'Shakedown Hawaii' Announced; Sequel To 'Retro City Rampage'

Three years after the release of “Retro City Rampage,” developer Vblank has officially announced the game’s sequel “Shakedown Hawaii” for PS4, PS Vita, Nintendo 3DS and PC via Steam. The game features the same protagonist from the last game, who is coming out of retirement to “micromanage” his empire.

While “Retro City Rampage” had 8-bit graphics, as a tribute to games from the NES, “Shakedown Hawaii” has evolved and now has 16-bit graphics, similar to a Sega Genesis according to Siliconera. The game is also very ingrained to the 1980s thanks to the numerous catchphrases and the extreme violence, which can be seen in the video below.

Like its predecessor, “Shakedown Hawaii” will be an open-world game where players are free to do whatever they like. If the trailer below means anything, it looks like “whatever they like” involves shooting rocket launchers at pedestrians and wreaking havoc with a vehicle.

It has some similarities to “Grand Theft Auto,” due to the killing and the numerous encounters with the police, but it is interesting to see this type of game with a 16-bit environment. Despite the 2-D graphics, everything is detailed well and the firefights look fun, just like they were in “Retro City Rampage.”

There might be more to the game than meets the eye though, as the previously mentioned “micromanaging” will supposedly take place “from the boardroom to the street.” While the street implies violence and mayhem, the boardroom might mean that there will be additional gameplay elements that don’t just involve violence.

No official release date has been given, but the game will have a playable demo during the PlayStation Experience event next weekend. The event will take place Dec. 5 -6 and will feature numerous demos, including the new “King of Fighters XIV.”

Time will tell if the game will outdo its predecessor, though graphics-wise it already looks better than the original. The retro graphics seem to work to the game’s advantage and it will be interesting to see if other games in the future increase the bitrate count to 32-bits or more.

Shakedown Hawaii - Announcement Trailer | PS4, PS Vita (Credit: YouTube/PlayStation)