The desire for freedom is common in stories in which control and oppression are law. In Vector, you play as a man in an Orwellian dystopia, no longer able to bend to the will of his masters. He casts aside his mind-control device, and apparently his shirt, and leaps from his skyscraper prison, sprinting across rooftops toward the distant horizon.
Vector is a celebration of artistic freestyle running, where you are awarded for pulling off parkour tricks such as barrel-rolling over edges or spinning through the air over office desks. This free-running platformer relies on expert timing to vault over--or slide under--obstacles, leap into the air, and wall jump, all the while being chased by a hunter displaying similar athletic prowess. The characters are stark black silhouettes that stand out cleanly against the gorgeously rendered urban backgrounds.
Vector's protagonist and his pursuer are beautifully animated and demonstrate realistic grace as they nimbly vault over objects. The goal of the game is to navigate each stage to a safe zone, before your pursuer catches up. The game is brimming with exciting moments. Your pursuer creates an inherent and constant sense of danger as you move through a stage. Leaping off high-rises into the air as doves dart out of your way like in a scene from a John Woo film, all to the rhythm of a pulse-pounding soundtrack, is an adrenaline-charged thrill.
The game is short, and can be completed in around three hours. However, there are plenty of reasons to jump back into Vector. Levels generally take only minutes to finish, making quick visits to nab stars during breaks appealing. Collecting stars unlocks difficult bonus missions that test your parkour skills to the limit. To progress through the stages, you need to collect stars to unlock two of the game's main sections. The number of stars necessary to unlock these areas is high, meaning you need to purchase many tricks and master multiple stages just to proceed. In time, earning the necessary stars to increase currency and purchase moves becomes a slow grind. Mistakes get frustrating, and the game soon has you pounding away at the restart key, sometimes even moments after starting a stage. But when everything goes right, Vector is a fast-paced joyride that earns your attention.
