PlayStation 3
XBox 360
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Product Features

Genre
Role Playing
Publisher
SEGA
Release Date
October 22, 2010
Available Platforms
PlayStation 3, XBox 360

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Vanquish

Directed by Shinji Mikami, the creator of the Resident Evil series, VANQUISH is a sci-fi shooter of epic proportions with a fast, fluid and frenetic combat system, and an engaging and immersive storyline. The story takes place on a vast space station in a near future world where nations war over the planet''s remaining energy resources. Against this backdrop, players take the role of Sam Gideon, a government agent kitted out with a futuristic battle suit. A versatile fighter with a huge arsenal of weaponry at his disposal, Sam also has an array of martial arts skills that he can use to take down his robot enemies. Fast, fluid and frenetic - This is gaming at its most explosive and exciting, as you storm into battle Experience a game character like no other - Sam is the ultimate weapon,...

  • Ross McIndoe November 22, 2010 PS3
    ****

    The Story

    You have a totally badass robo-suit and an excuse to blow stuff up. Anything beyond that is realy just generic action blockbuster waffle, quite deliberately mocking the overly macho, brain dead stories of many big western games (and films for that matter) but neither the script or the voice acting is good or bad enough to be worth mentioning. There's an incredibly camp flying Russian dude, an explosion in San Francisco and a conspiracy involving the President but really the story just acts as a way of getting you from point A to point B.
    This is no bad thing because both points are full of giant robots just waiting to be turned in to scrap metal, John Woo style.
    Seriously, if that man ever directs as Sci-Fi film, it'll be Vanquish but with Chow Yun Fat. Which actually sounds totally awesome.




    The Graphics

    Light every game Platinum has ever made, Vanquish oozes style - whether in slow-mo or at rocket speed it looks wonderful, at times reminiscent of Wipeout depicting a crisp, minimalist future where everything looks like it was designed by apple - an eventuality we may all have to face one day.
    It handles the ridiculous pace of the Gameplay incredibly well, the framerate never even stutters and everything is exceptionally well-designed, with a particular highlight the magic transforma-gun that switches form a rifle to a bazooka in an instant. An incredibly stylish instant at that.
    The action-packed cutscenes are also a delight to watch, not only gorgeously animated but also with choreography on par with Metal Gear Solid or God of War. Like those heavyweights of the action game world, this game would be a blast just to watch if it wasn't for the knowledge that by doing so you'd be missing out on one of the best action games in years.


    The Gameplay

    Anyone who has played a cover based third person shooter such as Gears of War or Uncharted will immediately feel at home here, the cover system is ripped straight out of them and at first glance this appears to be a similar deal. Then they'll start dying over and over again. You see, everything in Vanquish takes place at a far higher pace than in any other shooter, failure to match this pace will see you blown up again and again.
    Instead of crouching behind cover and popping up to pick off enemies, Vanquish has you darting between bits of cover, knee sliding at rocket pace, vaulting barriers all while blasting enemies to pieces, going into bullet time to pick off targets as quickly as possible. The skill is not only in avoiding enemy fire from all directions while taking them out but in making sure the aforementioned awesome robo-suit doesn't overheat. If it does you'll find yourself without the ability to use bullet time or knee-slide for about half a minute which in the breakneck fast, frantic fights of Vanquish is more than long enough for you to be killed three times over.
    The game never slows down and it's a credit to the developers that its able to play out at such a high pace without a technical blip in sight, everything flows beautifully and you'll never kill with more style than you do in Vanquish.
    The game's main flaw becomes evident when you hear the familiar "Ping!" of a trophy being unlocked and realise you've been rewarded for using every weapon in the game..less than two hours in. By and large, your arsenal is pretty standard -shotgun, assault rifle, rocket launcher etc - with a couple of sci-fi weapons thrown in for good measure but the lack of variety is redeemed to an extent by the fact that each weapons merits more experimentation than in most games as you need to work out how to use it while rolling, sliding jumping and generally showing off.
    Sadly, the same problem applies to enemies, you'll have seen every foe by halfway through, an issue that's exasperated by the dramatic appearance of a gigantic robot known as an ARGUS in the first act which is brilliant and makes for an exciting boss fight but makes it a tad disappointing when you realise that this is the only boss-type enemy in the game which is bizarre as just about every game ever has had enemies that get bigger and badder as you proceed. It's just common sense.
    However, every fight is exhilarating and the action is world-class, making a little bit of repetition perfectly forgivable.


    The Verdict

    With this generation of HD consoles, generic shooters have swamped the market, making a game as unique as Vanquish a breath of fresh air, reinvigorating the genre and forcing players to relearn how to play making for one of the most enjoyable action games this year and one no-one should miss out on.
    Its my game of the year so far, and is one of the best , most innovative action games to be released in years and is more than worth your money.

    9/10