The Ooze: Toxic Rampage

The Ooze: Toxic Rampage is a new take on the old and mostly forgotten game “The Ooze”. Developed by Radical Entertainment, the game will be in 3D and have a robust gameplay and story. It is set for PlayStation 2, 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii. The game focuses later on after the previous game in order to start a new story. The gameplay will allow players to dispatch enemies and objects in interesting ways and will be free-roaming.

Plot
The previous game’s events are redone for the sake of making a more interesting plot.

Back in the 80’s, Dr. Daniel Craine worked for Hazard Incorporated, a chemical disposal company. Under the table though, it had been developing a powerful drug. Craine was chosen to test and market the drug, but a late error caused the authorities to get suspicious. Seeing to it that this wouldn’t get to the public, Hazard Inc. hired a gang to ambush Craine in his lab. He had already taken the drug anyway, but the gang attacked and seemingly killed him. The drug kept him alive… He soon found himself mutated into a blobby, oozing monster. Driven insane and fueled with rage, he attacked and destroyed Hazard’s main perimeter. Lost in the wreckage, he healed and went into hiding in the sewer systems. 30 years later, he awoke to a brand new time. His healing had returned his ability to consciously think, and he remembered the horrible work of Hazard. He was soon attacked by a group of strange zombie-like mutants and ugly insects. Dripping with green ooze similar to himself, Craine knew Hazard was back in business. He had to stop the insane corporation from causing more pain and suffering.

After escaping the sewers, the Ooze begins an onslaught of the company’s Waste Processing Plant, he discovers plans of Toxic-Slime Bombs that could wipe out the city. Fighting through robots and Scumbusters, the Ooze locates and destroys the bomb factory. Driven far into the sewers, he discovers a massive mutant clan, who explain how the company had tested their vile drugs on volunteers. They soon reveal that they plan to ravage the city for revenge. The Ooze decides to combat these mutants in order to spare the city, eventually reaching the leader of the clan. After exterminating the resistance, the Ooze heads to the new Hazard skyscraper to wipe out the weapons developments. After clearing the tar beds nearby and assaulting various points in the building, the new mechs and soldiers cause problems. The building is leveled in the end, though. Finally reaching the company’s main fortress, the Ooze reaches the center to find Hazard’s owner. The President of Hazard reveals he has taken the drug and has become a strange new monster, the Pollution. In a final epic battle, the Ooze takes him down and destroys the company for good. He returns to the sewers to rest, ready to fight again one day.

Gameplay
Toxic Rampage is an action-adventure game, with various combat and exploration challenges. It is also free-roam, meaning the Ooze can explore the sewers and such without pressure. Missions can be chosen when the player is ready to continue the story. Manholes are used to transport between locations, and each level has multiple sectors with separate Manholes. For combat, the Ooze can utilize his immense strength to smash foes with his fists, or he can use other means to dispatch them. Various maneuverability options also come into play.

Basic Overview
The Ooze has multiple gauges that can be raised or lowered. First of all is the health bar; if the Ooze is attacked his health will go down. If it almost empties, the Ooze goes into an increased state. He becomes red and gains a strength increase. This allows players to get more health if near-death, but it doesn’t always help as later enemies can put up quite a fight. The next gauge is the energy gauge. This is used for special attacks, discussed below in the combat section. Energy is gained by creating combos, defeating multiple enemies in succession, and discovering other secrets. A third bar only appears when a special form is gained. This is discussed below in the section on special abilities. This gauge cannot be refilled, so it must be used sparingly. All forms start with the gauge completely full, but drain after using certain abilities.

The Ooze has two stances used primarily in gameplay. The first is combat mode, used for fighting and such. This form looks like the Ooze on the classic game’s cover art. It has no special maneuverability options, but can perform attacks and such. The second is liquid form, used in the classic Ooze game. In this form, the Ooze is only a head and a moving puddle of ooze. This form can only spit ooze bullets as attack, which is very weak compared to the attack form’s combat skills. It can, however, move about more quickly. This form can squeeze through pipes and stick to walls. These forms can be switched back and forth in gameplay.

The Ooze’s last ability is to devour. He can eat weakened enemies and digest them to restore health. If certain amounts of a certain enemy type are eaten, he can use a super form. If an enemy is not weak enough to be devoured, it is picked up. All objects (crates, tar containers, junk) can be eaten. Eating tar is crucial in the tar bed area near the skyscraper.

Combat
The Ooze uses standard punches and slams to trump his foes. Granted, he cannot jump, but his slimy body can morph to new shapes to get an edge. Basic attacks do moderate damage. Combos can be bought from the upgrade store to increase the Ooze’s powers. The Energy gauge is used for special attacks. The Ooze can use attacks such as the Bile Bazooka or tentacle attacks by using energy on this gauge. Combos and such increase the gauge. Upgraded special attacks are very powerful but cost more energy. Combos can be performed by alternating between basic and energy attacks. The Ooze can also pick up objects and use them as spears, shields, and throwing objects. These systems of attack are not available liquid form.

Special Forms and Powers
If the Ooze eats certain amounts of certain enemies, he can become a special form. Eating five tar barrels, for example, turns the Ooze into oil. In that form he can wade through tar without hazard and can instantly devour enemies. The downside is that he takes tremendous damage from fire. If the gauge totally depletes, the form vanishes and the Ooze returns to normal. If the gauge is still full, the player can perform a super move by pressing the basic and special attack buttons at the same time and holding it for two seconds. This instantly depletes the gauge.

Enemies
Razor Beetle: Nasty little bugs with razor knives protruding from their backs that can shred metal.

Nuclear Mosquito: Disgusting flyers that can drain the Ooze’s health and heal each other.

Cancer Rats: Ever-hungry rodents that can chuck objects at their enemies.

Hazmat Gunner: Hazard Inc. soldiers with machine guns that are a pesky threat.

Hazmat Flamethrower: Soldiers who love to play with fire and can cause lots of trouble for the Ooze.

Crawler Mutant: Vile mutated humans who can run extremely fast and can crawl on walls.

Gorilla Mutant: Drooling, limping mega-sized mutants who can beat up anything in their way.

Cannonball Snail: Fast snails that can explode on will.

Acid Vulture: Swooping green birds that can melt away foes with powerful acid rain.

Tar Crocodiles: Slick reptiles that have nasty teeth and can grapple with even the mightiest of enemies.

Scumbuster: A mechanical suit used for dealing with pollution and especially the Ooze.

Cannon Mech: A huge robot with an energy cannon and massive aggression.

The bosses of the game will not be revealed, but it is known that most of them will be based off of types of pollution.

Locations

 * Toxic Sewers (the sewers found early on in the game)
 * the Endless Chasm (the deeper sewers which link to the Hazard Inc. pipelines)
 * Drainage Waste Processing (the processing plant building the waste-bombs)
 * Overrun Kingdom (the mutant’s degrading base of operations)
 * Wasted Factory (the gateway to the surface from which the mutants intend to escape)
 * Hazard Inc. Heights (the new annex to Hazard’s skyscraper area)
 * Tar Fields (behind the new building is a wasteland of tar beds and hazmat crews)
 * Death Labs (the main Hazard building’s shadowy test facility)
 * Basement (the totally secured underworld of Hazard Inc.)
 * Finale (the arena where the Ooze discovers the President’s master plan)
 * Desolate Landfill (a bonus level received for beating the final boss)