Vectorman 2

About Vectorman 2

Vectorman 2 (1996) is BlueSky Software's late Genesis sequel in which the orb-bodied robot fights a plague of mutant insects, morphing into the creatures he defeats.

Vectorman 2 in Depth

After saving Earth in the first game, Vectorman's spaceship is shot down by a missile. He parachutes to the planet near an old research facility and finds it overrun by aggressive, destructive mutant insects, and sets out to wipe them out. Unlike the post-apocalyptic first game, he crosses a wide range of modern settings before reaching the source of the infestation, the evil Black Widow Queen.

It keeps the original's 2D action-platform play of running, jumping and shooting. There are 22 levels, more than the first game's 16 but generally shorter and smaller. His default shot fires in a straight line, but weapon upgrades found in levels change it and raise its damage. Vectorman can again morph into other forms, now by defeating particular enemies: beating a scorpion lets him walk on hot surfaces unharmed, while a rhinoceros beetle gives him a horned head for ramming foes. A bar of orbs shows his health, refilled by health orbs, and losing it all costs a life and restarts the level. Difficulty can be adjusted. GamePro praised its "cleaner graphics, more sound and voice effects, and faster, smoother gameplay" over the original.

Making Vectorman 2

After its Jurassic Park games, BlueSky Software had made Vectorman under an exclusive Sega contract as a pre-rendered rival to Donkey Kong Country, and its success led to an immediate sequel. Development was rushed, since the Genesis was nearing its end and new releases were becoming rare in 1996. Sega published it that year. It was praised as one of the few late Genesis games that was not a cheap licensed cash-in and for pushing the hardware, but was generally viewed less favourably than the original and struggled to compete with the Donkey Kong Country sequels. EGM's reviewers liked its graphics and animation, though Sushi-X found its levels disappointingly small.