Vigilante 8: Arcade - Review

Added November 13th, 2008 by Brittany Vincent

Titles that feature vehicular combat have very rapidly become a thing of the past. While the errant Twisted Metal title is released here and there, the genre seems to have died out over the years in favor of more realistic or arcade incarnations. However, Activision (with the help of Isopod Labs) has revived a forgotten classic franchise on the Xbox Live Arcade. That title is Vigilante 8. For 800 Microsoft Points, you can once again experience the thrill of destruction.

As a spinoff of Interstate '76, Vigilante 8 took what Twisted Metal popularized and improved upon it in many ways. The premise is simple: take control of one of a variety of generic cars, stock up on outlandish weaponry, and doggedly attempt to eliminate the competition. Simply put, it's a demolition derby. The game features four single-player modes and four multiplayer modes. For the most part, the objective is simple: push through by defeating three rival drivers, and then a boss.

The game presents players with a choice of nine characters (one to be unlocked upon completion of the game), split into the Vigilantes and the Coyotes. Each character is saddled with their own ride, ranging from prison buses to souped-up station wagons. While the character you choose has no real bearing on how you will perform, it is important to note that obviously, the bigger the car is, the more difficult it will be to handle.

Among the arenas available are the typical environments you'd expect from such a game -- open farmland, oil fields, and even Hoover Dam. Each contains a fair amount of destructible variants, such as pipes and small buildings. Causing damage to the area also does damage to your car and driver, so it's good to watch out and keep a steady hand when driving. However, aesthetics aside, there is a glaring problem that renders the game unpalatable at times—becoming stuck in the environments. Running up on an enemy car with the game's poor collision detection could cost you a victory as both cars struggle to retain control but remain fixed in position.

Of course, those cars would be useless without the weapons scattered amongst the game's five arenas. Starting off, players are given only a machine gun that can fire off an unlimited amount of shots, but is highly ineffective. Up for grabs in the playable arenas are a variety of destructive tools: missiles, rockets, mortar, mines, and a "special" weapon that differs according to which car you are using. Equipping said weapons is as easy as driving over them. Rockets and missiles produce satisfying explosions, but never feel that they are truly making a dent in opponents' health gauges. However, routine pick-ups of power-up items and efficient usage of ammo will ensure victory if you can acquire  an important weapon before an enemy does. This can be somewhat frustrating in later levels, when the AI is fairly ruthless. Being unable to grab the right bonuses can hinder your success, so speed and accuracy is imperative when facing up against the bosses and opponents in later levels.

Although it may sound like a suitable diversion for a few afternoons, the game’s quest mode (really, all of its subsequent modes) is unquestionably shallow. There are no real incentives to replay save for upgrading your car or earning points and achievements. The only valid reason to continue playing is for the game’s surprisingly lag-free online play, which unfortunately suffers from the same issues that plagues the quest mode. However, for old time’s sake it can be gratifying to compete with buddies online rather than against an outdated AI on the PlayStation.

If you've played through the original Vigilante 8, the controls should feel familiar as they've been relatively unchanged. A simple push in one direction will propel you faster than expected, which can admittedly make navigating the maps a chore. It's just a bit awkward, more so than in most titles that involve any form of driving, but it's manageable. However, tightening and revamping of controls that are a decade old would have been much appreciated, as it should not have taken much effort.

Graphics have been given a fresh, current-gen coat of paint. Even so, they’re nothing to write home about; environments are painfully bland and cars show little detail or charm. There’s much more to blow up this time around. While anti-aliasing gives the game a much cleaner look, the lack of different maps trumps how smooth it actually is. Seeing the same places over and over sets the game back so far that it might as well have used the jagged, dated PlayStation graphics.

As if horrific physics weren't enough, players are also treated to awful looping music that seems to have borrowed heavily from the original Vigilante 8’s sequel. There is no Media Center support, which would have been a logical addition seeing as the original Vigilante 8 allowed players to disc-swap the game with a CD of their choice.

Vigilante 8: Arcade sets out to be an exercise in updated, nostalgic goodness, but ends up falling short. While it can be fun for an hour or so to play through a few matches, smash up some cars, and laugh maniacally as you pelt opponents with missiles, it becomes old. There's no real redeeming replay value. While the graphics have been updated, they still feel stale compared to what the 360 is capable of, and the music leaves much to be desired. Bottom line: if you don’t have access to the original game, you have a spare ten bucks, and a few friends yearning for the past, pick this up. Otherwise, there are better games to purchase – ones that don't sour your memories of the past.