Popular games for platform Vectrex
The very first racing game with the rear perspective camera and track based on real life.
The player controls an aircraft, referred to in the game as a "Jet," and has to guide it across a scrolling terrain, battling obstacles along the way. The ship is armed with a forward-firing weapon and bombs; each weapon has its own button. The player must avoid colliding with the terrain and other enemies, while simultaneously maintaining its limited fuel supply which diminishes over time. More fuel can be acquired by destroying fuel tanks in the game. The game is divided into six sections, each with a different style of terrain and different obstacles. There is no intermission between each section; the game simply scrolls into the new terrain. Points are awarded based upon the number of seconds of being alive, and on destroying enemies and fuel tanks. In the final section, the player must destroy a "base". Once this has been accomplished, a flag denoting a completed mission is posted at the bottom right of the screen. The game then continues by returning to the first section once more, with a slight increase in difficulty.
The player controls a jeep and must destroy the many tanks and helicopters that attack them in a maze-like cityscape. The jeep is armed with a rocket launcher that fires straight forward; the player can have two rockets on-screen at the time. The driving is generally similar to the well-known Combat for the Atari 2600. Tanks periodically spawn from different locations on the edge of the screen and drive towards the player. The tanks always travel along horizontal or vertical lines, unlike the freely moving jeep. Tank turrets move to track the player, allowing them to shoot in any direction. Tanks normally take two hits to kill, and the player can have only two rockets on the screen at a time. The helicopter spawns from any point, and approaches the player in looping paths flying over the jeep and periodically firing. If hit, the helicopter spirals in.
Sports game Diving competition
Gravitar was a vector graphic arcade game that took some of the elements of Asteroids (the controls and free flight abilities of the player's['] ship[s]) but made them more restrictive by placing players inside a series of planets. Players had to skim surfaces of the planets and destroy all the bunkers therein, as well as beam up fuel cells to maintain their fuel level(s) and avoiding or destroying saucers that would also appear. The game did not do very well commercially and would only be ported to the Atari 2600 a few years later (although it has reappeared on some modern day compilations since). Gravitrex is a clone of Gravitar, although with many differences, such as the addition of humans dotting the planetary landscapes that have to be rescued, and the Gravitrex Plus cart also includes two bonus games and other features as well. All games are for one player only. Gameplay: The player controls a fighter ship that begins each game in a solar system. There is a sun in the middle and several planets to choose from to enter so the player can start their mission. If the player takes too long with choosing a planet, a pair of space saucers will emerge from the reactor planet and will engage the player in a dogfight if they get close enough (although the player can just elude them by entering a planet). If the player’s ship gets destroyed or the player shoots both saucers then the player will return to the main solar system screen. Once the player enters a planet by thrusting into it, they must destroy every enemy bunker on the surface and dispose of every fuel tank and human. Humans and fuel tanks can be shot (although the player will not receive any points for doing so), but a bonus is given if all humans are rescued on a level (see Scoring and Extras sections), plus fuel tanks are needed to keep up the player’s fuel level (which is indicated by a line right next to the score at the top left of the screen). Humans and fuel tanks can be teleported into the player’s ship by maneuvering their ship close and activating the teleporter/shields function. Once all bunkers have been destroyed and all humans and fuel tanks have been disposed of, a sound effect will signal that the mission is complete, and upon leaving the planet, it will self-destruct and the player will be given a bonus for that planet. The exception to this rule is the lone reactor planet on each level, which has only one target – a reactor – deep inside it. This planet is different than all the others, as the player is given 99 time units to make their way through a brief maze, shoot the reactor, and get out before time runs out or else the player’s ship will be destroyed and the reactor will remain intact. If the player does not destroy this planet last in a level then it clears out the space saucers for the remainder of the level, since this is the planet that they emerge from. Dangers include the player’s ship crashing if it runs out of fuel, plus the ship will be destroyed if shot by a bunker, space saucer or alien air interceptor (which are similar to space saucers but they appear inside a planet), if they crash into a wall, the sun, space saucer or alien air interceptor, or do not leave the reactor planet before their time runs out. If the player runs out of reserve ships then the game will end. The player’s fuel, however, is replenished mostly from a fuel tank and is fully replaced upon destroying a planet, finishing a level, or with each new ship. The player’s teleporter function also doubles as a shield to protect them from enemy fire. Also, if the player defeats all planets in a level, then that level’s sun will go nova, various bonuses are then awarded (see Extras section), and if the player defeats the third level the game will end, giving a congratulations message as well as sharing some trivia about Gravitrex from the game’s programmer John Dondzila on the screen.
Minigolf
You control the movements of the passenger in the lead car as he plummets down the spectacularly steep hills and careens around the gravity-defying curves of the Crazy Coaster. Will you be able to keep his arms raised throughout the ride without sending him flying off into space?
The player controls a gun turret on a watchtower in the Robot Drop Zone. Robots circle the tower and shoot seekers at the player in an attempt to deplete their damage gauge. Both the robots and the seekers must be destroyed, but ammo is not infinite and must be used with care. When the player's ammo is completely spent, it's only a matter of time before game over. In a phase where a certain number of robots must be destroyed, the player is just a sitting duck; however, in a survival phase, it is possible to advance to the next stage if the player has enough health, then they can can wait out the time limit.
The player controls a submarine in hostile waters and must rescue the survivors of a mission which ended in disaster. Enemy submarines surround and will fire upon the player's ship if it enters sonar range. Each enemy submarine can fire up to five torpedoes; however, if it is destroyed before it uses all of their torpedoes, the remainder will be added to the player's arsenal. Other obstacles which must be avoided are mines, ice chunks and turbulent underwater whirlwinds. Once the survivors are located, it is necessary to dock with their pod, which the player has to approach with accuracy and care. A new mission will begin with a successful rescue.
Weave your way through the other race cars and toward the checkered flag!
The evil Spud has taken Spike's girl, Molly, and Spike must make his way through various levels on platforms and ladders to rescue Molly. You must move the ladder from platform to platform and jump gaps to retrieve the key that will set Molly free from her cage. But be careful, Spud has evil bounces and birds he has sent out after you! You can defend yourself by kicking right or left. You can play either one player or two player mode where each player takes a turn with a single joystick controller. Who will save the fair Molly first and win her affection?
Sleep. Eat. Swim. Repeat. Mr. Beluga is tired of the same daily routine and longs for something more. He looks forward to bedtime when he can close his eyes and dream of what he wants to do most of all: flying.
Unlike the previous Vecmania, which comprised seven full games and two demos, the majority of Vectopia is composed of unfinished demos and only three full games. In order to cycle through the games, once the menu screen appears after power-up, the player must press button one on the Vectrex controller, then to play a game they must press button four Games in Vectopia: - Wormhole - Trakkers - Vectropolis 500 (demo) - Spike's Water Balloons - Control Test (demo) - Mad Planetoid Test Wk (demo) - Star Fire Early Work (demo) - Star Fire Early Work II (demo) - Star Fury Test Work - Trivia
Omega Chase (non-deluxe version) is the predecessor to Omega Chase Deluxe and was a download only version of the game. While there are a number of differences between Omega Chase and Omega Chase Deluxe, Omega Chase is included on Omega Chase Deluxe along with the game Zap. The main difference between the two versions of the game is that with Omega Chase, the enemies travel in only one direction around the center of the track, but in Omega Chase Deluxe, the enemies travel from both sides simultaneously. Creator Christopher Tumber felt there was no need to release the original file on cartridge as it was included on the compilation of the game.
Verzerk is a hack of Berzerk, adding speech this time around, with a robotic voice welcoming the player during the attract mode, then states "this is Verzerk". The phrases from the original arcade version of "shoot him", "chicken, fight like a robot", "got you humanoid", etc. are included in this release. The game plays identically to Berzerk though, aside from that and only being for one player.
Catch the falling bombs! (And you thought your job was dangerous!).
A new game for the classic Vectrex console for 2016! Avoid hitting the walls while the difficulty increases, with everyhing moving faster and faster in beat to the pumping soundtrack. Programmed by Andreas Gustafsson, music by Yerzmyey (of AY-Riders), and based off a game concept by Terry Cavanagh. This is the 'unlimited' release of Vectrexagon, which will be made as long as there is demand for the game (meaning it will be made for a long time). Note: Each game comes with a unique number on the inside of the box cover, indicating which manufactured game the purchaser has bought, as the games are made. The number shows how many have sold so far, and which one was purchased.
Rip-Off is a vector shoot 'em up released in arcades by Cinematronics in 1980. It is the first shoot 'em up arcade game to feature cooperative gameplay and the first game to exhibit "flocking" behavior. The objective is to prevent computer-controlled enemies from stealing eight canisters set in the center of the screen. One or two players control tank-like vehicles while game-controlled "pirate" tanks rush onto the field and attempt to drag the canisters off the edge of the screen. Enemies can be defeated by shooting or colliding with them. The game speed and difficulty increase with each successive wave until all the canisters have been taken ("ripped off").
Produced as a promotional item for the Mr. Boston liquor company, Mr. Boston Clean Sweep is an extremely rare game for the Vectrex.
Space Wars is an early vector graphics arcade game. It is based on Spacewar!, a PDP-1 program. It was ported to the Vectrex in 1982. Space Wars was the brainchild of Larry Rosenthal, an MIT graduate who was fascinated with the original Spacewar! and developed his own custom hardware and software so that he could play the game. Cinematronics worked with Rosenthal to produce the Space Wars system. Two players controlled different ships. One button rotated the ship left, another rotated the ship right, one engaged thrust, one fired a shell, and one entered hyperspace (which causes the ship to disappear and reappear elsewhere on the playfield at random). The game offered a number of gameplay options, including the presence or absence of a star in the middle of the playfield (which exerted a positive or negative gravitational pull), whether the edges of the playfield "wrapped around" to their opposite sides, and whether shells bounced. Three other fascinating features were unique to this game. First, the game could not be played in "one player" mode; a human opponent was required. Second, the player's ship could take a glancing hit without dying, but would suffer damage; a cloud of loose ship fragments would break off and float away, after which the ship would be visibly damaged on screen and would turn and accelerate more slowly. Third and most memorable was that the duration of play for any contest was solely governed by the amount of money deposited; each quarter bought a minute and a half of play. A dollar bought six minutes, and for a ten dollar roll of quarters two players could play non-stop for an hour.
As of early 2015, Nebula Commander is still the only real time strategy game for the Vectrex. One or two players must gather up resources and create and launch weapons to destroy the other’s space station while defending their own in turn. Two players can face off with each other or one player can go against the computer.
Blitz! is a simulation of American football. Each player (which the game supports a simultaneous two player mode) controls one member of their team on offense and defense and the basic objective is to move the ball up the field to reach the opposition end zone. This is done using a series of "downs", there being four downs available to move the ball ten yards forward. If a player fails to achieve that then the ball turns over to the opposition offense. The player can also score by opting to attempt to kick the ball between the opponent's goal (called a field goal and worth fewer points than a touchdown).