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Earth in the year 2049 is not pleasant. In fact, it sucks. Literally sick to death of toxic sludge, the remaining members of humanity have scarpered to the stars and left mechanical slaves behind to clean up the mess. Unfortunately, one of these clockwork janitors gets a bit too big for his diodes and assumes control of the other mechanical slaves. Before long, the 'WarHead' droid is kicking butt on planet Earth and preparing various unpleasantries for the soon-to-return humans.

He hasn't, however, counted on the lowly VectorMan - a robot who returns from a sludge-dumping mission in space to discover that things at home have taken something of a turn for the worse. He single-handedly takes on WarHead in order to return peace to the planet before the humans return.

VectorMan is a traditional game in hi-tech clothing, and represents a significant step forward from Blue Sky's previous efforts, Roadrunner and Demolition Derby. Steering a Michelin Man lookalike through dystopian futuristic scaffolding and several scuba-diving missions may not sound the most appealing prospect, but the fate of Earth lies in the balance and duty calls...

1. Spaceport Shoot Out
   The game opens with a sprawling battle across a giant flying spaceport. The level introduces you to a range of foes and VectorMan's various combat facilities. Shoot the suspended television sets for hidden power-ups and extra weapons and pick up the floating pods left behind by destroyed droids to replenish energy.
2. Dumporama
   The spaceport level culminates with a fall into a giant metallic pit which turns out to be a landing site for a huge bomber plane. Dodge its dumping payload while shooting up through its open cargo doors.
3. Train Trouble
   An early mini-level sees VectorMan transformed into a small green train that fires explosive shells from its chimney. Running on a track suspended high above the ground you must shoot the marauding boss droid whilst jumping over its hands as they grab at you from below. Several different perspectives give you an aerial view of the action.
4. Ocean Motion
   Floating atolls, the sea bed and secret underground tunnels are the scenarios for the Ocean Shelf level. Watch out for floating gun platforms, underwater mines and steel traps.
5. Going Underground
   The drill facility is essential on this level to gain forced entry into the underground tunnels.
6. Fish Supper
   One of the most graceful power-up transformations momentarily turns VectorMan into a metallic frog which can scale the depths to reach the surface. Use this to sidestep troublesome areas and simply save time.
7. Going Ape
   Emerge from the underwater cavern to finish off the level boss. Or, as is more likely, get disassembled piece-by-piece and spread over a large area in a highly confrontational manner.
8. Watery World
   The undersea kingdom holds thrills and spills galore for VectorMan who adapts, Stingray-style, to his surroundings. Travel upwards, avoiding piranha fish and undersea mines, to reach the surface.

Free the polluted Earth of the future from tyranny by jumping off tall things and shooting some stuff.

VectorMan looks set to be the next big 16-bit pltformer, and its sprite-linked graphics alone are impressive enough to make it deserving of a strong reputation. The only thing in danger of letting the side down is the lack of variety.

Having said that, nice touches like the incredible television sets and the overall feel of the game go some way towards smoothing over the cracks in the rather unadventurous structure. The look and the feel of this game mean it deserves the title state of the art, it's just a shame it doesn't stretch you, or itself, a bit further.

This is pretty smart in just about every sense. Visually, it has a detail and fluidity unusual to Megadrive games, while gameplay is satisfyingly fast and explosive. VectorMan himself is one of the most impressive aspects of the whole caboodle - a constantly moving collection of spheres loosely assembled into a humanoid shape.

This is top quality stuff with just the right blend of fiddly platform fun and mindless violence. All of which goes to show that writing off 16-bit gaming is very short sighted indeed.

Graphics 90%
P. Fluttering flags and light refractions in water are just some of the details on show.

Music 88%
P. A pulsing kick-up-the-Orb groove.

Effects 86%
P. Elements from the intro sequence turn up in some impressive prangs later on. Exploding TV sets are always fun.

Lastability 88%
N. Some of the later levels seem a bit samey as the game progresses.

Overall 90%
An excellent showcase for the best in Megadrive graphics and gameplay.