Acclaim unveils Vexx

Acclaim has finally thrown the veils off its new platform game, which it plans to release for the Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, and Sony PlayStation 2. Originally known as Jinx, the game is now officially titled Vexx after the name of its main character. The game takes place in the fictional world of Astara, where the villagers of Rockhaven led peaceful lives until the day the Shadowraith, Dark Yabu, and his minions swept down from the sky. During the raid, young Vexx's grandfather is killed and he finds himself aboard Yabu's windship. Inside the ship, he stumbles upon the mystical Astani Battlegauntlets, which gives him a wide array of special powers. Armed with his new powers, Vexx embarks on a quest through volcanic islands, desert temples, frozen citadels, and giant's castles to confront Dark Yabu, save his people, and avenge his grandfather.

The game's story mode will feature 18 levels. Players will have to traverse a variety of unique environments, as they will find themselves traveling through caves, deserts, and underwater cities. The worlds in the game are huge, according to Acclaim. For example, players will be able to view each level's distinguishing landmark from anywhere in the world in real-time. The organic nature of the game's environments is accentuated by day/night cycles that use real-time lighting effects. Additionally, the physical look and feel of the game's environments will change as night falls--enemies will be more aggressive at night and the surroundings will become more hostile. Players will also be able to manipulate the time of day using hidden sundials.

In specific gameplay terms, Acclaim promises to include hidden multiplayer games that are unlocked as the player progresses through the single player world. The company is also incorporating an intuitive and responsive control system, which lets players cancel moves midway through and string together moves to create extensive combo attacks.

Vexx is currently on schedule to be released in October 2002. The game is in development for all current console platforms, but the version shown at Acclaim's ongoing Editor's Day was running on the Xbox.