Originally published August 30, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
Scott Watson reviews Strike Vector EX…
Oh this is glorious… this is war, this is balls to the wall air combat dog-fighting, this is a first person shooter strapped into mech-inspired craft. This is the free-flying combat joy of Strike Vector EX and I love it!
For a long time I’ve been crying out for a dog-fighting game akin to the halcyon days of Wing Commander and in more recent times the likes of Freelancer (even then that is 13 years old now). Ragequit Foundation has answered the console call and re-built their multiplayer PC shooter from the ground up and it is glorious.
Although the PC version has been out for well over two years, Ragequit Foundation have taken the core of that fast and furious title, added a single player experience and some offline skirmish modes and given it a fresh lick of paint to bring it to console to great effect.
The single player mode, although basically a wrapper to let you get to grips with the game, is a strong enough distraction to get you acquainted with the controls and get a feel for the weapons and specialisations you can customise your ship with. It’s testament to the quality of the game’s controls that it doesn’t take long before you’re swooping around in your ship, spinning on the spot, dropping in and out of boosting to zero in on your enemies and take them out. It feels even more of a rush when you play the game in first person view as opposed to the third person default outside the ship.
There’s a nice balance to the weapons that should suit everyone’s play styles, from up close and personal shotguns to spray and pray gatling guns (my personal favourite), to long range sniper and carabine heavy duty explosive rounds. Not only that, but depending on your preferred style, the specialisations allow you to create a secondary that compliments your play. I always like tank builds, so my current setup of gatling gun, mixed with a heady burst of tesla coil and heavy armour give me enough to throw my weight around from far enough away before getting in to finish off groups with a pulse of the tesla. It’s such a satisfying feeling as you zip around, taking each enemy down.
Mixing it up in multi-player dogfights is pretty great, but Ragequit have made sure to include 6 different game types that ensure it should never get too boring. From standard deathmatch and team deathmatch to demolition where each team has a base to defend, to my personal favourite; bounty hunter, the arenas take you to massive floating structures in the atmosphere that you find yourself spinning in, out, up, down and through or out into space as a battle rages around a spinning station. Sometimes the game goes so fast you don’t actually get a chance to enjoy the surroundings and appreciate the work gone in to make the levels such a joy to play.
Yep, it’s responsive, it’s exciting, it’s quite the roller-coaster ride and that is only with the AI bots for company. With human opposition coming into play when the game releases on August 30 I think you’ll see a whole other side and level to this game.
As it is, for only £11.99 (even cheaper for PS Plus members), there really is no excuse not to own this gem of a shooter.
Strike Vector EX is available from the PlayStation and Xbox store now.
Rating: 9/10
Scott Watson
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