Cgrundertow Escapevektor - Chapter 1 for nintendo wii video game review

Well, weíre really stuck in it now. Of course, when you cover Nintendo platforms for a living, you get used to it. It comes to every console, this thick and suffocating nothingness that so abruptly surroundsóand for some definesóan otherwise excellent system. The GameCube suffered it in 2005. It hit the Nintendo 64 years earlier, and again this year, another console has succumbed to the great and terrible Nintendo Drought. As you might have noticed from the Wii games weíve been reviewing this year, it can make business unbearably slow. But every once in a while, something breaks through. Something you didnít expect. Something that offers a refreshing little burst of rain to a parched gaming landscape. Something like this. Its significance may be a bit inflated due to the circumstances, but even in the Wiiís glory days, this wouldíve been a noteworthy game. In 2011, itís one of the consoleís very best releases. Itís escapeVektor: Chapter 1. The surprise of escapeVektor is multifaceted. First, you canít buy this one in stores. escapeVektor is a WiiWare exclusive, which prompted some here at the underwater base to ask, ìSo they still make WiiWare games?î But whatís more surprising than its format are its components. Even in an age when retro has become a new trend, Iíve never seen a game that does quite what this one does. escapeVektor isnít just notable because itís a good Wii game in 2011óand a WiiWare game, no lessóbut also because itís a good game, period. Arcade fiends have probably deduced this by now, but escapeVektor is a unique combination of classic retro concepts. It merges the space-claiming gameplay of a game like Qix with the frantic pursuits characteristic of Pac-Man, resulting in a new experience that pays homage to not only its two primary components, but classic gaming in general. escapeVektor tells the tale of Vektor, a hero who is trying to escape. Trapped inside a strange computer, Vektor is forced to navigate complex mazes of gadgets and circuitry, desperately trying to escape this surreal digital realm. Like fellow WiiWare standouts the BIT.TRIP games, escapeVektor presents a simple focus on old-school gameplay and wraps it up with gorgeous minimalist presentation. The simplicity of the graphics creates the perfect vibe for escapeVektor, and thereís even a sense of foreboding as you try to escape the your artificial incarcerator. Of course, to do so, youíll have to do a lot of running. Vektor travels on lines, and you have to guide him through these mazes while highlighting every line. You can fight back by blowing up completed squares, but the primary goal is to reach the exit that appears once youíve successfully filled in the maze. Like the arcade classics itís based on, escapeVektor is easy to play but very hard to master...and almost impossible to put down. The design is elegant and smart, giving you multiple exits to find, high scores to beat and even badges to earn...as if the core gameplay wasnít enough to get you hooked. escapeVektor isnít the first WiiWare game the team at Nnooo has done. They also developed the WiiWare launch title Pop, which had loads of style...but not quite the same amount of substance. With this, theyíve evened the levels. escapeVektor is a standout not only for WiiWare, but for the Wii in general. And in a drought season for Nintendo, it gives us the perfect chance to run in the digital rain.