There are times when it should be OK to copy something. For instance, if
something has been done about as close to perfection as can be reasonably
expected then why try and reinvent the wheel? Case in point: Vexx for the
GameCube. No, it’s not the perfection that all other platformers should strive
for, rather it’s an example where doing a little copying from a game like Mario
64 would have made a huge improvement. It’s not that Vexx is a bad game, it does
have its moments of brilliance, but that it could have been so much more. I’ll
try and explain…
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| Our hero receives his calling. |
But first, let me quickly set up the basic story and some more details of the
game, you know like the good little reviewer that I am. Vexx is your standard
platformer in the grand tradition of Mario 64, Crash, etc. The story, as if it
really matters in a game like this, is that on the planet of Astara a really
evil dude named Dark Yabu, who besides being evil is also a Shadowraith (which
actually might be redundant now that I think about it), decided it was time to
wipe out the quaint village of Overwood. This, of course, is Vexx’s home and he
and his uncle, Vargas, gave it the old-college try to defend their home but were
promptly enslaved with just about everyone else in the village. In a moment of
rage Vexx tries to strike out at his captures but instead ends up seeing his
uncle Vargas get killed by Yabu. Vexx escapes and vows to have his revenge
against Dark Yabu. It is while trying to extract some of this revenge that Vexx
runs across the legendary Astani War Talons. In a kind of strange twist, the
Talons bind themselves to Vexx in what looks like a very uncomfortable moment.
Nevertheless, the Talons turn out to be just what the doctor ordered for Vexx.
Vexx himself is…uh…well…hmm, he’s a rather odd little fellow. I suppose he’s a
cross between a satanic cat (really, aren’t all cats satanic?) and a snarling
rapid bat. In a way he reminds me of Aero the Acrobat, also his nose reminds me
of that Michael Jackson picture where Michaels nose is about to fall off. Yea,
he’s not all pink and cuddly like Kirby that’s for sure. Despite not having
movie star looks Vexx still has a lot of personality. Granted much of it
consists of growling and snarling, but hey, it’s something! Some of the other
characters in the game do provide a little more of a softer side, especially
Darby the old guide and mentor. Vexx has the fairly standard collection of moves
like jumping, long jumping, the always-popular “butt” attack, crouching,
climbing, shimming, swimming, and many more. One kind of unique ability is the
combo attack. Well, unique to platformers anyway. Also the War Talons can help
Vexx climb walls and they have their own special powers. For example, while
“juggling” enemies blue energy balls are unleashed. You collect enough of these
and your Talons charge up to the point where you can use them to blast bad guys
from a far.
The main objective in Vexx is to run around and collect Shadowraith hearts.
These hearts are from the dead Shadowraiths. It seems that roughly 700 years ago
these guys destroyed Astani’s really cool portal system that allowed them to pop
all over place. If Vexx collects enough of these hearts more and more of the
portals will open up allowing access to different sections of Astani. Naturally
gathering these hearts is not always an easy task. One of the strongest parts of
Vexx is the level designs. Some of the levels are just brilliant with a lot of
original ideas and layout. The graphics are well done with pretty good draw
distances. There are times when the framerate may take a small dip, but it
doesn’t have much of an impact on the gameplay.
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