Strike Vector EX review: Explosive aerial combat

In 2014 we were introduced to Strike Vector for the PC. It revolutionized the genre of aerial combat and introduced a lot of brand new ideas. Now, it is two years later and we officially have Ragequit Corporation’s hit PC title on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox one under the new title of Strike Vector EX.

Arial dog fighting hasn’t been present in the gaming scene for quite some time and Strike Vector EX sets the bar extremely high for future aerial combat titles for consoles. The game simply looks stunning and seeing dogfights come to life is exhilarating. The game gives players a good sense of speed as they fly through the sky, and weapons feel heavy and devastating. The voice acting in Strike Vector EX ranges from bad to OK, with none of the cast giving off a memorable part in any scene. The music, on the other hand, does a great job at creating excitement. The hard rock rifts the dominate the soundtrack combine perfectly with the speed and explosions sound effects.

The console version has a whole a story mode, which is a new addition to the game, but the lackluster characters and forgettable narrative makes the campaign a hollow experience. While relatively dull compared to other modes in the game, the single-player campaign does a good job introducing player to the basic gameplay mechanics. Another single-player mode is Skirmish mode, where you are pitted against AI vectors, with the actual objective depending on the map you choose to play in. The AI combatants are rather tame and you’ll find yourself annihilating them left and right with ease. There is also no difficulty scaling to speak of, so the solo experience becomes rather boring.

Multiplayer is the main highlight of the game, and it is when you are going up against other players that Strike Vector EX becomes exhilarating. You can play with up to 12 people at a time and matches get intense with the sound of explosions envelops you as enemy players are flying around the map at Mach speeds. All the modes from the PC version are here, including the standard Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Domination. Bounty Hunter stands out from the rest, as it tried to add something new by letting players accumulate cash for every kill they make. Kill a player, and you steal their cash and gain a higher wanted level – the game even marks the leading player on the screen, making them real easy to find. It’s not revolutionary, but it’s fun nevertheless. What makes the game’s mutliplayer so good aren’t the modes themselves, but the way to play them.

Dog fights are a mixture of flying at jet speeds that can let you outrun or surprise your opponents by flying straight for their blind spot, and hovering as a helicopter. You may outfit your vector to suit your play style and the choices of armaments, though lacking at times, have enough to make the gameplay feel different as you cycle through weapons. Soaring through the skies at such high speeds while gunning down enemy combatants in the first-person comes naturally in Strike Vector EX, as you control your vector like in any traditional shooter. You can also switch between jet and hovercraft the press of a single button. The intuitive controls helps the player focus on the sheer thrill of boosting through pipes and thin openings, and completely immerse themselves in the sense of danger and excitement.

Overall, Strike Vector EX does a great job at immersing the player in aerial combat as they soar through the skies. There are a lot of games that don’t usually port well from PC to consoles (and vice versa), but Strike Vector Ex manages it gracefully. Although there is a solo experience in game, the dull AI makes it a rather tiresome experience. Just like the PC version, however, Strike Vector EX is best played where it shines the brightest – in glorious, faster-then-life online multiplayer.