Though the title that this game takes its inspiration from is obviously Twisted Metal. So begins V8: Second Offense. Most are recognizable as an icon but there are certain mystery ones that appear as a question mark (they’re usually great, so go get them!). This game plays with driving mechanics similar to Driver or Burnout. Unfortunately, most of the storyline is too threaded between the multiple characters to make much sense (and the text is written in Jive, so think of the scene in Airplane minus the subtitles). However, those levels are vast and fully flocked, with all kinds of modern architecture to level. Gameplay is still as good as last year, but some improvements have made the game even more prone to either errors, aggravation, or (most often) both. My issues with the game are few, but certainly not far between. The gameplay will be familiar to anyone that has played any game in this destruction derby mini-genre of gaming. Every weapon has four combo attacks now (up from two), which expands the number of attacks available as weapons take on alternative purposes or powers at the expense of ammo -- a missile can attach to your car and give you a speed burst, a mortar may be boosted to cause an earthquake. Plus in the latter stages of the title, it’s pretty much essential to utilise this. They did a "groovy" job on the terrain and exploring it will keep you occupied as you try to trigger cool events (like your car skiing off a giant jump), look for secret weapons, and find strategic spots. However, the Hoverpod and Hydrofloater, which enable your car to fly and swim (respectively), are tough to control, and their skewed sense of balance means that targets are nearly impossible to aim for. Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense is a vehicular combat game developed by Luxoflux and published by Activision for PlayStation, Dreamcast and Nintendo 64.
If you’ve ever gone skiing you’ll appreciate the ski resort as you’re slipping and sliding while keeping the enemy in your line of site. V8: Second Offense also has a much better assortment of stages to fight in this year.
If you want to butt heads against some flesh and bone however, there is a VS. mode where you can battle it out with the screen split vertically or horizontally. Though in practice, these mechanics go from sort of useful to absolutely unworkable.
Effects are pushed to the maximum, with gentle waves lapping the shores of beaches, sharks and ghosts prowling their respective turfs, rough seas tossing your skiboat vehicle, lights with sharp lens flares (the sun has its own heliosphere effect), and working gondolas, trucks, trains, boats, ect. Other rounds, like the first game, are simply all about dropping buildings on opponents.
Eighteen cars are in this year, up from 12 last time, but there are only 12 levels (two less than last year). PS. A genre that would gain a lot of traction in this time period through its library of manic and frantic gameplay. Recommends. Many stages contain hidden and yet natural additions that affect gameplay, such as the bobsled run and ski jump that you can compete in on the ski resort area, or the rocket silo that sends cars spiraling into space on the NASA stage. Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense became the next game in this time period to offer players this mayhem and carnage for their home system. Personally, I spent the good part of 15 empty minutes searching an area for the right ski resort to deliver collected bags of loot to, and yet the bags never unloaded no matter what building I came to. It is obvious they put a lot of time and effort into making each terrain unique and as detailed as possible and I’m glad to say the work paid off. They can stall without your knowing what's going on. Vehicles feel like they're driving from the wheels, like they really are gripping the road with all of their weight and balance. This is a terrific game that deserves a rental and possibly a buy if you’re the type who enjoys watching things blow up. This year's collection of cars improves much over last year's solid line-up, with more oddities such as the tipsy Dakota Stunt Cycle (yes, a motorbike in a car combat game) and the Moon Trekker (which has an independent suspension system that feels like the car is steering from its center). TM brought the goods; now it's V8's turn to prove its metal. Gamers who are tiring of their Twisted Metal 2 game can swing over to the new kid in town: Vigilante 8: Second Offense, the sequel to Vigilante 8 and a game that reminded me of the PC hit Interstate ’76. The N64 and Dreamcast versions, while not perfect either, are so superior graphically that I must suggest you look at those copies first if you have one of those systems -- they're well worth the extra money. This titles aesthetic is quite unique due to its simple but effective back story. There are 10 new levels in Second Offense that are located all round the country, not just the Southwest. The resolution has been bumped up some, and textures are more detailed (but many textures in the first game were more contrasted and crisp). Luxoflux and Activision are pushing the PlayStation as hard as possible, and at times it just can't keep up.