Vectorman and its sequel were among the swansongs for the Sega Genesis. Released about the time that the Sega Saturn and the Sony Playstation were just about to hit the market, 16-bit games were on their way out. While the majority of stuff being put out for the two titans of 16-bit technology was crap, pure and simple, there were a few remaining standouts. Vectorman made sticking with your old system seem look like a good idea...for a while, anyway.
The story - Humanity has fled the earth in the late 2000s, after centuries of pollution have almost destroyed it. They leave behind mechanical "orbots" to clean the planet up and make it suitable for habitation again. Several years into this project, the head orbot goes haywire after a nuclear missle gets grafted to its head. "WarHead" commands the orbots to halt the clean-up project through a planetary television network, and instead begin creating weapons of mass destruction to attack humanity when it eventually returns.
Sure, the story isn't Shakespeare, but then again, what game plotline is? Actually, I think this game was just some developers way of lashing out at television as a medium, since you gain power-ups by blowing up television screens. Of course, in order to actually play this game, one needs a television screen to hook your Genesis/Dreamcast up to. Oh, the irony. (On that note, Vectorman is available on the first Sega Smash Pack for Dreamcast. However, if you have a choice between Genesis and Dreamcast, take the Genesis version, since the Dreamcast one is prone to slowdown and its sounds aren't faithful to the original.)
Vectorman plays similar to all other platform-jumpers. Vectorman isn't one to bounce on characters heads, even though he has a double-jump attack that is almost always lethal if it hits right. Instead, you rely on your trademark hand blaster and various weapon upgrades that you find throughout. Vectorman also has the ability to morph into various things, such as bbombs, drills, missles, dune buggies, trains, "dancing fool", fish and crickets. Certain levels are devoted entirely to special boss battles, such as level 2, where you are a train running on a track in the sky, avoiding laser blasts and trying to shoot down WarHead as he tries to grab you. Most of the time, these morphs are used to help you reach restricted areas, so always be on the lookout for false walls and the like when you transform.
The game also has some fairly impressive sound effects. Explosions are loud, death groans from some robots are crystal clear, and through it all your blaster rings out with its distinctive cough of pure electric death. Too bad Vectorman sounds so strange hear; his voice gets upgraded in part 2, though. The soundtrack is also nothing too memorable. You'll enjoy it while its there, but you won't miss anything without it.
Vectorman never quite got the recognition he deserved. People liked it, and so did critics, but he never caught on like he should have. It's a shame he never got a true 32-bit or 128-bit conversion from Sega, since his games could go toe-to-toe with Sonic anyday. Vectorman is a relic of the days of gaming's 16-bit Golden Age, and is worth picking up and playing anytime.
