I never completely operated a Vectrex and honestly I had a fun time playing it. The only game I played on it however was Berzerk which, while fun, only kept my attention for a short while. I did play for a good amount of time and I would have played longer if there were more games available for the Vectrex. The Vectrex has me curious and I would love to play it again with other games. As far as the console itself is concerned, I found it to be fantastic. The screen, while only able do display black and white images, was comfortable to look at, since I treated the Vectrex’s screen like a laptop screen and look at it from a comfortable distance (about 18 inches for me). The controller, to my surprise, fit comfortably in my hand, odd since I am usually not comfortable using controllers from the pre-NES era since they usually tire my hands out quickly. I can tell this will not be the end of my experience with the Vectrex and I cannot wait to use it again.
Vectrex is unique in its hardware. First off the console itself. The console is just one game for what I would describe to be a box. It creates vectors that make up your ship and the asteroids that you have to destroy. Next its controller is completely different than any controller that we see today. Its not hand held making it better used standing up with the joy stick and buttons. These features together cater to bringing acrade styled gaming to your living room. The console is smaller, but still a one game platform while the controller emulates the control scheme of an arcade game.
The Vetrex console operated far easier than expected. The fact that the console provides its own screen can be both a detriment and a bonus. It can be a detriment for those who prefer the television, which can provide larger graphics, and because it takes up extra space, but is a bonus in that it all comes in one piece, requiring no complicated attachment to a television, and having the screen made specifically for the console. The controls themselves are both somewhat confusing and easier to use than expected. The tiny joystick operates very smoothly, and after playing for a couple minutes, is very easy to control dexterously. The buttons however, are labelled only with numbers, and it can take some time to determine which buttons do what for each game you can play on the Vetrex. All in all, it is a pretty good quality console, and a great platform for the games that were made to work on it.
The Vectrex is unlike any gaming system I’ve ever seen. I find it interesting that it operates as a completely separate entity from a computer or television, seeing as every system I have ever played on requires a secondary screening device. I had never heard of it until we discussed it in class, and my parents didn’t know what it was either. I enjoyed using it because it was super easy to figure out. I didn’t have to connect it to anything due to the fact that it doesn’t require a secondary device, and the controller is easy to decipher. I do wish that it offered more games than just the one, but the one that is offered is pretty fun and engaging.
Looking at the Vectrex, I couldn’t reasonably or thoroughly state what I expected. Half because I tried to remove any expectation and half because I couldn’t actually manage to do that. Before playing it myself, my only experience with it had been watching Tino play it on the day our class took our trip there. It definitely seemed cool from a viewer’s perspective but also really simple. Until I played it for myself, that is. The control pad had that odd joystick and four buttons and if anything, I was genuinely surprised by how locomotion was set to one button and that the player had to move, turn, shoot and/or warp constantly to survive. The stimulus of it all was pretty much a “woah” experience, not because it was particularly difficult to do but because it came with a lot more depth than I initially gave it credit for. All in all, I’d say that I had fun messing around with it and if I had been a teen in the 80’s I’d have spent more than a few hours shooting those mines (or space debris?).
I never completely operated a Vectrex and honestly I had a fun time playing it. The only game I played on it however was Berzerk which, while fun, only kept my attention for a short while. I did play for a good amount of time and I would have played longer if there were more games available for the Vectrex. The Vectrex has me curious and I would love to play it again with other games. As far as the console itself is concerned, I found it to be fantastic. The screen, while only able do display black and white images, was comfortable to look at, since I treated the Vectrex’s screen like a laptop screen and look at it from a comfortable distance (about 18 inches for me). The controller, to my surprise, fit comfortably in my hand, odd since I am usually not comfortable using controllers from the pre-NES era since they usually tire my hands out quickly. I can tell this will not be the end of my experience with the Vectrex and I cannot wait to use it again.
Vectrex is unique in its hardware. First off the console itself. The console is just one game for what I would describe to be a box. It creates vectors that make up your ship and the asteroids that you have to destroy. Next its controller is completely different than any controller that we see today. Its not hand held making it better used standing up with the joy stick and buttons. These features together cater to bringing acrade styled gaming to your living room. The console is smaller, but still a one game platform while the controller emulates the control scheme of an arcade game.
The Vetrex console operated far easier than expected. The fact that the console provides its own screen can be both a detriment and a bonus. It can be a detriment for those who prefer the television, which can provide larger graphics, and because it takes up extra space, but is a bonus in that it all comes in one piece, requiring no complicated attachment to a television, and having the screen made specifically for the console. The controls themselves are both somewhat confusing and easier to use than expected. The tiny joystick operates very smoothly, and after playing for a couple minutes, is very easy to control dexterously. The buttons however, are labelled only with numbers, and it can take some time to determine which buttons do what for each game you can play on the Vetrex. All in all, it is a pretty good quality console, and a great platform for the games that were made to work on it.
The Vectrex is unlike any gaming system I’ve ever seen. I find it interesting that it operates as a completely separate entity from a computer or television, seeing as every system I have ever played on requires a secondary screening device. I had never heard of it until we discussed it in class, and my parents didn’t know what it was either. I enjoyed using it because it was super easy to figure out. I didn’t have to connect it to anything due to the fact that it doesn’t require a secondary device, and the controller is easy to decipher. I do wish that it offered more games than just the one, but the one that is offered is pretty fun and engaging.
Looking at the Vectrex, I couldn’t reasonably or thoroughly state what I expected. Half because I tried to remove any expectation and half because I couldn’t actually manage to do that. Before playing it myself, my only experience with it had been watching Tino play it on the day our class took our trip there. It definitely seemed cool from a viewer’s perspective but also really simple. Until I played it for myself, that is. The control pad had that odd joystick and four buttons and if anything, I was genuinely surprised by how locomotion was set to one button and that the player had to move, turn, shoot and/or warp constantly to survive. The stimulus of it all was pretty much a “woah” experience, not because it was particularly difficult to do but because it came with a lot more depth than I initially gave it credit for. All in all, I’d say that I had fun messing around with it and if I had been a teen in the 80’s I’d have spent more than a few hours shooting those mines (or space debris?).