Nowadays when someone mentions a video based around cars, one would automatically think of the racing genre like Need for Speed. But what if I said there was a time when car games were more like Tekken than Gran Turismo? It might sound odd, but from the mid to late 90s we were graced with titles whose sole purpose was to destroy your opponent’s vehicle. No finish line, no time limit, just utter mayhem.
1998 saw the release of a game that left all its predecessors in the dust: Vigilante 8. This one was a personal favourite. Mindless driving and shooting that any eight year old would love, but also boasting better graphics, frame rate and friendlier control than its cousins; Destruction Derby and Twisted Metal. Then, ten years, two console generations and one sequel later, V8 was remade and re-released as Vigilante 8: Arcade for the Xbox 360. Excitement wasn’t the word.Set in 1975 during an international oil crisis, the Oil Monopoly Alliance Regime (OMAR) is attempting to dominate the world by destroying America’s oil reserves in order to bring the country to its knees. The destruction is carried out by the terrorist group The Coyotes, led by Sid Burn. The eponymous Vigilantes, led by Convoy, try to defend a now lawless south-west America from OMAR’s plans.Gameplay is simple, be it Quest, Arcade or Custom mode. You’re given a stage, a car and tonnes of power-ups. On top of your standard machine gun, your car can be outfitted with three more weapons. These include mines, rockets, homing missiles, mortars, autocannons or a special weapon unique to each car. At the expense of more ammunition, each weapon can be fired with increased power by holding the fire button. There are also defensive power-ups such as shields, radar jammers and repairs. From there it’s really just drive, point and shoot.While the story and gameplay remain similar between both games there have been noticeable changes to V8 Arcade. The original V8 had multiple objectives; destroy the opposing team and (depending on your faction) defend or destroy the target structures. V8 Arcade has now simplified this into just eliminating your opponents. It has been further simplified in that there are only eight playable characters in quest mode as opposed to thirteen in the original. Likewise the story now progresses as text between missions rather than cut scenes.There have also been some changes on a technical level. Controls have evolved to suit contemporary shoulder button driving, although there is an option to switch back to the classic button layout. The new physics engine is most definitely the worst aspect of the game. While the original V8’s level of vehicle control was smooth and dynamic, V8 Arcade feels sluggish and heavy. This oversight might have been forgivable if it weren’t for the smallest bumps sending cars to their vertical limits, making them also seem too light to have such poor handling. Graphics have obviously been improved, with some of the vehicles being modified or changed altogether.However, there has been one extremely welcomed change: the Multiplayer. Back in the day the Playstation could normally only handle two player games. Even confined to two people, Vigilante 8 was fantastic in either co-op or versus. V8 Arcade though has upped the ante. Now four people can play locally and up to eight online, making it not only an awesome night-in game and a bargain at four hundred Microsoft points.Vigilante 8 was an unbeatable classic, and while V8 Arcade may not live up to the original it accomplishes what it set out to do: be a fun, nostalgic throwback for sentimental fools such as myself. Factoring that in with the economic cost and the exciting multiplayer I feel this game deserves a handy 7/10. Not quite what it was, but it brought back some good memories and more than worth the price.
