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“Read this message CAREFULLY ! Good men have risked their lives to send it to you!
Rocket Ranger is a World War 2 action-adventure game, originally released by Cinemaware in 1988 on the Amiga and many other platforms. At the time, it earned some of the highest reviews of all Amiga games and endeared it in the hearts of many gamers around the world for its great atmosphere, presentation style and fun gameplay.
Magazine Reviews
- Zzap! (Italy) Commodore 64, Mar. 1989 (95 out of 100)
- Zzap! Amiga, Dec, 1988 (94 out of 100)
- ST/Amiga Format Amiga, Dec. 1988 (90 out of 100)
- The Games Machine (UK) Commodore 64, Apr. 1989 (85 out of 100)
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ASM (Germany), Jan. 1989 (10 out of 12)
- ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) DOS, Mar. 1989 (814 out of 1000)
Awards
- Amiga Power, May 1991 (issue #00) - #73 in the "All Time Top 100 Amiga Games"
- Computer and Video Games (issue 06/1989) - Winner Golden Joystick Award 1989 for Best 16-Bit Graphics (reader's vote)
- Computer Gaming World (November 1996, 15th anniversary issue) – #45 in the “150 Best Games of All Time” list & #4 "Best Way To Die In Computer Gaming"
Here's what critics had to say at the time of the original game's release:
- "From packaging to gameplay, the whole thing is excellent!" - The Games Machine (UK), Apr. 1989
- "Those who like a good puzzle and a bit of strategy in between feeding lead to the Hun will find it compuslive!" - ST/Amiga Format, Dec. 1988
- "With Rocket Ranger the developers got the perfect mixture of action and strategy. Give us more!" - ASM, 01/1989
"One of our research projects is an experimental time machine, built upon the findings of a mysterious 1938 Nazi expedition to Tibet. They have been making extensive use of it, but it is only operational for short periods. We have not yet perfected human time travel and we cannot send live beings through space. But we can project inanimate objects through time. In the physical sense, the objects we sent you did not move - we simply altered the time-plane of their molecular structure.
Our Nazi masters are about to discover that we secretly made use of this machine to send you these tools! This, then, is our only chance to attempt contact with the past - if the Nazis discover that we have used the machine, our lives will have been sacrificed for nothing…"
Cinemaware is now working at bringing Rocket Ranger back with its unique blend of action sequences, strategic decision-making, and an exciting plot involving historical and science-fiction events! The game will be presented in an authentic atmosphere set in the world of the 1930/40s - all in high-definition stylized graphics with a new orchestral soundtrack and amazing sound effects! All of the game's action sequences will be vastly enhanced while staying true to the spirit of the original game.
Among the original gameplay elements that will come back are:
- Dogfighting sequences against a larger variety of enemies and scenarios!
- Exciting shoot-outs at secret, expanded Nazi locations!
- Boxing punch-outs against multiple enemy guards!
- Strategic-decision making as you deploy and manage your secret agents' moves!
- Rocket and weapons research at the Fort Dix labs!
However, we REALLY do not want to stop there! Help us go beyond the minimum funding goal and we will further enhance the game with a much deeper plot, an expanded cast of characters, new action sequences and gameplay mechanics, multiple additional scenarios and secret locations to discover, a deeper strategic component and lots of additional futuristic gear and weapons to find which will reload Rocket Ranger to the next level!
Reloaded vs. Remastered?
So, what is the difference between a "remastered" and "reloaded" game by Cinemaware you may ask?
With Wings! Remastered Edition, we stayed true to the original source material and remastered the audio-visual components of the game, keeping (almost) everything else intact. Read for yourself what others have to say about it! Critics were equally vocal:
"Wings! Remastered Edition does everything right."(Hooked Gamers, 85%)
"...one of the best remastered games that I ever played." (NeoGamer Germany, 90%)
In Rocket Ranger Reloaded, with your help we intend to go one step beyond: we will not only bring back all the original source material that made the game great back in 1988 (while enhancing several of its shortcomings), but we will also boost and expand it with tons of new content (locations, gadgets, weapons, equipment, outfits, characters, vehicles, etc.), gameplay upgrades, brand-new action and story sequences, a deeper strategic component and several new characters that will come together to greatly increase the replayability and help fulfill the great vision of this unique game!
- New locations in a broader world map with several additional countries to visit!
- Special locations such as islands, ships, submarines, underwater bases and other secret spots to discover!
- Additional abilities that can be assigned to your agents!
- Enhanced and expanded RPG-style features!
- New action sequences such as trench runs, fighting tanks, stratosphere shootouts and manning vehicles!
- The ability to research weapons and gadgets!
- Expanded functions on your Telefunken wrist monitor!
- And many, many more!
We live and work as prisoners, forced to collaborate with the Nazi scientists developing new technologies for their conquest of space, and other advanced technologies and weaponry. Our loved ones are held as hostages, allowed to live only as long as we continue to collaborate.”
Rocket Ranger Reloaded is being produced by a team of very experienced and talented developers, including all members of the team who brought you Wings! Remastered Edition!
The team has also got some other incredible game credits such as NBA Jam, Shadowman, Mega Man Anniversary Collection, Jackie Chan Adventures, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo and Cinemaware’s own Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown and many classic Amiga classics such as Spellbound Dizzy, Switchblade 2 and Pegasus.
It is a team that has been together and working on game development for over 30 years, all of whom love Cinemaware games and retro gaming in general.
Finally, Doug Barnett (Cinemaware alumnus and writer/game designer of Lords of the Rising Sun) will also be collaborating with us on the game design, great new content and future story extensions if YOU help us reach our funding goals!
"In the future, no power is great enough to resist the Greater Reich; but in your time, there is a chance. We believe that someone, armed with the right tools and advance warning of coming events can stop them.
Though the Nazis have rewritten history to justify their perverted doctrines, we have uncovered proof that they should not have been able to win the war. We've learned that the country you call the United States was the world's strongest industrial power. With enough time to marshal her resources, the United States and her allies could have defeated the Nazis."
"But in 1940 the balance of power suddenly shifted. German technology quickly leaped ahead several decades and the Nazis won the war before America could intervene. According to legend, in 1938 an expedition to Tibet led by members of the Thule Society discovered SOMETHING that allowed them to accelerate the speed at which new weapons were developed. Shortly after, the discovery of the moon mineral Lunarium, a new powerful fuel source, gave their technology a huge advantage over the Allies."
"In support of their armies, the Nazis also attacked in Zeppelins that flew in the stratosphere, so high that even the newest Allied fighter planes could not reach them. There was no defense against the power of these Death Ships. Entire nations were conquered from the air by the Nazi Zeppelin fleet and many other miracle weapons.”
Track B is a demo of a newly-composed action theme!
The game will be developed for the PC & Mac, with Android, iOS, and console versions for PS4, Xbox One and PS Vita as stretch goals. We truly want to bring the game to as many platforms as possible, and your support can get us there!
We will also make the project freely available for porting to Linux and AmigaOS by any team interested in undertaking these conversions.
We have also planned some great and unique rewards for this exciting project! Take a look at the chart below. Due to limited space, we are also featuring the rewards on the game's website as well. Take a look for further details!
Rocket Ranger Reloaded is up on Steam Greenlight - please vote for us so that we can get approved as soon as possible! Ask your gaming buddies to do the same! This will help spread the word and greatly increase the reach of this campaign!
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Risks and challenges
Rocket Ranger Reloaded goes one step beyond the work we did on Wings! Remastered Edition. It will be a larger, more complex project that will require more resources due to its highly non-linear game structure. High replayability is one of our aims with this game and this requires a lot more content to be created.
In addition, we are completely overhauling the visual presentation and art direction of the game, many of the original game sequences, including introducing brand-new gameplay mechanics. These objectives will take time and resources to develop and fine-tune properly in order to meet our fans' expectations, as a lot of experimentation and trial & error is involved. Our community's involvement (and patience) will be crucial to this project's ultimate success.
We truly hope we can raise more than the minimum funds to fully realize the vision for Rocket Ranger Reloaded. It is a title that deserves a lot of care and attention to detail, like all Cinemaware titles.
Ultimately, it is YOU who will decide how far this project can go and how Rocket Ranger will be able to FIGHT THE FUTURE!
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Funding period
- (35 days)