Vigilante 8: Arcade (XBLA) Review
Posted by Dan Hirsch on 12.08.2008
The classic 70’s car battling extravaganza makes its next-gen debut.
This generation of gaming is really blessed in terms of games and content. The Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii are filled to the brim with games featuring deep story lines, unparalleled graphics, and dynamic gameplay. Games like Fable II, Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, and Little Big Planet have set the gaming world on fire this season. But it wasn’t so long ago that developers would take a few cars, bolt some weapons onto them, and let you loose on a level to just have at it. No multiple endings, no rich story, no earth shattering technical abilities. Just plain old car on car violence and at the time, nothing was sweeter. Activision is hoping to remind everyone just how great the good ‘ol days were with their remake of their hit franchise entitled Vigilante 8: Arcade.
Gameplay
Vigilante 8, along with Twisted Metal, was the mother of car battling games way back when. The concept was simple and incredibly fun. In principle, take the any burly man’s 2 favorite things in the world (guns and cars, with red meet coming in close at number 3) combine them, and let the magic the happen. The result was the birth of vehicular combat that helped make it a marquee genre during the years of N64 and the original Playstation.
In Vigilante 8: Arcade, players take control of 1 of 8 armored vehicles and battle it out in a variety of game modes. The main single player mode is Quest, which features a free for all of automotive destruction. Each level features an increasing number of enemy cars that need to be destroyed before getting to the final stage where a boss battle goes down. Then there’s the aptly titled Quick mode that lets you jump into a ...well..a quick battle, Custom battle which allows for choosing enemies and levels, and finally the Free Wheeling mode which lets gamers explore levels, enemy free, to find hidden alien artifacts. The game also features Deathmatch and Co-Op multiplayer modes, in both local and online varieties.
Now Vigilante 8: Arcade isn’t really just a ported copy of the same Vigilante 8 which graced our Playstations and N64s back in the day. It’s more of a mash up of Vigilante 8 and Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense. The 5 levels featured in Vigilante 8: Arcade are hybrids from levels taken from both previous games. Certain levels, like the Oil Fields, are brand new but are heavily influenced by older levels from previous games while other levels, such as Meteor Crash, are a combination of similar levels from both of the older games. This is a nice touch added to the game by the developers over at Isopod Labs to give Vigilante 8: Arcade its unique flavor. Instead of giving everyone a straightforward port of the game, they changed it up a bit and added their own take on the game to give it some new life. Kudos.
Graphics
Vigilante 8: Arcade features nicely upgraded graphics for its XBLA debut. Its one of the high points of the game .They are obviously an upgrade from the old school versions. Cars look very smooth, colors have that gaudy 70s feel, and the effects are solid. The professional term used in gaming circles is, and I quote, ”real pretty like” .For an Arcade title, you could do a lot worse.
Sound
Those looking for some Vigilante 8 nostalgia will be pleased to know that the original soundtrack is back featuring the music of that oh so popular era in American culture, the 70s. Its great to hear the original music back as it was a memorable component of the original games. Sound effects wise, everything is pretty run of the will. Explosions and gun fire have that combination of wacky and realism that fits well with the style of the game. The only real gripe audio wise is there is a real lack of variety with effects. Rapid fire on any weapon is going to sound looped. The limited number sound effects becomes apparent after playing for short period of time.
Lasting Appeal
Variety is the spice of life for replay ability, and unfortunately Vigilante 8: Arcade is lacking in that department. With only 5 levels, 8 cars, 1 unlocakable character, and a weak color customization option, this really leaves the game feeling shallow. It doesn’t help that the four game modes really are only minor variations of each other. One of them doesn’t even feature enemies, it’s the player alone on the map exploring for hidden objects (aka glorified hide-and-seek). The game is fun at surface value, but after a few play throughs the lack of depth becomes a big problem.
Fun Factor
What part of missiles, cannons, machine guns, autos, and the freakin' 70s doesn’t sound good? Though the game lacks depth and variety, its still a lot of fun. Driving and blowing up opposing cars in a free-for-all arena style combat is still fun for short spurts. Again, the lack of the depth hurts the game. As much fun as blowing up cars is, it does get a bit old considering the limited selection of levels and vehicles.
The 411
Vigilante 8: Arcade is good for a pseudo-nostalgia trip and big time fans of vehicular combat, and that’s about it. The game is legitimately fun for the 1st fifteen minutes you play it. Cars+Guns= Fun, its basic gaming algebra. After that point though, you realize there isn’t anything beyond the level you just played .There is just not enough here to keep the average player interested. 5 levels and 9 total vehicles is a paltry number, even for an XBLA title. The 4 game modes can really be summed up as 1 true free for all deatgmatch game mode because I don’t really count the Free Wheelin’ mode as anything resembling fun. The best word to describe the game is mediocre. Its ok, it’s just not very good. They developers put in a solid effort here on the technical side of things. It’s an amalgam of the two original games with updated graphics, but it winds up just not being enough. Maybe the game lost some of its greatness over time, maybe the developers should have added more content instead of condensing. So long story short, unless you’re a die-hard Vigilante 8 fan, this is not an absolute must have title for your library.
Graphics
7.0
Good graphics for an XBLA title.
Gameplay
6.0
Old school vehicular combat is fun, to a point.
Sound
6.0
Run of the mill effects with a fun , but limited, selection of music.
Lasting Appeal
5.0
Not nearly enough levels, cars, or game modes to keep you playing for more than 15 minutes at a time.
Fun Factor
6.0
Game play is fun but simple. The limited content really winds up hurting the overall experience.
