Vigilante 8 Arcade Pc

A new coat of paint can't save this busted and broken remake.

By Austin Light on

In the late 1990s, vehicular combat games were all the rage. For those unfamiliar with the subgenre, vehicular combat games stuck you on a map with floating weapon pick-ups and challenged you to destroy the other players. Thus, they were just like modern shooters--except with all the maneuverability of a dump truck. Among the few games to rival the king, Twisted Metal, was Vigilante 8. While the idea of remaking this classic 1970s-themed car combat game with shinier graphics and online play sounds great, the gameplay--as well as the subgenre as a whole--doesn't hold up well today.

There isn't much story in Vigilante 8, and what is there is shown in a block of text full of goofy '70s slang before you enter each level. All you need to know is that the Coyotes are the bad guys and the Vigilantes are the good guys. The retro theme permeates the menus and character designs, but it doesn't spread into the actual game outside of a few special moves or quips from the drivers.

Gameplay involves driving one of several decked out vehicles--ranging from a prison bus to a small hatchback--around largely destructible levels. Each vehicle is equipped with a machine gun, and has three slots open for other weapons that can be picked up around the map. Weapons include missiles, cannons, mortars, mines, and rockets, plus character-specific special moves. Each weapon can be charged for a more powerful shot, but taking the time to charge a weapon isn't always useful, especially when dealing with enemies armed with the overpowered mortars.

The single-player mode lets you play through a quest with any car, set up a quick match, or just drive around a level to familiarize yourself with its layout. The Quest mode is three short levels of death matches featuring no more than four cars. You can play through it multiple times with different cars to unlock extra vehicles and upgrades, but the mode gets tiresome quickly because it just isn't much fun. Bugs and glitches are everywhere. Your car will constantly get stuck in the destructible scenery or, worse yet, in or on another car; moving around tall structures or coming down hills will send the camera into freak-out mode as it gives you the worst possible view of your car; the unwieldy physics engine will have your car spiraling through the air like a falling leaf; getting knocked back by explosions can send your car into a death spin full of glitches; and going up the smallest of ramps can flip your car over to leave you stranded like a turtle on its back. Nostalgia might give you enough fuel to get through a few matches, but it's only a matter of time before these issues make you question your fond memories.

The biggest draw for this remake is the ability to play online. The prospect of playing an eight-player death match sounds like fun, but corralling that many people to play along is a challenge. If you can find enough players online, you'll find that the lag-free matches offer a lot more fun than the single-player matches against the AI. In a throwback to the good old days--before fancy online capable systems--the game lets you play local matches via four-player split-screen. There's some fun to be had, but the gameplay still feels busted.

Adding to the frustrations of the buggy gameplay are some awful controls. Most of the cars are sluggish and floaty, which makes it feel like they're driving on tread-less tires. The smaller cars offer more maneuverability, but they are still subject to the wonky physics. The lack of an easy emergency brake to perform quick 180s leaves you doing three-point turns while your opponents pelt you with missiles. If you're playing in a full game of eight players, things can get really hectic and you'll often spend more time tumbling through the air than on your wheels.

The best thing about this package is the visuals, which have seen a modest upgrade from the PlayStation original. Smoother edges, more destructible environments, and cleaner textures all make this game look much better than it did in 1998. The environments are faithfully recreated, and many of them are spruced up with more explosive objects. There are only a handful of maps to choose from, however, so it doesn't take long for the action to get repetitive. The sound upgrades don't fare as well as the visuals. Repetitive, generic music loops endlessly in the background during battles, while many of the weapon effects sound weak and underpowered.

At 800 Microsoft Points, even if this game wasn't riddled with bugs, the shallow single-player experience makes it a tough sell. Vigilante 8 just couldn't stand the test of time, and while it might look a lot better than you remember, it plays worse.

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Vigilante 8: Arcade is a vehicular combat video game developed by Isopod Labs and published by Activision. It was announced February 14, 2008 and released on November 5, 2008 for Xbox Live Arcade on the Xbox 360. Isopod Labs was formed by three former members of Luxoflux, developer of the original Vigilante 8 series. A remake of Vigilante 8 with some elements of the sequel also included, Vigilante 8: Arcade features online play for up to eight players.

V8 Arcade received mixed reviews. Reviewers were divided; multiple reviewers felt the game was a good fit for Xbox Live, with one reviewer calling it 'a glorious throwback to a simpler age in gaming.' Others praised the game's online multiplayer component and the game's salvage upgrade system. Some reviewers, however, felt that the vehicle physics were poor.

• 2Synopsis

Gameplay[edit]

Vigilante 8: Arcade is a vehicular combat game in which vehicles are outfitted with weaponry to combat opponents. Each vehicle is equipped with machine guns and one special attack that is unique to that vehicle.^[1] Weapon powerups are littered throughout each map and can range from heat seeking missiles to mines. Each can be fired in a total of four ways, the weapon's standard operation and via three specialized, more powerful attacks unique to that weapon. The game uses a salvage point upgrade system similar to Vigilante 8: Second Offense, meaning that vehicles can be upgraded by picking up salvage point icons dropped by enemies.^[2]

V8 Arcade features four single player game modes. In Quest mode, players choose a character and play through the game from that character's perspective, learning about the character's background as the game progresses.^[1] In Quick Battle players are given and random vehicle to combat against random enemies until the player is either dead or victorious.^[1] Custom Battle is similar, but allows the players to choose both the characters and the arena to play in.^[1] Free Wheelin' is a mode with no AI that allows the players to drive around the environment, searching for secrets and learning the layout.^[1] Multiplayer can be played with up to four players via splitscreen, Xbox Live or in any combination of the two. It features two modes, Deathmatch, which pits all players against each other, and Team Co-Op, where all human players work together against AI opponents.^[1]

The game includes five levels, each inspired by original Vigilante 8 and Vigilante 8: Second Offense levels, but with modified layouts.^[1] Some of the game's levels are inspired by multiple levels from the previous games, melded together to create a new environment.^[1] Two additional levels are available via downloadable content. The first, Stunt Track, is a circular track that has ramps, loops and other daredevil-esque hazards. The second, Garage, is an oversized level set in a giant garage, making vehicles the size of an RC car.^[3]

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Synopsis[edit]

V8 Arcade is built around an alternate history, in which there was a serious worldwide oil crisis in the 1970s. The United States was on the verge of economic breakdown, with crime, strikes and riots rampant.^[1] All available law enforcement were called to the major cities, which left the countryside and outlands vulnerable. A foreign multinational oil consortium, Oil Monopoly Alliance Regime (OMAR), sought to monopolize the world oil trade. OMAR hired professional terrorist Sid Burn to wreak havoc and destroy the US economy.^[1] Sid organized a group of terrorists to help him with his task. Calling themselves the Coyotes, they began to destroy oil refineries, commercial installations and other vital industries throughout the southwestern United States. With law enforcement all in the cities, civilians began to take the law into their own hands. A trucker known as Convoy organized a group to fight against the Coyotes, taking the name of the Vigilantes.^[1] As conditions continued to deteriorate the US government focused all its research and development to that of new military arsenal. The most advanced weaponry, based on alien technology, was located at Site-4, a secret facility at Papoose Lake. Word of the facility was leaked to Sid, and the Coyotes ambushed Site-4. As Sid and his gang packed up the weaponry the Vigilantes unexpectedly arrived to stop them. As a result, both parties found themselves in possession of the world's most advanced weaponry.^[1]

Characters[edit]

Eight characters are available at the start of the game, similar to the original Vigilante 8, each with five different colors to choose from.^[1] There is also one unlockable character, and downloadable content featuring more characters.^[1][3] Once a character has completed the story mode, the original Vigilante 8 vehicle model from the PlayStation game will be unlocked, playable in all game modes.

^a Unlockable character
^b Downloadable character^[3]

Development and marketing[edit]

Vigilante 8 Arcade was announced on February 14, 2008.^{[4][citation needed]} The game's developer, Isopod Labs, consists of three key individuals responsible for much of the production of the original Vigilante 8.^{[citation needed]} The studio consisted of just six individuals and a small number of art contractors, and the title's development was self-funded.^{[citation needed]} Isopod Labs originally looked to a June 2008 release;^[5] however, the game was not originally submitted for Xbox Live certification until August 12, 2008.^[6] Testers found issues on Microsoft's end in relation to the QNet code library.^{[citation needed]} The issue was resolved by both parties and the game was sent back to Microsoft for resubmission.^[7] 'We certainly wish it was a quicker process,' said Isopod Labs, 'but this is how the cookie crumbles — not much else to do, but wait.'^{[citation needed]} In a post-release interview with Joystiq Isopod Labs' Adrian Stephens added 'The certification issue is a tricky one and more could be done to smooth the path towards certification.'^[8]Vigilante 8 Arcade passed Microsoft's Xbox Live certification on September 24, 2008,^[9] and was released November 5, 2008.^{[citation needed]}

Although the cars are mostly based on the original Vigilante 8, the soundtrack is a remixed version of the music from Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense. V8 Arcade supports the Xbox Live Vision camera, allowing players to see their opponents face to face.^{[citation needed]} Developers Isopod Labs also converted the original cars from Vigilante 8 as unlockable bonus content.^{[citation needed]} J3Concepts also created a custom theme for the original blades Xbox 360 dashboard.^{[citation needed]} A downloadable content addon known as the High Octane pack was released on Xbox Live marketplace on December 3, 2008. It features three new characters and two new levels.^{[citation needed]}

Reception[edit]

Vigilante 8 Arcade received 'mixed' reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[10]

Reviewers generally remarked on the game's multiplayer as its strong point. Official Xbox Magazine UK reviewer Ryan King called V8 Arcade 'a glorious throwback to a simpler age in gaming.'^[16] He further applauded the game's online multiplayer, stating that it was some of the best that Xbox Live Arcade has to offer players.^[16] Cheat Code Central's Jason Lauritzen felt the game was nostalgic.^[18] Nate Ahearn of IGN welcomed the game's salvage gameplay mechanic while also praising the online multiplayer.^[2]Official Xbox Magazine's Mitch Dyer also commented on the strong multiplayer, and added positive remarks on the amount of weaponry and number of firing modes per weapon.^[15]TeamXbox's Tom Price noted the game's 'big levels, tons of weapon pickups, and crazy opponents' calling them 'simple and effective.'^[17] Reviewer Andrew Hayward of 1UP.com stated the game's predecessors 'built a solid foundation for taking the series online' adding that the game as fun when 'pounding mortar shots and missiles at some unfortunate foe from afar.'^[11]

Critics were disappointed in the poor controls, gameplay glitches, and game camera issues. OXM's Dyer commented that the game had 'crummy controls' and a poor camera.^[15] Reviewer Austin Light of GameSpot also cited poor controls, physics, and gameplay glitches.^[14]Eurogamer's Dan Whitehead felt the controls were weak in comparison to the original Vigilante 8.^[12] He further felt the game did not meet up to its potential.^[12]1UP.com's Hayward further agreed with Whitehead, stating 'sadly [..] most of Vigilante 8: Arcade's issues are technical in nature.'^[11]

Vigilante 8 Arcade sold over 60,000 copies as of June 2010, and contrary to critical review scores the game averaged nearly a 4 out of 5 score at Xbox.com based on over six thousand, four hundred votes by the Xbox Live community.^[19] Though reviews of the game had been mixed, some reviewers cited its relatively inexpensive 800 Microsoft Point cost as a selling point.^[2][12]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^{abcdefghijklmn}Isopod Labs (November 5, 2008). Vigilante 8 Arcade. Activision.
2. ^ ^abcdAhearn, Nate (November 5, 2008). 'Vigilante 8: Arcade Review'. IGN. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
3. ^ ^abcBrudvig, Erik (December 4, 2008). 'More Arenas for Vigilante 8'. IGN. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
4. ^Sinclair, Brendan (February 15, 2008). 'Vigilante 8 taking aim at Xbox Live'. GameSpot. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
5. ^McElroy, Justin (May 5, 2008). 'Vigilante 8 Arcade devs shoot for June, will include DLC'. Engadget (Joystiq). Retrieved May 9, 2017.
6. ^Houghton, Stuart (August 12, 2008). 'Vigilante 8 Arcade Finally Submitted To XBLA'. Kotaku. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
7. ^Houghton, Stuart (September 10, 2008). 'Vigilante 8 Skids Off Road'. Kotaku. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
8. ^Dobson, Jason (November 7, 2008). 'Joystiq interview: Hitting the open road with Vigilante 8 dev Isopod Labs'. Engadget (Joystiq). Retrieved May 9, 2017.
9. ^McElroy, Justin (September 24, 2008). 'Vigilante 8 finally approved by Microsoft for XBLA'. Engadget (Joystiq). Retrieved May 9, 2017.
10. ^ ^ab'Vigilante 8: Arcade for Xbox 360 Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
11. ^ ^abc[1]
12. ^ ^abcdWhitehead, Dan (November 15, 2008). 'Vigilante 8 Arcade'. Eurogamer. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
13. ^Ramsey, Andrew (November 12, 2008). 'Vigilante 8: Arcade Review'. GamePro Arcade. Archived from the original on January 17, 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
14. ^ ^abLight, Austin (November 10, 2008). 'Vigilante 8: Arcade Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
15. ^ ^abcDyer, Mitch (November 5, 2008). 'Vigilante 8 Arcade'. Official Xbox Magazine. Archived from the original on November 8, 2008. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
16. ^ ^abcKing, Ryan (November 6, 2008). 'Live Arcade Review: Vigilante 8: Arcade'. Official Xbox Magazine UK. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
17. ^ ^abPrice, Tom (November 5, 2008). 'Vigilante 8: Arcade Review (Xbox 360)'. TeamXbox. Archived from the original on July 20, 2013. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
18. ^Lauritzen, Jason (November 5, 2008). 'Vigilante 8: Arcade Review'. Cheat Code Central. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
19. ^'Vigilante 8 Arcade'. Xbox.com. Retrieved May 10, 2017.

External links[edit]

• Vigilante 8 Arcade at MobyGames