Vigilante 8 is a game I remember fondly from the Playstation era. It's a vehicular combat game in which you collect weapons and power-ups in order to take out your enemies. It was strangely addictive, and the game's fun-factor meant it provided a brilliant multiplayer experience.
I found out about Vigilante 8 Arcade several months ago whilst casually browsing the Xbox Live Arcade. I was skeptical that this version could live up to my fond memories of the game, but after playing it; my opinion is kind of “on the fence”. There's plenty of things about the game that I recognise which brought a smile to my face. Also, everything about the game feels dated, which is really a mixed feeling. It's nostalgic in some sense, but disappointing it doesn't meet today's standards of gaming.
There's several different vehicles to choose from which have varying stats; Acceleration, Speed, Handling, and Strength. Additionally, each car has its own unique special weapon.
There's only a couple of game modes, so you either do the Quest Mode or a one-off custom battle. Either way, you are going to be driving around an arena, picking up multiple weapons, and blasting your foes.
Each vehicle has 3 missions in Quest Mode. The aim of each mission is to destroy the vehicles. The first mission has 2 vehicles, the 2nd has 3, and the 3rd has 4 (initially 3, but then a boss vehicle appears).
You can carry up to three weapons at a time, which are mapped to three of the face buttons on the controller. There's missiles, homing missiles, mortar, mine and special. The power-ups you find are instantly used which include shield, repair kit, and damage multiplier. Additionally, you have a machine gun which barely does any damage.
After many hours of playing, I realised you can charge your attacks. This uses more ammunition but does more damage, or changes the weapons use.
The scenery is destructible which you can take advantage of. Large explosions cause damage to nearby cars, and certain buildings can collapse to transform the landscape and uncover better power-ups (i.e. your special weapon).
The physics are a bit floaty which makes the driving feel slow and cumbersome. Sometimes you easily flip your car which is frustrating. The dramatic physics can contribute to the action too, since you see cars spin and flip when taking damage.
The graphics look very dated, but I seem to remember the Playstation version looked pretty dated back in the day; so it's basically nostalgic.
Overall, I think my recommendation comes down to if you played the original or not. Newcomers will probably find it boring, whereas old fans may be able to relive some of their memories. Your enjoyment will also be enhanced if you find some other friends to play it with, because the game-play really gears towards multiplayer rather than sticking with the AI opponents.