Vector Demo

The sport of freestyle running is practiced by brave and in-shape young men with not a lot of respect for authority or private property, and it is pretty cool to watch. The concept was used in a lot of video games in the last few years, including the brilliant Mirror’s Edge and a few other platformers. However, the genre is still young and there’s a lot of potential waiting to be unearthed.

Vector is a basic 2D platformer in which your primary purpose is to run away from another guy, while avoiding a variety of obstacles and even performing a few stunts along the way. Getting away and to the end of the level is still the most important part, on the other hand, because that’s the only way you get to move on further into the game.

At first, the controls might seem a bit uncomfortable and weird, even if all you need are the four directional keys. However, they need to be pushed at the right time and only when the game demands it, so good reflexes are a must. On the other hand, this kind of ruins the experience a little bit, because it means that you are not allowed to use your own judgement and you are forced to do it the same every time.

The game also comes with a few other gimmicks to increase its longevity, but it’s not enough to get the job done. Hence, there’s a ‘Hunter’ mode as well, in which you play the role of the guy chasing the main characters. The gameplay is the same, with the only difference being the fact that you are behind the target. An editor is provided as well, which means that you can build your own levels from scratch.

Visually, the graphics are pretty nicely done, sporting silhouettes, futuristic landscapes, and plenty of other nice environments for you to explore. However, they certainly won’t create any memories for the players, because the artwork only meets the minimum requirements. The same goes for the soundtrack, which is not bad, but it gets repetitive very quickly.

All things considered, Vector is not at all a bad game, but it certainly could have been a lot better, if only the designers did a better job of portraying the world. The replayability potential is extremely low, due to the fact that you are forced to perform certain tricks in the same locations.