently difficult time hitting, but even then the Hunting Rifle nails them.
Finished Smelting Plant and must say this was the best level of the first episode, although perhaps overstaying its welcome a little bit. Despite its length and the fact the switches/keys were planted quite randomly, the progression was surprisingly clear and not confusing. The only stuff that I didn't find immediately where the first key (which is in a corner of the yard with the collectors) and the puzzles with two buttons and waterpipes at the end, but this one I appreciated as a puzzle which in the end were pretty reasonable. I don't think this level compares to The Abyss in any way, but it's a good one. I think the particular success of this level is its combat and specifically, how the enemies are placed - it seems like for the first time someone thought for more than a second about how they would interact with the player and their surroundings and instead of using the most dickish placements, located them in a way that ended up in a fun and entertaining gameplay. Only the two Billy Rays in the pitch-black inaccessible dead end of the train tunnel can be considered offenders this time around and perhaps bunch of swing doors with too short auto-close times. All the fights with the hulks were quite fun and some more tricky strategies could be applied, like luring and trapping them (especially the last one which had basically a dedicated hole in the floor to be trapped in). The final boss was, well, shit. I also liked the secret hunting in this one - in fact, I have to say the secrets in RR are probably one of its highlights so far, as it's usually not just "push this random wall" kind of stuff but a lot more of the "observe, then figure out how to get there" kind of secrets which I like the most. There were secrets requiring a tornado jump and luring a pig in the previous levels and this one had a secret accessible only by properly pushing a large box to have an intermediate jumping platform, which was neat.
Also, I only just now got the pun on Dairy Air Farms and must say I chuckled a bit
Here's my ranking of the E1 levels:
1. Smelting Plant
2. Drive-In (this map really grew on me as it was definitely the most creative one in this episode and with time I can turn a blind eye on the biggest offenders like the dogs inside the pitch-dark screen room)
3. Junkyard
4. Dairy Air Farms
5. Taylor Town
6. Lumberland
7. Sewers, obviously.
Buck-kawk! Because uh, the next map is J. Cluck's. By the way, here's a tip that FistMarine didn't give: If you're underwater and are currently drowning, consume one charge of a consumable healing item (Whiskey, Beer or Cow Pie) to reset your drowning timer, stopping yourself from taking more damage.
J.Cluck's!
Map progression:
Spoiler
Keep following the road. When you get to the switch instructing you about the processing line, flick the switch to off. Not because the processing line is actually taxing on your frame rate, but because setting the production line to on makes really annoying sounds. Once you've done that, go inside the building. Head to the right and go down the hall and up the stairs, until you get to J. Cluck's office. Go behind the desk and find the grey button. Pressing that opens the small vault to the side with Key 1. Come down the stairs and go down the long hallway to get to the first locked door. There's a bunch of optional rooms here which I'll get to in the proper review. Follow the way down until you get to the processing line. At the second machine, there's a small opening on the left side that leads to an underwater passage. Go right at the fork, which leads you to a new section. Go up the stairs to use the switch to open the nearby door first, then go back down and use that other switch. That switch will open the door at the end of the right-hand side of the processing line. Drop down on the other side and go straight, towards the staircase. Then go through the double doors into the storage room. To your immediate right is Key 2. Go back through the way you came, and take the first right you can. Head to where the grey machine is to find a door you can open up with Key 2. Open up the door and step inside the crusher. Crouch down and hold W while the first crusher is lowered, and you'll make it through. Do the same for the second crusher, but don't hold crouch this time. For the third crusher, hold crouch. In front of the door with the switch next to it is Key 3. Go into the storage room and get out at the door near where Key 2 was. Then, go right at the staircase again. After that, there'll be a small nook where a Billy spawned with the switch required for Key 3. Follow the path forward to find Bubba at the end.
J. Cluck's picks up right where Nut House left off: Being strange and charming. Taking place in a chicken slaughterhouse, J. Cluck's is about as visually deranged as it gets. This is probably the map to look at when considering Redneck Rampage's aesthetic. Everything about everything here in this strange place is out of the ordinary and honestly kind of disturbing. The opening office is your first example of this. The decision to put a switch outside of the building which turns off the production line is equal parts funny, stupid from a gameplay perspective and stupid from a lore perspective. It's funny because it breaks the fourth wall and warns you that the production line can cause framerate issues, it's stupid in terms of gameplay because if you decided to leave the switch alone, you'd be treated to the wonderful sound of the same chicken getting its head severed and would have to walk outside just to stop it, and stupid from a lore perspective as anyone walking across the street could suddenly stop the production line, causing a loss of time and minor costs in damages. Not that anyone in Hickston would even know what a frame rate is, but still. Then there's the actual processing line itself. Jesus, this place needs a scrubdown... there's blood everywhere, and another phonograph is playing a very short music loop that's not quite as disturbing as the one in Nut House, but one that is much more constant throughout the entire map. The slight orange tint, the fact that it's everywhere and that there's not a mop in sight tells me that no one on staff actually cares about making this place more hygenic. And I just kept getting questions that had seemingly no end... why do the paintings feature strange-looking people? They're paintings and not photographs, so someone made an intentional choice for them to look like that way. What is the picture of the 1997 staff reunion in Cluck's office? Is that a photo of the Xatrix team or is it something else? Why is J. Cluck standing in a featureless black gradient? Why are Cow Pies trademarked in the game's manual? Does Leonard have a last name? Based on how the manual capitalises his interview with Ventura from the press, is Leonard's full name With Leonard or Leonard Hick? Why do you need to specifically hit Bubba with your Crowbar to exit the map, instead of just pressing the use key on him? Is he in a constant state of psychosis and briefly snaps back to reality when Leonard treats him with blunt force trauma? Are Leonard's actions the reason why Bubba is the way he is? Does he need help? Do I need help? Maybe I do.
Oh yeah, the actual map itself. Well, it's your basic shtick, and by that I mean it's samey and repetitive. J. Cluck's swaps out the Hulks for Turd Minions, doesn't even give you Mosquitoes to fight off, and there you go. I think Xatrix literally just forgot they had three other monsters they could use for both E2L2 and E2L3. I'm not even sure if Vixens appear in the next map, and Sherriffs don't re-appear until E2L5. Couldn't the UFOs from Close Encounters have been used in some other maps, too? They're literally just re-skinned Pig Cop Jets, but Christ man, it's something! I like J. Cluck's a lot because I think it happens to be extremely interesting visually, and the level is short and compact enough to not make it feel like it drags. It's basic in its combat, but its short and simple. I'll take it.
Downtown Hickston is another good level. It's relatively shorter and has a pretty open layout (in contrast to, e.g., the other city-themed map, Taylor Town), which is good for progression as it involves a lot less walking. The gameplay is pretty challenging, but not bullshit/unfair. The two new enemy types are introduced, but since there's no dogs or shitmonkeys, it's a trade-off I can accept. The vixens are quite annoying and require all the attention you can give them, but luckily it seems they very rarely use their one-hit-kill hitscanner attack and usually rely on shitty and slow projectiles. The best way to fight them seems to be pinning them down with the rifle, just have to watch for them turning invisible. The sheriffs, on the other hand, can deal massive amounts of hitscan damage, but have reasonable amount of health (seems 5 AAG shots is enough to deal with them), they also take a while to reload between each bursts of shots, which is a good moment to attack them. The fight at the beginning can be quite challenging due to sniping Billy Rays scattered around the rooftops which probably will deal more damage than the hulks and vixens around the streets. There's a dickish sniping spot in the building opened with the first key where you can't see/kill the enemies which can shoot you like a sitting duck on the street. The biggest danger in this map, however, turned to be doors - I got squished twice by the two-winged swing doors that lead to the bank and I think to the sheriff's office, because - which is one of the more pestering things in this game - they have, once again, an awfully short auto-close time.
The design was pretty good - especially the abandoned hotel building and the fire station were quite memorable. I also liked all the interconnections around the rooftops and windows which made it nice to explore. It seemed like it was mandatory to use one of the pigs as a stepladder this time, which might lead to a softlock if someone were to kill all the pigs before thinking of the progression in the butcher's shop (which uses the same slogan as Duke-Burger). Too bad that we get imprisoned in the bank's vault (which turns into an asylum room) at the end, which takes away all the guns, as I've finished with everything filled to the brim...
Keep walking along until you find the first crate of Dynamite. Then, go back and bomb the wall with the Unstable Area sign. Go on through to here and keep following the narrow walkway until reaching the lake. Go right and you'll end up at a new section with a bunch of brick walls. Behind the partially complete room with a door, the pot and the Dog, Key 1 is sitting on a desk. Make sure to get the Hunting Rifle from this area, near the Coot portrait. Now you need to backtrack out of this section and go back to where the first crate of Dynamite is. You would have probably noticed there's also a body of water here. Submerge here, turn right, then at the first chance you get here, turn left and surface in the small nook. Follow this path until you get to the first locked door, which takes you outside. There's quite a lot to see here. Turn right at the staircase and explore the building that's above where you came from. Go up the ruined staircase. Do some epic and totally not frustrating platforming until you eventually make it over to a room with a mattress, and a wall texture with a floral wall pattern. Follow the hall and drop down. Find the staircase at the end of the hall and try not to be jumpscared again by the Hulk around the corner. Go straight and then left to find Key 2. Now, go back to the staircase where the Hulk was at and go through the door on the right. At the end of this room is Key 3. Go down the staircase and head outside in this area, which you already passed by on the way to Key 2. Use Key 3 on the switch here and the doors should open to lead to a teleporter. Hold the AAG before going in here and spam it against the Billy and the Hulk. Kill the second Hulk after you blow up the corpse of the first one. I find that crouching here causes the Hulk to whiff some of its projectiles, which can be useful in survival. You may also want to back out and locate a Moonshine to reset your Alcohol meter. Go through the door at the end of this section to find Bubba.
Despite its impressive cave architecture and nice looking ruined buildings, The Ruins is a pretty big dud. It's not particularly non-linear thankfully, but what linear pathways you do have here are cramped, mute in lighting and largely textured the exact same way. The outside area is a nice change of pace, as this map surely would have immensely dragged if it was stuck in a cave the entire time, but nearly all of it is a distraction. The actual way to go is to endure some awful platforming across small platforms. There's a few shortcuts you can do to make the platforming slightly easier, but it's still slow, tedious and requires a lot of save scumming to not waste time. Again, the combat falls flat most of the time, but when it doesn't, it's just straight-up annoying. Trying to shoot Shitmonkeys in the underground lake is somehow more precise and annoying than it is in Sewers, there's an optional area with about 9 Dogs in it, and the final hallway spawns a Hulk in your face as you teleport in, with not enough room to actually move around the corpse, and a second one around the bend just in case you thought you could get around the first. The Ruins is peak filler. It's not awful, but it's definitely not good either. I have nothing much to really say about it besides that its very mediocre. Again, Xatrix forgets that they introduced monsters in E2L1.
Finished Nut House and it was OK I guess, but I can definitely see the wasted potential in this theme. It's an asylum map played really on the safe and conservative side, if I may say so - therefore it's nothing like, e.g., asylum levels in Manhunt or Postal 2 (Apocalypse Weekend in particular), just a rather unimpressive set of mostly corridors and halls with beds and prison doors with monotone texturing. The song playing in the first room along with the electrocutting machinery is as creative as it gets. The combat, however, is pretty fine - there are a bunch of hulks early on before you can get any stronger guns, but they can be taken out with the rifle then blown with the exactly 2 dynamite sticks you can get behind, and luring them along the corridors seems like a valid tactic (BTW, if I'd had a powder keg in this level, it might have come in handy in just that situation). The fight in the morgue with like 10 coots behind every corner was fun as well. The final hulk's placement seemed a bit dickish due to yet again an awful auto-closing door and possibility to kill Bubba along with it. To summarise, this level was a pretty casual experience with not much memorable events, but also nothing straight up annoying and fairly straightforward progression - but at the same time, pretty disappointing considering its theme. The lack of E2 enemies looked also kinda flat.
Buck-kawk! Because uh, the next map is J. Cluck's. By the way, here's a tip that FistMarine didn't give: If you're underwater and are currently drowning, consume one charge of a consumable healing item (Whiskey, Beer or Cow Pie) to reset your drowning timer, stopping yourself from taking more damage.
Quacken, I actually said in the first post that having at least one meter in green zone will "absorb" the damage from drowning.
Quote
Having either/both of the meters in green zone will nullify the damage done by fire, drowning and getting attacked by chickens/pigs, etc.
Unless you mean that consuming just one charge of the item (if you don't have any meter in green zone) will reset the drowning timer, which I didn't know. Also it's interesting to hear that RR plays smoothly in Raze. From what you are saying, it fixed the wonky hitboxes in general. Although I haven't used Raze much (other than testing it for a bit), since I generally stick to the original/official versions of the games and only use source ports to play custom maps/mods that were specifically created for them. This way I also avoid potential game breaking bugs/glitches caused by source ports.
Anyway, it's time for reviewing the second episode of Redneck Rampage! Only covering E2L1-E2L4 for now, with a very important note to mention for E2L4! Because of that, I only added spoilers for first two levels. The third doesn't have much of a walkthrough (therefore, no spoiler needed) but the fourth one I didn't put in spoiler to help with a potential softlock!
DOWNTOWN
Downtown Hickston
Kills: 75
Secrets: 3
Clusters: 1
Leonard: We don't take no shit from no suckers!
Portrait: Leonard and Bubba driving the pickup truck while their prized pig Bessie is abducted by the UFO.
If you played continuously, then you will find yourself at beginning of the second episode with your stuff intact when you finished the previous level. Don't worry, your weapons will disappear soon enough and if you started episode 2 from the main menu, you have to start this level with only a pistol. Good luck doing that, though. The game expects you to carry your arsenal from the previous levels, due to high number of high-tier enemies you will encounter here!
Spoiler
Enter the nearest store and kill the owner. There is a hidden AK-47 that will help you later or add 30 ammo if you already had it. Now go outside, open the garage door and grab the THREE boxes of dynamite inside the garage. If you have watched the second and third intro demos, you will have noticed that you can blow up the gas station and collect a Ripsaw for the first secret. But I would recommend waiting until after you collect these boxes of dynamite (if you already have the maximum of 30), as there's 15 ammo and you don't want to waste the precious ammo for nothing! Either way, I appreciate the way the gas station explodes.
Explore the town. I recommend checking every house (especially the bar containing a few enemies and various goodies) and kill EVERY enemy you come across, so they won't bother you later. You will come across the alien bastard and if playing on higher skills, you will quickly come across a new enemy, the Alien Vixen. She comes in multiple variants. Here are the FIVE variants and their attacks/health:
The weakest green one (pal 22) has 500 hp and only has the weaker "small projectile" attacks, plus she can also teleport.
The weak brown one (pal 15) has 750 hp and uses more attacks compared to the green one (not sure if all attacks as the next two variants).
The default blue one with blonde hair (pal 0) has 1000 hp and has deadliest attacks available. She is the most common variant. She attacks with some projectiles that do lots of damage and give you no feedback, as well as a hitscan tit attack that kills you almost instantly!
The rare blue one with orange hair (pal 25) has 2000 hp and has deadliest attacks available. She is very rare and doesn't appear in the main game at all, she is only encountered in some Route 66 maps and certain user maps.
The rarest boss one (pal 34) has 3000 hp and on top of the existing deadly attacks, she also sometimes uses a homing jump kick attack.
Interestingly, this is one of the few levels in the game that uses the weaker green (and even the brown) variant. Shortly, you will also get to meet the most common blue variant, who is quite deadly! Be sure to save in advance, since they are very unpredictable and will tear you apart, even if you have 100 or more hp! In fact, they pretty much rival the Battlelord's chaingun, which was capable at killing you almost instantly at close range! The comparison isn't too far off, considering the common Vixen variant is just as tough as a Mini Battlelord, except a lot more difficult to hit and the player not having a weapon capable of getting rid of them instantly! Which is another reason why RR is much harder than Duke3D, even when having the meters in the green zone.
There is a building with a locked door leading to an office. This is where you are supposed to go next. Break the windows and jump inside. Kill the hitscanners but watch out for the SHERIFF that spawns behind the door! Another new enemy, who doesn't appear too often in both RR and RA. He has 500 hp and rapid firing dual pistols. He sometimes pauses to reload but while doesn't take too long to kill him, he can deal massive damage in return with those pistols! Not as bad as the vixens but still, their damage output is pretty much the same. Also the sheriff could be compared to the Pig Cop Tank from Duke3D Atomic in terms of strength and having hitscan attacks but at least the pig tank did only 5 dmg per hit, even if he shot quickly at you. Which makes me believe that the hitscanners (except the shotgun guys) in RR dealing 19 dmg (by default, without any meter in green zone) with their pistol was a terrible mistake! At least the hitscanners in Duke3D did 5 dmg per shot, so they were more tolerable. Why couldn't they make the hitscanners in RR deal at most 10-15 dmg per shot by default? They would still be deadly but much less cheap.
Anyway, enough with the complaining. After dealing with the bastards, jump through the windows and land on the building where the Alien Hulks were sitting earlier. Hopefully you already killed them. There is an optional room you can get to that contains a parked truck, as well as the Crossbow. Look carefully to find this optional room. There is also a whole room with various ammo, a toilet you can pee and few enemies. Once you are done, go back where you came from.
Then you must jump inside the other building, which is filled with hitscanners and even a goddamn blue vixen! Oh and an Alien Arm Gun sitting in one of the rooms, which is the only time you will see the AAG directly placed in the level in the main RR. The first key should be somewhere inside one of the rooms!
After that, go back to one of the buildings earlier that required you a key to enter. Be careful, as the enemies can shoot you through the windows while you can't even see them (as Aleks already noticed). Inside, deal with the hitscanners and get your second key. Go visit another building by going upstairs, where a shotgunner was firing from above. Open the door, kill the enemies and collect the third key! There is a crack that creates a shortcut to the Sheriff's office, if you prefer to go back. Afterwards, go back and visit the building you didn't explore earlier. Kill the guys inside the store, then go outside but DON'T KILL THE PIGS! Instead, lure one of them to jump on the crate and then get on top of the building. I recommend saving in advance, just in case. Eventually, you will make your way into the police station that contains ANOTHER Sheriff, at least on the harder skills. Kill him, press the switch to open the jail cells, blow up a crack and kill the bastards, unless you already killed them earlier. There is an Alien Hulk and even an Alien Vixen guarding the safe!
Once dealt with them, find the switch behind the desk to open the nearby safe! You should find Bubba inside (how the fuck he locked himself inside the safe anyway?). NOTE THAT IF BUBBA DIDN'T SPAWN, you must walk into the nearby room to make him spawn! There is apparently a touchplate that spawns him. This didn't happen to me but I've seen at least one YT video before where someone wandered the level for 10-20 minutes until Bubba spawned.
If you wish to backtrack, make sure to at least have full health (150 with the sole health boost item in the level) and full inventory for the next level. Backtracking for ammo/weapons doesn't matter and you will see why.
And yeah, much like with E1L5, I had to replay the level because I ended up with one less kill than in previous playthrough. Or rather, I ended up with same amount of kills (74). But on my next attempt, I got all possible 75 kills, which is the highest I've ever got in this level. So things went better this time around.
In my initial run, I died once at the very end against that bitch (I had 52 hp left and couldn't consume any more alcohol before getting drunk). And about 10 more times on my replay through the level, which was done a bit rushed while savescumming and had bad luck with getting shot nearly all the damn time. It seems the level isn't very generous with the food items, so I didn't have the meters balanced properly (and when I did have them in green zone, I had like 30-50 hp left which was risky because of the randomness of the hitscanners). There's beer pickups almost everywhere, alongside an occasional Whiskey bottle and even the food items in some places but the latter aren't present when you need them the most. At least there's a toilet you can use to lower the alcohol meter, though it seems to work better when you're drunk rather than having the meter in the green zone, as otherwise, it won't lower too much.
Overall, I appreciate this level, it's better designed than E1L1 and much less confusing. On the other hand, much like with other levels, I will criticize the lack of verticality (in general when talking about RR maps, especially compared to the Duke3D maps), the rather high difficulty from the multiple high tier monsters present and not giving as many food items when compared to the high amount of beer/whiskey available in the level, leading to a few situations you will have to stand drunk for a while. Luckily, there is a toilet, if you manage to find that optional area with the truck I mentioned earlier. Also, here is another glitched save game screenshot because why not. The game seems to always show a glitched screenshot when saving at beginning of the next level.
Nut House
Kills: 115
Secrets: 4
Clusters: 1
Leonard: Hold it! Hold it! What the hell is that shit?
Portrait: Leonard watching how his pig is getting abducted by the UFO.
This is one of the infamous levels in the original RR. One of the reasons is that you hear a weird-ass ambient sound throughout most of the level. The other reason is that you somehow lost ALL your weapons and only have the crowbar. Oh and the level continuity doesn't make much sense here, ending inside a bank vault and now suddenly waking up in an asylum without your weapons and Bubba missing once again. It seems there isn't as much level continuity in the second episode, except for a few levels later on.
Spoiler
Go through the vents and wack the first pistol guy you see to get your pistol back. There is a glitch (at least in the DOS version) where dying and restarting this level from scratch will make you start with your pistol and 48 ammo instead of just the crowbar. Oh and forgot to mention that the health and inventory from the previous level will transfer, so make sure you have high enough health when starting this level, as the beginning can be a bit difficult!
As mentioned earlier, the first door is locked, so go through the vent and find the skinny guy. Kill him with the crowbar to take his pistol, kill the other guys firing through the windows, then push the block in the middle of the room, so you can jump on it and reach the first key inside the shelf.
Afterwards, uh...I'm not in the mood of writing a walkthrough, as I have a hard time describing the locations, just like with Sewers, the hallways are samey. There is the SECOND key that is hidden inside an unofficial secret place at a later point in the level, located behind a bookshelf that you open by pressing on the desk. Why would you hide a KEY inside a secret room (that's not even counted as a secret in first place) is beyond me! The last key is found in a blue room later on, after killing the pistol guys, just press on the drawer and jump on it to jump over the fence and reach the key.
The level has a couple unofficial secrets and goodies. You can even find the Ripsaw in this level, which in previous playthrough I missed until I got it again in E2L4. It's inside one of the jail cells, easy to miss. I'm talking about those 6 cells halfway through the map, not the 6 ones at the very end!
This level is quite difficult at times, even if there's not many high-tier enemies encountered. You usually face the two hitscanners, a few mosquitoes and NINE Alien Hulks (at least on the harder skill levels). In fact, if I'm not mistaken, this is the level with the most alien hulks present in a single level. The early ones can be difficult to handle due to limited weapons but you should have the shotgun/rifle and TWO Dynamite sticks. Obviously you want to save those dynamite sticks for blowing up the first two hulks, then ammo situation will fix itself shortly after picking up the AAG (although I generally use this weapon against high tier enemies, the basic hitscanners I usually kill with the pistol/shotgun/rifle). Then after that, it's pretty much RNG lottery whether you are going to take damage or not from the many hitscanners present in the level.
I managed to die once from taking so many shots from the hitscanners halfway, in the room that has the bed containing one of the secret places. Other than that, I didn't have many problems, since I came across many food items to help balance the meters into the green zone. And sometimes I cleared rooms without taking any damage. Like I said before, the combat in RR is too much luck based compared to other games of the era.
There is an alien hulk ambush at the very end, alongside a few hitscanners. After killing them, grab everything and you will find Bubba at the very end of the corridor.
Overall, I think the level was somewhat bland at times with some empty corridors/hallways and the ambient sound really gets annoying after a while. Not to mention the boring/repetitive gameplay, especially with the lack of enemy variety. It is certainly a memorable level but again not for quite the right reasons! Also just like the previous level, there's only one delicious item, so you can only have 150 health maximum.
J.Cluck's!
Kills: 91
Secrets: 1
Clusters: 2
Leonard: This is like looking up a hog's butt for a ham sandwich!
Portrait: Leonard aiming with a shotgun and Bubba holding a crowbar, looking at the UFO.
Probably one of the easiest and shortest levels in the entire game. It shouldn't give you too much trouble and this level can be fun at times, as long as you don't have bad luck with getting hit all the damn time by the two hitscanners. Luckily, this didn't really happen in the current playthrough but I still had times I got down to 30-40 or so hp.
The only enemies you face in this level are the basic hitscanners (pistol and shotgun guys), as well as a couple poop minions. Oh and there's a bunch of chickens located inside the building because after all, this is a chicken processing plant.
The level can be a bit confusing at times and there is a part where you eventually need to get through some crushers, which will reward you with the last key (located near the door, easy to miss). I won't go into further details, you should be able to figure out this level on your own. Quacken explained the level better than I could, even mentioning that optional frame rate switch at the beginning of the level.
Overall, I liked this level. It was on the shorter side (like E1L3: Junkyard) and compact, comparable to a typical Duke3D level in terms of length and pacing. It's also the first time I beat this level without dying, since in previous playthroughs I always died at least once (either to the crusher or a hitscanner). Even better, I got an extra kill compared to the previous playthrough.
The only complaint of this level is that the food balance could have been better, since you are given many whiskey bottles and it's hard to correctly balance the alcohol and gut meters. At least there is a bathroom with multiple toilets you can use if you find yourself drunk. And thankfully, there's two Delicious clusters to allow starting the next level with 200 health!
The Ruins
Kills: 131
Secrets: 3
Clusters: 2
Leonard: My advice to you is to start drinking heavily!
Portrait: Leonard aiming with the shotgun while getting chased by an Alien Hulk and Alien Vixen.
It's time for another long and confusing level! The best part? It's got game breaking bugs, ranging from being accidentally warped to other parts of the map to a door that won't unlock upon inserting the damn key! Obviously, I was careful in this playthrough to not have glitches happen to me. Anyway, let's start with a short walkthrough and advices to avoid the softlock glitch. You will thank me later.
Visit those caves and after killing all the enemies, then go back and blow up the door with the yellow sign that reads UNSTABLE AREA! This will eventually lead to an underground area with the first key, as well as lots of poopy monsters. Once you get the key, go back to the beginning and choose the other path. Then you must swim and eventually reach the locked door that leads to the outside area.
Note that due to sectors overlapping, you can get accidentally warped to other locations! You are encouraged to save often and use multiple save slots, just to be on the safe side. This level is not only a confusing mess but it's also very annoying and glitchy!
After making it outside, you will notice Bubba standing on top of the building in the open, making him an easy target for your autoaim, so be careful where you are shooting! I have a hard time writing a proper walkthrough for the rest sections but you should be able to find the keys if you explore. And do some annoying ass platforming sections, on a game with reduced jump height because why not?
IMPORTANT NOTE!
At the end, when you have gotten all the keys and come across the big locked door, kill the enemies and then make sure you save and even use one or two other slots as backup just in case something goes wrong! This is the infamous door that sometimes doesn't unlock. I found a safe way to unlock it with the following steps:
-Make sure to NEVER try opening the door in advance before getting the key, be it by pressing on it or the switch without having the key, as this may cause the bug.
-When you've got the key, press the USE button only ONCE on the switch to insert the key and look at the message on top, it should say UNLOCKED!
-If upon inserting the key, it says LOCKED! at the top of the screen, then you are softlocked and your only remaining options are loading an earlier save, using a glitch involving Moonshine to reach Bubba in a difficult way or using the noclip cheat code to walk through the door.
This glitch happened to me on my first playthrough of the game back in 2017 and had to watch a YT video to learn about a trick involving the moonshine to reach the end of the level. In the last playthrough, I no longer had the glitch happen because of the steps above. I talked last year with fellow TheDragonLiner in a PM and he confirmed the softlock bug happening sometimes (he tested using BuildGDX), which means it's not port specific, it can happen in DOS and any source port. He can offer further details if needed. Ultimately, my advice is SAVING before trying the door, making 1-2 backup saves and then pressing the USE key ONCE to insert the key, then it should unlock the door. And before collecting the last key, make sure to NOT try the locked door (either the door itself or the key switch) without having all three keys collected! If it still doesn't open, reload the save and keep trying. If it still doesn't work, most likely you have to restart the level from beginning and hope it works, use a workaround to reach Bubba or use the noclip cheat past the glitched door! Hope my tips will greatly help everyone who come across this post!
Once you've got the door unlocked, SAVE and then go towards the teleporter. Look out for a shitty monkey teleporting behind you. After you teleport, you will come across a room with some cloning machine and two big-ass aliens you must take out, as well as a few pistol/shotgun guys. Once you took them out, collect the stuff, open the door to reach Bubba and the level is done!
I died around 5 times or so because either I would accidentally hurt/kill myself with the crossbow (when trying to hit those poopy minions in water) and then finished off by an enemy or killed by an annoying dog when I made it to the outside area, because they have a tendency to sneak up on you while fighting another enemy. Which makes it more frustrating when not only you aren't given any damage feedback but you also notice Bubba being up there and not doing anything to help you! Oh yeah and I also hate that optional secret area with the dogs. It wasn't bad to survive with both meters in the green zone but if you don't have them in green zone, you are probably going to die quickly. Oh yeah and you can't finish the level with full 200 hp because there is a mandatory fall that does at least 10 damage, so if you intend to backtrack for the goodies, then you will have to do a small sacrifice, unless you happened to use the clusters earlier.
Oh and Bubba, you could have lend me a hand instead of standing there doing nothing, you useless sack of shit!
P.S: Yes, I shot Bubba once with the pistol when I got to the end, at least to take a picture.
Overall, despite the impressive visuals, this map was a poorly designed mess and the combat was once again repetitive, as for better or for worse, there weren't any E2 exclusive enemies present. Hopefully, the next map is better.
I will post about the remaining E2 maps later this week. Have a nice day!
This post has been edited by FistMarine: 17 April 2023 - 04:30 AM
J. Cluck's was short and used only the most basic enemies. Adding to that the super linear layout of the level confined in narrow corridors and we get another rather unmemorable level. Similar as with the Nut House, this also looked like a wasted potential. The production line didn't really sell the place either and it was only the chickens that indicated what's the purpose of this. The part with passing through the compactor was quite buggy and meh, just like mostly the whole level. One good thing is, there was more rifle ammo than you could ever imagine using up, so at least I could go berserk with this gun for a change.
Then came The Ruins. The first part of this level taking place inside the caves has interesting visuals, but the gameplay is not the best, again due to lots of confined spaces and turd minions in the water. It all changes with going outside - there's some of the best design in the game so far and complex, intricate layout with some platforming that I've enjoyed quite much. The secret with the dogs is a bit bullshit, I agree, but then it was probably the first place in the game where the powder keg came in handy - throwing it out there and then igniting with the dynamite was very helpful with clearing this place. It would have been a great experience over all if it wasn't for one small detail - I unfortunately encountered the softlock mentioned by FistMarine at the end and playing on Killbilly meant even noclipping through the door was not an option. Thought after reading his post and seeing there might be another way to reach Bubba, I did manage to finish it - required some planning, but the execution wasn't really that tricky, probably the same as the mandatory platforming this level had. The dead tree was put in such a convenient location that I can almost imagine the designers knowing about this bug but being too lazy to fix it, so they'd rather include an alternative way up. It gave me the opportunity to miss some of the fights, but I did get inside and killed the remaining monsters - and it seemed like a good idea, as this place was probably one of the only parts where the lore of the game is exposed to the players through some visual storytelling. The combat was pretty fun - it's once again mostly the hitscanners and I agree it's too bad that the E2 enemies seem to have been forgotten since level 1, but then the verticality of the outside part makes for some funnier fights and there's a bunch of nasty hulks. This map also re-introduces the ripsaw and powder keg (there's a total of 3 kegs IIRC).
Seems I'm on "the lead" now, at least when it comes to reviewing. Anyway, played Grimley's Mortuary and it was a good, yet far from flawless, level. It re-introduces the E2 monsters and probably to a better use than in the first level - Vixens here are far more deadly and sheriffs aren't thrown right in your face. There's also a bunch of dogs, but usually in places where there's enough room to outrun them. And a bunch of hulks that are fairly easy to kill. It's your horroresque map with all the pros and cons that come with it - it starts with a very good design - a thunderstorm and a spooky-looking place. Inside it also sells nicely with a creepy, although more generic, design and some "secret passages" that are, obviously, mandatory for progression. Then comes the catacombs which I feared would be labrenthine and crappy - to my surprise, this was the best part of the level. The texturing might not have been the most creative, but the architecture and enemy placement worked well and it was quite intuitive to navigate. Both of the secret places are located in this part and they're well worth finding. Then comes the final part, which is a cemetery and we face the Build-esque "ghost" monsters with tranlucency bit on. In Duke this was a typical 1996ish user map thing to encounter, but here they come in the official game, ah well. Considering the setting also has extremely low visibility, this last part is basically a gamble. Also there's a lot of optional locations that may not even reward you with anything worth the effort. This last part kinda lowers my impression (and thus my opinion) of this level, but it's still a good one.
Phew, I'm neck and neck with Aleks now! Better get back up to speed.
Grimley's Mortuary
Map progression:
Spoiler
Keep following the path until you get to the gate to the mortuary. If you're Pistol starting like me, run for the opening in the brick wall and follow around that wall until you get to two Vixens, who are guarding Key 1. Run around them, get the key and run back to the main set of doors. Hopefully the Sheriff blocking the door moved out of the way, because you'll be dead otherwise. Slam the door behind you and don't step outside again until you get an AAG. Turn left and go up the stairs. On the other side of the staircase on the next floor will be an office space with Key 2. Now go to the other side of the foyer and go down the stairs into the room with the red wall pattern. Go through the fake wall with the Coot texture on it and enter the catacombs. Make two rights, going down a large ramp in the process, then turn left, which will take you to a bottomless pit and some platforms to jump across. Jump over to the other room. Go to the left side of this room first and Shotgun the Hulk to get his AAG. Flip the switch on that end to open up the bars on the other side, which has Key 3. AAG the other Hulk and get Key 3. Come back up where you came from and get out of the catacombs. Use Key 3 on the door directly in front of you and go behind the smelter to use the switch there. Return to the catacombs, and at the fork which took you down the ramp to Key 3, go straight ahead and to the left to find that some bars have opened up. Follow the entryway to the dark section and go right to find a switch. The switch opens the wooden doors to your left, so go through those. Follow the path until you get to an opening you can jump out of. Make two lefts, kill the Vixen, then jump in the coffin to exit the map.
Grimley's Mortuary is a pretty okay map. The start is a headache and was clearly intended to be played by having you carry over your weapons from Ruins, but if you don't have that luxury then the best strategy is to run past everything. Don't come back outside until you get an AAG, because otherwise there's no way you're going to be able to Shotgun everything. If the Hulk somehow follows you inside, then leave him stranded in either the kitchen or cellar. Thankfully, getting Dynamite is easy through a very obvious secret in the catacombs. Once you get your first AAG, you're basically home free, as the only other hard fight is funnily enough trying to take control of the outside again. The AAG is really just too efficient for how simple most of the monsters in this game are. The Vixens would be more threatening if there were a few more of them and you didn't have cover for ages in these square catacombs. The other chaff such as the hitscanners and Dogs get put down by the Shotgun. You don't even need a Hunting Rifle for this map, and I don't think you get one anyway. I like the visuals in this map a lot. The shrieks in pain that wring through the mortuary are definitely loud and clear, and the strange portraits from E2L2 and E2L3 are back as well. I also happen to like the clever use of sprites in this map. There's lamp props sitting on top of flat textures to make it seem like they're hanging lights, which is quite creative, and the catacombs are strangely derelict and abstract. This is the first time in Redneck Rampage that you can fall down a bottomless pit and die, and it seems like a spot that's pretty out there. Who is this Grimley person and why don't they have a bridge connecting their catacomb to the key that opens the furnace? Do they throw the excess bodies down the pit or what? While Grimley's Mortuary is mostly a pretty generic level, it's at the very least another short map. I respect its usage of Vixens and Sheriffs, and its visuals are on par with the other maps in Episode 2 so far.
6.5/10.
This post has been edited by Quacken: 19 April 2023 - 03:32 AM
I played until the Beaudry Mansion in the weekend, just didn't get around to writing reviews yet. So here goes..
A bit of history: as a kid I always thought that the 2nd episode started really well and then pretty much tumbled off a cliff. The 2 main reasons: I found the new monsters mostly annoying and I thought the game strayed too far from its core theme (that being based on rural backwater areas, but beyond the opening map there's very little of that here) which mostly resulted in mazy and confusing maps. My opinion softened somewhat when I replayed this game a couple of years ago. Let's see how well it holds up this time.
Downtown Hickston
The episode opens with one of the strongest maps in the game IMO. This map recreates a little town and let's you explore every building (although some of them require a key). As mentioned before, I think it's one of the first build maps to succesfully do that. As such, it must have had an impact on user mapping. Most official DN3D maps revolve around 1 street area and let you enter 3 buildings at most. So it's an interesting map from that aspect alone. But I also think it's well executed here, each building has its own distinctive theme and purpose so orienting yourself feels extremely easy. It helps that the map is pretty compact (as opposed to Taylor Town). As Quacken mentioned, the bar is a great little save haven with plenty of health items and some nice music playing from the jukebox. Other notable locations are the fire station, a derelict hotel with boarded up windows, a bank and a police station. The opening at the gas station is also pretty memorable. Part of me wishes that the rest of the episode kept going with the little town theme for at least a few more maps.
Gameplay involves a key hunt throughout the city, it requires some trial and error to find out which doors are locked and which key opens them, but nothing too bad. It also requires you to traverse some rooftops, at one point you need to hit a pig and use it to gain access to higher ground. Thought that was pretty funny. The map introduces the Sherrif and the Vixens. I had less trouble defeating these monsters than I used to have (I think Blast Radius has something to do with that ) but still the Vixens can be pretty annoying at times. It doesn't help that this map places them at awkward spots. I didn't mention this earlier, but I did notice more than before how enemies are sometimes put at annoying and awkward positions which makes fighting them less fun. I wonder if this was done on purpose to up the difficulty, either way it's kinda annoying.
But overall this map is a solid intro map! Strong 8/10
Nut house
And suddeny we're in a dark isolation cell with cushioned walls and extremely awful music playing in a loop. It's one of the most jarring transitions in the game, but given the theme of this map it kinda works. I think the mappers saw Death Row from DN3D and wanted to put their own version of it in this game. This map mostly works, as Quacken mentioned there's something 'off' about the entire thing but it's mostly done in subtle ways. The disembodied chatter in the hallways is strange, the place seems way too big for an asylum in a backwater area and some rooms don't make sense geographically. I usually won't mention that since most build games have abstract areas, but Redneck Rampage has mostly stuck to realistic looking areas so far, with buildings making sense and having a believable layout. So the strangeness of this place sticks out. The Hulks are the most dangerous foes here, since you lost all your arsenal and will need to kill the first ones with your weaker weapons. I found that the AAC is the most effective weapons against them, and killing them will replenish your ammo for it. The last Hulk gave me a good jump scare! Other than that you only face the regular grunts.
Would have been cool if they had some theme-appropiate enemies here, like a crazy coot in a straight jacket or a doctor coming after you with an injection needle. But alas, you have to be content with fighting the same 2 guys again.
Overall I like this map, although it overstays its welcome a bit with a few too many similar looking hallways and rooms.
7/10
J Cluck's
We already talked about this map and how it continues the 'off' atmosphere of the last map. There's an interesting contrast here, with the nice looking first areas and portraits with weird creepy smiles and then the blood soaked factory floors coming right after it. All the while the same "happy" music is playing everywhere in a loop. It's like you ended up in purgatory. My main takeaway here is: don't work at a chicken processing plant.
I think the group portrait in the office of J Clucks is indeed the Xatrix team btw.
Other than that there's not much to say. Gameplay sticks again to your regular grunt enemies, and while the factory is conceptually interesting, visually it's kinda boring and not all that fun to traverse.
Which may have been the point, who knows. At least this map doesn't overstay it's welcome.
7/10
The Ruins
I have 2 minds about this one. As a mapper, I can appreciate the intricate design and the complex usage of sector-of-sector. And visually, the ruins look very convincing with its broken buildings and deteriorated textures.
The final area also shows a cloning facility from the aliens, which is one of the few times you get to see something story-related in this game. BTW this also makes me wonder: are the chickens in cahoots with the aliens in this game? You can also see them in the UFO's in the intro cinematic.
But putting that all aside, the map is not fun to play at all. It's not as bad as sewers, but the beginning is basically a cramped maze with some annoyances like the turd minions in the water. It gets better once you get outside, but even then the indoor areas are mostly cramped corridors. And while I'm not opposed to jumping puzzles, jumping across the ceiling beams here is mostly annoying. Leonard is difficult to control in mid-air and will often fall off even if you think you timed your jump correctly. Luckily you can cheese this part by using the comfy chair next to the last beam. It may require a few tries, but with the correct angle you'll land on the beam and skip the entire jumping section.
Unfortunately I got softlocked twice in this map. The first time I was warped from the underground caves to an out-of-bounds outdoor area, with no way to get out. 2nd time was the infamous switch, which locked the door instead of unlocking it. I ended up using RDCLIP, but that made the fight with the final Hulk even more awkward. This really soured an already rocky experience.
4/10
Grimley's Mortuary
And now we enter a horror themed map for... reasons? The mapping team pretty much gave up on logical transitions between maps since Nut House so why not.
This map starts off pretty promising with the wind and thunder and the re-introduction of the Sherrifs and Vixens. The Mortuary itself looks pretty good, both inside and outside. I used to dislike the catacomb section, but I found some new appreciation for it this time around. It's a well-designed area, with good use of light and darkness and a pretty challening part involving 2 Hulks and a bottomless pit. I only don't like the fact that you have to move back and forth between the catacombs and the house to flip some extra switches. Feels like padding. It's also at this point that fighting the same 2 guys over and over again started to annoy me. Somehow the dramatic shifts in theme between the maps made the repetitive nature of the combat stand out more. Doesn't matter if we're in an asylum, a chicken plant or a horror map, we still have to fight Billy Rays and Coots for 90% of the time.
This is also why the horror theme doesn't quite land with me. In terms of mapping it's well done, but RR simply doesn't have scary enemies to go with the theme. Hearing 'I'm gonna git ya boy, I'm gonna git ya!' doesn't exactly make me quiver in fear The Hulks are really the only enemies that can be scary at times, and there's a dickish one here in a nearly pitch black hallway.The final area introduces transculent enemies in nearly pitch black areas, which unfortunately drags the overall rating down quite a bit.
Hopefully the remainder of the episode will pick up the slack!
6/10
This post has been edited by Merlijn: 19 April 2023 - 05:23 AM
The final area also shows a cloning facility from the aliens, which is one of the few times you get to see something story-related in this game. BTW this also makes me wonder: are the chickens in cahoots with the aliens in this game? You can also see them in the UFO's in the intro cinematic.
Maybe it has something to do with this Courage the Cowardly Dog short movie, which came out in 1995:
Back to E2, I don't think the continuity is that bad here. The first level ends in a vault which could have easily been an ambush by the aliens used to move Leonard to an asylum, then it's mostly just transitions between different locations in town - there is a large wooden gate to the right of Bubba at the end of Ruins which quite naturally could lead to Grimley's Mortuary, with both levels sharing similar visuals.
We're nearly there! Two more maps and then the Vixen Queen awaits!
Uranium Mines
Map progression:
Spoiler
Take the Dynamite in front of you and use it to bomb the wooden wall. Go on through into the room with the drill, get the items, then hit the switch at the other end. Move back into the center room and go into the room that just opened up at the other end. There'll be a switch inside you can flick to open up the gate to the elevator. Go left once you're at the next floor. Bomb the cracked wall next to the drill. Don't try to jump over, because there's an invisible wall that will stop you. Move across the field of minecarts and turn right at the furthest track to find yourself at a new section with a ramp downward. Follow the railway for quite a while, and make sure to jump around the minecarts. If you fall in the water, hug the right wall and you'll eventually find a ladder. Don't miss the secret with the Teat Guns! There'll be a wooden texture and a brick tunnel you can crawl through. Hit the switch at the small room you end up in and hug the wall to get them. When you get to the tight cave with the Coot on the other side, crawl along the rail on the left to get by. You can also drop down into the water and swim a little forward to find a rocky platform that raises and lowers. Regardless of which way you find yourself in the next section, the piece of rock that blows open when the ambush triggers will reveal a brick room. In the left room is Key 1. Take Key 1 back to the elevator and use the next one in the sequence to go down.
Go left and follow the mineshaft down until you get to a dynamite box. Pull the lever down and get the hell out of there. The falling ceiling stops just before the hole where the Vixen spawns in. Speaking of, in that hole will be another dynamite box for you to activate. This one won't cause a falling ceiling, but it will open up a hole in the wall at the crossroads. There's a switch in there, so flip that to open the chainlink door. Follow the new path through, and eventually you'll fall into a cart that has Key 2 in it. Take Key 2 back to the elevators, but this time, go past them and into the cave. There'll be a bulldozer which needs Key 2 if you go far enough. Activating the bulldozer blows up a hole in the wall. Off to the right is Key 3. Use Key 3 on the next elevator. At the lake, use the rocky platform to jump to the ladder. Get up onto the ledge and follow the path, hitting the switch at the end. Go back down to the lake, and there'll be a passage that opens up through the waterfall. Now comes this bullshit section. At the southern-most section, separate from the machine, set the switch state to 4. Then, set all of the switch states on the machine to 1. That should open a door with two Vixens, a fancy drill, and a switch that opens the door that Bubba is behind. Make your hike all the way back up to the surface level, where Bubba is waiting.
Uranium Mines has quite a lot to appreciate. For starters, there's actual monster variety for once. Every monster in the game besides the Mosquitoes are here to make their acquaintance with you. Sheriffs in radioactive orifices. Hulks staring you down long corridors. More Vixens than normal. But mostly just Billies honestly. The use of room over room in this map is very impressive. I'm gonna take an educated guess here and say that Sverre Kvernmo authored this map. The multi-layered complex, above average monster count and you being able to see the exit at the start of the map makes this practically a sequel to Black Tower from The Master Levels. Thankfully, Kvernmo's ambition (or whoever made this map) is not lost on me. Thanks to there being actual monster diversity, the combat in this map is surprisingly memorable. There's quite a lot of ambushes in this map, and if you're not quick on the draw with the Crossbow some of them might even catch you in an embarrassing spot. This is the first and only map where it actually feels like the Crossbow was designed to exist in it. It's no Napalm Launcher or anything, but the long stretches of cave in this map and the tight packs of Billies make bowling them over with the Crossbow in this map genuinely pretty fun. You also get a lot of ammo for your other weapons, including (wait for it) Slot 0, the Teat Guns. The Teat Guns are brutally powerful burst damage at short range. Notably, it's the only weapon capable of confidently stun locking Vixens to death, but it's also good against Hulks too. I just wish you didn't have to wait until the third to last map to actually use them. Some things in this map really make me think there was an Episode 3 of Redneck Rampage in development at some point, but it got shelved, and elements of Episode 3 ended up getting put into Downtown, and parts of Downtown got pushed into Outskirts.
The visuals in this map are also quite good. The lighting is less good than usual, but the sector work is nicely put together, and some things like the bulldozer also look very nice. The drills would look better if Shadow Warrior didn't immediately invalidate them a few months later. There are some things that are very hard to ignore in this map though. The Secret Alien Base that has a Goo Goo Cluster in it will basically just kill you instantly with its falling ceiling if you're not both extremely quick on your mark and using a Moonshine. The switch puzzle at the end is moronic, awkward and has no clues at all to tell you that you need to put things in the order that they need to be in. Finally, in an optional area that eventually leads to one of the two Sheriffs in the map, there's a lot of really janky collision that often doesn't work right when you're trying to jump around it. You basically have to be crawling and taking your sweet time around to not fall back into the water and begin the trek again. Despite its flaws that slow down the map's pacing to a crawl, Uranium Mines is one of the most polished and mature maps in Redneck Rampage. It's right up there with Smeltin' Plant in terms of its quality.
I too have finished Uranium Mines and agree with Quacken - in fact I would go even further and say this is the best map in the game yet, and by quite a large margin. The map looks sweet, both when considering the grand scheme of things and little details, I was particularly fond of all the curved and sloped corridors and how well the layout worked in the platforming sections (BTW I'm not sure if this section is optional, as the regular entrance to this whole mine collapses). The bulldozer looks cool and the small coal wagons are kinda cute, but deadly as fuck - in fact it's a bit of an overkill to think that merely touching one of these that goes at an insane speed of 1 km/h would kill a grown man, but there it goes. The drill that punctures the map throughout its entire height like a giant shish kebab is a cool focal point that helps with navigation, also the theme of the map is quite appropriate for a penultimate climax considering Arkansas is known for its uranium deposits. Finally, the combat is indeed pretty diverse (even if it's 80-90% of Billies) with all the high-tier monsters making an appearance and usually used in a way that would end up in pretty challenging fights. The ambushes with Billies also kinda give them second life, as they're way deadlier this way and not just random bullet sponges, making the whole gameplay a lot more dynamic. Despite how large and long this map is, the progression is clear. I didn't have much problem with the final puzzle, it looked like something that would require a lot more thinking/looking for hints, but remember it's Redneck Rampage, so really all you need is VERY basic math Also no problems here with grabbing the Gooey thing from the fake alien base, even without the moonshine - the first use of TNT box got me better than this. The final area with 2 hulks can seem quite difficult, but then there's a lot of obstacles to run around with them, feels a bit like Sanek's BattleDuke episode. It's also one of the few places in the game where using a powder keg might come in handy (good on the map for placing these around and reminding me they even exist). The secret place(s) that reward you with the teat gun is pretty cool as well and feels like a small adventure of its own, even more satisfying due to the reward being basically one of the only 2/3 powerful guns in the game - although I'm a bit disappointed by how fast it eats through the ammo, but then the same can be said about pretty much every weapon in RR - probably one of the most annoying thing in this game is that most of the time, you either are fully capped with ammo only to then waste it all on like 3-5 enemies and be low for the rest of the level. It's like that for guns like the rifle, dynamite, ripsaw or even the damn shotgun in the rare cases you aren't constantly fed with the shells.
Get the Shotgun and go right. Fight through the faraway hitscanners until you get to the pool. There'll be a lot of Dogs here, so lure them all into the pool. They don't count as kills, so you can just leave them here. In the same fashion, lure the Hulk over to the pool until he's on the water's surface. There's no way for him to get out now. Alright, go back to the start. Get the dynamite on the left side, but don't open the gate. Kill the Dog with whatever you have left. (if you did some sleuthing and some clever movement, you should be able to collect the Casulls from the dead Coots on the right side.) Go up the staircase to the doors to the mansion and make a jump towards the lip of the fenced off area. Jump over the fence. Then, just run for the staircase you can find straight ahead. Don't fight the Vixens, you won't have an AAG yet. Run for the furthest door at the hallway and close it behind you. A lot of the rooms in this map have multiple ways to get to them, and some of them don't even have useful items, so this makes a precise walkthrough pretty hard. If you're upstairs, use the dining room you can see down below as a compass. Pay attention to the grandfather clock on the eastern side of the dining room balcony, because that will open up later. Go past that clock, down the flight of stairs and to the other flight of stairs in the new room you're in. Turn right here and you should find a small pen with a Dog in it. Kill the Dog and flip that switch. Then go back to the grandfather clock to collect Key 1 from it. In the same room where that wooden pen was, you can use Key 1 on the door infront of the stairwell.
Turn left in this green room and walk down the hall. At the very end of this hall, there'll be a door on the left. Go through both doors you can see here, and Key 2 is straight ahead. For Key 2's door, you'll need to go back upstairs and head to the left side of the balcony overlooking the dining room. You probably already bumped into this doorway while looking for things to do, but if you haven't, you should look for a stained glass window texture. The door to the bedroom will be near there. On the side of the drawer is a button you need to press. That button opens a passageway nearby. Jump down into the dining room and you'll find a crawlspace behind the fireplace has opened up. At the chapel with the Hulk in it, you'll find Key 3. Go outside and locate the staircase and hut with the wooden texture and torches. Walk through there and step into the maze. Solve the maze by using the automap constantly, and you should be good. When you get to the switch you need to flip at the end, you'll need to return to where you found the marble temple to pass through the bars that opened. Follow the underwater path to finish the map.
The penultimate map of Redneck Rampage! Beaudry Mansion is essentially a souped up version of Grimley's Mortuary that's about two times easier to get lost in and is much more regal. The start of this map is another ugly burner that can get complicated quickly if the Billies or the row of Coots on the far side of the right hedges take too much health off of you. Thankfully, you can lure most of the dogs and the Hulk into the pool. Once you run past the Vixens in the foyer and deal with the Hulk up in the hallway in the library to get his AAG, your regularly scheduled hitscan programming resumes. Having some Sheriffs in this map would have probably made the combat feel just a little more engaging, but at the very least there's plenty of Vixens strolling everywhere. If there were Teat Guns in this map, I didn't get them. They must have been in a secret somewhere that I didn't grab. Not that you really need them anyway, because the AAG smokes pretty much everything in this map, like it usually does. The visuals are once again quite nice. Red carpets flow down flights of wooden staircases, there's a decent amount of texture variety and there's a heaping of optional content and unique setpieces to discover, such as a kitchen, a library and a wine cellar that's a secret for some reason. The sound design is also a unique part of this map. This map has a backing track that plays while in the mansion, which I guess makes it so I didn't need to play a MIDI while playing through this map, and the occasional bwong of the grandfather clock, even when there isn't one in sight, is definitely ominous. The maze is... sure a maze. I like that there's some height variation, but at the end of the day this is just a hedge maze that gets trivialised by the automap. Not very engaging, or original for that matter. Beaudry Mansion's good aesthetics and sound design save a pretty sleepy map.
6/10.
Close Encounters
Map progression:
Spoiler
Run around the field and collect all the items you can. Use the Casull to shoot down the UFOs and the monsters that spawn from them, besides the Hulks. Use the Crossbow to kill the five Hulks that will eventually emerge once you shoot all of the UFOs. Then, once you've fully stocked up, go into the mothership's tractor beam. Use the Vixen Queen's introduction as some time to kill the other three Vixens on the ship. Then, kill the Vixen Queen to finish the map.
In a very fitting end for a Build Engine game, Close Encounters is a large golf course with five Hulks, about 12 monsters that I promise aren't Pig Cop Jets, and a mothership with the final boss. The Vixen Queen is just a Vixen with more health and the ability to do a jumping kick attack that won't ever hurt you. You'll get Teat Guns and maxed out ammo for them in the first room, so that's what you'll be using to kill the Queen. Get her stuck somewhere, then kill her three lackeys that are also aboard the ship with the Crossbow and the Hunting Rifle. Then, you just do the same thing you did to kill the Vixens normally. Abuse cover and spam the Teat Guns until either she dies or you do. Bleh.
5/10.
Closing Thoughts
So: Out of all the FPSes I have ever played, Redneck Rampage is certainly one of them. This is definitely a very strange game. I can at least say with full honesty that I genuinely really enjoyed playing Redneck Rampage. It's definitely not a perfect game. The lack of monsters in general, Xatrix's unwillingness to go beyond hitscanners and one other flavour of the day on some maps, the reliance on toilet humor, the weapons feeling janky and unreliable and most of all the key situation are all definite sticking points as to why someone doesn't like this game. But also, I just can't hate it. Xatrix's Duke 3D clone is generally speaking very good looking and it fulfills a niche that no other Build Engine game did by being set in a rural town in the forest, allowing to pull off a lot of rustic locations. The things they do with the visual style are also extremely fascinating and thought-provoking, and I think Leonard and Bubba are decent protagonists who are voice acted well and have some alright lines. I wouldn't mind at all if Redneck Rampage received a Nightdive remaster or even a full-on reboot similar to the nu-Shadow Warrior games, because I think there's a lot of potential for a universe about two rednecks defending their nobody town of Hickston by shooting all of the aliens that come their way. It's not perfect, but it's definitely fourth place in the Build Engine lineup. And sometimes, it's good to settle for fourth place. My final rating for Redneck Rampage is a 6/10.
Back to E2, I don't think the continuity is that bad here. The first level ends in a vault which could have easily been an ambush by the aliens used to move Leonard to an asylum, then it's mostly just transitions between different locations in town - there is a large wooden gate to the right of Bubba at the end of Ruins which quite naturally could lead to Grimley's Mortuary, with both levels sharing similar visuals.
Heh I do remember Courage the cowardly dog. As for the continuity, I did always imagine that Leonard got trapped in that vault and was than moved to asylum. But still, you kinda have to fill in the blanks yourself. In Duke 3D, the transition from city to prison was done a lot better. As for the rest of the maps, they don't really flow into each other. And because they vary so wildly in theme it's even more noticable. Episode 1 flows a bit more naturally, except the transtion from Drive In to Dairy Air Farms. In the grand scheme of things it's not a dealbreaker, but it does make me wonder if they originally had more maps planned and had to shuffle things around. After all, 2 episodes is pretty short compared to other 90's shooters.
Redneck Rampage rides again handled continuity a lot better, especially its 2nd episode.
Back to the final maps!
Uranium mines
One of the most ambitious maps in the set, this is a lenghty trek through the titular Uranium mines. I love the general idea here, where each key basically unlocks the next level and you descent deeper and deeper into the earth. Each level presents it's own mini stage with its own unique challenges until you can proceed to the layer below. This works really well, it's one of the few maps where the layout and overall goal become clear right away. This map also makes the most use of verticality and slopes, which makes it feel closer to DN3D. Some really creative use of slopes in mine shafts.There are also a lot ambushes, explosions and collapsing tunnels to spice things up. As the others have mentioned, the combat is also more varied.
Overall it's easily one of the stronger maps in the game. There are a few annoyances, like the mine carts insta-killing you. There's also one point where you have to cross a chasm by blowing up the wall besides it. All well and good, but it really looks like the player could just make the jump if it wasn't for the invisible walls. So the first few times I just fell to my death. It took me a while to realize what the game wanted from me here, could have been handled better. The final puzzle also stumped me a few years ago, but once you know the solution you hit yourself in the head for not thinking of it. It's really laughably easy once you figure it out.
Also the secret teat gun is one of the better secrets in the game, that was done really well.
This map was also a major influence for the mine section in red2, as Aleks may have guessed already.
8.5/10
Beaudry Mansion
This is another map teenage me liked mostly because it's visually striking. The mansion looks really nice with great textures both outside and inside, and through a clever combination of textures and sectors there's some beautiful looking lightning and shadow effects. I also appreciate the fact that you can enter the building via 2 ways. The sheer contrast between the servant quarters and the rest of the building is also pretty funny. The music and sound design is also splendid (so good that I used it for a school project back in the day).
This could have been a home-run, however there's a few things holding this map back.
-some gameplay annoyances such as cryptic progression (again!). In particular: there's a switch to unlock the passage to the final key, but both the switch and the passage are easy to miss. Also there's again some annoying enemy placement, although nothing too bad.
-some rooms and corridors inside the Mansion are strangely empty and devoid of any furniture or any characteristics that would make them recognizable, which makes the place look more like a maze and easier to get lost in.
-speaking of mazes, the map ends with a literal maze. It's not too difficult but also not a very thrilling way to close out the map. There's no clever twist here, it's just a hedge maze you need to traverse while killing some more monsters. At least there are no pitch black areas like Grimley's Mortuary here.
7.5/10 (gets some extra points purely for atmosphere and visuals)
Close Encounters
As far as boss maps go, this one is actually pretty well contructed. It's a 2 stage battle, which is more than Stadium did.You first have to battle several Hulks in a large field, while the large UFO from the intro cinematic and smaller ships are flying around. There's goodies and cover scattered around the map, as well as a lot powder kegs which makes the battle a bit more dangerous. You don't want to be anywhere near if a Hulk blows on the of them up. At a certain point, the large ship will stop flying and allow you on board. This is where the actual battle against the Vixen queen starts. She's basically just a Vixen with a different pal and more health, there's not much to the battle except her ability to disappear and re-appear. But the regular Vixens had this ability as well so it's nothing surprising at this point. Just shoot her until she dies.
6/10
Overall thoughts:
Overall I do think episode 1 was more consistent, it had only 1 real low point in Sewers (which, to be fair, is the lowest point of the game). Episode 2 starts off strong, but then it becomes very inconistent, often within the same level. Some levels show promise but then get bogged down by a really bad section. Ruins get ruined by its annoying glitches that should have been smoothed out. Other maps show promise but don't reach their full potential. Downtown Hickston and Uranium Mines are the stand outs here. As for the game as a whole, I'm in the same boat as Quacken.
So: Out of all the FPSes I have ever played, Redneck Rampage is certainly one of them.
Not sure if this sentence was supposed to be that, but I absolutely love it
I still have the final level ahead of me, but finished Beaudry Mansion today, which was one of the longer levels in the game that took me almost an hour if looking at the end-screen stats (and probably a lot more due to getting lost or killed along the way). I pretty much agree with everything Merlijn said about this one - it looks rather impressive most of the time, with some blander corridors/sections, but has a terrible progression and signposting. The first major offender is that each key opens multiple doors scattered across the whole building, but you're never sure which ones precisely, so it's quite wild to go around and find it - it took me a while to remember the bedroom that got unlocked somewhere along the way and return to it. Then there's the switch in bedroom - it's not that difficult to spot, albeit hidden, but Jesus, if you place your switch like this and it's not a super-secret, at least make it obvious what it opens! The final hedge maze is a nice use of SOS, but overall another bland section that drags the whole experience down a bit. There's some annoying monster placements (dogs in tight spaces and some vixens, particularly the one in the room with 2nd key got on my nerves), but the bigger problem with combat is how scarce the ammo gets here - teat gun is once again completely forgotten and it's pretty difficult to make ends meet with the rifle ammo considering it's the 2nd best option against vixens, even the scattergun shells are notably less abundant than usually. There also seems to be an odd balance of alcohol and food (with the previous prevailing), but that might as well result just from my playing style. The secrets are quite easy to locate this time around, I particularly liked the wine basement one. There's also some impressive details, like the sector work done for the main bed frame, which is not something you often see in "commercial" levels for Build games. The overall layout and architecture of the mansion is also something to remember, as Merlijn pointed out, there's two ways to enter, although the one close to the main gates does seem like an overlook for the mapper and when I first entered there, I decided to leave after killing the vixens as it seemed like "not the intended way that would result in a very confusing progression". Besides the "unfortunate" fights I've mentioned, there's also a bunch of pretty epic one - the hulk encountered at the top of the library in particular was pretty fun considering he followed me all the way there then between the bookcases. Overall, this was a step-down from Uranium Mines and probably an unnecessary convolution of the build-up to the climax, but at the same time a level that was basically a perfect summary of the whole game - it looks great, has some very good ideas, but the whole experience ends up being a drag and the progression is obscure as hell.
...and finished the final level, Close Encounters. I'd say it was a good boss level. The first part of fight with the hulks was quite intense, but fun, since the very open area allowed for a lot of running around. The small UFOs posed rather little threat and it was funny that they sometimes spawned a coot, but sometimes also a cow or a pig. There was plenty of guns and ammo laying around the first area as well. The effect of the large UFO flying around was impressive and so was the abduction itself. Then came the boss fight, which I found quite challenging - unfortunately the teat gun eats through the ammo super fast, so killing the 3 regular vixens that guarded the Queen already used most of my supplies (even with the additional guns laying around), so I had to think of different strategies to beat her, with the only hitscanning run at my disposal being the basic revolver and projectile weapons proving to be completely shitty against her. Turned out the help came from the least expected direction - the ultimate weapon against the boss turned to be alternate melee attack of the ripsaw. Crouching right in front of her made most of her attacks miss and grinding the shit out of her with the ripsaw successfully stunned her for longer periods. It was a surprisingly good finale to the game, definitely a better than the literally crappy boss of the first episode. Here's my ranking of the levels:
15. Sewers
14. Lumberland
13. J. Cluck's
12. Nut House
11. Grimley's Mortuary
10. Taylor Town
9. Dairy Air Farms
8. Beaudry Mansion
7. Junkyard
6. Close Encounters
5. Ruins
4. Drive-In
3. Smelting Plant
2. Downtown Hickston
1. Uranium Mines
I enjoyed this game more than I'd expect after the first few levels. It was surprisingly consistent (whether it's good or bad things), stylistically and visually especially. I liked the little details in the enemy AI - how hulks, despite their large size, would follow you despite the obstacles on their way, vixens being really mean bitches with their invisibility thing, sheriffs reloading and Billy Rays scratching their backs that allowed for a fast action against them and turd minions being fast and fairly unpredictable in their movement. The weapon selection was what you'd expect from a Build game, with a roster that thematically fits very well with the game's lore and some creative stuff like dynamite crossbow, teat gun, AAG or ripsaw. The alcohol/food system was good conceptually, but usually too much hassle to keep track of. The main problems with the game are the progression, which is often way too cryptic and annoying, and ammo cap vs enemy health - most guns eat really fast through their whole ammo supplies, while the monsters are usually bullet sponges, with dogs, sheriffs and vixens being particularly annoying in this aspect.
I think I liked Shadow Warrior a bit better, but both games would be a 7/10 in my book.
Sorry to hear that both Aleks and Merlijn got softlocked in E2L4 (The Ruins), though at least Aleks found an alternate way to reach Bubba. I hope that my hints will be helpful to those who visit this topic in the hope of finding a way to avoid this infamous door glitch in E2L4!
Also interesting to see Courage the Cowardly Dog mentioned here. I haven't seen this cartoon in over a decade or so! I remember watching Cartoon Network a lot back when I was a kid (at least until 2007 or so). Good times!
I forgot to mention that E2L3 has the development team picture (it's pretty cool to see the dev team in game, though this picture also appears in RR manual if I'm not mistaken) and that there's a lot of Rifle ammo (inside the secret place and at the very end of level), which means it's one of the few levels where you can go crazy with the Rifle and still end up with 200 ammo at end.
Also the deadly pits are introduced in the E1L7 boss fight (though only in one spot). In E2L5, it is the second time you encounter them and in E2L6 the third time, though again in a few spots you are meant to avoid.
Regarding enemy variants, for sure I would have liked to see some more unique enemies, like what Merlijn suggested in E2L2 with the mad doctor attacking with the syringe. Or at the very least having some pal-swapped variants of the old coot (with red/blue/gray pants) and billy ray (with red/green/gray overalls) to add just a bit more variety in the levels. That would have been a minimum effort to have some more unique variants of existing enemies.
Regarding RR's length, as you can see from the episode listing in the Alpha Demo version (see screenshots in the opening post), RR was meant to have FOUR episodes (maybe about 5-7 levels per each episode) but due to lack of time/resources, RR was rushed to the market and as such, it suffered a lot, as the game feels quite unfinished at times, almost like you are playing a beta version of the game. I'm not surprised about maps like Uranium Mines feeling a bit out of place in the current E2L6 slot, as you can see one of the planned episodes being called "URANIUM MINES", so maybe it was meant to be a map here.
This weird level progression/structure is further evidenced by having a deathmatch episode in the E3 slot that consist of mostly repurposed areas from existing SP maps, with the last map feeling a bit different compared to the rest ones (you will see that later when I review the extra episode). Even if there's only 15 SP levels across two episodes (as well as the 7 extra DM maps on the hidden third episode), most levels are pretty lengthy, so it makes up for that.
Anyway, here is the long awaited conclusion to Redneck Rampage, most notably the maps E2L5-E2L7 and ENDGAME! Grab a popcorn and enjoy reading, as this post is pretty long!
Grimley's Mortuary
Kills: 80
Secrets: 2
Clusters: 2
Leonard: Heh, you can't kill me sucker!
Portrait: Leonard looking at the Alien Vixen.
Good news, this level is probably one of the highlights in the entire game. I like the "haunted mansion" vibe and the lightning effects in the background. The level almost seems taken out of a Scooby Doo cartoon or something similar. Plus, there seems to be a bit of continuity compared to the previous level (look carefully at the end of E2L4 to look for that road that seems to be the starting point of E2L5), though Aleks already mentioned the continuity bit. And there seems to be continuity between the last two levels (E2L7 and ENDGAME) as well.
Bad news, this level is packed with SO MANY goddamn annoying enemies (hulks, dogs, sheriffs and vixens), especially at the start, at the entrance to the mansion! What the hell were they thinking with the enemy placement here? Even starting the level with 190 hp was painful with how much damage I took. Well, better start drinking whiskey and abuse the shit out of the SAVE/LOAD buttons because you are in for a painful time! How people can do this map from a pistol start is beyond me, as it looks nearly impossible with the high tier monsters at beginning and the second half of the level is no easy task either.
Spoiler
Anyway, kill a few hitscanners, the Alien Hulk and then at the entrance, well good luck taking down the two sheriffs and those many dogs. And as if the mapper wasn't enough of a dick, there's a few more pistol guys and TWO Vixens guarding the FIRST key!
Once you make it to inside the mansion, things should calm down, at least for a while. You will be mostly facing the basic enemies. You should also quickly find the SECOND Key. You will use it to open a hidden door behind the Old Coot panel/portrait. Remember this location, since you need to come out later.
The next part with the catacombs is very ancient themed and quite interesting. As Aleks mentioned, this is something you'd encounter in Duke3D User Maps/Mods, most notably in the TC called Secrets of the Acropolis. Anyway, be careful of the high tier monsters lurking around, most notably the annoying blue vixens and Alien Hulks. You should also find the THIRD key in the room where you need to do a bit of platforming. I recommend saving here just in case, though you should already be routinely saving due to the randomness of the combat, as you can be taken down from 100 hp to 0 in an instant.
Afterwards, use the third key to open a door and activate a couple more switches that unlock more doors. This may seem confusing but the progression can't be worse than in other levels. As such, you should find your way towards to the end if you explore.
The last part of the level features the first and only (at least in the main game) usage of the Ghosts, which are just variants of existing enemies but green and translucent. They still play their normal death animation (in the sequel, their death animation was removed entirely). There is also a mini maze you have to navigate. Be careful with the surprise Alien vixen at the end!
Once you are done and backtracked for resources (if you are running low on health/ammo), jump into the coffin to exit the level!
Overall, this was an interesting level that really feels like it's taken out of a typical Scooby Doo episode and I feel like it's another highlight from the entire RR but from a gameplay perspective, this level was quite painful and bullshit hard at times (I died around 5-10 times), as the many high tier enemies will give you a hard time and then force you to go on with 50-60 hp remaining at most, especially when near the end of the level and exhausted most food items, so you can't drink more whiskey (unless you want to spend the next few minutes drunk) and have to go with whatever health you have left. At least there's two clusters to get back to 200 health for the next level, provided you saved them and consumed the health items with care (additionally, one of the clusters is placed in fire, requiring you to have at least one meter in green zone to absorb the fire damage and at same time having full health before collecting it).
Uranium Mines
Kills: 132
Secrets: 4
Clusters: 3
Leonard: Hold your water, Bubba!
Portrait: Leonard holding the Alien Vixen's head.
Time for the hardest and longest level in the entire game! It may be the most impressively designed map in the entire game but also there are so many things that can go wrong in this supposedly epic adventure, so I have a mini walkthrough ready to help everyone who gets stuck at this level. Don't be discouraged, as if you take your time, you should be able to get through the level eventually.
Spoiler
Bubba is behind the locked door at the start (how he got on the other side, I have no idea). Remember that you need to come back here later. Blow up the wooden beams, to get access to the door. Collect various stuff and press the switch. Go back to the main room and kill the spawned shotgunners. Press the switch in the unlocked room to unlock the gates. Now you can take the elevator.
Kill the next couple of enemies and you will notice another elevator that requires a key to function, as stupid as this sounds (since you don't insert the key anywhere, just having it in inventory is enough to make the elevator function). Just move on until you reach a room with a rotating thing. You need to blow up the hard to see crack nearby. DON'T JUMP OVER or you will fall down and die!
Afterwards, look for a few spawning enemies behind you. Kill them and move on to the minecarts room. Kill the enemies inside minecarts and SAVE NOW! Because of another dumb decision where touching a moving minecart will INSTANTLY KILL YOU! So yeah, that's where the save button comes handy. In fact, from now on, I recommend just saving often instead of mentioning to save after each paragraph. This level is bullshit hard and very long and you don't want to die because of something that went wrong! Oh yeah and don't try to pick up the glitched dropped shotguns, as for some reason you can't pick them up when running over them. No idea why but I recall this glitch could happen sometimes in Duke3D as well if you have items dropped on moving trains/conveyors.
Continue until you go to an alley. Kill a few more enemies and watch out for the first alien hulk in a cramped space! This one is annoying because his projectiles often go through walls! Afterwards, kill the shotgunners and be careful with the minecarts, as you need to stand in between them while they are moving slowly. You just need to time it correctly. Then you will get to a large cave area. Kill the enemies and move on until you reach a short plank leading to an old coot, a box of dynamite and a sign that tells you to NOT USE THE DYNAMITE! If you use it, it's over, as the chances are that you blew up the bridge and there is no way to reach the other side! So be careful to not do that, since you NEED TO GET THE FIRST KEY! If you blew up the bridge, you got softlocked.
Anyway, what follows here is insanity. Between bullshit ambushes where you will be getting shot by 5 or so hitscanners at same time, to the dynamite box being placed nearby, this section surely will frustrate the heck out of you! I died probably 10-15 times in this area alone. Yeah, it was fucking bullshit. I had to save scum a lot because I had to quickly kill the spawned poopy monsters behind before they glitch out and disappear off the map. Then take care of the shotgunners while your health rapidly drops from around 80-100 to 0 because of the RNG lottery or someone shooting the dynamite box, even though I was using the Crossbow to kill those guys quickly.
Afterwards, kill a couple more enemies, collect the key and the Delicious Clusters. Fall into water, kill a few more enemies and you should come back to the cave area. Look for some stairs to get up. You can't backtrack the earlier path, as there is now a wall that blocks the path you used earlier, so you must reach the locked door you may have seen earlier. Be sure to also look out for a secret place that gives you the Alien Teat Gun but you need to find a second switch inside another secret place to unlock the other half of the bars. There is a glitch that still allows you to grab the weapon but I recommend finding the secret switch to collect all the goodies inside, since one of the items is the rare health boosting item! Oh yeah and be careful of the spawned enemies, especially a sheriff!
Once you went back and avoided the minecarts again, go use the elevator to go down. There is another elevator requiring a key and for now, you need to go the left path, then come back the right path later on. Keep going until you kill the enemies (watch out for random ambushes) and find one Detonator. Crouch and press use on it, then RUN AWAY, as the ceiling is collapsing! Afterwards, you should look for the second one, to find a switch that unlocks the gate. Eventually, you will come across a stationary minecart. The key is inside it but it requires you to go up (until you reach the top) and drop down and take falling damage in order to get inside it. Be careful of the high tier enemies that are guarding this place, including a vixen and a spawning hulk appearing when grabbing the SECOND key!
Go back to the bulldozer (watch out for more ambushes involving shotgunners), insert the key to create a hole in the wall, kill the caca minions, collect the THIRD key and now go to the other elevator. Kill a few shotgunners, climb on the stairs (may require a few tries, as you need to make a long jump), watch out for the caca monkeys dropping from the ceiling and insert the key. Go back to previous room and you will notice the waterfall has now revealed a path. Oh and be careful with the nearby corridor marked by the sign reading Secret Alien Base! At the end of the corridor, there is the health boost item but at same time, ceiling collapses and you don't have enough time to make it back before you get crushed! You don't need to use a Moonshine, as straferunning will allow barely escaping out in time! You need to be very precise because there is no room (heh) for error!
Once you are ready, go through the waterfall. Kill the two Alien Hulks and blow up their corpse. You are provided with a few Powder Kegs, though you can forget about them, as they are more dangerous to YOU! Nothing stops you to use them to blow up their corpse. Just don't even try to use the Powder Keg as a direct attack weapon to hurt/kill an enemy, though you probably realized this since early in the game.
Now comes the moment of puzzle solving! It's a basic math equation. You need to make all FOUR central switches read to "1". Then go find the 5th switch and set it to "4". It will open a door in the central area. Kill the two bitches and insert the key to the switch labeled as EXIT. Great! It opens the door at the very beginning of the level! Make your way back to the start while killing a couple spawned shotgunners. Bubba is now available and ready to get whacked by your crowbar!
I had to replay the level because I had 131 kills only and upon replaying, I actually ended up with 130 kills! But then after looking into Mapster and analyzing touchplates that spawn monsters in the level, I realized the caca aliens don't always spawn in the waterfall part later in the level, you need to walk in the whole room to make most of them spawn or use the moonshine to reset the gut meter to zero (having gut meter active seems to put you into stealth mode sometimes). Even then, it doesn't always work but I did a bit of experimentation and this is the maximum amount of kills I could achieve. If someone can get 133 or more kills, let me know!
Overall, I appreciate the ambition behind this level. It is certainly the most impressively designed map in the main RR game. But gameplay wise, it's really fucking painful and I remember on my first playthrough I didn't have such a good time and had to watch a YouTube playthrough because of not seeing the crack near beginning or not figuring out the puzzle near the end. But in this playthrough, getting killed often was also really frustrating, half of the time caused by minecarts and the other half caused by accidentally falling into the pit or getting decimated by the high tier monsters! It felt a bit of a miserable experience. No matter how well the map is designed, the scars still remain. Maybe the next level will be a better experience?
Beaudry Mansion
Kills: 102
Secrets: 6
Clusters: 0
Leonard: Alright, we are almost out of here!
Portrait: Alien Vixen standing over Bubba.
Oh man! Another long, difficult and confusing level. And it's not actually the final level of the game, it's the penultimate one. I have a hard time to describe how to complete this level because there are many locked doors and a few hidden switches that unlock doors that may or may not contain the key you need. On top of that, it's packed with tons of high tier enemies that will give you a hard time. I suggest you to approach the encounters carefully and explore every room in the mansion and to find the hidden switches, like one located behind a bed. And to get inside the mansion, you need to jump on the ledge and enter the mansion from the opened door/window. I will try to help with the keys location at least:
Spoiler
First key is located inside the clock. You need to find and press a big switch inside the mansion (the switch itself is guarded by a dog in a tiny room), then go back to grab the key that is now available.
Second key is located on the desk, in the trophy room. It is guarded by a vixen and various hitscanners. This will open the door leading to the bedroom. Inside, you can find a vixen. Look for a hidden switch behind the desk near the bed! This will open the fire place in the living room.
Third key is located in a large room behind the fire place. It is guarded by an Alien Hulk.
After you got the keys, go outside and find a wooden door. You will have to navigate an annoying hedge maze, which is filled with various enemies, including a few dogs and an alien hulk!
Once you find out a switch, press it to lower the bars that you may have seen earlier. Dive in and swim until you reach the shore. The exit is right ahead of you, which sends you to the final level! I recommend saving and making a backup save here just in case something goes wrong in next level. I also recommend backtracking for supplies, so you are well stocked and ready for the long awaited finale.
Unfortunately, both this and the next level are completely devoid of the health boosting items, so all you have is 100 health maximum. Good luck! Oh and to clarify some comments earlier, the Alien Teat Gun (and ammo for it) is NOT found in this map at all! This means only E2L6 and the final level contain the weapon. But if you saved the 150 ammo you got from E2L6, you can go crazy with the Teat Gun in the final level!
Overall, while impressive, this level was quite bland at times and another confusing mess but thankfully this time around, I somehow managed to complete it without dying (though I got down to 15 hp at some point), which wasn't the case in past playthroughs, so I found the map a bit more enjoyable this time around, since it was also easier to maintain the meters in green zone. I also like how it was generally designed and seemed similar to E2L5, which means E2L7 also gave me a bit of Scooby Doo vibes. But unfortunately, gameplay wise, was still annoying and confusing to navigate. I can't say I have a preference between E2L5 and E2L7. But I can say that there is a bit of continuity between them (and obviously between this one and the final level).
Speaking of which, how does the final level compare? Will it give us a good conclusion or will it be disappointing?
Close Encounters
Kills: 30
Secrets: 1
Note: There are no clusters, Leonard doesn't have an introduction line and the Portrait is the same as the previous level!
The FINAL level of the game! Interestingly, it's not defined anywhere in the USER.CON file, it's probably hardcoded into the executable. It cannot be reached with the level warp cheat codes, so you can only reach it from finishing E2L7. In the save menu, it will say EPISODE 2 LEVEL 1. Years ago I thought it said LEVEL 8 but that doesn't seem to be the case, as it's defined on a separate episode, which leads to weird behavior like this (similar things could happen in Duke3D as well).
When you look at the automap, the episode name isn't even displayed, suggesting this level might be placed on the nonexistent episode 4. Quite a clever way to "hide" this level and make it non-accessible even with cheats (at least in the original DOS version, source ports can probably just select ENDGAME.MAP from User Map list to warp to the map directly).
Also this seems to be the only level in the game to have more enemies present on Killbilly compared to Hard Ass. As in the latter, I got 22 kills from the previous playthrough. But now, in this playthrough, I got 30 kills. The rest of the game is identical in terms of enemy count between Hard Ass and Killbilly.
Spoiler
Anyway, prepare for the final battle! Wait for the big UFO to spawn mini UFOs (reskinned RPVs from Duke3D) and the big-ass alien hulks. Kill them all (be careful with the powder kegs around the area, if one explodes near you, it's an instant death, considering the last two levels don't even have health boost items and you are limited just to 100 health maximum). Be sure to have your quicksave button handy. Oh yeah and the UFOs seem to drop chickens, pigs, cows and even coots for some reason. It may seem amusing but I think in last case they should have spawned the caca minions, even though most enemies (especially the cow) are far too big to fit in a tiny spaceship.
After taking out all the bastards (including the animals that like to mess up with your autoaim), collect all the goodies (there is an official secret containing the Tit Gun and an unofficial secret mud area filled with goodies and even a dog). Thankfully, you are given lots of ammo for the Alien Teat Gun. Interestingly, they are all weapon pickups, which renders the ammo pickups useless (the only ammo pickups for teat gun you got was in E2L6), seeing as both the weapon and ammo pickups give the same amount. This can also apply to Alien Arm Gun and why you won't find ammo pickups in the base game, as the weapon pickups themselves already give you the same ammo amount!
After grabbing everything (make sure to have 100 health and all consumable items in inventory at full) and the giant UFO has stopped in the middle, now it's time to save the game and even use a backup slot if needed! Then, step in the middle to get abducted. You will get teleported inside the UFO and hear the alien bitch's speech. This is the FINAL BOSS of the game, an even more overpowered palette-swapped version of the existing overpowered alien women. She has 3000 health! Besides having the same deadly attacks as the common blue variant, she has an additional homing jump kick attack that pushes you a bit and only does 10 damage, so don't worry too much about that.
And if playing on skill 3 and above, you get a few more bitches to kill (two weak green ones and a strong blue one) inside the UFO. Use your strongest weapons at your disposal (Alien Arm Gun and Alien Teat Gun) on all these bitches and consume the drink/food items with care. Good luck! I died once in the final boss fight but was able to recover on second try and get the meters in green zone. It was the time for my sweet revenge!
Once you defeat the alien bitch, you will see the ending cutscene of the UFO and in the background, you will hear how Leonard ends up rescuing a transmogrified Bubba. It's not explained in what he was transformed but my guess is in one of those alien women you fought or even a pig (he is fat as a pig, after all).
When the cutscene ends, it shows a close-up of Leonard and Bubba's ugly faces, like at the end of the first episode. Then it shows the level stats screen with the same portrait as the one from the previous level (most likely a glitch, it should have been an unique one) and then it shows the intro cutscenes again, suggesting the game has officially ended. Oh and for some reason, the game glitches after you've seen the cutscenes, so I took out the opportunity to show another weird ass glitch in the two pictures where the letters in the main menu got glitched (interestingly, it's always certain letters that got glitched between the two screenshots, as the second screenshot has the glitched letters that weren't in first one and vice versa).
Awful ending. Doesn't even compare to the badass/kickass ending from the original Duke Nukem 3D. Although to give RR some credit, this boss battle wasn't too bad, it sure was way better than the E1 boss! At same time, E2 was overall better and more interesting than E1. But I wish that the final boss wasn't a pal-swap of an existing enemy and they should have also used the weaker vixen variants more instead of abusing the powerful blue variant everywhere. And maybe, the Alien Queen boss variant should have been giant-sized instead of normal sized! Now that would have been an epic battle!
Also I'm aware that Duke3D did something similar with the bosses, in fact it was the other way around with mini bosses being weaker versions of existing bosses but at least it made more sense. Maybe if RR had more time in development, we would have gotten better, bigger and more unique bosses.
Overall, with all due respect, Redneck Rampage is a mediocre game. Quacken pretty much said a lot of things in topic that I was literally going to say (though ended up repeating myself quite a bit, since some stuff I had written in my text files in advance from before the topic was even up, so I find this coincidence funny), right down to the game's overall rating, which is a rating I highly agree when comes to Redneck Rampage (although I was VERY surprised to see Quacken giving high ratings to many of the levels). I think I underestimated how RR was going to be received here, seeing as the participants have rated many levels as 7/10 or more.
With that said, I don't think RR deserves to be called the worst Build engine game (let alone worst FPS game ever) but I also don't agree with people defending it and calling it a "mighty fine game". To me, the game is worth playing at least once just to see what's about (especially to look at the levels) and while it's not coming close to the Holy Trinity of Build Engine Games (Duke Nukem 3D, Blood, Shadow Warrior), it comes after them, depending of whether you enjoyed Powerslave more or not (I'm not counting Ion Fury here, as it was released in 2019) but at the same time, RR is well above the rest of the forgettable build engine games. If there's a Redneck Rampage game deserving the hate it gets, then that's Redneck Deer Hunting, as that one was pointless and its existence is nothing more than milking the franchise even further.
I also feel like Redneck Rampage was rushed to the market and released as an unfinished game, just to beat the competitors (Blood and Shadow Warrior), which actually worked in RR's favor, as it sold fairly well while leaving its competitors in the dust. It was even competing against Duke Nukem 3D (Atomic Edition) and Quake, back in April 1997. And even then, it was selling well enough, which is quite strange to put it simply, when compared to other better 1996-1997 games that were left in the dust.
Now as for my other positive and negative thoughts about RR. There are many really good looking levels, some of which are even more memorable than some levels from Blood and Shadow Warrior. And the soundtrack is excellent, which added to the atmosphere in this playthrough and I enjoyed the game much more compared to past playthroughs. Even though I wish I had the uncensored soundtrack with all the tracks instead of the censored version with 2-3 tracks being removed.
But at the same time, almost every level is plagued with a shit-ton of annoyances, hideous and unlikable characters/enemies (many of them being more powerful than they should have been in first place, I mean why is the pistol guy dealing 19 freaking damage per hit and why is the dog having 200 hp?), bugginess/glitchiness (most of them didn't even happen in the original Duke3D), confusing progression (at least some of the levels), game breaking bugs (E2L4), dumbass design choices and/or mechanics and many things related to the RR gameplay as a whole, with the game's balance being all over the place and the player's skill doesn't even matter in some cases where one enemy can barely hurt you or take half/most of your health or even outright kill you at full health in a second. That's not to say that randomness doesn't happen in other games but I felt like the combat was very random in RR. Just run through the same level a few times and I guarantee it will go differently each time.
To compare to other similar games, I can consistently complete many Duke3D levels without dying (not to mention I've beaten all official Duke3D episodes without dying as of last year, span across multiple versions of the game, whether it was Duke3D 1.3D, 1.5, Megaton Edition and World Tour). But when comes to RR, it seems like whenever I play the game, the result is different compared to the playthroughs I've done previously, like the Hard Ass playthrough last year. I remember getting killed in some levels like 20-30 times (I'm talking about the very last two levels of the game), yet this time I never died in E2L7 and died only once in ENDGAME. Levels like E2L6 still kicked my ass as usual but the difficulty is very strange and brutal in this game. As such, I probably died 40-50 times in total in this playthrough. Which is better than the previous playthrough's 65 or so deaths. I wish I could remember how many times I died in first playthrough of RR.
Then again, Blood and SW are also brutal at times, although in their defense, they usually offered health boosting items, while RR isn't generous with the delicious clusters (something that's actually worsened in the Route 66 addon where you will barely find one level that has them, while the sequel Rides Again has less levels containing them compared to the main game). This time, I didn't get stuck in any level, as I had the advantage of RR levels being fresh in my memory, as the last year I happened to revisit the game and even the confusing parts can be easily solved by watching YouTube videos. That doesn't excuse the poor design choices in some of the levels. And there was no excuse for making the three keys identical looking. The addon (Route 66) and the sequel (Rides Again) have significantly improved level design but the gameplay is still mostly the same, just with better balance in terms of item/enemy placement, usually.
And as for the characters, while I think Leonard is fine as a protagonist, I really hate Bubba because he is still a worthless sack of shit, regardless of how the story portrays him as following Leonard around and doing something useful, in game he does absolutely nothing and it also doesn't make sense how he gets ahead of you in most levels. He might as well be one of the worst video game characters of all time or at least one of the most useless ones. I feel like this was a wasted potential for having a good character/sidekick/whatever and as I read on a comment about RR somewhere, he should have been the second player in Multiplayer mode. Yes, I think it would have been cool if in multiplayer you could select your skin and have Leonard and Bubba together in coop or fighting each other in DM and even go further and have third player be Old Coot and fourth player be Billy Ray. Also I don't generally care about the story in older games but at least other 90s games presented the story in some way. The story in RR is just stupid and they also apparently forgot about Bessie, as we never find out what happened to the pig after the main game's events (and this wasn't explained in the sequel, either). I give them some credit about the extra story mentioned in the game's manual/newspaper, when Leonard is interviewed by the reporter.
As for what Quacken suggested about a remaster by Nightdive, once again literally what I wanted to say. That I wouldn't mind if it were remastered one day and fix all these damn annoyances, include new content and so on but I think Nightdive is busy this year with other games, as they are still working on the ROTT Remaster and I'm hopeful this year we will get other requested games remastered, such as Wolfenstein 3D, Blake Stone, Heretic, Hexen and Quake 2. I think all these games deserve a proper remaster first and if Nightdive is willing to go for remastering other Build engine games (besides Blood, which was already remastered by them), then I could see RR getting remastered. But until then, we have to wait.
I also agree for the most part with Aleks, although there's a few interesting notes, like the references mentioned earlier to the cartoons (that's what also inspired my Scooby reference in E2L5 and E2L7, even though I got this impression since back in summer 2017 when I played RR for first time), the ammo capacity in RR (indeed, most weapons in RR have lesser amounts of ammo compared to the Duke3D equivalents but I think ammo in RR is more than enough if you use it wisely, as in almost every level I had full ammo for everything, though despite that the game was still difficult to survive at times). Oh yeah and the trick with ripsaw melee mode didn't always work for me against vixens when crouched near them, they would sometimes attack while stunned and insta-kill me, even if seemed to work for a while. Maybe I am just having bad luck when playing RR, at least with the deaths I've suffered in most levels of the second episode.
I don't think RR is on par with SW. I found SW to be an overall better package, although it still suffers from similar reasons like the level design not being consistent, not as many levels, lack of continuity in some levels, inconsistent difficulty, etc. Blood is generally seen as one of the best 90s FPS and while I intend to revisit this game soon (or at least continue playing user maps/mods), I have to say I liked it for the most part, in some ways I liked it a lot better than SW. But the game isn't perfect, as it suffers from inconsistent difficulty and overall glitchyness (yes, even the latest 1.21 version when playing in DOSBox). And of course Duke Nukem 3D is a legendary game, easily my favorite of the Build engine games! I'm not counting Ion Fury here as it wouldn't be fair to compare to the 90s Build games!
If I were to rate the major Build engine games as a whole, then Duke3D is a 10, Blood is an 8 or 9, SW is a 7 or 8, while RR is a 5 or 6 (with indulgence). Therefore, my final rating for Redneck Rampage is a very generous 6/10.
It's not over yet, as I will post about the extra DM episode in the next few days, to finally wrap up this month. Others are encouraged to do the same if they have anything else to add to the topic, seeing as I'm the last person to finish writing, despite finishing the RR playthrough two weeks ago. Source ports should already give you the choice to select the DM episode from main menu (if not, you can find the E3L1-E3L7 maps in User Map menu, while people playing the DOS version will have to wait for the command line parameters that will get posted soon). In meantime, here are the nominations for next month:
Maps by the Oostrum Brothers
The Gate
I'm keeping the previous nomination and adding a new one, seeing as Merlijn contributed to this topic and red2 was mentioned, I decided it's finally the time to nominate the maps by the Oostrum Brothers! I think there's about 25 of them in total, some of which were chosen in past map/mod clubs (which means people who already played/reviewed them previously can skip them) and others are collaborations done between Maarten/Merlijn/both and other mappers, so it will be interesting to see how the maps hold up after all these years. Not to mention among the nominated maps are legendary stuff like the Red series! I won't spoil other surprises that await the next month if this gets chosen other than I'm obviously going to include both the five original RED maps and the two Red1 & Red2 remakes, so people can choose between original, remake or play both.
Not voting yet, as I'm saving my vote for the upcoming post when I'm fully decided. I can safely say that Merlijn CAN vote for his maps. The rule allows people to vote for their own maps/mods if they are nominated by someone else, they just can't nominate the choices themselves.
Have a nice day!
This post has been edited by FistMarine: 24 April 2023 - 03:28 AM
On Raze you can warp to Close Encounters. Press the ` or ~ keys to open the console, then type "map endgame" to warp to Close Encounters. That's also how I did pistol starts on each map. I just opened up the console at the start of each map, typed "map eXmX" and that would put me at the start of the map with all of my weapons lost.
I definitely feel like Redneck Rampage was missing at least a third episode, but having to churn through four episodes, even if it would only be at most 28 or 32 maps (if each episode got a secret map) would have been far too exhausting. Considering how the maps we got can already be extremely cryptic, I don't actually mind that there's only 15 of them. That being said, it's also pretty easy to see where corners were cut. The Hulk for instance was probably intended to be Episode 1's original boss, as he is basically just the Battlelord but with a melee attack and a projectile attack instead of a hitscan one. Junkyard might have even been the original E1L7 at one point considering the final area is a boss arena. Then, Ass Face and Smeltin' Plant would have been moved to Episode 2 (in a more industrial focused episode as opposed to the countryside), while the Vixen Queen would probably be moved all the way to Episode 4, if the alpha is to be believed. If Nightdive were to do a remaster, the dream would be that they would remake the game from the ground up and add in the remaining concepts (similar to how ROTT Ludicrous is adding in unused assets, mostly into the level editor). Maybe this would be another collab between Nightdive and New Blood? Eh. Here's my nomination:
Maps by the Oostrum Brothers +
The Gate
Partially interested in The Gate, but I know I'm going to get something good if I pick the Oostrums' maps, so I'm going with this one.
This post has been edited by Quacken: 24 April 2023 - 04:51 AM
Ran around in the DM levels for 10 minutes. I don't know anything about Deathmatch but I can't imagine that these maps would actually be much fun to fight in. A lot of them are either way too big (E3L1, E3L4), feature too many tight chokepoints (E3L2, E3L7), aren't able to be looped around in a circle (E3L1, E3L5, E3L6) or are just plain weird and sluggish to navigate (E3L4, E3L6). The only map that really stands out to me is E3L7, as The Factory isn't based on a level that's part of the main 15. It's probably a leftover from when the game had four episodes and this was originally a singleplayer map that was unfinished when its snippet was taken for E3L7. That would explain why it feels a lot more under-detailed compared to the other maps. So uh, not giving these maps a rating I guess?
One other thing that I forgot to mention during my map reviews: The texture of the mural of a naked girl has some pretty obvious artifacting. There are pink and purple textures on the left side of her body, from her hair down to her thigh. When I saw this the first time, I could never unsee it after that. You're welcome!
This post has been edited by Quacken: 25 April 2023 - 03:55 AM
Interesting observations, Quacken. I know that source ports can select the final map directly but I was mostly referring to the original DOS version of the game, as there doesn't seem to be any way to warp to it, since it's not even defined in the USER.CON file, instead it's hardcoded into the executable. I am very sure Close Encounters is probably defined on the non-existent episode 4 slot, as this explains why the episode name is not displayed when looking at the automap. They were quite clever here with hiding the final level, so people wouldn't warp directly to the final level like you could do to other 90s games.
Anyway, time to wrap up this month's club for real, so here is a short review of the hidden deathmatch episode, which contains the maps E3L1-E3L7. Since they are mostly repurposed versions of existing single player levels, I will just mention a bit of trivia for each map, as well as one picture shown. There is an unique EXIT SWITCH that says PISSIN' CONTEST END LEVEL on it. Press on it to instantly end the level and get sent on the next one. Note that upon finishing E3L7, the episode loops from beginning, so there is no proper ending.
To play this episode on the original DOS version of the game, please write the following command line parameters: RR.EXE /V3 /L1 /S4
Where V is the Volume (Episode), L is the Level and S is the Skill level. In this case: Episode 3, Level 1, Skill 4.
PISSIN' CONTEST
Country Livin'
Cut down version of E1L1 (Taylor Town) with only the local store and the house. This is the only map to contain farm animals. There's 6 pigs you can kill, which are the only "enemies" in the entire episode.
The exit switch is located near the toilet inside the secret room found inside the store.
Barnyard Hijinks
Cut down version of E1L1 (Taylor Town) with only the barn that is reachable by blowing up the silo. The exit switch is located on the roof.
Condemned
Cut down version of E2L4 (The Ruins). The exit switch is located in a small dark room near the crashed car.
Used Cars
Cut down version of E1L3 (Junkyard). Interestingly, there is still a secret place that they forgot to untag. It's found right in the middle of the map and contains large pork rinds, shotgun ammo and rifle ammo. I'm assuming this used to be the secret that gave you lots of shotgun shells. The exit switch is located right at end, where you'd normally find Bubba.
Trainspotting
Cut down version of E1L7 (Smelting Plant). Features only two sections. The exit switch is located in the kitchen.
Mud Alley!
Cut down version of E1L5 (Diary Air Farms). The exit switch is located on top of the barn, in the area you would have found the third key.
The Factory
Appears to be an original level, perhaps originally planned for the first episode. The exit switch is located on the roof.
Not going to repeat my thoughts about RR but I will say this hidden DM episode is kinda meh, most levels being just slightly modified portions of some maps from the SP episodes, with a weird level order. You'd expect to be arranged in the same order as the levels from SP but they couldn't even be arsed doing that. Also I feel like other games from that time did Deathmatch Levels better, as you can see in both Duke Nukem 3D (E1L7 and E1L8) and Quake (DM1-DM6), they are all unique levels, not cut down sections of existing SP levels! So that means minus points for Redneck Rampage!
Interestingly, E3L7 is the only different looking Deathmatch level. I originally had the impression it must have been a cut section from E1L7 but it also seems like it was an attempt at making an original map that was scrapped when they were running out of time. Also the end level portraits are the same as the ones from E2 with the exception of the one from E3L7 that is the Pig portrait from end of first episode.
Conclusion
My thoughts about Redneck Rampage are the same. I think if the game was more polished during development and I had played the game as a kid, it would have easily been a solid 7/10. But without nostalgia and with so many flaws present, it is hard to appreciate the game nowadays (though I still appreciate it for what it is), so my final rating of 6/10 is justified.
I appreciate what the developers tried to do and there is some really damn good work here, at least in regards to the atmosphere, the soundtrack, the textures and so on. But for every geniune idea, there is some dumb glitch and/or mechanic that drags down the experience. From the criticism the game has gotten over the years, most of it is justified. But at same time I don't think the game belongs to the worst of Build games. Unless we are talking about that crappy Redneck Deer Hunting game, in which case that one does. But even then, I still wouldn't put the main RR games (RR, R66 and RA) in the same category as Duke3D, Blood and SW.
I still recommend checking out Redneck Rampage at the end of the day but I really don't recommend buying the game at the current price if you plan to pick it up digitally, because even as of writing, it is 10 euros, which is far too much for a game like this, seeing as better games are being sold for much less (and those said games also get discounted often, which isn't the case for RR). Maybe the GOG version is worth buying at a heavy discount, seeing as it includes almost everything (besides the redneck deer hunting game). Don't bother with the other digital stores, as they are selling each RR game individually for 10 dollars/euros and probably lack the soundtrack as well, so don't get ripped off!
If you don't have RR and want to give the game a try these days, I recommend watching YouTube videos and if you like the game and want to play it yourself, buy a cheap physical CD copy (if you are lucky, you can try getting Family Reunion compilation, which also includes the addon and sequel) from Amazon/eBay. As that way you also get the soundtrack, guaranteed. Because some of the digital versions may lack the soundtrack and you are probably better off downloading the game for free from other sites if you plan to just play a few levels, seeing as there is no other option for a "shareware" version of the game, besides looking up the two rare retail versions The Early Years and Possum Bayou that you may download if you look up hard enough on the internet. If you still have a CD copy from back in the day, you can just use it to install the game and play. I recommend following the procedure from the first post, as it will be a much quicker way to install rather than running the installer.
Speaking of which, the addon (Route 66) and the sequel (Rides Again) will be played one day at the Duke Map/Mod of the Month Club. But until then, it's time for Duke to come back. Here is my vote for May:
Maps by the Oostrum Brothers ++
The Gate +
Sorry Aleks. I feel like May is better suited for the maps by Oostrum bros. I think The Gate could work well for June. It was a difficult decision and that's why I waited until today to decide, I wanted to see if there are others who are voting. Either way, the new topic will be up next week on 1st May and there is still time to vote until then, which may or may not influence the results. In the event of a tie, one of the winners gets chosen randomly.
Thanks everyone for participation and see you on the next month's club! Have a nice weekend!
This post has been edited by FistMarine: 28 April 2023 - 08:42 AM
Maybe it has something to do with this Courage the Cowardly Dog short movie, which came out in 1995:
Back to E2, I don't think the continuity is that bad here. The first level ends in a vault which could have easily been an ambush by the aliens used to move Leonard to an asylum, then it's mostly just transitions between different locations in town - there is a large wooden gate to the right of Bubba at the end of Ruins which quite naturally could lead to Grimley's Mortuary, with both levels sharing similar visuals.
OFF, but Courage might be my favourite animated TV series of all time. The pilot, the Return the Slab episode, the one with the mattress demon, the siren that robbed Eustace, the windmill headhunter episode, the city with the cockroach, the cannonball tower, the one with Courage's parents... I can list the memorable episodes all day. Some locations can be even made into a Duke episode too.
ON, Ruins had bad SOS at the start, when I got softlocked too. That was the last straw for me, I've given up on this game that moment.
Sorry Aleks. I feel like May is better suited for the maps by Oostrum bros. I think The Gate could work well for June. It was a difficult decision and that's why I waited until today to decide, I wanted to see if there are others who are voting. Either way, the new topic will be up next week on 1st May and there is still time to vote until then, which may or may not influence the results. In the event of a tie, one of the winners gets chosen randomly.
In case you were wondering, I refrained from voting because my own maps are part of the poll. I know you said it was allowed, but it still wouldn't sit right with me haha.
I may some share some final thoughts on RR, if I have the time to write them down.
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