Even when the PSX was a brand-new grey box that was THE
Christmas gift everyone wanted in 1996, Singletrac's
"Twisted Metal" failed to ignite an iota of excitement in
my gaming life. Sure, it was a fun and exciting premise to
battle some rad characters in a post-acpocalyptic car wreck
sponsored by an evil LA criminal... but those graphics
looked just so damn rough and messy, even by that year's
standards. "Twisted Metal 2" improved on every aspect of
the original, from the controls to the number of characters
to the arenas in which combat took place (all over the
world, hence the sequel being subtitled "World Tour").
Only the graphics were left almost untouched, and as a
result I never really got into playing Singletrac's PSX
offerings; sure, they play a mean and enjoyable destruction
derby of metal parts and explosives, but look like crap.
But I'm obviously in the minority on this one since all of
Singletrac's games (with the exception of "Critical Depth")
have been best-sellers: the "Twisted Metal" games (the
first 2 at least, since the third installment is being done
by Sony in-house), the "Jet Moto" series, and the
exceptional "Warhawk". Now Activision's internal team of
PSX coders, Luxoflux, have ported their best-selling PC
title "Interstate '76" and optimized it to get as good a
performance from Sony's machine as possible. The result is
a "Twisted Metal" clone that plays as good as the previous
games (OK, maybe a tad inferior), but looks infinitely
better; graphics aren't everything in a game (God, if
he/she/it exists, knows that a crummy-looking game can play
like a dream and eclipse the looks), but they are all that
needed to be dramatically improved to make me a believer in
the vehicle-combat genre. The name of the new king of PSX
combat-racing games until "Rogue Trip" or "Twisted Metal 3"
prove their case in the court of public opinion (chatrooms,
sales counters, internet sites): "Vigilante 8"!
It's the gas crisis of the late 1970's, which helped bring
down the presidencies of both Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter
(although the Iranian hostage crisis really paralyzed the
Carter administration more than the fading energy crisis...
have you fallen asleep yet? :-P). Two bands of criminals
and low-lifes surviving (barely!) in the 1970's storm into
a military base and make themselves to tons of weapons and
customizable vehicles that they quickly upgrade into props
for the "Road Warrior" movies. The Coyotes and the
Vigilantes are each other's sworn enemies, so the stage is
set for vehicular manslaughter in the middle of nowhere
(the game seems to take place entirely in unpopulated areas
like abandoned Oil Rigs and desolate highways). If the
cliches don't kill you, watch for those machine-gun bullets
and EarthQuakes being casually tossed around... they just
might.
GAMEPLAY / FUN FACTOR: B+
Nothing new or dramatically different from the
Singletrac-pioneered concepts of how a vehicular blast-fest
should play, but if it ain't broke why fix it needlessly
and risk compromising the magic formula? Four modes, two
for single-player gaming and two for two-player blasting
(no four-player option? Damn, the N64 gets all the good
one's). For single-player: a Quest Mode were you pick one
of the game's vehicles (each with a distinctive and dark
"Mad Max"-like look and background story), go through the
12 levels and achieve each's specific objectives (depending
on which of the two gangs the chosen character belongs to).
Also for single-player, an Arcade mode that gives you a
level to choose, and a ton of customizable options (maybe
one too many) about how to go about completing that level.
For two-player gaming, we have a Co-Op mode (similar to
Arcade in single-player, except that both players must be
alive at all times or it's game over for both of them; a
cool premise that forces characters to save each other's
butts when surrounded by incoming fire), and Deathmatch
(find your opponent and blast him to pieces before he does
the same to you!).
The best way to dispatch enemies is to one-two sucker-punch
them with a direct hit, and then hit them again while they
are vulnerable (or still up in the air, if possible),
especially with a unique special move. This is done (like
in "TM2", although not exactly the same way) by inputing
commands like in a figting game, linking pad movements with
button tapping. Problem is that these moves can only be
done on the digital pad of the PSX controller, and anybody
playing the game with anything less than the old analog
controller (Dual Shock is supported and works like a dream)
is missing more accurate control and dead-on response that
is simply not present in the game's digital control. If
you're in the crosshair's of Slick Clyde, and he's right in
the path of your special attack, do you send the attack
(via digital) or hightail it the f*** out of there (via
analog)? Sadly it is almost impossible to drive AND attack
at the same time because of the set-up of the controls...
oh well, there's the first thing that can be fixed for the
recently-announced 1999 sequel. Other minor complaints:
the weapons are liberally spread over the levels and are
too easy to discover and pick-up, making "Vigilante 8" a
race to the biggest/baddest weapon (like "Quake") instead
of a constant fight. Also, some of these levels are HUGE
and long, and in certain instances two players may drive
for minutes before finding each other (kinda like "Mario
Kart 64's" Battle mode). And the controls aren't as tight
and responsive (even on analog) as the one's in "Twisted
Metal 2", which even had a way for the player to quickly
turn-around ("Vigilante 8" doesn't have one). Aside from
these quirks, this is "Twisted Metal 2" with a facelift
from the Gods, and that is all I need to be sold.
GRAPHICS / VISUALS: A-
What a pretty-looking game "Vigilante 8" is, thanks to
developer's Luxoflux's use of the concepts in Activision's
"Interstate '76" for a somewhat different PSX game that
uses the machine's internal strenghts to the max. Most
developers who tried to fit a PC game on PSX in the past
did not go this way, and as a result the PC ports ("Duke
Nukem 3D", "Broken Sword", "Myst") didn't live up to their
hype, and the console-exclusive gamers didn't buy them.
That trend is reversing, with console ports of PC games
either getting the royal treatment (like EA/Blizzard's
"Diablo") or being developed with the PC version
simultaneously (like Acclaim's "Forsaken").
"Vigilante 8", although somewhat blurry-looking (pixels are
visible when close to another vehicle/structure) and done
in medium-resolution, is always moving at a constant speed
of 30 frames-per-second, even with lots of vehicles and
fireworks on-screen. The light-sourcing and meaty
explosions are gorgeous, the levels are all destructible
(you can blow up EVERYTHING, and even leave marks on the
terrain with your weapons). The split-screen for
two-player (vertical or horizontal, depending on your mood)
is serviceable with minimal slowdown. The artistic design
of the characters and vehicles is cliche and has been done
to death (in everything from "Bio Freaks" to "Twisted Metal
2" to movies/TV), but it feels right at home in a game that
is set (for a change) in the recent past rather than in the
not-too-distant future, somewhere in time and space, LA LA
LA (wow, momentary "MST3K" flashback... sorry!).
MUSIC / SOUND EFFECTS: B+
Suitable funky and appropiate tunes for the late 70's
period, which means that if you thought disco music was the
worst fad to hit the US since New Kids on the Block and the
fruit-flavored condoms (uhhh, I heard they were tasty! :-O)
you may have to hold it inside yourself when "Vigilante 8"
boots. I've read elsewhere that you can replace with music
CD's the tunes in the game's levels when an arena is loaded
and ready to go, which would make this only the third PSX
game that allows you to do this swap trick (the original
"Ridge Racer" and "WipeOut" were the first two); so, if you
do not like the hick and funky tunes in this game you may
replace them with your own (I haven't tried to do this,
since I am fearful of tampering with the machine when in
use). The rest of the sound effects are all adequate but
have been done to death before: the roar of the engines
(diminishing when away, increasing when up-close), the roar
of machine-guns overheating, the roar of coyotes owling
(OK, OK, OK... :-), etc. For all of this game's numerous
positives, the music/sound effects will only make an
impression by being part of the atmosphere, instead of some
wild and original characteristic.
OVERALL: B+
Since the rental copy yours truly used to review this game
didn't overheat or freeze during play, I can't comment on
the bug that is apparently running wild on "Vigilante 8"
games across the landscape. But if you liked the "Twisted
Metal" series, and are anxiously in look for a comparable
experience with much-better visual rewards, Activison has
your ticket to scrapped metal parts littering the
unpopulated areas of the United States, circa the late
70's. I'll hold on purchasing this $45 title (ouch!) until
the whole "freezing bug" thing gets fixed, and maybe prices
drop a little; I like the game, but I'm not sure my pocket
can take this much punishment so frequently (greedy little
bastard, I know!). Rent before you buy, because blind
gamers out there might feel like ignoring the improved
graphics and stick with the "Twisted Metal" series. Until
"Rogue Trip" and "Twisted Metal 3" hit retail late in 1998,
"Vigilante 8" is where you want to be if you have the need
to blow (bleep) up... is that a great TV spot or what?
