Vigilante 8

Moby ID: 4145
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Description official descriptions

The game takes place in the Western United States during a time of world-wide oil shortage in 1976. An organization known as OMAR (Oil Monopoly Alliance Regime) was making money off the shortage everywhere except in the United States. OMAR hires the best terrorist that $100 million could buy: Sid Burn. His job, aided by five hired Coyotes, is to destroy all gas refineries in the southwest of the U.S. so OMAR can bring the country to its knees. When gas prices went wild, six civilians who called themselves Vigilantes, led by the truck driver Convoy, began fighting against the Coyotes in different areas to keep OMAR from succeeding.

Vigilante 8 is a vehicular combat game similar to Twisted Metal in concept. Players can choose from eight characters with different agendas, and select vehicles ranging from classic 1970's muscle cars to a school bus, each stacked high with various kinds of weapons. Unlockables include two hidden levels (three in the Nintendo 64 version) and five hidden characters and cars. Multiplayer is also included: the PlayStation version allows two players (four in the Nintendo 64 version) to go head-to-head.

Spellings

  • فيجيلانتي 8 - Arabic spelling

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Credits (PlayStation version)

145 People (129 developers, 16 thanks) · View all

Designed & Developed by
Special Thanks
Additional Art
In-Game Sound FX
Producer
Production Coordinator
Design Assistance
Addt'l Assistance
Senior VP of Studio
V.P Console Division
Director of Console Marketing
Associate Product Manager
Marketing Associate
Senior Publicist
Designer
Copywriter
Production Artist
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 80% (based on 28 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.6 out of 5 (based on 27 ratings with 1 reviews)

A great way to work off some road rage...and better than Twisted Metal!

The Good
This one has something for everyone. There are two modes: Arcade and Quest. In Arcade mode, simply pick one of the vehicles to drive, pick some more as opponents, and drive around blasting anything that moves! In quest mode, however, you take on the role of one of the game's protagonists and carry out "missions", usually involving finding objects, keeping a building safe (or destroying it, if you're playing a bad guy). Finishing a quest gets you a little movie, explaining what happened to that character at the end of the story. Playing through ALL the characters' missions unlocks two secret playgrounds, and finally, one secret vehicle. And if that's not enough, the game has a two-player split-screen mode! The game works hard for a "seventies" feel, and the cars, clothing of the characters, and especially the music do the job of hitting this mood spot on.

The Bad
It's frankly too short, and the "battlegrounds", while fully 3-D, are rather small, closed courses... just like Twisted Metal (sigh)

The Bottom Line
It's a driving shooter with a plot. The Coyotes, a road gang, seek to wipe out the Vigilantes, a "do-gooder" road gang. Each of the Coyotes has a different motivation -- Beeswax is trying to steal an atomic bomb, for example, whereas Loki wants to break into Area 51 and steal a flying saucer! Each vehicle is equipped with machine guns, but can acquire up to three extra weapons by finding crates and driving over them; guided missiles, mines, and mortars can increase the punch of any vehicle. In addition, a "special" weapon crate has a different effect on each vehicle -- Boogie's "special" is a laser disco ball which kicks his opponent around while doing damage, whereas Sid Burn's "special" is a devastating flamethrower. Fully destructible environments (including Las Vegas) add to the fun. Feel like driving through a plate glass window, or off the third story of an office building? You can!

PlayStation · by Dr.Bedlam (55) · 2002

Trivia

The infamous commercial of the Nintendo 64 version consists of a school bus dropping off a bus load of kids at a school then screeching off. It then presents shots from the game and later returns to the school, showing the bus on the back of a flat bed truck, riddled, burned and full of holes. Then it pans to the face of a girl who exclaims.."HOLY *BLEEP*" (There was also another version where the bleep was replaced by a horn honking).

This was later banned after the Columbine Massacre and was thought to have conveyed a message of school violence. The commercial can be viewed here.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Kartanym.

Additional contributors: Big John WV, DreinIX, Ammar Al-Waeli.

Game added May 22, 2001. Last modified February 26, 2024.