For:PCYear:2010
Genre:Puzzle/Platformer
Developer:Terry CavanaghForewordFirst of all, this my first review,(yes, the very first one in my life)so please be kind enough to point out mistakes and give suggestions. Thank you.IntroductionVVVVVV starts with a short cut-scene of a small team of space-farers in a ship, but suddenly the emergency alarm goes of. Having no other choice, the captain and crew uses a teleporter to escape. After a blinding flash the crew teleports to a safe location. The captain, happy to have survived, turns around inquire his crew, only find they're not there. Alone and confused, you take the role of Captain Viridian in a quest to find the other 5 members of your crew and escape from this mad dimension, Dimension VVVVVV.Gameplay
The first thing you'll notice about VVVVVV is that its somewhat unique platformer, no jumping, no climbing. Instead you're armed with the ability to flip the gravity in the dimension,like in the the NES Title- Metal Storm. That is, by pushing the appropriate button(default: Space) Capt.Viridian goes upside down and stands on the ceiling, press the button again and vice versa. Puzzles can be addictive, repetitive and sometimes hair-puzzlingly hard. Even though there are 'enemies' like floating orbs, Capt.Viridian prefers the peaceful outcome by avoiding them than destroying them.
Don't touch the floating blue boxes, you'll die.VVVVVV uses a checkpoint system which lets you continue from the checkpoint if you die. As a matter of fact, if it weren't for these 'checkpoints' and infinite lives this game would be downright frustrating than enjoyable. This games tests your patience through trial an error than test your brain with mind boggling puzzles.
In this puzzle, Capt.Viridian(smiling blue sprite on right side)can cross this puzzle by flipping and moving left at the same time while avoiding the spikes and the vertically patrolling ghost Graphics
Graphics in this game is downright nostalgic, paying homage to games like Dangerous Dave and other retro- PC/Console titles, though in somewhat higher resolutions. Along with the retro graphics we all love comes an annoying colour scheme which keeps flashing(right from the menus), but don't worry, they can be turned off in the options menu.Sound
There are little SFX in this game, however the music in this game are top-notch chip-tunes...some which would give you headaches with long times of exposure.Score
Presentation: 7/10 - Menus are pretty no-nonsense but the options menu could do better.
Gameplay: 8/10 - If it wasn't for the checkpoint system I had mentioned earlier, I would've given it a 4.
Graphics: 6/10 - Not what you would expect from a game released in 2010, but for a one man show, this game does pretty well.
Sound: 7/10 - Like I said, there isn't much SFX but the soundtrack is somewhat addictive.
Lasting Appeal: 8/10 - After a few hours, don't be surprised to find yourself humming the tunes of VVVVVV or believing you can walk on the ceiling.
Total Score:36/50 - Overall, it doesn't hurt to get this game and play for a few minutes, only to find you've played for an hour. Sources: IGN, Wikipedia