Metacritic Games

Vexx (Xbox)

On the forsaken remains of what was once the proud planet called Astara, the villagers of Rockhaven lead difficult but peaceful lives, until the day the Shadowraith, "Dark Yabu," and his minions swept down from the sky. With terrible ferocity and ruthless efficiency they descended upon the townsfolk, enslaving them to work deep in the caves that surrounded their village. Dark Yabu murdered the grandfather of the young VEXX, who managed to slip quietly aboard the enemy's windship. There, locked deep within Yabu's sanctum, was the last pair of Astani Battlegauntlets, which leapt from their chest onto VEXX's outstretched hands, and bonded to his arms and giving him special powers. [Acclaim]

Acclaim
Action, Adventure, Platform
Players: 1
T (Teen)
Developer: Acclaim Studios Austin
Released February 4, 2003

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

70 / 100

Critic Reviews

90 Play Magazine
Crafted by hard-core gamers - its strong point in terms of sheer satisfaction - and it shows. [Mar 2003, p.56]
83 GameZone
It is a shame that a little more time didn't go into trying to make the game unique.
82 Armchair Empire
But its biggest flaw is the same as many 3D platformer games that are released today: there's nothing new or innovative in Vexx to make it stand out over many similar type of games.
80 Maxim Online
Vexx is a curiously grim exercise featuring gargantuan free-form levels fraught with danger and a surprisingly combat-heavy fighting system of combos, uppercuts, and vicious slashes.
80 Game Informer
If you tire of extensive tutorials or games that hold your hand until the end, look no further. [Mar 2003, p.87]
79 Official Xbox Magazine
The controls are spot on and the levels offer a lot of variety with tons of entertaining objectives, making this a solid overall game. [Apr 2003, p.77]
76 IGN
It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it doesn't blow out the tire either.
74 Gamers' Temple
Whether or not you'll enjoy the experience will depend on your patience level with the game's control and camera.
70 Yahoo! Games
There are bosses with personality and the fighting is pointlessly gratifying enough to distract for long periods of time, but those hungry for some kind of innovation might be left a little cold here.
70 GamerWeb Xbox
Adding some variety would have been nice. As it is, what puzzles are in the game are average, and running around collecting things gets rather tiring after a few levels.
70 Electric Playground
It is the desire to see the other environments, rather than the story, that will motivate you to continue playing. It presents almost every type of platform gameplay that you've ever seen, but there's nothing new or remarkable about it.
70 TotalGames.net
Does little to break the classic platform mould but those of you who enjoy these types of games should find enough in it to provide some enjoyment.
70 GamePro
There’s nothing really new here, save for some neat time-based puzzles, [but] the game is far more engaging than you’d figure from first glance.
69 GameSpy
It's not terrible, but it's not terribly good, either. It's just good enough (and just bad enough) to qualify as neither; The game is perfectly balanced in a state of Swiss-like neutrality.
69 Game Over Online
Nothing more than your run-of-the-mill platformer. Though the level design and beautiful visuals are something to admire, the audio, plot and general lack of originality leaves something to be desired.
67 Gaming Age
While Vexx builds adequately on the 3-D trail blazed by Super Mario 64, there are others who have taken the next few steps.
63 GameSpot
Vexx does little more than imitate, which just isn't enough these days.
60 Cheat Code Central
Vexx isn't anything you haven't seen or played before countless times and sticks to the conventions of the genre to the point of frustration.
60 G4 TV
Platform fans of yore will definitely want to play this one, but gamers looking for something new or original will be disappointed.
50 Xbox Nation Magazine
For all the back story given, the story should be a bit more compelling but isn't. [Apr 2003, p.91]
50 GMR Magazine
It's vexing to play a meticulously crafted and pretty 3D platformer when it's devoid of fun. [Apr 2003, p.71]

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