Developer: Nekki GmbH
Publisher: Nekki GmbH
Rrp: £4.99 (Steam)
Released: 4th December 2013
Available on: Steam
Played Using: An Xbox 360 Control Pad
“You don’t need to rush, worry, make decisions, or think. Just obey and everything will be fine.” The voice in your headset drones. Obey. Work. Obey. Work. Obey. Work. Obey. Work. Obey. Work. Obey. Work. No, somethings not right. Run, run now! Jump into the light. Run for freedom!
Vector is a 2D platformer… kinda’. There are platforms and you jump, roll and climb them but you aren’t in control of the Runner himself, he’ll run with or without your input. You’re more there to tell him when to jump and slide. I can’t decide if that was designed to disguise the limitations of its original release (it’s a mobile port) or an intentional choice on the designers part to show that the Runner is free from control, even yours.
Each level is called a ‘Track’, it’s your job to hep the Runner navigate the track by telling him when to jump, slide etc.
As you run along these tracks you can collect coins and bonuses as well as perform tricks. The coins you collect allow you to purchase more tricks and gadgets, if you haven’t purchased a trick that’s required by the track you won’t be able to reach the maximum score. Thankfully if you miss a jump you can just press [X] and the track will restart.
Of course, your escape hasn’t gone without notice. Hunters have been sent after you and are on your tail the whole time, if they catch you then its game over and death, or worse a return to mindless drudgery.
As was mentioned before each track gives you a score, or rather, a star rating out of three stars (well, it is a mobile port). To get the maximum amount of stars you have to collect all the bonuses and perform all the tricks on a track.
If you collect enough stars you unlock further levels and another game mode called Hunter mode, which requires fifty stars.
The controls for this game are… inconsistent. That’s a vague way to put it, I know. There’s a saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Well clearly whomever said that never encountered this games controls. Sometimes the Runner grabs exactly how you want, sometimes he doesn’t grab at all and most infuriating sometimes he grabs, starts to pull himself up and then lets go… for no good reason!
I got to the forth track of the second story arc out of three, and the game still hadn’t told me how to use the gadget I bought within the first few levels. I’ve tried every button on my controller to no avail. I found out later that the gadgets are totally unavailable for use on a control pad as there is no button bound to use them. Instead you have to use the keyboard and press the [Z] key. How many times do I need to say this?
STOP HALF ARSING THE CONTROL PAD CONTROLS, DO IT PROPERLY OR NOT AT ALL!
Earlier I mentioned about the unlockable Hunter mode. In this mode you play as the Hunter, meaning you start behind the runner. This mode is harder that the standard one because you have to catch the runner and to do that you have to get in front this means performing a near perfect run.
I rather like the aesthetic of the black silhouette on a fully coloured background. It’s quite stylized and makes the game ‘pop out’ at you, it also means you won’t confuse the background with what actually makes up the track.
It’s a great shame, I was really hoping that Vector would be great and I think it would have been, if it weren’t for the crappy controls. This a game that requires timing, something that I, admittedly, have never been terribly good at, but having wonky controls makes this game an exercise in frustration.
If this appeals to you perhaps try;
Cloudbuilt
Grow Home
Mirror’s Edge
