Rambo: The Video Game

Rambo: The Video Game
Company type	Video game
Industry	Video games
Founded	2014; 12 years ago
Founder	Teyon (developer), Reef Entertainment (publisher)
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Rambo: The Video Game
Owner	Reef Entertainment
Website	www.reamber.com/rambo-the-video-game/

Rambo: The Video Game is a rail shooter with arcade-style gameplay, developed by Teyon and published by Reef Entertainment. Drawing from the Rambo series, players take on the role of John Rambo in missions inspired by key moments from the first three movies: First Blood (1982), Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), and Rambo III (1988).

A teaser trailer incorporating film footage was released through Machinima, Inc.. Originally planned for a winter 2013 release, the launch was postponed until early 2014. The title became available on Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Despite utilizing a popular intellectual property, the game was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews, criticized for substandard visuals, monotonous gameplay, and insufficient refinement, which adversely affected its commercial success.

Gameplay

In this title, players embody John Rambo, reenacting scenarios from the first three Rambo installments: First Blood (1982), Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), and Rambo III (1988). The experience incorporates elements of stealth, demolition, and combat via knives, bows, and firearms, alongside a cover system designed to shield from enemy attacks. Utilizing a rail shooter framework, the game features destructible environments and realistic ragdoll physics. The PlayStation 3 edition includes compatibility with the PlayStation Move controller. Between missions, players can acquire perks that boost Rambo’s stamina, weapon proficiency, and activate "wrath" mode—a combat state that restores health and highlights opponents. Available armaments include assault rifles, machine guns, pistols, shotguns, and submachine guns, all purchasable using points earned through rapid enemy kills. Additionally, "Trautman Challenges" provide incentives to replay certain missions.

Plot

The story begins in 1988 at John Rambo’s military funeral. A narrator recounts Rambo’s past starting in 1971 when he and Staff Sergeant Delmar Barry were captured as Green Berets in a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp. After enduring torture and starvation, they successfully escape and are rescued by American forces.

By 1982, Rambo has been discharged from service and is struggling with severe PTSD. While in Hope, Washington, he learns of Barry's death due to Agent Orange exposure. Following harassment and arrest by Sheriff Will Teasle, Rambo retaliates after being mistreated, triggering a manhunt involving police and National Guard units. After eliminating several pursuers, his former commander, Colonel Sam Trautman, intervenes and persuades him to surrender.

Three years later, Trautman offers Rambo a pardon contingent on returning to Vietnam to collect proof of American POWs still held captive. Accepting the mission, Rambo teams up with Co Bao, a Vietnamese intelligence agent. They infiltrate the camp; despite orders to the contrary, Rambo rescues a prisoner but is captured during their escape attempt. Subjected to torture by Soviet captors and coerced into broadcasting a warning message, Rambo overcomes his captors but loses Co Bao during their flight. He then launches a guerrilla assault on the camp to free prisoners of war, annihilate Soviet forces there, and escape.

At the funeral’s conclusion, the narrator reveals himself as one of the freed POWs mourning Rambo’s death before rescuing Trautman—who has gone missing while assisting Afghan rebels against Soviet troops. In Thailand, Rambo discovers that the U.S. government will not intervene to save Trautman and decides to travel to Afghanistan. There he supports rebels during a Soviet offensive before infiltrating a mountain prison to liberate Trautman. Despite facing heavy opposition and surviving a helicopter crash, Rambo successfully rescues Trautman amid an intense Soviet counterattack. A rebel cavalry charge turns the tide of battle; Rambo commandeers a tank to destroy the Soviet commander’s gunship.

The story closes with Trautman and Rambo receiving gratitude from the rebels before departing together.

Development

In August 2011, Reef Entertainment secured the rights to develop and publish video games based on the Rambo franchise from StudioCanal. At that point, the trilogy of Rambo films had collectively earned over US$600 million worldwide. This acquisition was largely influenced by the commercial success of the 2008 Rambo movie and the excitement surrounding Sylvester Stallone’s upcoming film The Expendables 2. Reef viewed these rights as a strategic asset to broaden its game portfolio.

Reef revealed plans for Rambo: The Video Game to launch in 2012 across PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows platforms. Despite this announcement, industry experts were doubtful about meeting the scheduled release date. Craig Lewis, Reef’s commercial director, highlighted the game’s commitment to authenticity by allowing players to utilize Rambo’s signature weaponry.

The title incorporates original voice recordings for John Rambo and Colonel Trautman from Sylvester Stallone and Richard Crenna, respectively, licensed through StudioCanal. Since these audio clips were not newly recorded—particularly as Crenna had passed in 2003—this method utilized existing material to maintain authenticity while controlling production expenses.

Reception

Rambo: The Video Game was met with predominantly negative reviews on all platforms according to aggregated scores from Metacritic. Critics pointed out its outdated visual presentation, repetitive rail-shooter mechanics, and an overreliance on quick-time events. Additional criticisms included frequent technical crashes, subpar enemy A.I., and a notably brief main campaign that could be completed within a few hours.

IGN criticized the on-rails gameplay as "a complete waste of time for everyone involved." Meanwhile, Destructoid labeled it as "an unrefined and uninspired on-rails lightgun shooter" lacking satisfying or impactful combat. On the other hand, GameSpot found some enjoyment in the fast-paced action when approached without high expectations, commending its directional cover system as a novel feature for light gun games. They also noted that adjustable difficulty levels, scoring systems, and bonus challenges contributed to replay value. Nevertheless, they faulted the game for poor graphics quality and inconsistent audio levels during cutscenes.

The game received a nomination for the Worst Game award in 2014 from Giant Bomb.

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