003 Vindicators

Hey, it's Jon. Time for a retro game review.

This week I picked a game called "Vindicators" from 1988. This one appeared on many computer formats and game systems, but I played the arcade version found on the Midway Arcade Treasures disc for the PS2.

According to the title screen, the time is... the future and you control a little tank in this top-down up-scrolling shooter.

The graphics are pretty 80s, which I can live with, but the sound is especially uninteresting. About the only sort of cool sound is the robotic voice that counts down until you're dead.

The control is standard tank steering -- you know, the individual left and right treads of the vehicle that you must coordinate in unison. Sometimes, especially when you get turned around, it gets confusing and you find yourself helplessly treading back and forth on the battlefield like an idiot. Couple that with having a separate set of controls to control the spin of the turret and you often find yourself as a sitting target.

I can't complain about the controls though. It's really more of a fun-challenging sort of hard instead of a suicidal/frustrating sort of hard. And just moving the tank itself is pretty fun in itself... sort of like driving a stick shift I guess.

Quibbles aside, after getting used to it, this game became damn addictive. When 2 a.m. rolled around I realized I was no longer playing it for this stupid review. I'm so glad my PS2 came with unlimited quarters.

A really nice touch, especially for an old game like this, is enemies falling victims to friendly fire. I loved charging through their ranks and watching them blow each other to smithereens in the crossfire.

If you can believe this, there's a certain point where you can play to win a Vindicators t-shirt. I wanted it so bad, but I just couldn't pass that part. Turns out the t-shirt deal was only effective until October 1st 1988. I guess there's always eBay.

Til, next week, bye!