Overall Rating

Vexx - story1Platforms to hop, hearts to collect, channels to swim, hints to decipher, bosses to battle, and a murder to avenge. Huh? Just what's going on here? It might sound a little unorthodox for a genre traditionally populated by plucky plumbers, jaunty hedgehogs, and the like, but it's all platform behind its vengeful eyes. In this week's "Extended Play" we get our artificial claws on "Vexx," finally released after having been in development since the last century.
Wallopalooza
Even before its release, "Vexx" was drawing a lot of attention for its supposed similarities to platforming mainstays such as "Super Mario 64" and "Super Mario Sunshine." Aesthetic differences aside, in some ways it's redolent of the excellent Mario games. Each of the nine worlds in "Vexx" is accessed through doors that lead out from a primary hub, and all save the first require a specific cover charge of beating hearts to enter. You acquire these cardiac coins of the realm by collecting heart shards, and you earn heart shards by completing missions or beating up some bosses.
Our grudge-bearing hero can make claw attacks, run, combo-jump, scale walls, dangle from ledges, swim, and even take to the skies. The only thing he can't beat up is the in-game camera, which is mostly reliable but could do with a kick when it's in tight quarters.

Vexx - story2Appetite for destruction

The hero of "Vexx" has a chip on his shoulder the size of the national debt. The evil ShadowWraith murdered his grandfather, and Vexx is fixin' to strap on his razored gauntlets and cause a little retributive death of his own. It's a platformer in the hallowed and classic sense, but it's a violent one. Vexx's physical might and fighting prowess increase as he progresses through the game. His vicious slashes and uppercuts make for a nonstop, wham-bam style of midair pummeling that some fighting-game fans know as juggling. Vexx can work out his rage on 26 types of enemies, in environments ranging from natural outdoor locales to a chain of floating islands that look like something off the cover of a cheesy rock album.
In a big country
Players who were wowed by the worlds in "Super Mario 64" will have a happy surprise waiting for them in "Vexx." The themed worlds in Vexx are disarmingly large. The levels are based on the premise that "if you can see it, you can get to it." This, of course, is one of the things that made "Super Mario 64" so enchanting. You can kiss your map goodbye, but the worlds of "Vexx" are so distinct, players who tend to navigate by their guts have only to look around and reorient themselves before proceeding.
Exit light, enter night
As Vexx's world cycles from day to night, the creatures and challenges take on a darker aspect. In a platforming world that's already pretty dark to begin with, that's saying something. As darkness falls, the foes around you become stronger, more aggressive, and nastier. Ditto for the landscape. It's a neat trick rooted in games such as "Silent Hill" and "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time." However, it has never been combined with such ferocious, kinetic gameplay as you'll find in "Vexx."
A sense of familiar country
It's worth repeating that there's almost nothing in "Vexx" that's all that new, but it doesn't matter. All the classic mechanics that make the traditional platform package enjoyable are here, and they're sealed with a fast and pleasingly free-roaming experience that can make you forget the occasional camera difficulties. Platform fans of yore will definitely want to play this one, but gamers looking for something new or original will be disappointed.