Vektar Review


Sonistar

Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2006
Messages
245
Age
36
Location
Airdrie, Glasgow, Scotland
Website
www.whitestarproductions.co.uk
VEKTAR - COMMERCIAL BOXED EDITION REVIEW (first edition - unpatched version)

Well, this game has come a long way since the entry for the GP2X Coding Competition of 2006 by Dzz!

For those of you new to the scene and interested in buying this game, please try the demo available at www.gp2x.co.uk

This is a game similar to Geometry Wars, but with controls similar to Asteroids. While the game resembles Geometry Wars in looks, the gameplay couldnt be more different. It has a completely retro feel, from the high score table that acts as a loading screen, (what could be a better loading screen than your high scores? i mean c'mon, thats awesome!) to the awesomely addictive soundtrack, this game does what the gp2x was made to do, bring you back to the old school world of retro gaming with a bang!

The controls are very straightforward, navigate using the control stick and fire using the B button. Y brings up a shield all around your ship, which you will find yourself regularly using (and cursing yourself for not using it when you blow up!)
There are power ups and extra lives in the form of little S signs and little stick men, however these can also be destroyed, so watch where your shooting at all times as these can appear randomly. More powerups i wont mention so as not to spoil the game for you.

The Game is shipped on a 128mb SD card and is ready to Plug and Play, Once the game loads up its a case of simply pressing the B button, selecting your level ( the first one is only available first time you play ) , and then the game begins. The game has a very good learning curve, the levels get gradually harder and walls start to form, making it harder to navigate and kill the enemies.
Speaking of the enemies, there is a very nice number of varieties and number of enemies on the screen at all times. They range from regular blocks which float around rather aimlessly, to diamond shaped long blue enemies i have taken to calling "spheres", from their attempts to fly at you quickly after floating about the map, to enemies that blow up into smaller enemies (which gets VERY confusing)

A nice thing incorporated into this game is the lack of loading between stages, the world just morphs around you, which is a very cool effect. This also means the soundtrack doesnt need to start over, and can continue its hypnotic beat. The soundtrack can also be customised to whatever music you want, as long as it is in a folder on your sd card called "custommusic". There can be ten tracks, they must be in .ogg format, be an average of 64kbps, and labeled 1.ogg, 2.ogg, etc.

The game will last you forever as well, there is 5 zones, with 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 waves (stages) of enemies between them. This game isnt exactly a pushover and will have you up many hours into the night trying to complete it.
With many features incorporated into the game such as automatic saving, new game options, and customisable music, Vektar is a great game to have for anyone with a GP2X.
Featuring a retro, yet completely original feel, this game strikes me as the first in a long time to give me that great feel i had playing when i first experienced the old classics as a kid.
I couldnt think of a better first commercial game for the GP2X, it completely captures everything it stands for. Fun, addictive, retro gaming thats easy to play, but insanely hard to master.

Vektar is available now at GP2x.co.uk for £19.99, and is worth every penny.
 
Some screens for you ;)

vtsc.png
vkig.png
vkig2.png
vekshot1.png
vekshot2.png
 
Looks very badass. I would buy the full version in a heartbeat if I were any good at it. I can't get past the second level in the demo >_<

Maybe I should just buy it to support the scene :p
 
This game releases all those old, embedded LSD molecules stored in my spinal cord ... sending them cascading back into my brain's synapses, giving me some very nice flashbacks. Seriously.
 
Looks awesome, but $40 USD (shipped) is a little rich for my blood. Is the download version still happening? Will it be cheaper?
 
Those screens look fantastic, I don't really know what else I could say. I'll definitely get this sometime down the road, perhaps when the online version becomes available and there's a wee price drop.

Looking forward to the new demo!

- Alex
 
Come on, a review is not a review if you don't go into the negative aspects of the game...
 
JaqMs posted on Aug 13 2006 at 01:58 PM said:
Come on, a review is not a review if you don't go into the negative aspects of the game...
1. It's not free. :lol:

- Alex
 
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I suspect the biggest complaint will be that it can't be completed in 24 hours like most modern games ;)

But it IS possible to complete it...
 
I was at a friend's house and played me some Turtles in Time on his SNES... That game took me no more than two hours to beat. That's when I realised that very few of the old games lasted for very much more than a few hours once you figured out how to play them relatively well. It's just that when we were kids and only had ONE new game for the month (if that) we played the game over and over again until we could play them blindfolded with our left foot! If I hadn't been TWELVE, I could probably also have had sex at the same time.

What I'm trying to say is that when I can play through Prince of Persia in thirteen hours on the first run, that's actually not such a bad value, considering the intensity of the game play. If I had to play Prince of Persia for 50 hours before I was done, I would have given up half way through, because you just get tired of constantly battling for ever and ever. Those 100+ hours RPGs actually win my heart by giving me dead time of running. Less intensity, more breathing, more time. More intensity, less time. That's how I work.

I have NO idea where I'm going with this, so just ignore me.
 
I'm a fan of starting really easy and carefully making things harder, I think the best game to use that style was Lemmings.

I really liked some of the amiga games for being rock solid hard and lasting a long time, every time you played you got a bit further - and just before you give up you get that next password and it all starts again on a new level.

I *HATE* these modern games and their save anywhere option. It makes it very boring and it is just a case of saving every few seconds.

I like the GTA games because they don't let you do that so there is some skill involved.

I finished doom3 in one day because i could just keep hitting the save key. Lame.
 
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