The game’s hero, Sam Gideon, is clad in what the game calls the Augmented Reaction Suit (ARS), a neat piece of kit which also just happens to be the developers’ ace in the hole in keeping the gameplay fresh. Like most shooters, Sam gains access to an arsenal which includes light and heavy machine guns, rocket launchers, shotguns and one or two oddities – such as one gun which fires sharp metal Frisbees. At its core, Vanquish is a third-person pop-and-cover shooter in the style of the Gears of War series, inasmuch as players latch onto walls and barriers with one button, take aim with the left trigger and fire with the right. However, that’s where the comparison ends – and not just because unlike Gears Of War, the environments in Vanquish have a shiny and smooth veneer and its protagonist is lithe and acrobatic.. The AR suits endows the player with a raft of abilities which have been intuitively and excellently mapped to the controller. Players switch weapons by tapping the D-pad; Sam can carry three guns and up to six grenades.
The suit’s AR powers are where things get interesting; by tapping the left shoulder button, players can launch into a power-slide that sends them hurtling along the floor at breakneck speeds. Not only is this handy in avoiding incoming attacks, it doubles as a way to navigate environments quickly and allows players to get the drop on opponents tactically and reflexively; with just a quick burst, players can move behind cover or outpace enemies who are trying to draw a bead on them. The fun doesn’t stop there; players can also activate bullet-time, which slows down enemy movements, while allowing them to hit multiple targets in the blink of an eye. Bullet-time is also activated if the player sustains enough damage to put them close to dying; they can then concentrate their fire on the nearest threat or slide into cover. Both the power-slide and bullet-time mechanics are linked to a power gauge which needs to be refilled after a few seconds, but this is where the game’s high-speed pacing comes into play.
It’s difficult to describe the experience of playing Vanquish, but I can only imagine it compares to being dragged behind a speedboat with no waterskis. To say the action comes thick and fast is an understatement. One minute you’ll duck behind cover to snap off a shot at an enemy. The next, their returning fire will blast away the wall you were hiding behind. You’re then forced to power-slide towards them, activate bullet-time while between their legs and unload with a heavy machine gun which completely finishes them off. Victory is short-lived as another platoon of enemies pour into the screen.
The gameplay’s mix of person pop-and-cover, bullet-time, power-sliding and mêlée feels smooth, slick and ridiculously over the top at the same time. The enemy AI is lethal enough to force the player into using as many of Sam’s abilities as possible – usually combining a number of them for maximum impact. The level-design is off the charts; just when you think you’ve found the game’s limit, Vanquish introduces an epic new boss battle or massive acation set-piece which cranks the excitement up a notch. The whole experience feels like a massive sensory overload, and this is only compounded by the soundtrack – an overpowering audio cocktail of gunfire, explosions and fast-paced techno (which bears remarkable similarity to the music in the webuyanycar.com adverts).
There’s a story of sorts, involving some extremist Russian military faction taking control of a space station and using it to turn San Francisco into a landfill, but it may as well have been dumped altogether for all that it features in the proceedings. The characters are all walking clichés and the dialogue is laughably bad (“I’m getting better at this ‘falling out of moving vehicles thing’, says Sam. “You’re getting better at looking like an ***hole,” comes the reply.) However, none of these things impact negatively on Vanquish as a whole; in all probability, players will be too busy ducking, rolling, shooting and sliding to care about any of the plot’s shortcomings. The length of the game may strike some as criminally short – it clocks in at around six hours, if you play it through on Normal difficulty. However, given the game’s blistering pace, pounding soundtrack and relentless stream of action, if it were any longer Vanquish would probably wear out its welcome.
However, Vanquish does falter at times and this occurs when the level design doesn’t make the set-piece the player is up against feel like a relentless, thrilling experience. The moment the game’s show-stopper veneer slips, the basic, age-old design of the enemies, and the way they are to be defeated, is thrown into sharp relief; point the reticule at the bits that look like glowing red and eyes and shoot. The only other complaint you could aim at Vanquish is that the only replay value it has is solely based around bragging rights. At the end of every section, players receive a score they can upload to leader boards and, aside from some collectable statues scattered throughout the levels, this is the only mechanic Platinum Games has included to draw players back to Vanquish once the credits role.
Still, when one considers the sheer, grin-inducing fun Vanquish has to offer, these complaints become insignificant. It should also be pointed out that Vanquish is also one of the best looking games released all year and in terms of sheer specatacle, there are few titles that can match it. This is a fast-paced, high-octane and resolutely hard-core shooter, which makes no concessions to casual gamers. It also happens to be one of the best games of 2010.
It’s hard to begin any review of Vanquish without first addressing how fast the game feels. The latest title to roll off the barmy assembly line of Platinum Games – the developer behind Bayonetta and MadWorld – contains plenty of aspects gamers will recognise from other titles, but rarely have they been used at the service of such a high-velocity experience. Just as impressive, is how gracefully the developers have implemented all of the gameplay aspects without sacrificing one iota of excitement. The only time Vanquish lets up at all is during a tense, tension filled section involving a sniper rifle, which seems like a moment of quiet reflection when compared to what has gone before it. Make no mistake, Vanquish is a speeding bullet of a game.
At its core, Vanquish is a third-person pop-and-cover shooter in the style of the Gears Of War series, inasmuch as players latch onto walls and barriers with one button, take aim with the left trigger and fire with the right. However, that’s where the comparison ends – and not just because unlike Gears Of War, the environments in Vanquish have a shiny and smooth veneer and its protagonist is lithe and acrobatic. The game’s hero, Sam Gideon, is clad in what the game calls the Augmented Reaction Suit (ARS), a neat piece of kit which also just happens to be the developers’ ace in the hole in keeping the gameplay fresh. The AR suits endows the player with a raft of abilities which have been intuitively and excellently mapped to the controller. Players switch weapons by tapping the D-pad; Sam can carry three guns and up to six grenades. Like most shooters, Sam gains access to an arsenal which includes light and heavy machine guns, rocket launchers, shotguns and one or two oddities – such as one gun which fires sharp metal Frisbees.
The suit’s AR powers are where things get interesting; by tapping the left shoulder button, players can launch into a power-slide that sends them hurtling along the floor at breakneck speeds. Not only is this handy in avoiding incoming attacks, it doubles as a way to navigate environments quickly and allows players to get the drop on opponents tactically and reflexively; with just a quick burst, players can move behind cover or outpace enemies who are trying to draw a bead on them. The fun doesn’t stop there; players can also activate bullet-time, which slows down enemy movements, while allowing them to hit multiple targets in the blink of an eye. Bullet-time is also activated if the player sustains enough damage to put them close to dying; they can then concentrate their fire on the nearest threat or slide into cover. Both the power-slide and bullet-time mechanics are linked to a power gauge which needs to be refilled after a few seconds, but this is where the game’s high-speed pacing comes into play.
It’s difficult to describe the experience of playing Vanquish, but I can only imagine it compares to being dragged behind a speedboat with no waterskis. To say the action comes thick and fast is an understatement. One minute you’ll duck behind cover to snap off a shot at an enemy. The next, their returning fire will blast away the wall you were hiding behind. You’re then forced to power-slide towards them, activate bullet-time while between their legs and unload with a heavy machine gun which completely finishes them off. Victory is short-lived as another platoon of enemies pour into the screen.
The gameplay’s mix of person pop-and-cover, bullet-time, power-sliding and mêlée feels smooth, slick and ridiculously over the top at the same time. The enemy AI is lethal enough to force the player into using as many of Sam’s abilities as possible – usually combining a number of them for maximum impact. The level-design is off the charts; just when you think you’ve found the game’s limit, Vanquish introduces an epic new boss battle or massive acation set-piece which cranks the excitement up a notch. The whole experience feels like a massive sensory overload, and this is only compounded by the soundtrack – an overpowering audio cocktail of gunfire, explosions and fast-paced techno (which bears remarkable similarity to the music in the webuyanycar.com adverts).
There’s a story of sorts, involving some extremist Russian military faction taking control of a space station and using it to turn San Francisco into a landfill, but it may as well have been dumped altogether for all that it features in the proceedings. The characters are all walking clichés and the dialogue is laughably bad (“I’m getting better at this ‘falling out of moving vehicles thing’, says Sam. “You’re getting better at looking like an ***hole,” comes the reply.) However, none of these things impact negatively on Vanquish as a whole; in all probability, players will be too busy ducking, rolling, shooting and sliding to care about any of the plot’s shortcomings. The length of the game may strike some as criminally short – it clocks in at around six hours, if you play it through on Normal difficulty. However, given the game’s blistering pace, pounding soundtrack and relentless stream of action, if it were any longer Vanquish would probably wear out its welcome.
However, Vanquish does falter at times and this occurs when the level design doesn’t make the set-piece the player is up against feel like a relentless, thrilling experience. The moment the game’s show-stopper veneer slips, the basic, age-old design of the enemies, and the way they are to be defeated, is thrown into sharp relief; point the reticule at the bits that look like glowing red and eyes and shoot. The only other complaint you could aim at Vanquish is that the only replay value it has is solely based around bragging rights. At the end of every section, players receive a score they can upload to leader boards and, aside from some collectable statues scattered throughout the levels, this is the only mechanic Platinum Games has included to draw players back to Vanquish once the credits role.
These complaints become insignificant, when one considers the sheer, grin-inducing fun Vanquish has to offer. Vanquish is also one of the best looking games released all year and in terms of sheer spectacle, there are few titles that can match it. This is a fast-paced, high-octane and resolutely hard-core shooter, which makes no concessions to casual gamers. It also happens to be one of the best games of 2010.
