Vector Thrust is the name of a new fast-paced aerial combat action-arcade flight simulator which features a ton of gamemodes including a 13 missions story-based campaign, a battle scenario mode, customisable skirmish matches with AI, special time challenges and of course multiplayer. If this all is too complicated for you, simply hit quick Action and you can dive straight into the action. Even an Editor is available for you but more of that later..
The game just finished beta and early access state and got officially released last month on Steam. The devs of TimeSymmetry and Iceberg Interactive did a great job to get “that feeling” when chasing enemy jets miles high in the sky, even with it’s cel shaded art style which always reminds me of Borderlands or the Telltale Games.
As of now there are currently 45 different planes (~270 playable variations), which are partly taken from reallife models and partly imaginatively created. Nevertheless they look pretty cool and with the different customizing and modding options everyone will find and be able to create their personal favourite.
The Campaign
The game features a 13 missions campaign and is quite long for its genre. Prepare yourself for Air to air, air to ground combat as well as formation flying and AI interaction. You will recieve all your objectives over the radio so better listen carefully because otherwise you’ll need to figure it out yourself. 😉 However the level of difficulty is quite hard and the AI surprisingly intelligent with positioning on your 6 within a blink if you don’t pay attention for example. There is no option to change the difficulty for now. Thats why it needs some practice of course although there always needs to be a little bit of a challenge, right. But with it’s simplified arcade-based-like controls and full controller support it works out great though. Furthermore every plane acts a little bit different and thats why it never gets boring.
Multiplayer
The multiplayer, probably the most important part of a game in todays times. Vector Thrust currently features the basic gamemodes Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, “Last one Standing” and “Last Team Standing” together with a level system. Sadly I couldn’t test the mutliplayer myself but its always fun to compete to real people online.
Editor
For me the maybe most interesting part, as the editor allows you to change and import new things in the game, edit already existing missions, create skins yourself and building epic scenarios. With this freedom of doing whatever you want the editor is alot of fun and the replay value is quite high.
Overall
The game is still not perfect and there are different things that may need to be improved but the devs definitvely trying to take this to perfection. Alot fans complained about a missing cockpit view for example and with the time this is getting redone for every single plane now.
Vector Thrust brings a challenging, feature-filled and action-oriented approach to the combat flight simulator and offers missions that are never played the same way twice.. So if you for example liked Ace Combat for PS2 back in the days, this is for you! In the end Vector Thrust will not just only please newcomers but also veterans with its unique style, possibilities and tons of achievments.
positiv:
– good AI
– alot jets and variety
– alot of achievments (128)
– regular updates and caring devs
– modding support
negativ:
– very loud and “ear-hurting” radio
– music is permanently playing and not stepping down intelligently
– missiles are next to useless sometimes
Get it on Steam for $24.99 / 22,99€
http://store.steampowered.com/app/242130/