Common Sense Media Review
By Paul Semel
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Strategy/city-planning monster game wreaks mild havoc.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
MonstroCity: Rampage
What's It About?
In MONSTROCITY: RAMPAGE, you use some giant monsters under your control to get revenge on Dr. Spotnick by, uh, destroying lots of buildings. Honestly, your quest for vengeance on Dr. Spotnick is really just a flimsy excuse to build a city and to send your monsters out to destroy other people's cities so you can get the resources needed to, well, build up your city and make more monsters.
Is It Any Good?
Finally, a mobile game for that little kid who wished Godzilla was his BFF. In MonstroCity: Rampage, you take control of giant monsters and command them to attack a city of some other player's making. In doing so, you earn the resources you need to build your own city ... which some other player will try to destroy in their game. But don't worry, because what happens in their game stays in their game. As you progress, you can upgrade both your buildings and your monsters, as well as take on challenges to earn even more resources to, well, you know how this works.
As fun as this may sound, though, it's not the most original game. Not only does this blatantly rip off King Kong, Godzilla, and the classic arcade game Rampage (which was already a rip-off of King Kong and Godzilla), but there's not much to the city construction parts that hasn't been seen in other sci-fi themed city planning games. The controls are also occasionally twitchy and thus inaccurate when you're trying to control your beast. But what redeems this game is that instead of having your monster do battle against other people's creatures, you pit them against other their cities, which makes building, maintaining, and upgrading yours more than just a chore you do so you can earn resources. Because of this -- and, yes, because of the love of King Kong, Godzilla, and wanton destruction -- it's possible to spend a fair amount of time in MonstroCity: Rampage, but not nearly as much as if the game were deeper or more original.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in video games. In MonstroCity: Rampage, you're destroying cities, but is the impact of that violence affected by the lack of blood and gore shown? Do you think not showing the consequence of your actions is a problem, or would showing people being hurt not fit this game's cartoony approach?
While you can get resources by spending real money or watching ads, you can also earn them by playing. How do you decide when to spend money on a free game, when to watch ads, and when to just earn what you need through playing?
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPad , Android
- Pricing structure : Free
- Release date : October 7, 2019
- Genre : Strategy Games
- Publisher : Alpha Dog Games
- Version : 1.2.3
- Minimum software requirements : Requires iOS 10.0 or later; Android 5.0 and up
- Last updated : July 26, 2021
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