Vanquish

Vanquish is the very definition of superficial. It is a game that can be played in short bursts with little-to-no commitment. I never once felt invested in the story or the stats. This might sound like a bad thing, but if you're the kind of person who likes multi-tasking then Vanquish can be played while doing the housework.

It is set in the future on a cylindrical city-like space station where the United States have built a new off-world colony to alleviate overcrowding on Earth. The Russians seize control of the colony with an army of Red Ruskie Robot Rascals and it is your job as Sam Gideon, a defense researcher, to gun them all down and 'vanquish' the enemy. Some plot twists come and go, but they are arbitrary. The game was designed by the team responsible for Resident Evil 4, and while you might recognize some similarities it is actually A HELLUVA LOT more like a cross between Space Marine and Turrican.

The production design is gorgeous, if repetitive. Many visions of the future are grim and dystopian, but Vanquish is filled with bright sunlight and exciting technology. It's far from a Utopia though. There are 5 acts in the game, and they are all relatively easy. I managed to unlock 57% of 51 trophies with a single who-gives-a-damn play through. It's not a game I will ever go back to and I expect you'll forget it about not long after you finish. But if all of this sounds like something you'd be interested in then it is worth picking up for cheap.

Graphics B Sound B Gameplay B Lasting Appeal C

I have been playing Vanquish for a little over two years. Such is the appeal of Shinji Mikami masterpiece, I just keep coming back to it. Vanquish is a polished gem of a game. Everything is rock solid, no glitches, no bugs no crashes. The game inspires confidence as soon as you see these beautiful graphics. And they are beautiful. Real care and attention has been placed on all aspects bun none more so than the Battle Suit. There are so many moving parts and flashing lights, it is a treat to look at and often worth a camera spin to see just how good it looks. Weapons morph into existence as extensions of the suit and are generated so beautifully they deserve a special mention.

The gameplay is solid. It feels very retro, in the style of Mega Man or Metroid. You feel overpowered with the control you have over the character as the gameplay is that tight, but it's not long before your control is tested to the max. Once you get past the learning curve it really does become second nature to operate the suit effectively in a heartbeat.

The difficulty of Vanquish is fantastic. Choose casual and it really is just that. The suit will look after you and the enemies go down like flies. Hard is the path to choose. Trophies are rewarded for completing each level and eventually the game by choosing hard mode. Each Boss (and there are many) has a knack to beating them just like great retro games of old, once you uncover the trick it is just a matter of great execution.

Like I said the difficulty if perfect. Scoring is done in the old Sega arcade style over Stages and Acts and scores are posted to an online leader-board This constitutes the only online aspect of the game and Vanquish is better off for it.

As you beat the game Tactical Challenges game mode will become unlocked. These are by far the most challenging aspects of the game. The sixth and final challenge is by far one of the most difficult aspects of any game I have played. Based on this challenge only, PS3trophies.org ramped the difficulty level for the Platinum to 9.5 out of 10. So again worth a special mention for those looking for a challenge.

Vanquish is a truly sensational game and one that you will keep coming back to. Most people I know are put off by the frantic nature of it but believe me it is so smooth and solid that once you get used to the overload it is a thing of beauty. The best game from developers Platinum Games in this reviewers opinion and it features the single best credits screen of any game.

If you are looking for old skool gaming with modern day gameplay and visuals, then look no further.

The characters are boring, the music it's catchy, the enemies are pretty boring and really repetitive, the level design it's ok

But being honest the game feel it's great.

If you like the style of platinum games you will like this game.

Boss-level enemies release an insta-kill attack when they're about to die. I don't want to repeat a whole battle just because I got killed by a single attack at the very end. Why is this such a frequent thing in Japanese games?

i have not played a game that has griped me like this in a very long time it will blow you away no lie but having been wowed by this there are some very small things that make it not a perfect score some reasons are that the speeches is a little flat at times the characters are not really developed and if your a person who needs length you wont really find it here but for the 4 to 6 hours of not being able to breath cause of the wild, really wild game play. i can go on forever with this but you need to at least rent it so put down call of duty and try something new.

9.5 out of 10