3D Mine Storm

GCE Vectrex - Released - January 1, 1983

In 3D Mine Storm, the player controls a ship through multiple mine fields destroying all mines on each field to progress to the next field. The game will start with the enemy minelayer seeding the first mine field. Mines are left in 3 different levels or planes per field. The player's ship will come into view after all the mines have been activated and the minelayer has left the field.

3D Narrow Escape

GCE Vectrex - Released - January 1, 1983

The goal in 3D Narrow Escape is to successfully navigate a ship through the narrow, fast-moving passages of the warlord's fortress, destroy the defense forces and avoid space debris. The player's ship must also be maneuvered through small holes in a series of walls where fuel cells can be picked up to restore the ship's constantly decreasing fuel supply. If the player pilots their ship successfully, they will be faced with the warlord's own escape ship which must be hit several times to be destroyed, liberating the star system from the warlord's tyranny.

Cosmic Chasm

Arcade - Released - 1983

In Cosmic Chasm, the player's mission is to penetrate an alien planet underground maze and destroy the planet's power structure in the central cavern. It can be played by one or two players taking turns. The maze consists of several caverns connected by tunnels. The player is shown an overview map before entering each cavern. They have to choose the shortest route towards the centre. Each cavern contains several drones that should be destroyed. Exits to caverns deeper in the system are blocked and must be opened with a drill first. In the middle of each cavern is a trap that slowly expands, the player must avoid touching it at all costs. The further the player penetrates into the system, the faster the drones are moving. After placing the bomb in the centre cavern, the player has 15 seconds to escape the maze, preferably using the way they came in. The game uses three buttons: one for thrust, one for a shield to defend against the drones and one for firing. Points are awarded for destroying the central structure, successfully escaping and drilling through walls. The game was the first game that originated on a home console as it was originally made by GCE for it's Vectrex console.

Engine Analyzer

GCE Vectrex - Unreleased - 1983

Engine Analyzer was a diagnostic tool developed but never released by GCE for the Vectrex in 1983.

Heads-Up: Action Soccer

GCE Vectrex - Released - September 1, 1983

Take the ultimate soccer challenge... without ever leaving your seat! Play with a friend or tackle the computer itself in an action-packed soccer game that takes all the concentration, strategy and split -second reactions of the real thing! You're in control as the realistic, dimensional players get the ball down the field by passing, bouncing and kicking it back and forth to one another-just like a real soccer game! HEADS-UP And get ready for an exciting and demanding soccer tournament...complete with the roar of the crowd!

Mail Plane

GCE Vectrex - Unreleased - 1983

Mail Plane is an unreleased flight simulator that uses both a standard controller and the Vectrex Lightpen. The objective is to load five packages into your plane and deliver each one to a specific city before you run out of fuel. To increase the challenge, clouds must be avoided, otherwise you risk being hit by lightning and losing one of your five lives. What's most impressive is how the game is split into multiple sections to immerse the player. Prior to takeoff, you have full control over the flight path, allowing you to map the most efficient route; this is great for replayability and adds layers of strategy. Careful planning is crucial, and I found it helpful to take a picture of the drop-off points beforehand for navigational purposes! Next up is the mail loading sequence where you drag packages into the plane; the Lightpen lacks true precision, but for the purposes of what's required here it works fine. You then accelerate and takeoff using the controller, and enter the heart of the action; here, the game adopts a top-down view as you dodge clouds and search for the correct cities. It's slow-paced and relaxing like Pilotwings (1991, SNES) and controls beautifully. The threat of lightning is an integral part of the challenge, as without it, flying around and delivering packages would be easy! Its inclusion cleverly forces you to watch your fuel meter (as dodging clouds takes away precious fuel) while trying to be economical at all times. My only annoyance is that the flight path screen isn't always accurate, and it can fool you into thinking a city is located towards the right when it's actually diagonally-right. Once you've navigated to the correct location you simply press Up on the controller to land, use the Lightpen to unload, and repeat the process until each package has been delivered. As a whole, the gameplay is tons of fun and I love that the map and cities change each time you complete a route.

Mr. Boston: Clean Sweep

GCE Vectrex - Released - 1983

This is the exact same game as Clean Sweep, although this version was a promotional release for the liquor company of the same name (which an ad for it appears before the game starts), Clean Sweep had a much wider release, and the player controlled a vacuum in that version. There are very few copies of this game that are known to exist.

Pitcher's Duel

GCE Vectrex - Unreleased - 2007

Pitcher's Duel was an unreleased Vectrex baseball game. A prototype of Pitcher's Duel was found though a private sale and was held until a high quality release could be done. Pitcher's Duel was eventually released at Classic Gaming Expo in both a retro-styled reproduction Vectrex box and also as a loose cartridge. While not a perfect reproduction of the game of baseball, this title is fairly accurate. Standard rules for baseball apply, however fielding, throwing and base runners are all controlled by the computer. At the start of the game Player 1 always pitches first. If a two player game is selected, then Player 2 will be at bat.

Sledge 3D

GCE Vectrex - Unreleased - 1985

A demo program for the 3-D Goggles. BaronVR described it like this : "The effect is that of a track extending from the monitor surface to about 3 feet inside the monitor surface, the speed controlled by pushing up or down on the joystick..."

Tour De France

GCE Vectrex - Unreleased

There's two different track layouts (Game 1 and Game 2 options) and the objective is to place first while obtaining the quickest possible time. Pressing Left or Right on the analog stick moves your rider across the road, while Up is used for acceleration. The face buttons allow you to change gears (Slow, Medium or Fast), pause the game (a rarity on the Vectrex!), as well as grab the occasional water bottle from the side of the road (required to maintain energy levels so you don't slow down). The gameplay involves avoiding the sides of the track, while dodging debris and fellow riders; failing to do any of these results in your rider crashing and losing precious seconds. What's impressive is that the tracks aren't flat, and instead feature rolling hills that even seem to affect how fast your bike can move while ascending. The action is fast but the biggest problem is that it's completely unplayable once you move into the highest gear; here, the action becomes a flickering mess and it's almost impossible to avoid the obstacles and opponents with any sense of precision. The trick is to cycle constantly between second and third gear, but even then you'll never be able to build up enough speed to place in the top two riders. There's also a very thin line between successfully grabbing the water bottle and crashing into the side of the road; as a result you'll never feel in full control, and instead find yourself bracing every time you try to obtain it. Annoyingly, following on from a crash opponents frequently run you over once you begin cycling which stops you in your tracks and sees more seconds tick off the clock. The Game 2 option features a slightly different layout and more debris on the road; while it's nothing too interesting it's nice that the developers added a bit more content.

Web Wars

GCE Vectrex - Released - April 1, 1983

The player slips into the role of Hawk King. His mission is to search the Web of Fantasy for certain legendary creatures and collect them all. The Hawk King is controlled in a third person perspective, flying through the Web. The 20 creatures that can be captured are protected by drones, which can in turn be destroyed with the blaster weapon. Other actions the player can take is speeding up or slowing down the Hawk King, and extending a rod to capture a rare species once the player encounters one. After a creature has been successfully captured, the player enters the trophy room though a portal, which displays all captured creatures. If the player proves unsuccessful after two attempts however, they will have to face the Cosmic Dragon, at which point the only defence the player has left is avoiding its deadly fireballs.