Vexx

"Another Platforming Pitfall"

Vexx is an interesting take of the platforming genre. It can be incredibly difficult and frustrating at times, but it's a rewarding experience once you are able to conquer those times.

Graphics –
I liked the graphics in Vexx, but it tended to slow down at times while playing, which is never a good thing for a game. Each level though is nicely detailed, with large environments varying with time. The characters and enemies are rendered well in 3D, but none of it is really fantastic enough to offer a higher rating.
Rating – 7/10

Gameplay –
Vexx is your typical 3D platformer. Using your talons, you are able to slash enemies with some pretty neat combos, though they get repetitive very fast. The environments are nice and large, and there are a ton of different challenges to perform through the game. Each level is varied enough to provide a decent experience, but the difficulty makes some of the challenges very hard. Especially some of the platforming ones, it can get really frustrating scaling a tower, only to get very close to the top and fall to the bottom and have to start over. Another major problem is the camera, which was simply put, horrible. There are times when you are trying to see something and you rotate the camera, and it will just get stuck behind a wall. If those two aspects were worked on slightly better, this game would have been better to play.
Rating – 7/10

Story –
You play Vexx, a boy out to seek revenge upon the guy who destroyed your village. You are enslaved by the talons upon your wrists, which allow you to fight the evil minions in the world. There is very little to the story to actually make it interesting and worthwhile.
Rating – 5/10

Sound –
There are some interesting pieces written to play for the background music. None of them however are anything special, but they work. The effects made by enemies and yourself are nothing to speak of, as they are actually pretty bad. Then there's the voice acting, which is simply horrible as well. None of the sounds in the game are really worth mentioning, so this category falls hard.
Rating – 3/10

Replayability –
The levels are large, and there are nine of them. Each one contains a multitude of tasks, so there is a lot to do in the game. If you manage to make it through the game though, there is nothing else to do unless you wanted to obtain every heart. But the gameplay is so frustrating at times with some of them; I don't see why you would want to. You will probably not want to play the game again either, so replayability is pretty lacking.
Rating – 2/10

Overall –
The graphics are fairly decent, the gameplay is frustrating and difficult, the story lacks any real depth, the sounds are horrible, and replayability is virtually lacking. Vexx is a decent platformer for a little while, but eventually just falls down completely. You will probably not even be able to finish the game thanks to it's frustrating challenges throughout.
Rating – 7 + 7 + 5 + 3 + 2 = 24/50 -> 5/10

Buy or rent –
Nobody should really buy this game unless they really want to play through it fully. Its cheap price would be the only real reason to buy perhaps, and it does have some decent parts to play. It's not really even worth a rental, as so many people would probably refuse to play the game much. So unless you are a die hard platforming fan, or see something in this game that I don't, don't waste your money on it.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 01/22/07, Updated 01/23/07