Sunday, November 29, 2015

VVVVVV [Quick] Review

          

VVVVVV is a platformer unlike any other. Instead of jumping, the player has to reverse gravity and do their best to use it to their advantage. The game begins with Captain Viridian and the rest of his crew getting lost in different dimensions. He must travel through many of them to save five crewmates. It won't be easy though - there are traps everywhere. 

There are six stages that can be accessed from the huge hub. Seriously, it's way larger than it needs to be. With the completion of a few levels, you'll end up in intermissions stages. In these ones, you have to get yourself AND a crew member to safety. At first it's not too bad, but it can become quite a chore at times.
          
Along the way, you can pick up objects known as "Trinkets".  There are twenty of them in the game. You can get a trophy for getting them all. There are other trophies you can get as well such as clearing with less deaths... or even without dying at all. There are other bonuses as well, such as the Super-Gravitron, which has Captain Viridian bouncing up and down while dodging the many obstacles that come at him. Unfortunately, I can never last that long.
          
Other modes include Time Trials. I shouldn't have to explain what those are, right? But if you don't know, you have to complete levels in the game with the best time you possibly can. There's also a mode that allows you to replay intermission stages, because you can't access them from the hub. Then there's flip mode, which literally flips the game making the usual up become down and the usual down up. Lastly, there's no death mode. If you can beat it, you're probably Jesus.
          
For a game as good as this is, it doesn't give us much content. Average playtime for one's first time through is about two hours. As a Steam game, it's perfectly reasonable as it's price is only five dollars when it's not on sale. However, the game costs eight dollars on the Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo 3DS when it's not sale. The only new stuff the 3DS version has would be it's use of the touch screen and several user-created levels are included.
          
Having all those levels does not justify the price because you can get the level editor with all of the same user-created levels for FREE. If you feel like this game has inspired you to create something like it, the developers have already generously provided us with the tools. Players can make their own levels and share them.  

          
While the game is short, it definitely leaves us with enough stuff for us to want to come back for more. VVVVVV also has an amazing soundtrack. The 8-bit music is some of the best I have ever heard in any game. Graphically, it looks outdated, but that's because it's one of those "throwback" games. They are perfectly fitting for the kind of game it is, and it all looks good. VVVVVV is one of the best platformers I have ever played. If you have a steam account, you should definitely purchase it. If you want on your Nintendo 3DS, I'd recommend waiting for a sale... or a complete price drop, but that's not as likely. VVVVVV gets a spike out of four.

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