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Vessel
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Graphics & Sound:
Vessel drops you into a steampunk kind of world where elaborate levers and pipe systems abound, but lovely little finials and decorative elements still give it a sense of elegance. It's still a platformer, so it has some elements of monotony just because it's hard to make a bunch of platforms that don't look alike. Still, it's a nice little world that makes you feel like you're in an industrial turn of the century town.
There are also some nice lighting effects to break up the background monotony. Some hallways are backlit, giving you just a silhouette of your character. Soft glows in the darkness contrast with bright, sunny skies outside. It definitely conveys that dark feel of a factory quite well.
The music is important in this kind of game, especially since it's a game with little text and no voice. It starts as a running kind of piano tune, and as you encounter puzzles and areas where you have to accomplish something, a kind of heavy electronic bass accompaniment starts up and changes the piece to a bit more futuristic sound. It's the kind of thing that comes in and out of the background just when it's needed. Sound effects like footsteps and lever pulls are also crisp and clear. Maybe it's just me, but there's something particularly interesting about the sound effects of this game. Sometimes it feels like you're listening to a tiny doll run through a dollhouse, and watching the minute world come to life.
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Gameplay:
Vessel tells a story without words. I always admire this sort of technique when it's done well, as it lets your imagination run with it. Basically in Vessel, you play Arkwright, the inventor of a device that allows water to be transformed into a working automaton. These little water beings work for people and perform all sorts of tasks. There appears to be a dark side to all this free labor, however, as they don't all seem to be acting as they should. It seems harmless enough, however, since you can easily destroy the little creatures, turning them back into water, ready to be re-used as another little water guy. But things never stay simple...
There is some text, actually. It comes in the form of a journal that you are prompted to access occasionally. You don't need to look at the journal too much, but it does verify basic premises of the story and recap what's happened. It also gives you some hints and clues later on in the game.
Beyond the main platforming game, there's not much else to do. That's not really a bad thing, but if you're expecting much more than the main platforming game, you won't be seeing it here.
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Difficulty:
Vessel is the kind of game that teaches by level design. It's really quite a clever concept and quite genius when done well. You learn by being presented with rooms where you have to do something to proceed, or where you'll have to stumble over something to proceed, but you end up learning something from it. First, you're presented with a room full of tubs, barrels, and dripping water. You don't actually have to do anything here, but in trying to get past these objects, you'll probably knock over a tub of water. You see the water splash out, and the tub slides over a bit. Hence, you discover you can, and will probably fill these vessels with water in the future. When the more difficult concepts come up, the camera may zoom in on a key element when you enter a room, or you may be presented with a single letter (a control hint) to give you a hint as to what to do.
These aren't new concepts in gaming by a longshot, but when you have a game that doesn't rely heavily on text or voice for tutorials, these kinds of subtle guides need to be well executed, or your game is going to be frustrating and overly difficult. Vessel does this quite well, and quite efficiently. It allows you to enjoy playing around with the mechanics a bit before it really ramps up the challenge. While Vessel is not a hair-pulling brainteaser like Braid by a longshot, it can get fairly challenging. Later on, the platforming elements also get a bit hairier, but nothing that timing and a good sense of space can't help.
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Game Mechanics:
Vessel is a standard platformer, no real bells or whistles to speak of here. The game can be, for the most part, controlled with one hand on the keyboard. Later weapons make use of the mouse as well, aiming guns with water and suction streams, for example. The platforming element gets pretty intense later on, but it's not held back by controls, just by timing and skill.
The physics part of the game is something that makes it interesting. You'll need to figure out how to bend water, and other elements later on, to get it where you want it to go. There are all sorts of ways to do this, and it's not all as simple as turning on a valve. Things just seem to make sense - you don't have to get water to twist and turn around paths you can't even comprehend, and for the most part, there's no really tricky controls related to this. You may need to say, adjust a stream of water a few times, but other than that, it mostly relies on thinking the puzzle through. There are switches that rely a bit on physics, but these aren't super complicated, and are rather intuitive as well. For example, some switches require your character to apply a lot of force quickly and swiftly, otherwise they will not gain enough momentum to flip around, and they won't trigger. It's really kind of fun to figure out these little physical interactions.
Still, Vessel is fun, and will work your brain a bit. I wouldn't say it's anything far beyond the level of puzzles in The Legend of Zelda series, but it's decent enough for a challenge. There's an interesting little world to explore here, challenging in its platforming elements at times. It can also be a nice, rather relaxing journey as well.
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-Fights with Fire, GameVortex Communications AKA Christin Deville |
Minimum System Requirements:
OS: Windows 7 / Vista / XP, Processor: Dual Core 2.0GHz or equivalent processor, Memory: 2GB System RAM, Hard Disk Space: 1.5GB, Video Card: ATi Radeon HD 2400 or NVIDIA GeForce 7600 or better (Shader Model 3.0 needs to be supported), DirectX(r): 9.0c, Sound: DirectX compatible
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Test System:
Windows 7, 3.20 GigaHertz Intel Pentium 4, 3 GB Ram, GeForce GTX460 768MB, Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS |
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Related Links:
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