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Sep 27th, 2009 at 16:36:02 - Vertical Force (VB) |
Usually, at the start of each level power-ups show up on the screen for limited amounts of time. Power-ups are important to the player because they offer features, such as: better weapons. One problem that I keep having in Vertical Force is that the power-ups look very similar to small enemy spaceships. Consequently, I sometimes collide with an enemy spacecraft with the false understanding it was a power-up. Upon closer examination, the two sprites are very different but the frantic space and high density of moving objects on the screen often times forces the player to make split-second decisions. On a side-note: it’s a very good idea to grab all the power-ups at the start of each stage as they are not offered once further in.
I have also noticed the game offers no incentives for destroying enemy spacecraft, aside from point gains. For this reason, I usually defensively navigate around hostiles and wait for them to veer off the edge of the screen and disappear. Avoiding engagements with enemy spacecraft increases the chances of a retaining life bars and weapon upgrades (weapons get downgraded when the player gets hit) which is important when it comes to fighting the boss(s) at the end of the stage. The bosses are tough to beat and I want to have as much health available as possible when I face them.
It is also somewhat disappointing that Vertical Force offers no “health packs”. The only time health points are restored is when the player dies and starts again at the last stage, the last checkpoint. As far as I know, there is no way to save the last checkpoint to persistent memory. This means that when I power-off the VB, all of my progress will be lost.
Time played: 15 min
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Sep 27th, 2009 at 15:28:11 - Vertical Force (VB) |
After several attempts, I now know how to kill the bosses effectively. The strategy is to aim at the boss’s guns and not the body.
As far as I can tell, Vertical Force projects 4 layers. The two foreground layers can be manipulated by the player; the two background layers are game managed and usually display a moving starfield and/or something that resembles space debris.
After completing “Stage 1”, the 3D stereoscopic capabilities of the VB began to stand out. Players must traverse a multi-layer map level by toggling between the two altitudes modes (low and high). Although changing altitudes was possible in Stage 1, the technique must be properly applied to survive in Stage 2. The multi-layer space battlefield is a really neat concept and I do not believe it could be sensibly implemented on a 2D display.
I initially had issues playing the game because things look fuzzy and out-of-focus. Normally, when I look at a 2D display, everything is always in focus (such as a TV or computer screen). With the VB, however, the eyes must focus on one of the 4 layers. At first, this paradigm change was not will received by my eyes and made it confusing. I just had to accept that that background layers won’t always be sharp, especially when I am focusing on something at the foreground layer. I think my eyes are starting to “understand” how to interpret the VB display.
Time played: 10 + 15 min
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Sep 27th, 2009 at 11:29:05 - Vertical Force (VB) |
When first starting-up the VB unit, the screen flickers horizontally and really confuses my eyes. Best not to look into the device for the first few seconds.
For the first 10 minutes I messed around in level 1, evading the enemy spaceships. However, I couldn’t figure out how to kill the enemy. I consulted the settings menu and I was presented with two sets of button configurations (A / B). I opted to keep the default (A), but I still didn’t not see any reference to the “fire” control. I was beginning to wonder if my assumption was even correct, but what good is a spaceship without guns?
Finally, a breakthrough! I discovered the two button *underneath* the VB controller, which in Vertical Force provide fire control. Both buttons underneath the controller appear to be wired to do the same thing – fire – the rate of depresses does not affect the rate of fire unfortunately.
After about 20 minutes, my left thumb began to get sore. The left 4-way pad is a little awkwardly positioned and I suspect the controller was designed for people with hands, ie. kids.
Time Played: 10 min + 10 min (2 min break in-between)
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WickedGamer has been with GameLog for 14 years, 6 months, and 23 days |
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