Vectrex Console Review - Player One Start
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ค. 2024
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In this video I take a look at the now legendary Vectrex video game console of the early 1980s. This console was fatefully released just before the video game crash of 1983, leading to very few units sold in its short lifespan. This console is unique in the aspect of its built in CRT game display and use of vector graphics.
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Check out my channel for more videos. Thanks for watching!
Viewing Guide:
Intro: (0:00)
History and Development: (0:33)
Hardware/Tech Specs: (5:18)
Minestorm: (8:16)
Berzerk: (9:28)
Hyperchase: (10:39)
Heads Up: (11:21)
Scramble: (12:14)
Star Trek: (13:07)
Web Wars: (13:59)
Review & Conclusion: (14:46)
Outro: (18:35) - เกม
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The last vectrex I actually played was in 1983, yet in just two days time I'm getting my hands on my very own unit.
gan9e Very Nice!
I never owned one, but my roommate my sophomore year of college brought his to the dorm (this was '90-'91). I loved vector games in the arcade, so I've always wanted one. I recently saw a boxed unit for sale in a local retro game store priced at $850. I don't want one that badly.
I am completely amazed by how cool Hyperchase looks, with that shifting road lines!
I don't remember watching this but...the Vectrex is one of the coolest machines of the era. I know the Vectrex was a standard black and white affair but I have heard there were color versions made but were never released due to price. I know there's a guy called Arcade Jason that has a channel here on TH-cam and he has a substantial vector based arcade in his home. If I had to guess the guy has at least...30 cabs tucked away in his house!
He also builds and tinkers with vector monitors quite a lot. The guy has a (no joke) color based Vectrex arcade cabinet that runs the games in full color without the need for overlays and the freaking screen is like 32 inches. Apparently (this I thought was interesting) some of the Vectrex carts have color instructions built inside of them and when connected to a color vector based monitor will play without modification in full color...it is one of the neatest things I have ever witnessed. There is also another guy (I can't remember his name) that has somehow created a method to connect his Vectrex to a modern Windows 10 PC. Now, the reason he does this is to run MAME on his Vectrex. I kid you not, the guy plays Tempest (example) in color on his Vectrex and it runs flawlessly. In the video I watched as he ran 12 arcade vector based games full out on the Vectrex, in color. Apparently as long as the gun is fast enough you can run any vector based game you want. One of the Vectrex's biggest strengths according to Arcade Jason and the other guy (sorry) is the Vectrex has a smoking fast gun that enables it to throw anything across the screen.
Addendum- Check out Arcade Jason and the other guy should come up if you type MAME and Vectrex together. I'm telling you it will blow your mind what some are doing with these machines.
I first played Vectrex in 1982. FIrst at the local computer store, and then on a rainy day when we had to stay indoors during lunch at school, a kid had brought one. In that day and age, I was super impressed by it. When I started collecting classic consoles in the 90s, the Vectrex became the Holy Grail, as I could never find one when scouring flea markets, thrift stores and garage sales. Finally, eBay came along and I bought a boxed system. (Back then less than $100.) I have most of the games for the system and am still impressed. That glowing vector screen is really not like any other experience in gaming. In the early 2000s I bought a home brew for Vectrex of the Star Wars Arcade game and I must say it is now probably my favorite game for the system. Good video! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for watching. I have not played the home brew Star Wars Arcade, but that sounds awesome. I'll have to keep an eye out for it. :)
Take it anywhere! Like it's portable or something. Haha! Great video man.
Thanks again for watching and your continued support!
It was..... for the early 80s
Damn, memories. I remember my sister having this when we were kids in the early 80’s. I used to play it more than her even though it didn’t belong to me. 🙂
I was 4 in 1982 was useing a 2600 at the time,need Vectrex nowwwwwwwww,you so got a great deal on it.
I still have mine and it is the original GCE model. It still works after all these years. I took it to a party recently and accidentally dropped it on the pavement outside, and it still works great even after that.
Really unique, fun console. I love how it has its own screen, and it makes up for the lack of color with the vector graphics by using the screen overlays, which worked good enough. I would say it's definitely worth picking one up, but only if you can get one for the right price. I got super lucky and was able to grab a complete in box Vectrex, to go along with 4 games also complete in box, for just $125.00 about five years ago.
My Vectex was sold to me for like $150 with three additional games. The game boxes are rough, but It remains one of my favorite pieces.
I never had one growing up, but my dad did have a Tempest cab. So, I didn't miss it it at the time.
It's a well built machine. It not technically overwhelming, but plays great simple games. It is entertaining hour after hour. A hidden gem among the crash.
Thank you, Longie_long, for recommending this channel! The Vectrex has remained a mystery to so many folks. It's such a cool little system. I almost had one 2 years ago for a steal but the deal fell apart. Oh and SUBSCRIBED!
Thanks for watching and for subscribing!
👍👍🍔
You are my kind of gamer. I, too, love Vectrex. I never had one until I played Berzerk at a retro show. Then, I had to have it! Much $$ and a bunch of carts later, it's in my "Top 5" retro game machines.
Nice shirt. By the way. MineStorm into music great!
Never seen one on real life, looks cool, great video
People say it all the time, but in this case it's true that a Vectrex, or any vector graphics display, screen does look very different in person.
Think of it like looking as an e-Ink book reader through a monitor screen. You can't really tell what it looks like until you have one in your hands, because your screen is turning one type of display into another in order to show it to you.
I just stumbled across your channel when I was looking up a certain Atari game I'm trying to beat. You definitely have a subscriber in me. I like your calm non-dramatic voice and I appreciate your personal opinions. Looking forward to checking out more. Also cool to see you are still active as I know I'm commenting on an old video.
The buzzing you hear was model specific. All GCE model Vectrex's had that when they were brand new, so it isn't a matter of their age. Rather it's because the original models' speakers were poorly shielded from the power supply. I'm actually convinced that this system will never age inside.
Nice retrospective on vector graphics!
Great video. Love the channel. Keep em coming 👍🙂
I bought mine recently. It needs some work, but over all plays games just fine. As for the overlays though I've been buying mine through a fellow who makes Vectrex overlay reproductions. While his overlays are thinner than the originals they're near perfect in how they look compared to them.
This and the virtual boy I really have always wanted lol, just find them both so fascinating.
Minestorm gets absolutely ridiculous at high levels eventually getting to stages where everything is invisible. You could cheat a little though with the brightness setting, if you cranked it up it would show dots where the invisible enemies were. Armor Attack was very good, Cosmic Chasm was downright epic.
Really nice video!
Some points I'll make:
The Vectrex is amongst my all-time favourite consoles, and I own the complete library, including the light pen and 3D imager. It would have been a smash hit if not for the American industry collapse, and to this day, nothing comes remotely close to replicating the 1980s arcade experience in-home, short of buying a lot of dedicated Cinamatronics and old Atari, machines.
Colour graphics were, and are possible with Vector games. You sort of err'd there. Look at Tempest and Space Duel, if you want premium examples; and shockingly, it is possible to get colour output out of the Vectrex, but it requires some special wizardry, and a different CRT.
There are a number of homebrew games that i would consider to be 'must have'; for the system, including a reasonably accurate port of Asteroids. If only there were ports of Tempest, Space Duel, and Black Widow, then I would not need those machines. :D
There is also a special version of MAME (VectorMAME) and a PC-based expansion video card that can output arcade vector games to the Vectrex. ;)
MagesGuild : Apart from that PC board running MAME and just using the Bextrex tube, there is a rare new multi-cart - VecFever - that can play the arcade ROMs of Asteroids, Space Duel, BattleZone, Red Baron, Tailgunner, Lunar Lander, while reformatting the vectors in many ways (even with a Vectrex sideways option!) and with the vectrex sound chip - so all the sounds aren’t perfect arcade sounds. Hopefully the creator will make (or allow someone to make) more than the estimated 150 carts released!
Sadly unobtanium. I'd certainly buy one.
Wow! I have one and, many other classic consoles but VectorMAME makes me drool.
Holy shit...I just realized how ridiculous I am. The old Back to The Future clip cinched it. You see, my fiance and I are die hard gamers. We are both professionals, we both work hard, and we go big with gaming....
In our master bedroom we have two big 4K UHD screens and two of every current gen console connected to them (that includes One X's and Pro's). That is not including our home arcade we are building complete with full size arcade cabs that starts in our living room and goes to our guest bedroom...sorry guests, video games first!
I see nothing wrong with that! 🎮
Vector graphics could do color, as evidenced by Blasteroids, Tempest, etc. In fact, Tempest was released as early back as 1981. Oh, and they don't work using polygons, those are 3D graphics. Vector graphics use the electron gun to literally draw lines on the screen directly, instead of using the usual scanlines of conventional CRTs. To quote Wikipedia:
Vector game can also refer to a video game that uses a vector graphics display capable of projecting images using an electron beam to draw images instead of with pixels, much like a laser show. Many early arcade games used such displays, as they were capable of displaying more detailed images than raster displays on the hardware available at that time. Many vector-based arcade games used full-color overlays to complement the otherwise monochrome vector images. Other uses of these overlays were very detailed drawings of the static gaming environment, while the moving objects were drawn by the vector beam. Games of this type were produced mainly by Atari, Cinematronics, and Sega. Examples of vector games include Asteroids, Armor Attack, Eliminator, Lunar Lander, Space Fury, Space Wars, Star Trek, Tac/Scan, Tempest and Zektor. The Vectrex home console also used a vector display. After 1985, the use of vector graphics declined substantially due to improvements to sprite technology; rasterized 3D Filled Polygon Graphics returned to the arcades and were so popular that vector graphics could no longer compete.
Correct, but Blasteroids is NOT a vector game but a regular raste graphics game.
But you are right, vector monitors CAN do color, ........plenty of them were released.....to name one.... Star Wars !
I remember seen them in the stores i was not a fan then not sure if i am fan now.lol
Nick Quest Yeah, they definitely have some drawbacks. Thanks for watching!
It's kind of a shame that the Vectrex has become a 'Collectable' within the last few years, as this has pushed prices up to stupefying levels. I got my Vectrex, including postage, for around £40 just a few years ago. Now I see systems going for around £300 to well over £1000 for a boxed one.
It's a shame that this is taking the Vectrex market out of the hands of people like me who want to play and develop for it and into the hands of the, put it in a display case, 'Collectors' market. I think this will invariably hurt the home-brew scene, which has thrived on the Vectrex for decades.
Garry Grierson I agree. Sadly these machines are getting harder and harder to come by too. It’s sad to think this console might fade completely away as they die... Thanks for watchingz
The way the rotund man comes at me
I can’t stand it
Vector games cannot do color ??? How about Star Wars, Tempest, Gravitar, Tac/Scan, Major-Havoc etc. etc. ???
The Vectrex cannot do color, and the majority (not all) of vector arcade games did not naively do color. They would put an overlay to give color. I couldn't tell you which used overlays and which did not. Most likely later games would use color vector monitors.