At first glance How I Hate the Night's V is for Vortex has two things working in its favor. For one, developer Jonathan Mulcahy's hand drawn graphics possess a genuine indie charm. Much like the first iPhone game I ever downloaded, Kevin Calderone's masterful platformer Trace, Vortex is the product of humble origins.Secondly, Vortex borrows from one of the most innovative action-puzzlers of all time, Valve's Portal. Shameless as it is to swipe the primary play mechanic from an an established console rockstar (*cough* Gameloft *cough*), it is a proven formula. And Valve did it in three-dimensions, right?
Sadly, the appeal of Vortex doesn't extend much beyond this. Collision detection issues, unresponsive controls and ultimately underwhelming level design yank the fun rug from under Vortex's proverbial feet.
Vortex offers two game modes, story and freeplay. Story mode is prefaced by a single, somewhat confusing panel of "plot." Freeplay mode allows you jump right into any of the game's 18 levels. It would make more sense if these levels had to be unlocked in the story mode beforehand, because as it stands there isn't much incentive to play the story mode.
The objective of each level is to reach the exit, a task complicated by bottomless floors, gigantic laser beams and the allure of cake. Yes, I said cake. Vortex "borrows" this culinary confection, companion cubes and sensor cameras (which I'm told will activate turret guns in a future update) from Valve's masterpiece. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, but Vortex's gameplay doesn't come close to the depth or complexity of it's first-person predecessor.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the gameplay mechanic of Portal, the main character is equipped with a gun that manifests blue and orange teleportation portals (err vortexes) upon firing. Need to cross a ledge? Open a vortex just off the platform and another safely across the room, then jump into the first. It's that simple. Some levels require interaction with the aforementioned "companion cubes", which you can cleverly teleport onto levers which unblock your escape route.
The two most egregious problems with Vortex's gameplay are its length and stability. I'm willing to wager that those familiar with the Portal mechanic can beat Vortex in under an hour. Fortunately, Mulcahy has promised 18 level installments with each monthly update. But in the meantime, it's a little meager. Mulcahy has similarly promised bug fixes to ameliorate some interesting phenomena. For example, if you place your destination vortex next to a wall, there's a good chance your protagonist will get stuck and the level will restart.
Vortex offers two control setups for player movement, onscreen buttons and accelerometer functionality. The buttons felt more natural to me, although another interesting phenomena was the increasing speed of movement that accompanied holding a directional button down. Very weird. There's also a jump button, a button for switching between vortex colors and a pause button to exit the level. There's a noticeable latency for each button push, which makes the game all the more frustrating when you're trying to evade those pesky laser beams.
Vortex's presentation is one of the few redeemable aspects of the game. Hand drawn, color-penciled levels and a stick figure protagonist endear the title with a very playful vibe. And the chilling atmospheric ambiance is strangely complementary. It's really a shame that the developer couldn't tie the front-end experience with the gameplay for a total package.
TS Recommendation:
As much as Thumb Spree supports independent development, a reasonable trade off must occur between excusable quirks of play and the value of your money. As it stands, V is for Vortex is a neat looking game with a fun, albeit borrowed, gameplay mechanic. Title: V is for Vortex
Developer: How I Hate the Night
Price: $.99
Lite Version?: Yes
Compatible Devices: All Devices Supported
Test Device: iPhone 3G
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