''Vortex'' is a 3D shooter game developed by

Argonaut Software Argonaut Games PLC was a British video game developer founded in 1982, most notable for the development of the Super NES video game ''Star Fox'' and its supporting Super FX hardware, as well as for developing '' Croc: Legend of the Gobbos'' and ...

and released by

Electro Brain Electro Brain was a North American video game publisher based in Salt Lake City, Utah that was active from 1990 to 1998. Games NES *'' Puss 'n Boots: Pero's Great Adventure'' (1990) *'' Super Cars'' (1991) *'' Eliminator Boat Duel'' (1991) *'' Gh ...

for the

Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eur ...

in September 1994. Titled ''Citadel'' during development, it is one of a few games designed to use the enhanced graphics of the

Super FX The Super FX is a coprocessor on the Graphics Support Unit (GSU) added to select Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) video game cartridges, primarily to facilitate advanced 2D and 3D graphics. The Super FX chip was designed by Argonaut G ...

powered GSU-1.

Gameplay

The player pilots an experimental mech called the Morphing Battle System against the five worlds of the Aki-Do Forces. The player enters the Vortex, to save the Deoberon system, retrieving the core from the fierce forces, the Aki-Do. The MBS can transform between four different modes: The Walker, Sonic Jet, Land Burner, and Hard Shell.

Development and release

The overall concept of ''Vortex'' fueled unconfirmed speculation that the project may have been derived from an unreleased game based on ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...

''. However, in a 2015 interview with ''

Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' soon became ...

'', programmer Michael Wong-Powell confirmed that ''Vortex'' and ''Transformers'' were entirely separate projects, with the latter being cancelled during development. In March 1994, Argonaut Software was signed as a

third-party developer A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large ...

Atari Corporation Atari Corporation was an American manufacturer of computers and video game consoles. It was founded by Jack Tramiel on May 17, 1984, as Tramel Technology, Ltd., but then took on the Atari name less than two months later when WarnerMedia, Warn ...

to develop games for the

Atari Jaguar The Atari Jaguar is a home video game console developed by Atari Corporation and released in North America in November 1993. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it competed with the 16-bit Sega Genesis, the Super NES and the ...

platform. A port of ''Vortex'' for the Jaguar was announced at Spring ECTS '94, but it ultimately was never released.

Reception

''Vortex'' was criticized for its difficulty and its lag, which was common for Super FX games of its type. ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...

''s five reviewers remarked that the pace is slow, but complimented the unique concept and high challenge. ''

GameFan ''GameFan'' (originally known as ''Diehard GameFan'') was a publication started by Tim Lindquist, Greg Off, George Weising. and Dave Halverson in September 1992 that provided coverage of domestic and import video games. It was notable for its ex ...

''s three reviewers scored it 79%, 72%, and 70%.

References

External links

*
''Vortex''
at

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

''Vortex''
at

1up.com ''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vortex (video game) 1994 video games Argonaut Games games Cancelled Atari Jaguar games Electro Brain games Pack-In-Video games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Super Nintendo Entertainment System-only games Super FX games Video games adapted into comics Video games developed in the United Kingdom Single-player video games