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Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense
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Graphics & Sound:
Today's games are almost all pretty good with their 3D environments. You have several environments to choose from going for desert to snow covered mountains. (Hint: snow=sliding=harder to control vehicle). Some of the vehicles can be a little blocky and pixelly up close. The explosions are downright blockish up close. Typical 3D sound effects for this type of game, nothing special to write home about. One good selling point is that you can choose what music you are going to listen to during play. You have 15 different tracks to choose from that have a distinctive 70's R&B soul flavor. Only bad thing is that while you are driving around blowing your enemies up, you tend not to notice the music.
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Gameplay:
Fasten your seatbelt friend for a ride with attitude, with bite, and with firepower. In Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense, your main objective is, and I quote, 'If it drives by, blow it up!' If that was all the game was. it would still be a lot of fun, but there is more. In Quest Mode, you not only have to defend your vehicle (18 to choose from) on various terrain (8 destructible arenas) from various enemies gunning for you, you also have certain objectives to fulfill (just staying alive kept me plenty busy). An example of a primary objective might be find and collect certain objects, deliver them to a certain location, drop them off and then you can start blowing up the other cars. In Arcade mode, you select an arena and the number of opponents and if you are left standing after destroying all of them, you win. If I may give you a piece of advice in regards to vehicle selection: One little motorcycle is not much of a match for a large bus. Just a hint - for free this time. :-) Survival mode is very similar to Arcade mode, with a specific difference. In this mode, you will be faced with unlimited wave of enemies around four at a time. Versus mode is a two player mode where you can battle it out with another opponent. No enemy vehicles, but if your pal is a good driver and knows how to aim, he is enemy enough. Cooperative mode allows two players to team up with one another against a group of enemy vehicles. Beware, if you or your buddy is destroyed, the game is over for both of you. Quest mode in two player mode allows player one to assume the role of the primary character while player two is a buddy from the same team. BOTH PLAYERS must remain alive!
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Difficulty:
Difficulty changes depending on the vehicle your driving, which is quite understandable. If you happen to choose the huge bus, be aware that it is not going to turn as easily as the motorcycle. If you choose the motorcycle, you might have better turning ability, but you're more vulnerable than the bus. Driving is harder in snow than it is in the swamp, so keep a look out for add-ons like hoverpads, hydrofloaters, or skis.
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Game Mechanics:
Sometimes it's fun to play a game that doesn't require much thinking and will allow you to vent some of that bottled up tension in our lives. For just plain fun, Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense delivers wonderfully. Also try to remember while playing, cars don't float without a hydrofloater.
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-Wickserv, GameVortex Communications AKA Eric Wickwire |
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