Sonic Gems Collection -- Vectorman.

Vectorman was created by Blue Sky Software and published on the Genesis by SEGA in 1995. The game came out towards the end of the console's life span. The game used the same advanced computer modeling techniques as Nintendo's Donkey Kong Country. In Vectorman you play as an orbot who is a sanitation worker that pilots a sludge barge transporting toxic waste to the sun for disposal. Humans have vacated the Earth and have left behind the orbots to clean up the planet for their eventual return. The lead orbot becomes self-aware and arms himself with a nuclear warhead. He sets about controlling the robots to facilitate his plans of destroying the returning humans and insuring his continued ruling of the planet. Because Vectorman was near the sun when the control orders went out he wasn't effected. When he returns to Earth, he takes it upon himself to make things right. That's where you come in. Vectorman can run, and jump, and shoot. That's pretty much it. In fact you just have the analog stick for the character's movement, and the A button to fire, and the X button to jump. You move through the levels with simple run and gun platform gameplay. You can duck while shooting, or fire diagonally, or straight up. You can also fire down and down diagonally while jumping. The game uses a point multiplier system. You kill enemies and glowing orbs shoot out. Collecting them gives you points. There are monitors around the levels. Destroying these will releases more orbs, new weapons, or point multipliers. The game gives you bonuses for points collected. The bosses in the game are easily some of the weirdest things you'll ever face outside a Treasure made game. In fact, that's what it seems like Blue Sky Software was going for. Let's be as weird as Treasure! One boss for example has Vectorman crawling on a giant bamboo window shade as it's unrolling, while having to blast and avoid two giant metal hands that are trying to smash you. Um, what? Yeah, exactly. Pretty much every boss after the first one is going for a WTF moment. The game, having come at the end of the Genesis' life span, is as pretty as it gets for the system. There are some great effects on display throughout the entire game. Musically, the game sounds great. The Genesis could really wail, for those who knew how to make it so. A fitting rock soundtrack for shooting action. The control is dead on. The emulation here is perfect. The emulation allows for you to save your game. It will record what level you're on, allowing to you start and stop. Something not allowed in the Genesis original. Also, the emulation allows for quick saving. Actual save states. So you can save right before a boss, die and reload, appearing right before the boss again. It will allow you to blow right through the game. It might be for the best, as the bosses can be near frustration levels. I don't know what I would have made of the game in 1995 having to truly earn the ending, but here on the Gamecube, I enjoyed my romp through the decidedly weird Vectorman.  

Next time will focus on Vectorman 2, and the final opinion on Sonic Gems Collection.