Over the past year, there have been many platforming games released on multiple systems: Super Mario Sunshine, Sly Cooper, Dr. Muto, and many more. Some of these gave something new to the genre and helped expand upon its roots; while others followed the same old mold with different characters. Acclaim wants to make Vexx stand out among its competitors by doing something different, but did they really add anything new, or it is the same old thing?

There is a terror in Astara, which began when the powerful forces of Shadowraith Dark Yabu appeared without warning. They came in and cause general mayhem on the villages of Overwood. Vargas, the guardian of Overwood, and his grandson, Vexx, resisted the invasion, but they were eventually outnumbered and became enslaved. As the days past, Vexx could not stand the conditions and rebelled against Yuba, but he was quickly subdued. Yuba decided to make an example of Vexx by killing him, but before he could carry out the execution, Vargas intervened, but he was murdered for this. After witnessing this horrific act, Vexx escaped and vowed to get his revenge upon Yabu. One night Vexx was about to obtain his revenge, when he came across the legendary Astani War Talons, and he was infused with its power. Now Vexx has a more important mission than revenge, he has to save the entire world for the malevolent Dark Yabu!

Vexx is similar to many of the other platformers available out in the market right now, including its mission structure. There is a hub world, and players go into the other worlds to get a certain amount of hearts. Once players get at least sixty they can face the final boss of the game. The gauntlets give this game a really unique twist. Instead of the main character having the natural ability to shoot fireballs, jump really high, or do anything that other platformer characters do, players have to have the War Talons to do this (which are acquired in the beginning of the game.) Vexx can slash enemies, blow a firewall from the air to them, flying upper cut, and many other moves to help him progress in the game, and help him come closer to his ultimate goal. Besides the platforming elements and fighting, there are also many puzzles in the game to solve, which helps give this game a refreshing twist, where it tries to be different from other games out there.

Each world is extremely massive and contains a day and night cycle. This is a really neat feature, but it is a shame that it is not fully exploited more. It would seem like when it is night the enemies would be a lot harder to fight against, and "darker" looking enemies would appear, but this is not the case. All this function does is unveil a few hidden passages you can only access at certain parts of the days; it is more of an eye candy feature than anything else.

The game looks great on the Xbox! One of the best things this game offers it that there is little to no loading time what so ever. Each of the world's that Vexx will transverse has a high polygonal count and nice crisp textures. Another nice trend that many games are following, ever since Jak and Daxter did, is if you see anything in the world, players can go there. For instance, if there is a huge mountain in the distance, just take a few minutes and than you will be there ready to climb it. This makes the game seem much more realistic, and gives the players a sense of value in the game. Vexx character models, and all of the enemies, are highly textured and contain a great polygonal count, which fits in with the entire game. The game didn't suffer from any slow down either, which is a blessing, because nothing can be more annoying than fighting a horde of enemies, than you die, because you didn't see that some were right behind you due to the fact that he game is going exceptionally slow.

The sound effects used here will not blow your socks off, but they get the job done adequately from the enemy grunts to the waterfalls. The main problem is that they get used a lot, so players will have to get used to hearing the same "explosion sound" many times. The game does offer a few scenes with voice acting, which is done surprisingly well. The music fits the game entirely; it sets the tone for the game, and always brings the players into the state of mind for each world they are in. The best thing about the Xbox game is that it supports Dolby Digital 5.1. Anyone that has this setup, will love hearing this game in surround sound, as it will immerse the player more into this deep game.

If you need help with completing any mission, Prima's Official Strategy Guide will be the thing the doctor ordered! This guide will tell you everything you need to know about this game, and then some. It has a detailed description of each character, enemy, and items. To make things even better it has an extremely detailed walk through to help gamers out in any given situation! If you are having problems getting past a certain boss, then this guide will show you what you need to do, and how to do it!

Vexx is rated T for Teen for violence. It supports Dolby Digital, and Progressive scan 480p.

Gameplay: 8.3
Vexx tries to put something new into the genre, but it really does not. All it does is take many elements from a lot of platform games, and combines it into one. This is not a bad thing, but this game could have used some innovation, like the day and night cycle. The fighting engine for this game is well done, and gives the players a lot of moves at their disposal to defeat all of the enemies you will encounter.

Graphics: 8.5
The game looks extremely nice. All of the characters are highly detailed, and the world's environments are lush and teeming with life. There are a few times when the frame rate drops, but it doesn't occur enough to make it a nuisance.

Sound: 8.1
Nothing can beat having the entire game in Dolby Digital 5.1! The main problem with the sound is there isn't much variety. Once you play the game for a few hours, you will have heard everything, and it started getting mundane.

Difficulty: Medium
In the beginning, Vexx is extremely easy to play; there is nothing that is extremely challenging to the players. This changes around halfway through the game, when the newer and harder enemies appear. A few of the puzzles might prove to be a brain bender, but it is nothing players can't overcome.

Concept: 8.1
"Beg, Borrow, or do without." This is kind of the central theme in the concept department. This game borrows many elements from all the platform games currently available today. The problem is that it doesn't really expand upon these elements any further

Overall: 8.3
Vexx is a good platforming game for the Xbox, anyone who plays this game will enjoy it. It is a shame that a little more time didn't go into trying to make the game unique. If you have any children, and need a good game for them, check this out, as they will have a blast with it.