Vectrex stg Vectorblade circa 2020 initial release...

[PC Engine Fan X!]

There are three different versions of Malban's Vectorblade at v1.11, v1.12 and lastly, v1.13 respectively. Each concurrent release would fix the various "known" bugs found and patched up. Vectorblade is a technical modern-day Vectrex gaming masterpiece not to be missed with game saving functionality built-in + the obligatory pause feature (comes in quite handy during heated sessions indeed). There are 100 levels in all with every 25th level being a "end-level" boss to take down (if you're powered up with armor or a shield + auto-fire + multi-bullet upgrade makes things easier during a "Boss" encounter/showdown or to make a boss go down quicker, use a "handy" bomb if you have one in your inventory -- a bomb costs 800 credits {with only your fightercraft being able to store just one in it's cargo bay} so it ain't cheap either but it's a necessity/requirement if you want to get further in to it). Vectorblade is the largest Vectrex game, currently, ever made and weighs in at an impressive 192kb in size with rom bank switching for four of the banks of memory to load up each level, boss levels, mini games, etc. I've yet to see a modern-day Vectrex game break the 200-250kb barrier -- it might be possible down the road, we'll shall see if that's to be or not.

The fact that there's absolutely no flickering issues to deal with (a common issue with the early Vectrex games released like with "A Crush of Lucifer" with it's horrible flickering issues circa 1983 {and released in late 2020 courtesy of Sean Kelly himself} & is regarded as the very last official Vectrex game to be released from Milton Bradley when they bought the GCE Vectrex company based out of Santa Monica, CA, and relocated it to Massachusetts) and runs at an impressive silky-smooth 50 frames-per-second framerate (which is pushing the Vectrex to the max).

Vectorblade is based upon the classic Amiga game of "Warblade" but with a modern-day twist setup of earning money (by grabbing it) to spend inside the shop to upgrade your fightercraft. You can buy secrets but each one costs 3,000 credits (which isn't cheap to begin with) and there are a grand total of seven to buy (the CPU does keep track of how many secrets are purchased and aren't repeated either which is a plus in in my book). You can buy extra lives to the tune of 500 credits per life with up to nine lives maximum (which isn't enough in hindsight -- you're gonna need 'em all).

Playing through the initial first 100 levels on "Easy" difficulty setting unlocks the "Normal" difficulty setting and so on. It's quite a challenge to finish the first 100 levels even on Easy setting -- it doesn't seem like a 1LC or 1CC is possible as certain small fry enemy fightercraft will do kamikaze attack runs on your fightercraft (unless you're powered up with armor or a shield to get through such stints).

Before each level starts, a witty catchphrase or movie quote will flash momentarily -- try to match it from memory what movie genre or game reference is a cool little nod/touch to general trivia/pop culture -- no other Vectrex game, to this very day, has this cool feature/tidbit/highlight.

High scores and high scores initials are saved to non-volatile memory for posterity which is another cool feature/necessity nowadays with modern-day Vectrex game releases.

Packrat Video Games & Sean Kelly sell the latest release v1.13 of Vectorblade as of right now if you'd like to buy a copy for your Vectrex gaming console. Packrat Video Games sells it with a transparent GCE cart shell upgrade + cool optional LED lighting upgrade if you want that version (costs more but totally worth it in the end as it's a custom made Vectorblade order to begin with).

Sean Kelly's site to order it: http://www.vectrexmulti.com/order2.html ... =129732314

Packrat Video Games: https://www.packratvg.com/vvectorblade.html

Ebay auction for older v1.12 Vectorblade complete set in brand new condition: https://www.ebay.com/itm/284525366189?h ... R9Dg0v6pYg

Note: The Vectorblade screen overlay that both Sean Kelly and Packrat Video Games sell is the more colorful and vibrant version (I recommend this one as it's best one) and has the same thickness and size format as that of the original Vectrex game screen overlays that were included with the Vectrex games that you could buy back in 1982-1984 (whereas with "The Brewing Academy" version listed up for sale, their Vectorblade screen overlay offering is a bit duller, appearance-wise, and not as colorful/sharp to boot but "your mileage may vary" depending on which Vectorblade set you end up ordering anyways).

For course, it helps to have a Vectrex professionally adjusted/calibrated so that it displays the vector graphics at it's best with no over-all blooming issues and with that type of setup, playing a session of Vectorblade will truly shine at it's best. It's well-known that the Vectrex consoles that GCE sold brand new in the USA back in 1982-1984 weren't properly adjusted/calibrated to look at their best resulting in sub-par dull looking vector monitor appearance. Once that's done, it'll be "night and day" with a super "razor sharp" overall presentation with your Vectrex games.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[spmbx]

I'm a bit confused as to why you're listing the eBay auction since its more expensive than just buying the newer version thats in stock and available for order?