Vector Assault is a twin stick shooter from WizByte that takes a lot of it’s inspiration from titles like Geometry Wars and Asteroids. Both on the gameplay side of things and it’s vector based graphics. Unfortunately it fails to replicate anything that makes those titles the classics they are. The game offers 4 modes of play Arcade, Survival, Time Trial, and Weapon trial and 3 ships to choose from.
The first problem here though is the menu interface is very cumbersome and unintuitive. You have to either use the GamePad or touch screen to make your selections though the gameplay requires use of the analog sticks. Due to the menu design and layout you won’t be sure if you selected the right mode because the game goes back to highlighting Arcade mode even though another mode is selected. Ship selection is also included in this process which just compounds the problem. Ship variety is a nice addition but doesn’t really have that much of an impact on the game even though each ship offers a different default weapon.
All of the game modes will require you to use your twitch gaming skills to survive. The issue here is that if you are fan of, or an experienced schmup player your twitch skills will be far too fast for this game. While the controls are responsive your ship moves way to slow for this type of game (even with power ups). More deaths will come from the fact that your ship doesn’t move fast enough then from the fact that you were not fast enough. And in this genre that is a nail in the proverbial coffin.
Graphically speaking this game screams Geometry Wars in so many ways just without the polish. It uses a very similar bullet wave effect but is missing the fluidity and subtleness from the game that clearly inspired it. In Vector Assault, it’s big, loud and in your face to say “Hey look at this cool effect.” At times there is so much on screen it’s impressive, but due to the over bearing nature of some of the effects and slow ship movement I found my eyes would start to strain instead of being able to enjoy what was happening.
On the enemy design front the game lacks unified style. Your ships and some of the enemies are very angular and harsh, some enemies smooth and round but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Its the mixture of the styles and the introduction of Asteroid space rocks that make it a bad thing. The different styles don not mix well and detract from the experience instead of making it unique. If they just went one way I think it would have fared better.
On a more positive note I did enjoy the music in Vector Assault. It offers up a nice fast-paced electronic beat that is enjoyable and could just be as easily found on you playlist as in some of the bigger twin-stick shooters out there. On the sound effect side of things though every thing sounds light and tiny. There is no real punch or weight given to the sound effects at all and this is definitely felt on the weapons end of thing again detracting from the experience.
The Recommendation
Vector Assualt is not a good twin stick shooter. It just seems to be trying to do too much and be to much at once. Couple that with the slow craft movement and it just ends up not being a fun experience. Twin-stick shooters are games that require quick reflexes and on the fly decision making and Vector Assault falls flat. I say that open and honestly knowing that somebody poured their time and heart into this game. I hope that the developers take notice and pull themselves up don’t give up and do better next time. If they do, know I will be right there to give the same honest feedback again if they let me and I hope they do.