Vector Thrust

Fans of combat flight sims are sure to know the big names like the Ace Combat series and Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X., but the cool little indie title Vector Thrust might not have shown up on the radar when it made its debut on Early Access a while back. Then, about a month ago, it came soaring onto Steam, even landing in retail outlets around the world.

Aerial combat writ large

Vector Thrust carries an impressive payload of content; fans of modern jet fighters in particular will be doing barrel rolls with joy – there are at least 45 aircraft types (“families”), with 200+ individual models. Of course, not all of them are available from the start, but will have to be unlocked. No less impressive is the large selection of gameplay modes, both single-player and multiplayer. On top of that, there’s a level editor, allowing amateur level designers access to what can easily become a continuous supply of new missions, limited only by their creativity and willpower. So Vector Thrust definitely has what it takes to become a fan favorite among combat flight simulators, provided it manages to build up an active and dedicated fan community

Campaign mode feels kind of weak at times, with its dry mission briefings and lack of depth, but some of the missions are really interesting, and worth checking out. If you’re just looking for a chance engagement, the “Quick Game” option is at your service. Another mode features historic as well as fictional combat scenarios, and then there are also Skirmishes, which allow you to generate missions using a very specific range of options.

Perhaps the most enjoyable part of the game is challenge mode, featuring over 180 individual challenges, which can take a long time to complete in its entirety. Oh yeah, this is also where you can unlock new aircraft, and rack up a lot of the 129 total Steam achievements available. And of course, I can’t talk about how fun the game is without mentioning the wide range of multiplayer options, including Classic Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Last Man Standing, and Last Team Standing. Unfortunately, at least when I played the game, the lobbies were mostly empty, so I can’t really give Vector Thrust an especially high multiplayer rating.

Fire at will!

While the scope of Vector Thrust is truly impressive, unfortunately I can’t say the same for the gameplay. The developers decided to do away with cumbersome launch and landing sequences; instead, each mission begins with the aircraft already in the air. And instead of a detailed cockpit view with all the instruments and displays, the interior view is rather simplistic – though of course there’s a decent third-person exterior view as well. The optional HUD camera doesn’t make much of a difference in terms of gameplay – it’s pretty much just there because it looks cool. Players are mostly going to be concerned with maintaining the direction and velocity of the aircraft, firing primary and secondary weapons, evading missiles, and veering left and right, all while while paying special attention to important displays like the radar and symbols marking enemy fighters.

In theory, the controls in Vector Thrust appear to be relatively intuitive, with just a few rather straightforward functions performed using the mouse and keyboard, or controller. In practice, however, it becomes apparent that there are some major issues with the controls that make them anything but easy and intuitive, and even after you get used to them, they’re still pretty hard to get over. Going against various movable targets in the air or on the ground can often get pretty tedious, as even for an arcade title the enemies move in strange patterns and take erratic paths. Flying missions quickly starts to feel like a job, and a frustrating one at that, and only rarely are they much fun.

Seemingly straightforward engagements drag out for entirely too long, sometimes for several minutes. But this is mostly because even when you lock onto a target, the missile will only hit the mark if you’re right behind the enemy and he doesn’t pull any daredevil stunts. It doesn’t necessarily always play out this way, but the exception proves the rule. So it goes without saying that Vector Thrust is a game that requires a good deal of patience. But if you’re able to get past some of the more frustrating stuff, you can actually have a lot of fun up there among the clouds. Since they make it anything but easy to score a kill, actually shooting down the enemy is a much greater achievement than it would be in other games – and there aren’t any difficulty settings, either.

Nice-Looking Models

Vector Thrust uses cel-shading graphics, and while the various aircraft all look really good, I can’t really say the same for the environments. The closer you get to the ground, the more apparent it gets that a lot of the textures are murky and otherwise just ugly; though from higher altitudes things look considerably better. Explosions and other effects are pretty solid, too. Voiceovers – mostly mission briefings and radio chatter – are pretty good; they’re available in English only, though some of the text is available in other languages. The music is also pretty decent. Unfortunately, the weapons effects vary widely in terms of quality; secondary weapons, in particular, can sound pretty mediocre.