Vexx

"Pure platforming reaches new heights"

Vexx is a possibly new mascot, that will spawn several sequels, if this first one sells well enough. The game is for platform lovers only. If you are expecting anything new or different, you can forget it, and if you just don't like platform games at all you can quit reading now, and avoid this game at all costs. For a platform novice this game can be quite difficult, but for the initiated it is of moderate difficulty.

GRAPHICS: 8/10 The graphics in this game are outstanding, period. The huge worlds are quite expansive and you can see everything in them. Try going as high as you can and looking below, but take care if you are afraid of heights, this game is that good. The worlds are quite colorful, and all of them are uniquely different. If you had doubts about the quality of the graphics and the sound on Game cube, because this version of the game is $10 less than the others, forget them.

MUSIC/SOUND: 7/10 The music is not particularly good, actually, it is rather unmemorable, but then again there really isn't very much of it. The sounds and sound effects are very good though, and the presentation of all sound is in pro logic 2, and is stellar. The cute little enemies sound disturbingly like Alien, a weird but enjoyable thrill. The stone tablets also give off some very eerie voice and sound effects as well.

CAMERA/CONTROL: 7/10 The camera is actually pretty good, as, for the most part you can turn it with the right stick. It does have its problems though. In some areas you can turn the camera and see where to jump to, but it will swing back. In other areas you have to fight the stick to move it at all. Finally, in some areas, the camera just swings wildly around on its own. The controls themselves are nicely responsive and not too complicated. You jump with A, and attack with B. Crouch with L for a high jump, or run hit L and jump for a long jump. The one thing, though, that this game could use is a double jump and a lock on button.

GAME PLAY: 6/10 The game both shines and fails in this department. The goal is to collect Wraith Hearts, which will open up new worlds. The levels all seem to have 8-10 in them, so collecting all of them is not required. Every level has some similar goals. Collect 100 shards. Find six soul jars. Fight a mini boss. Find another area with 3-4 goals to release a heart. Destroy a encased heart with your rock suit in 30 seconds. Etc. The variety of things to do, and the degree of exploration is great, but there really isn't anything new here. The worse thing here is how they managed to cheaply extend the length of the game. Say you have 99 shards and 6 soul jars, and stumble across something else, like a mini boss. Every time you get a heart, it auto saves and sends you back to the hub, and you lose everything you collected. It is necessary to do each level as many times as there are hearts. Another problem is extra men are pretty much worthless unless you find yourself in another area and don't want to have to find it again, because when you die you lose everything as well. On the bright side, though, is that keeping from dying is pretty easy to do. There are clues for each of the hearts, but most are useless, as they make no sense. The game also goes through day night cycles, sometimes necessary for finding hearts, and at night it becomes really hard to see, and enemies are harder as well, but they really did not put this aspect of the game to very good use.

DIFFICULTY: varies Some of this game is extremely easy, and some is rather difficult, and if you are going for everything it can be quite the daunting experience. It took me almost two hours to find the sixth jar on the first world and actually be able to obtain it. You should also know that the worlds are somewhat circular, so if you find something to hard to do on a direct route, you can come to it the back way.

VALUE: 8/10 Seeing as this game is $10 less on Game cube, that increases the value right there. The game will take you a good 30-40 hours if going for everything, and could even take twice as long as that. The only thing keeping me from giving this a 10 is that I feel a lot of people will just quit way before the end.

FINAL COMMENTS: In spite of it's flaws, this game can be quite addictive, but it takes time. You can not play for an hour or two and give up on it. After 5-10 hours you will be totally hooked and will want to find everything. I myself, am looking forward to a part two, but with all the problems fixed, now that will be something.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/17/03, Updated 02/17/03