Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense

"They say sequels are better. In this case, they're right."

Introduction
Vigilante 8 originally started off on the Playstation. I never played that version, but its success must've been so good that it got ported to the Nintendo 64, which is when I got it. However, V8 still lacked a few things that made it a game to remember. That is when Vigilante 8 2nd Offense came out. The sequel filled in those holes PERFECTLY. If you enjoyed the first one, the sequel will blow your mind away.

Gameplay - 9/10
To start out, the Gameplay is somewhat the same as the first game. The objectives for the most part are the same. You do get a whole new plethora of characters to choose from, with new and interesting vehicles to take on and murder your opponents with. You still have the same old weapons like the turret, mortar, missiles, etc. Along with a few new ones you can take the pleasure in using.

Just like in the first Vigilante 8, the 2nd one does have the same kind of "family tree" as a guide line for your progress when you play. If you played the first one and beat it, then you'll know of the goodies obtainable for completing the "family tree", hehe.

A new thing they added in V82 is special terrain modifications. What I mean by this is, scattered along each map are upgrades that can give you a "boost" in handling performance, or take you places you can't reach normally.

1. Hovering - When you get this upgrade, your wheels basically turn into mini boosters which you can hover with. Very handy to avoid things like mines and hopping over obstacles.

2. Water Propellers - Most of these are located right before you take a dive into deep waters. When you get this, your vehicle will have the ability to float on water. Taking you across with ease.

3. Tread - Simply put, your car turns into a tank with wheels that have huge rubber groves to give you all the traction you need. Definitely worth having for the close range battles when you need the turning advantage.

These wheel upgrades are nice, but they can hinder you if you don't know how to use them. You can lose them if you take too much damage as well. Or you can simply de-activate them by... well, I forgot actually. The game manual should tell you, or you can find out in options. Either way, it's a simple button combo that you could probably figure out rather quickly.

There are all new levels in V82 as well. Most are pretty large and tons of little secrets you can toy with and use against your opponents. Heck, there are even other enemies like giant crocodiles that'll attack you if you invade their territory. The new settings should be fresh and enjoyable for long time players of Vigilante 8.

There is one thing that stands out from all the gameplay add-ons...

VEHICLE UPGRADES!

I can not stress how AWESOME this is. Something that Vigilante 8 did not have was added into the sequel. For every vehicle you blow up, upgrade parts will drop for you to collect. These add to your vehicles totals as you collect them. You can get up to a total of 100 points in each category. Acceleration, Top speed, Armor & Target Avoidance. The cool thing about the upgrades besides the fact your vehicle is more powerful is when you collect 50 points in each category, you get a custom add on to your vehicle. Plus a neat little bonus if you happen to max out all your upgrades. I'll leave that to you to find out.

Control - 9/10
Simple and easy to use just like the first game. The gameplay is smooth minus the occasional rendering glitch that can leave you stuck in the side of bridge or a building or some crap.

Story - 4/10
The story pretty much works the same way the first one did. You play through a characters story and learn about what it is they seek or are fighting for. Not much too it. Some of them are kind of funny, like the monkey. :o

Graphics - 8/10
The graphics are actually quite close in relation to the first Vigilante 8. I can't remember if the first supported the Expansion pack, but V82 does. And it actually makes a REALLY big difference. You can set it for higher resolution in the game options, which uses the Expansion Pack for what it was made for - making games look higher quality. Consider it like HDTV. Other than that, everything plays smoothly, things aren't as laggy... well, ok, it can get laggy but chances are it won't unless there is just way too much happening at once.

Sound - 8/10
The random soundtrack from the first V8 was so popular they decided to randomize it again. And I must say, it is quite a mix of tunes. Some songs can be pretty catchy and go along just perfectly with the gameplay. Others make you think "the heck?". But ah well, all the weapon noise and rocket explosions will drain a good portion of it out. It might get old after a while, so crank on your own music!

Replay Value - 9/10
Vigilante 8 2nd Offense has A LOT more replayability than the first game. Reason being is the vehicle upgrades in my opinion. It just adds so much fun to the game. You can basically pimp your ride out and change it to whatever color you want. I ended up playing this game for ALOOOOONG time. Just because of this nifty extra. Sure, it won't last forever, but it won't disappoint.

Overall - 8/10
V82 just plain rocks. I love to admit that it blows Twisted Metal out of the water. I've played every version of Twisted Metal as well. It was always the same thing over again. It only took Activision a second try to figure out how to please their fans, and by golly they did it. I recommend this game to everyone. Kids would probably get into it more, but I'm sure once some older folks took the controller in hand, they'd become an addict for a good amount of time.

Buy, rent, whatever you want to do. You at least need to play V82 once. It's a great game, period.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/09/05, Updated 09/01/08

Game Release: Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense (US, 02/02/00)