Vexx - surprisingly enjoyable

I picked up Vexx for the Xbox this weekend, and am really surprised by how much fun I've had with it so far. I'd heard some poor reviews, but I've also heard very positive reactions, so I figured it would be worth a shot.

Vexx himself is an awful-looking character, and the plot is disposable but the game itself is actually quite impressive. Combat doesn't get old, and is rarely required, but it can give you advantages. Vexx has a variety of moves that power up his Talons. The analog control is responsive and accurate, whether Vexx is jumping, climbing, or swimming. The levels themselves are probably the best thing about the game: they are huge, gorgeous, and packed with objectives, hidden areas, and secrets. Here's the thing: there is a series of warp gates to the different levels, powered by a rift device. The more Wraith Hearts you find and feed to the device, the more powerful it gets, and the more levels you can access. This makes the game rather non-linear, as netting five or so Hearts unlocks three entire levels to explore. You can switch between worlds whenever you want, or can try and locate every Heart in a certain level before moving to the next. Each level has ten or so hidden Hearts, clues to which are given to you in the form of a riddle.

The platforming is fun and inventive, and challenging. A certain tower in the first world gave me more trouble than anything in Rayman 2 or Klonoa 2 - and not because of the camera. Certain sections of the game are really tough to navigate, but are always worth the trouble by leading to a hidden Heart, extra life, or simply another section of the beautiful levels (one has you creeping along the backbone of a gigantic dragon skeleton; another has you trapped inside a giant's mansion, exploring along a huge piano). The camera is a little unpredictable, but you can re-center it, move it with the right stick, or place it over Vexx's shoulder, so finding the perfect angle isn't too difficult. Vexx doesn't really add moves as the game progresses, either - you're quite versatile from the beginning. This cuts down on backtracking, as you're not forced to revisit worlds after learning a new move later on. This keeps the game focused on exploration and platforming. The game is also long, with nine or so gigantic levels.

I think Vexx is really worth a look. It's not perfect, by any means. The camera's twitchy, and it sometimes takes a little extra work to see where you're going, but it's a small price to pay for how grand the rest of the game is. The soundtrack is also well-done and diverse, ranging from chorus-backed orchestra to jazz-rock fusion, believe it or not. It helps create a majestic mood to go along with the visuals - thankfully there's little techno. I'm constantly surprised by how versatile and inventive the levels are - it pays to explore every corner. Vexx reminds me a lot of Fur Fighters, in design, concept, and ingenuity.

As a side note, I don't think Acclaim quite deserves all the bashing it gets. The Burnout series, Aggressive Inline, and now Vexx are all well-done, enjoyable games - maybe not the most original or polished games on the planet, but each is fun on their own merit. Despite its sometime-cliched content and slightly annoying tech issues, I am very surprised at how addicting and enjoyable Vexx is.

Very cool impressions Bio. I still need to rent/buy this game. Me and DJ went through platforming phase earlier this year, and Vexx looked interesting as well, but we kinda forgot about it.

Yeah Vexx as a character is very poor indeed, thats why I think a lot of people passed the game off. I did this as well till I played a demo of it, and after that I picked up the Cube version as soon as possiable.

The game is indeed very fun and has plenty of challanging parts like the various towers that Bio mentioned. Its just pure platforming at its best in those areas.

If you like 3D Platformers you really really need to give this game a chance, my only gripe about the game is that the combat system tried to be more complex that it really is, and the fact that the Mansion level is very very out of place with all the other worlds being completly differant and much better.

I still don't know how to even hurt the final boss though, someday I guess.

I know exactly how you feel although I only tried three times before I went back to collecting the final hearts. Is it just me or is the last level just plain old crazy platforming challenges. I tell you this game has had some of the toughest platforming I have ever done in a 3D game.

D

Yeah some of the platforming is indeed tough, but thats how it should be. Most 3D platformers hardly even touch platforming, this game went nuts in some area which just made it so much fun to play.

I tell you the last time a game made my hands sweat that much was on the dreamcast with MDK2. I'm really happy I picked this game up regardless of the bad reputation ppl have given it, I enjoyed the game a lot.

D

I really enjoyed what I played of it back on its release, and plan on picking it up sometime. It just doesn't have much priority.

I just like platformers a lot, to the point of even 100%-ing Donkey Kong 64 1.5 times (friend erased the cart once), so I thought my views were skewed. But yeah, it's a fun platformer.

I still havent tried it. I was planning to rent it, or buy it cheap, but kept forgetting about it. And now I wont be doing that for a while.

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Originally Posted by Clash_Master

Yeah some of the platforming is indeed tough, but thats how it should be. Most 3D platformers hardly even touch platforming, this game went nuts in some area which just made it so much fun to play.

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Agreed. Seeing all the different modes of play in most current "platformers" like Jak II make them very un-platformerish. Vexx is 100% pure obstacle coursing and exploration. Hmm...maybe that's why it was knocked as being unoriginal by most reviews?

Glad you liked it, D!

I like it, too. It's a great challenge, and I like Vexx's design.

More on this later.

P.S. "Dark Yabu" is a really dumb name.

I've played the demo of this game to death and loved every second of it. I'll probably buy the game this weekend.

I think it's pretty average. You should definitely get the Mario Sunshines and Sly Coopers off the pile of shame before touching this game.

My question though is "who was this game designed for?" Vexx is too gritty looking for kids and too kiddy, yes I said it, for teens. Collecting hearts, no, not like Castlevania hearts but live beating human type hearts and the 'T' rating doesn't make it anymore likely that a parent would by it for their kids and the character itself tries too hard to look edgey and cool while still looking like a failed Saturday morning cartoon show loosing them the teen audience.

Yes I have previously defended the design, because peoples bias of Acclaim was blindig them to the point that they considered this to worst character ever when there were far more deserving candidates available.

With Mario Sunshine & Sly out of the way already Vexx was actually a competent game compared to the two previous games. Yes we've all heard the design complaint but is the game fun? Damn right, so get over it and play the game if you're into platformers at all, you won't regret it.

D

My only gripes about the design is Vexx him self, and the Mansion Level (its so out of place it baffles the mind why it was created).

I really need to go back and play this some more, but I am at that point where I am the final boss, but have NO clue as to how I am even supposed to hurt him. And I still need to collect everything. This game does have some hard ass Hearts to get, I have literally no clue on how to get some of them. But I really want to play some of those Vertical Tower platforming stages, great stuff.

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Originally Posted by Clash_Master

My only gripes about the design is Vexx him self, and the Mansion Level (its so out of place it baffles the mind why it was created).

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My gripe is singular. I dislike how it throws me back to the hub-world immediately after collecting a Wraith Heart. It'd be much more enjoyable if I could collect all the hearts of any given world at once, instead of having to start from the begining to get where I want to go every friggin' time I want to collect a new heart.

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I really need to go back and play this some more, but I am at that point where I am the final boss, but have NO clue as to how I am even supposed to hurt him. And I still need to collect everything. This game does have some hard ass Hearts to get, I have literally no clue on how to get some of them. But I really want to play some of those Vertical Tower platforming stages, great stuff.

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I can't comment on the end boss, but I'm three levels in now and I'm loving all of the challenging jumping puzzles, bottomless pit hopping, and wall scaling. I said it in the Voodoo Vince thread, and I'll say it here: God bless bottomless pits!

Immediately.

I'm 3% (three sprints) away from being done with Sly. Up next is Ratchet and Clank, and then I'm thinking of doing Vexx. So, is any version particularly better than any other version? I think they're all equally cheap as hell nowadays.

They're all $20 or less; Kay-Bee seems to have the cheapest price at $15. I happened to go to the wrong Kay-Bee. :curse:

Also, when ever a game comes out pan-platform, I get the XBOX version. I hope that helps.

I still need to buy Sly Cooper, I rented it around when it came out, very fun. I played Rachet and Clank a while ago and hated what I had played. The characters are really uninteresting and I did not like the look of the envionments at all. I read that the game gets better after the first few worlds but I don't think I could force my way through them.

And I have a free copy of Voodoo Vince on its way thank ti Xbox Online Retail Training. It looks really neat, but I am not all the keen on the Bayou theme, but we'll see.

Sly Cooper gets better as it goes along, too. The very last level is especially cool. It's got some of the strongest characters I've seen in a video game in a long time... Sly just screams franchise or animated series or something, goddamnit.

Thanks, CV... guess I'll go with the Xbox Vexx unless someone gives me a reason not to. I need more Xbox games, anyway, it's falling behind :p

Too bad Sony stated that they have no plans to continue the Sly Cooper franchise, I guess it somehow has to better than Greatest Hits for Sony to give a damn. Its also too bad considering how much more interesting Sly is as a character over Jak and Rachet. I mean he is a Raccoon Theif for christs sake!

Xbox is the way to go here. Smoothest framerate.

I own the Gamecube version of Vexx, the Xbox version is technicaly the best, but I bought the Cube version because I love how well the GC controller feels for platform games. I got Rayman 3 (another great game, minus the lame final boss) on Cube as well.

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Originally Posted by Clash_Master

Too bad Sony stated that they have no plans to continue the Sly Cooper franchise, I guess it somehow has to better than Greatest Hits for Sony to give a damn. Its also too bad considering how much more interesting Sly is as a character over Jak and Rachet. I mean he is a Raccoon Theif for christs sake!

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O___________O


I thought I had read that they were already working on the SC sequel, anybody have any concrete info/links on what's up with this?

Nothing concrete, but the rumor was that SC2 is in the works. I've certainly never seen anything to the effect that Sony was canning the franchise, though it would be believeable.

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Originally Posted by Captain Vegetable

My gripe is singular. I dislike how it throws me back to the hub-world immediately after collecting a Wraith Heart. It'd be much more enjoyable if I could collect all the hearts of any given world at once, instead of having to start from the begining to get where I want to go every friggin' time I want to collect a new heart.

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Agreed, especially since you can warp back to the hub whenever you want....a feature that you can actually exploit during some of the challenges. I think it was done so that you power up the gates right away, but it would have been better to have the option to stay where you were.

Hmm...but then again, some Hearts are in spots which are impossible to return from, like the sundial worlds, or the Dragonreach one that you have to glide to.

As far as which version, avoid the PS2 one. It's jerky and washed-out.

Funny, I couldn't stand Sly Cooper for some reason.

I would cry if there was no Sly Coops 2. I ended up enjoying the first game waaaay more than I ever though I would've.

Not getting a SC sequel would almost be as bad as not getting a Maximo sequel...

*sniff*

I agree about Sly, Kid. He needs a sequel, and actually deserves one. The art direction was great, the voice acting was superb, and the personalities of the characters came across really well because of it.

Sly needs a sequel.

I hope they make the second one more challenging cause the first was a breeze.

As for the teleporting issue I kind of agree although each time you choose your desired heart/riddle at the beginning they post arrows pointing you in the right direction when you walk through the portal so maybe they had issues with that.

D

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Originally Posted by dyomides

I hope they make the second one more challenging cause the first was a breeze.

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Second one? There's going to be a second one?! This thing drops in price due to poor sales during the first two months of it's life, and Sly Cooper, which still sells for $40 (if you can even find one new), has been all but canned?!

I'm thankful for the Vexx sequel, but that's just rediculous.

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. . . each time you choose your desired heart/riddle at the beginning they post arrows pointing you in the right direction when you walk through the portal . . .

D

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You know, I never noticed that. Maybe it isn't so bad after all.

Actually I was referring to Sly Cooper getting a sequel and hoping that it's harder... sorry bout the mix up.

D

Sly was fairly easy...

But some of the extra sprint missions were no joke. :/

I agree but still when the majority of the game, especially the story driven one is a cake walk I think it's time to go back to the drawing board and adjust the difficulty a bit. I want to be challenged the whole way through not just in the extras.

D

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Originally Posted by dyomides

I agree but still when the majority of the game, especially the story driven one is a cake walk I think it's time to go back to the drawing board and adjust the difficulty a bit. I want to be challenged the whole way through not just in the extras.

D

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Like Vexx? ;)

Thanks for getting your signals uncrossed. So, does this mean we should expect a Sly sequel? *hopeful*

Oh! And if you guys want something along the same vein as Sly Cooper, I recomend Voodoo Vince. It's very unique, and the puzzles are top notch. It also isn't a collect-a-thon, though there are things to collect.

I just got done checking out the official site, and I must say it's quite enjoyable. There's even a section, in comic book format, to explain the origin of the Astani War Talons (which is a seriously excellently designed item), the Landspire, and the history of Astara.

Give it a look-see.

Here's the first page, to hook you. ;)

http://www.vexxthegame.com/story/images/VexxComicI.jpg

I acutally found Vexx challenging in some of the early levels, the platforming was very tough even before I got the Yabu which I still have not beat.

D

. . . Yabu . . . what a dumb name.

Indeed.

D

And *cues evil laugh* HE'S DARK! BWA HA HA!

Heck, "Vexx" is a stupid name too.

I think that comic was a giveaway with the game for a while, actually.

BTW was this an in-house project for Acclaim or did they get it from a third party?

It was in-house, made by Acclaim Austin. I think it used the Turok engine.

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Originally Posted by RoleTroll

It was in-house, made by Acclaim Austin. I think it used the Turok engine.

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Maybe that explains why it runs at twice the framerate on the Cube as it does on the Box(it has slowdown on both versions but the Box slows down to single digits). I rented both versions and the cube version is clearly superior graphically. It runs faster, the textures still show in the distance, where on the Box they just turn into silhouettes, the tempo of the game is slower on the Box, the textures drastically change resolution at like 5 feet in front of Vexx on the Box(not on the Cube), and lastly, the Box version is sooooo blurry compared to the Cube version, and it has bad dithering on the Box. Sorry to beat a dead horse, but if someone is gonna give an opinion on which version looks better, they should first look at both versions. Anyhow, on topic, I enjoyed Vexx on both systems and when it gets 12 or 15 bucks, I'll get it. Oh yeah, the music is very, very good. That probably warrants it's purchase right there.

Now I have conflicting performance reports from kbuchanan and BenT.

I could go either way... maybe I'll just borrow the two from work and make my own decisions.

PS - USED copies, of course (before anyone gets uppity).

Good idea. I'd say get whichever one is cheaper though. Graphical differences don't change the game too much.

The cube one was cheaper when I bought it.

D

Am I the only one that thinks that a solid storyline is needed for a Platformer? I am sick of them having to explain every little detail, and why you have to go where and why. Just give me an ass load of levels, a neat lead character, and lots of interesing baddies and solid locations. I don't need a shitty history of the world, or why such and such stole what. Just give me a Start and an End and let my own imagination think up stuff. Don't hold up my progress with some lame cutscene thats written at the level of an episode of "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command", and if you really feel the need put the storyline in the instruction book. In the old days they did not have to explain why suddenly you were in a Ice World, you just were there for three levels and thats that.

And why do developers feel like they need to cover all possiable terrain? You don't NEED to have an ice level, a lava level, or a factory level. Thats one thing I found really nice about Mario Sunshine it was all tropical, made the game feel more solid, they did not shove in a snow capped mountain just to have an excuse for an ice level.

Oh well. And if anyone has any idea on how to hurt the final boss in Vexx let me know, but put on a "Final Boss Fight" spolier warning.

I don't think storylines are needed either. I guess the terrain changes are done to keep the gamer from getting bored, but yeah, you usually know what's coming. One reason why I liked Vexx's sundial worlds so much - they were totally different from the cliches.

Here's what I can tell you about Dark Yabu, Clash:


At the beginning he sends out those shadowcreeps - take em out by uppercutting/groundblasting. Then ditch Yabu's fireballs during the second wave. Once Yabu transforms into that spider-thing, dodge his attacks and run around until his head starts looking around for you, then give him an uppercut or flare kick. He should flip over and land on his back, and you should then jump up and ground-blast him in the medallion on his underside.

That's as far as I've gotten to this point. He's a cheap bastard - his attacks usually take two points of health. Still working on it.

Yeah that's about as far as I've gotten now, his ground pound comes with little warning and eats away at my health and I die, I've hit him once before I died.

D

Cheap bosses = bleah. I gladly welcome a challenge, but c'mon, this is ridiculous. At least the game's been mostly boss-free - another thing I dislike about many platformers. Just gimme obstacle courses.

I like me a good boss.

Every time I look at this thread name, "Vexx: magically delicious" runs through my head.

It's driving me nuts.

I don't know if it's already been said, but the camera is atrocious. I did get 78 hearts within 3 days though, so it must have been somewhat enjoyable ;p

But yeah, camera = very bad.

Games are becoming more of a "mature," or "generally accepted" medium. On second thought, maybe "serious" would have been a better term?

Reguardless, story is as much an integral part to any game as any other part of said game. Why? Because it's moving the aforementioned direction.

Every other major form of art or media conveys some sort of story, or has some sort of story behind it. Do we need to know why Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Cistine Chapel? Nope. But does it make the experience more enriched? Certainly. Books, movies, music, all of these major forms of art/media tell a story in one way or another, and as games progress further toward this end, they will too. Even driving games are throwing stories out there to be experienced. It'll start off a bit rocky at first, but as more and omre people get the hang of it, and as more and more studios higher professionals to craft a story as they would higher a musician to compose the music or a programmer to write the code, the better they stand to get.

Is the story of Vexx important? Maybe not to some. But it most certainly isn't involved and grandiose. However, it doesn't really have to be. It doesn't subtract from the game, it adds to it. And in this reguard I think you should all just shut the Hell up and enjoy it, you ungrateful bastards. ;)

Good bosses are a plus, yes, but cheap bastards aren't. In a platformer though, I'd much prefer an additional level rather than a boss fight.

I don't think Vexx's camera is really that bad. You've got a lot of control over it to get a good angle, and you never have to worry about on-the-fly manipulation. It takes some fine-tuning once in a while, but it's not like you're constantly battling it, as in say Shinobi or DMC. A few seconds' tweaking, and you've got a jump lined up. The exception is the fixed-camera stages, which I admit can be problematic, but it's nothing critical. It's no worse than 90% of the 3D games out there.

At least Vexx handles its story in a good way - you're not forced to read the scrolls unless you want to, and there's precious few cinematics or dialogue....just gameplay.

One of the best things about the game is how you don't earn more moves later. From the beginning, you have everything you'll need (the few times you use the Air/Rock suits not withstanding). I can't stand platformers that give you extra abilities and force you to revisit levels for previously unattainable sections.

Speaking of the Air Suit . . . where the Hell is it?

You know where the bone thing is by the place you would launch to get the heart? If you face that way, then turn left, you'll see a mountain...you get there by a teleport pad to the left of that skeleton, just after the yellow poles, I think.

As for the camera, I think the worst part was that it loved to change your viewing angle for no real reason just as you were about to do something. Secondly, the sense of space changed constantly. A jump would be farther than it looks, and shorter on other times, and it wasn't consistent (the zoom was wonky). I completely disagree that it is no worse than 90% of games out there (or if it is, I feel bad for you because you are playing some games with seriously bad cameras ;p).

Hm, I didn't have those kind of problems with the jump perspective. Between the R stick manipulation, Y being basically a first-person view, and B centering behind Vexx, I found the camera well-equipped to gauge distances. I never thought I was taking a "leap of faith", as it were.

Thinking about it a little more, I think the camera during the underwater sections gave me the most trouble, but nothing to the extent of PS2 Shinobi (which I found unplayable in parts). I also remember a couple of spots where the camera shifted suddenly, but it didn't lead to any deaths for me.

OK guys, I fold.

I have 80 of 81 Hearts - there's one in Frostblight Mill that I am just unable to get. It's #5 - the one in the sky where you have to cross the flipping platforms. I simply cannot execute the necessary wall jumps at the end bit.

Besides, I cannot beat Dark Yabu. Well, I could, but I am unwilling to put more frustrating hours in than what I already have.....at least for now. Gotta be the hardest boss I've ever fought.

I think it's odd that there are 81 total Hearts. I think there were originally two additional worlds which were cut out - ten Hearts in one, nine in another would be an even hundred, which would make more sense. In fact, I remember seeing some screenshots somewhere that aren't in the game...in one, Vexx was riding some kind of animal. Oh well.

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Originally Posted by BioMechanic

OK guys, I fold.
I think it's odd that there are 81 total Hearts. I think there were originally two additional worlds which were cut out - ten Hearts in one, nine in another would be an even hundred, which would make more sense. In fact, I remember seeing some screenshots somewhere that aren't in the game...in one, Vexx was riding some kind of animal. Oh well.

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Yes, when Acclaim announced that Vexx was being delayed, they also said they were cutting the number of levels and making them better. (Turok Evolution was criticized for too many levels, but lacking polish.) I don't know if that's the explanation for 81 hearts, but it's nine squared -- is there some significance to the number nine in Vexx? Maybe nine hearts over nine levels or something?

BTW, I bought Vexx for $19 recently for NGC, just haven't played it much. Seems decent enough.

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Originally Posted by RoleTroll

Yes, when Acclaim announced that Vexx was being delayed, they also said they were cutting the number of levels and making them better. (Turok Evolution was criticized for too many levels, but lacking polish.) I don't know if that's the explanation for 81 hearts, but it's nine squared -- is there some significance to the number nine in Vexx? Maybe nine hearts over nine levels or something?

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OK, cool. Quality over quantity is always better, and who knows, more levels may have hurt the game's flow......although Tempest Peak Manor sticks out like a sore thumb.

I'm not aware of any significance of the number 9 - some levels have ten hearts, some nine, a couple have eight. However, there are nine levels in the game (with the final boss being the tenth), so maybe that's the reason....

Hope you like the game! I paid $30 for the XB version, and definitely got my money's worth.

I have been both enthralled and frustrated with this game, I bought it thanks to you guy's suggestion.

Pros:

Excellent platforming, great music, some very innovative levels, nice in-depth combat, no added "abilities" needed

Cons:

Semi-Terrible camera (sometimes it works great others it works against you), a couple of crappily designed levels, several "very very very frustrating hearts :D "

Currently I am at 80 Hearts, and I really dont feel like picking it up again, as like others here Yabu has made me spend more time than I intended and I feel like I have accomplished enough, maybe someday I'll pick it up again.

Since this thread is kind of all over the place, I'll derail it a little. For all you platforming junkies, which is better: Voodoo Vince, Vexx, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, or Rayman 3? I've finished all the better platformers and I'm looking for something new. Thanks.

Hey Bio, I know which heart you're talking about and it was crazy hard. My hands were sweating to make it. As for Yabu I'm starting to get the hang of him I figure one more playing session and I should have him beat. If I can just get away from Viewtiful Joe long enough. I can't say I have as many hearts, I think I'm missing like 6 or something, they are all pretty obvious though.

D

Well if they did indeed cut levels from Vexx it boggles my mind why they kept the Manor level in then, its so out of place. Oh well.

Tyler (trash ape), I would have to say either go with Vexx or Voodoo Vince, both are excellent. Rayman 3 is behind them, its good but lacks some things. Its has plenty of great moments, but too much of it felt thrown in. And its not all that much of a leap over Rayman 2.

Got Vexx, got 16 hearts and have no motivation to continue at all.

With the way the extra lives are completely useless, taking away all my collected stuff when I get a heart, the limited control of the camera, the way one missed jump can set you back to the beginning of a level, the lack of story, the lack of an overall goal for each level, fighting the same two enemy types on every single level, and a bunch of other minor issues this game dares me to play it. I didn't even mention the horrible character designs.

It's better than Blinx though. I'll probably get two more hearts to open up the next level, but if things don't pick up there I'll probably just give up on it and replay some game that has actual replay value. The first level was really good for the most part, but the two that followed were kind of meh and that manor one... please tell me that the bottom of the barrel here.

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Originally Posted by Ammadeau

Got Vexx, got 16 hearts and have no motivation to continue at all.

With the way the extra lives are completely useless, taking away all my collected stuff when I get a heart, the limited control of the camera, the way one missed jump can set you back to the beginning of a level, the lack of story, the lack of an overall goal for each level, fighting the same two enemy types on every single level, and a bunch of other minor issues this game dares me to play it. I didn't even mention the horrible character designs.

It's better than Blinx though. I'll probably get two more hearts to open up the next level, but if things don't pick up there I'll probably just give up on it and replay some game that has actual replay value. The first level was really good for the most part, but the two that followed were kind of meh and that manor one... please tell me that the bottom of the barrel here.

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Sorry to hear that, Amm. I was surprised you gave it a shot because it's kinda obvious you don't like Acclaim much. ;)

It takes away your collected stuff so you can't clear the entire level in one run, I guess - weird, I know, but I think it's designed to be approached one heart at a time. BTW the manor level is the poorest in the game, and feels very out of place. I think the next one you open is The Below, which is much better.

It's not a flawless game by any stretch, and it's quite derivative in many respects, but personally I found getting the Hearts rewarding and challenging enough try and get them all. I could look past the technical issues (which never go away) and unusual design elements and just enjoy the challenge.

And yes, Vexx is ugly as sin.