Strike Vector (2014)

Serving three masters as it does, Strike Vector might not have a whole lot of mass-market appeal, but what it lacks in that field, it more than makes up for by being a gorgeous, intensely competitive experience that matches its aesthetic appeal with pure shooter satisfaction. If you happen to be looking for that, Ragequit's new baby might send you soaring.

I like Strike Vector. I like it a great deal. And I recommend it if any of that stuff sounds like your cup of rocket fuel. I just suspect that I will soon forget it. And that's a true and terrible shame.

Above all else, the game is fun and it has a lot of promising things going for it, but for some reason it seems to have failed in capturing the audience it was looking for.

Strike Vector is a solid shooter that is limited in some respects. The lack of game modes is an issue, but could quickly be overcome with regular updates. The weapon choices may also seem small, but with a decent amount of customising, there is enough there to last. The most pressing issue is the lack of community, with most servers empty at the time of this review. But if the dev can keep the content coming and work out the kinks, this game could really take-off.

Whether or not they follow through with the content remains to be seen at this stage, but Strike Vector's launch is a promising start that deserves a larger player base than it's currently got. Once the initial learning curve is hurdled, this is a pick-up-and-play game of frantic, twitch-based action with a distinctive old-school shooter tucked behind its pretty visuals. Once you're there, this is a fast, unforgiving, graceful and exciting experience.