VORTEX
THE FX ROBOT BATTLE
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ヴォルテックス ザ・FXロボットバトル
©1994 Argonaut Software Ltd.
©1994 Electro Brain Corp.
©1994 Pack-In-Video Co.,Ltd.
Release: 1994-12-09 (¥9800)
Cartridge SHVC-4V
Shooter / 3D
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Released in America as VORTEX
( SNS-4V-USA )
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Released in Europe as
VORTEX
( SNSP-4V-XXX )
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Vortex is a polygon 3D space shooter by Argonaut Software,
and is probably the least known of the Super FX games
(see Star Fox for more information about the enhancement
chip). A race of evil aliens has captured the core that holds the very peace
of the universe together, and its shattered pieces have now been scattered across
the universe. The goal of the game is to retrieve them all, and to save the universe.
The player takes control of the Battle Morphing System, an advanced transformable
vehicle. The first and default fighting mode is a humanoid Walker armed with
multi-rockets, missiles and lasers. The vehicle is more suited for ground missions
(such as planet surfaces), can jump in the air, collect items but is rather weak and
slow in the void of space. The second mode is the Sonic Jet aircraft, which
is the fastest, heavily armed but hard to maneuver (it can't stop!). Finally, the
Land Burner is a strong wheeled vehicle which is very fast on land and can
perform long jumps. Although a fourth form called the Hard Shell is
available, it is an exclusively defensive mode with an impenetrable shield
(doesn't take any damage) and equipped with only one weapon, the Electro Bomb. Vortex
consists of seven levels (as well as three training missions), and features a password
system to save the player's progress.
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See Star Fox (Sfc) for more information about the Super
FX Chip.
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S
E
C
R
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T
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Special Passwords:
The following passwords activate various effects, and these
effects can be accumulated:
Invincibility - HVZSM
Infinite Ammunition - WSVTQ
Infinite Lives - JTTSJ
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Level select:
Enter CTGXF as a password, then start a new game. When the parts of the core
appear and rotate on the screen (right after starting the game),
press up or down to select a different level.
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LK
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Add your Pov here !
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P
O
V
s
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Vortex does remind me of Star Fox, but it just doesn't achieve the same
level of greatness and quality. Granted, the transformable robot and the polygonal
3D both look excellent (especially for a 16bit machine with an enhanced chip!). The game
is also more complex than Star Fox and controls take time to learn. No, the
real problem lies in the painful slowness of some situations. When things get
really busy on screen, the game loses control over the frame rate and the animation
becomes really choppy, making the robot really hard to maneuver. I feel that
Argonaut Software tried to push the hardware too much with Vortex.
The game's story is also a bit weak and I would have expected something a slightly
smarter than "let's retrieve all the core pieces" kind of deal. But Vortex
can now be purchased for a few bucks, so why not give it a try ? Still, I feel that
Vortex is the kind of game that can only be entertaining to play when bored,
I myself like to activate the invincibility code
and just blitz through the levels...
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