Ramboat

 

The game is free, and then there are in-app purchases for you to buy some credits to purchase heroes, upgrade your guns efficiency and your boat. You can always not purchase anything in the store, and just collect your way through it. Also, purchasing any amount of virtual currency will automatically relieve you of the ads, which is not that intrusive to begin with. Sure is a nice gesture and such a good thing that it is widely practiced nowadays.

Ramboat: Shoot and Dash uniquely blends the genres of arcade, shooter and runner games, producing the best game of frantic action and endless adventures. Help Mambo and his crazy troop of heroes to escape from hundreds of enemies, jumping and dodging as quickly as possible on the backs of some of the most picturesque crafts whilst firing immensely powerful weapons. Do you like shooting games? Are you addicted to run and jump? Then you’ll LOVE Ramboat!

Seville, Spain is the spot on the globe where the headquarters of Genera Games calls home. They have additional offices/studios around the world in Boston, Romania and Los Angeles. They recently released an exciting action-filled endless runner called Ramboat. It is a blast to play, and has plenty of missions to conquer. Think of Halfbrick Studios’ Jetpack Joyride, and you will have an idea of just how fun this game is to play.

The game is entitled Ramboat, but anyone familiar with the film series Rambo, starring Sylvester Stallone, which started in 1982, can look at this game with a sense of humor and appreciation. Rambo: First Blood the movie, was based on a book by David Morrell. In the movie, a troubled Vietnam War Veteran returns home, and is met with unfair treatment from a town sheriff. It is here that the film lore of Rambo begins. Eventually, that movie will lead to three others.

In Ramboat, the main character is Mambo, an adorably rendered, and neatly coiffed action superstar, that is waiting for you to take control of his speedy boat. Like Rambo, he dons a red bandanna tied around his head. If you enjoy action and endless runners, this game has it in spades. More on the spades part later in this review.

In Ramboat, you play as boat-riding Mambo, a nerdy Rambo, and have to blow up the enemies you encounter using weapons and power-ups you collect from their mutilated cadavars.

The controls are solid. You shoot automatically, hold your thumb on the screen to move forward, and swipe up and down to launch or sink your boat.

And it's a ton of fun. Watching your enemies explode in slow-motion after an expertly-timed jump makes you feel like you're in control of an action movie.

Gameplay is classic runner / shooter, but a little bit of alterations. Given that you are riding a boat, or whatever sea vessel just bought (all puns intended), you can swipe up or down to jump on the water or to dive down the water, respectively. The aiming and shooting is set automatically and all you have to do is evade the enemy bullets and missiles (or everything that they throw on you) and collect the coins all over the place. The levels are not randomly generated, and that makes it a fairly unique proposition in this genre. If you die in the level, you are going back to the start and try again. You can use the amount of coins you have collected to upgrade your weaponry, buy new boats, or new characters. There is also a meta-game of poker that you can have access every now and then. Winning a hand will grant you additional coins or bonuses.

Ramboat is one of my favorite mobile games recently, and it is amazing how the developers cram so many features without feeling overwhelmed. The ever-growing achievement system is noteworthy here. You are given a set of four goals to achieve, and completing this will earn you rewards. With this, there is another game you have to play, not just surviving as many levels as possible but also shooting for those objectives. These objectives are full of variety too, you may collect a certain amount of coins, or chain more combos or just plainly surviving towards the next level.

Survive an army of soldiers, paratroopers, rocket launchers and enemy submarines, dodge a hail of bullets while you unload all your artillery on them. During your run, get power ups to increase your firepower and collect coins to upgrade your guns, ships and statistics.

Your escape begins, but your enemies will not let you go easily... With simple movements of your finger you will have to avoid an infinite number of bullets and destroy the enemy army on your war toward salvation.

Armed from head to toe you will quickly sail through the most dangerous waters. Improve your gear and boat with the gold you earn in each battle and become the hero your military team have been waiting for.

Jump or dive, forward or backward, what if we activate the bullet time? In wartime, anything goes! Feel the blistering pace and the heat of battle in your hands. Assault all scenarios with your favorite hero and resist each challenge with strength. You have never seen before such an exciting and funny shooter game!

Upon starting Ramboat, the first thing you notice, is how well-rendered the game is. The graphics are detailed and there is a lot, and I mean a lot, of action happening on the screen. Mambo starts off piloting a boat, and then as you level up, other vehicles are unlocked. The second vehicle that unlocked was a great white shark. An ode to Jaws the movie maybe? Anyway,  a large cadre of weapons and vehicles are available to you. This game is packed with things to do. You won’t easily get bored with this one.

Part of what makes Ramboat a great game are the controls. They work extremely well for mobile devices. You press one side of the screen to accelerate, and simply release when you want Mambo to slow down. Swiping up allows Mambo and your other characters to jump in the air. In an homage to great action sequences in films, and Max Payne I guess, the game goes into slow-motion, or bullet-time. I never tire of seeing this sequence. There is a fair amount of detail that has gone into implementing this small touch of brilliance. Your main character actually turns his/her head and body, as they shoot what is around them. It is pretty amazing to see in the game. Not that you control any of that sequence after you have swiped up, but it shows the level of artistry that is in the game. Swiping down allows you to dive under the water. You may not necessarily use that control a lot, but it helps when bullets and missiles are flying at you from above.

Ramboat by Genera Mobile takes Brazil's Carnaval to a whole new level. In this game you have to travel through Rio with gameplay very similar to Jetpack Joyride. You have three lives, and you have to try to dodge enemies by jumping or diving underneath them. If you get close enough to them, you will automatically shoot at them, blasting them off into oblivion. The game is completely customizable; there are many different characters, boats and weapons to choose from. While in game you can collect poker chips which can be used to play a prize winning card game after that round. The card game you play seems a bit out of place in the game, but it does give you extra coins most of the time, so you can't really complain. You get three lives while playing, and every time the enemy hits you you lose a life. When you reach 0 lives it's game over, however the game usually prompts you with an ad to watch that will get you right back into the game where you died.

The action is coming at you from all sides. You have multiple paratroopers falling from the sky shooting at you, random planes flying by either dropping bombs, or trying to riddle your boat full of bullets. Beyond that, there are other boats ahead you shooting missiles, and dropping mines for you to shoot, or jump over. It gets chaotic really quickly in this game, and you will enjoy every minute of it.

You progress through different stages in the game. You start off in The Jungle, move to Independence Day, Bloody Sunset, Frosty and so on. Each stage looks amazing and it is easy to get caught up in the amazing art work that is part of the game. The stages, variety of missions, multiple weapons, and characters available to play, make Ramboat a game with endless possibilities.

In addition to the main action that takes center stage, you also have an opportunity to play poker. Let me be the first to say that I know absolutely nothing about poker. So, I can’t provide a lot of information in this area. However, as you are playing the game, random poker chips fall from the sky. Based on however many you catch, you are able to play that many rounds once you finish your game. If you win, you are awarded either new weapons, hearts (life), coins or so on. It is a nice add to the game, and if you know how to play poker, you can count on winning pretty easily. You also have the option of just playing the poker game, but it will cost you coins to do so. That isn’t  a problem because coins fall from the sky like rain.

This game has lots to do in it. There are a ton of missions. Completing the missions allows you to rank up. Each time you play, you are given four missions to complete. One mission may involve catching twenty-five fish, another may involve shooting down three airplanes in a game, or diving beneath the water five times. The variety of missions help keep the game play fresh, and it is always challenging to complete them in the midst of the volley of bullets and bombs.

GAME FEATURES

ORIGINAL MISSIONS AND STAGES
Rush through incredibles stages that increase the difficulty and enjoy the best action-shooting game! Complete as many as you can to earn coins to buy shooter guns and gain experience to raise your level and your military rank.
Tons of hidden achievements are waiting you in this endless runner. Can you unlock all the medals and be the best soldier?

POWERFUL ARSENAL
Welcome to a shooting arcade with army weapons like the homing missile, machine gun, flamethrower, pistol or laser! Upgrade your guns and increase their x power, shooting rate or bullet force. Boost your firepower and hit the enemy lines!
Try the best gadgets and go to war fully equipped! Have you ever activated power dash to bring death to all enemies in this endless action-packed?

CHARACTERS AND SHIPS
Try unique band members, each with their special equipment and skills. Drive boats like a luxury yacht, a pirate ship, a dragon, a flying cloud or a hungry shark on a never ending run game!
Play with the presidential Mr. Blond, the rock King, the powerful Wukong, the spatial Gunman or the crazy Leader. Regular updates with more content! Can you collect them all?

GAME MODES
Old school non-stop action style with modern details. Play with a friend in multiplayer and double the fun in the ultimate endless shooting runner. Who will kill more enemies in this jumping shooting game?
Try the elite mode if you have what it takes and overcome the challenge. Shoot and dash like a bullet killer!

QUALITY DETAILS
Very easy to play with a simple and intuitive interface. Jump and shooting like old school game!
Get your weapons ready for the ultimate action-shooting game. Music and sound effects that make you shoot and dash even faster with these 2D elements!
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