If I have to play a game more than once to appreciate the gameplay mechanics, set pieces, and character personalities, then there is either something wrong with the game or I'm Johnny Raincloud with a particularly large stick up my ass. In this case, I conclude that there is something very wrong with this title, and while the potential for a truly balls-to-the-wall epic shooter is certainly there, it falls flat with stale A.I. enemies, enough cutscenes to rival Square Enix, and horrid characters and voice-acting.
Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you...
If there is one thing I dislike more than the Cold War, it's when people use that stereotypical matchup in games that clearly do not need it. Vanquish is one such title. Once again, those rascally countries we all know and love, U.S.A. and Russia, are getting into some more shenanigans, and I can't begin to describe the magnitude of the "Ugh." I let out when I saw who I'd be fighting. Once again, down with communism and bad Russian accents. Here we go again.
The game begins with a cutscene. Nothing new there, but I found that about halfway through it, I was getting up to get a cup of juice and throw some popcorn in the microwave to settle down for a nice feature length film. And the game is plagued with them. They are not all as long as the opening movie, but that doesn't mean they're any less disappointing. More than once I found myself wishing I could actually do the things in the cutscenes (which could have been perfectly possible gameplay additions), which wouldn't have been that bad had it not been played by a gruff-voiced, nicotine addicted, Power Ranger on steroids. The voice acting is hardly passable, and the only parts that were worth watching were the segments that I'd rather be playing.
Speaking of playing, gameplay itself - after the cutscenes finally end - is nothing short of hectic. Multicolored explosions left and right are the least of your worries when there is at least one bullet per-pixel onscreen at once. You are will likely be hiding behind something most of the time and taking occasional potshots at the insipidly stupid AI. For example: There is a function called "Smoke Break" in which Sam Gideon removes his helmet, takes a drag, and tosses the still burning cigarette. Somehow, the little blip of light means "shoot here" for the (get this) red robot foes (symbolism? Of course not!), and you are free to take off in the opposite direction. Yes, this is ridiculous in premise, but its surprising fun if you're smart with its use. Not every enemy falls for the trick either, so you can't rely on it. The main attraction to combat, which takes center stage in the game itself, is your Augmented Reaction Suit. Yes. Your ARS suit. Your ARSe suit has many functions including slowing down time around you for some impressively done slow motion action, using your ARSe rockets to slide around on the ground, and...well, that's about it. Really, the game relies on very few key functions to make it fun.
You have smoking a cigarette and ARSe rockets. Whoopdie bloody doo.
The next brilliant idea is the BLADEs weapons system. Don't get excited. All it means is that you can carry three weapons around and upgrade them with an unintuitive and piss-worthy system which you must use if you want to stand a tiny bit of a chance against the final boss, even on normal difficulty. The guns are standard fare assault rifles, snipers, rocket lawn chairs, etcetera.
Nope, not even a secondary fire function to make things interesting.
All in all, there isn't much variety to be had here. You have the option to melee, but one melee attack immediately overheats your suit for some godawful reason. I can take a rocket to the face and brush the meager dust off my visor with a smirk, but I can't break a robots arm off without figuratively breaking a nail? This is a major combat function that is hilariously (in a bad way) sold short, but for what? So that Platinum Games could focus on making the game look as beautiful as possible?
That might be the only redeeming quality of the game itself. The environments are beautiful, the combat looks brilliant - while feeling stale - and there are numerous moving parts and flashing lights just on Sam's armor. Slow motion slows things down so far that you see individual bullets in mid flight with their sonic trails behind them, and not once did I experience a lagging frame rate. The set pieces are outstanding as well. As dull as the gameplay was, I really did enjoy watching an absolutely massive battlecruiser crash in the very first level, not but three hundred feet to my left as I laid down machine gun fire on the enemies flank. I also had fun sliding with my ARSe right between a giant robots legs and lodging a rocket in the back of its skull. I did think it was awesome to have a smoke break, take a deep breath in the large scale battles, and leap over my cover in slow motion, John-Woo meets Max Payne meets Master Chief, and blow three robots heads off in rapid succession.
Let me give a list of the things that they should have included:
-Customizable survival modes. I understand that this isn't Halo, but be damned, if I could put my suit into permanent overdrive, or have infinite ammo or something, just for the survival, I would play the game every day for a week straight.
-A soundtrack that doesn't suck. I will not mention the music further. If I ever hear so much bad orchestra or techno shit again I may grind my face into a bowl of broken glass.
-Weapons with a much greater variety and an upgrade system that doesn't take an hour to master. Get the HMG, the assault rifle, and the shotgun fully upgraded, and they're the only weapons you need use.
-I don't want awesome cutscenes nearly as much as I would like to actually play those scenes. So much wasted excitement...
Despite my numerous complaints, I played the game three times in a row, played the survival bonus missions, and still ache for another playthrough. There's no variety, and the cutscenes steal the show, but it still manages to be really fun. I will never tire of using my ARSe rockets or overused slow motion feature. It's baffling. Overall, if you're looking for a good rental, I highly recommend Vanquish. If you were hoping for a futuristic game like this to buy and cherish forever, then wait until the price drops to fifteen dollars.
Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you...
If there is one thing I dislike more than the Cold War, it's when people use that stereotypical matchup in games that clearly do not need it. Vanquish is one such title. Once again, those rascally countries we all know and love, U.S.A. and Russia, are getting into some more shenanigans, and I can't begin to describe the magnitude of the "Ugh." I let out when I saw who I'd be fighting. Once again, down with communism and bad Russian accents. Here we go again.
The game begins with a cutscene. Nothing new there, but I found that about halfway through it, I was getting up to get a cup of juice and throw some popcorn in the microwave to settle down for a nice feature length film. And the game is plagued with them. They are not all as long as the opening movie, but that doesn't mean they're any less disappointing. More than once I found myself wishing I could actually do the things in the cutscenes (which could have been perfectly possible gameplay additions), which wouldn't have been that bad had it not been played by a gruff-voiced, nicotine addicted, Power Ranger on steroids. The voice acting is hardly passable, and the only parts that were worth watching were the segments that I'd rather be playing.
Speaking of playing, gameplay itself - after the cutscenes finally end - is nothing short of hectic. Multicolored explosions left and right are the least of your worries when there is at least one bullet per-pixel onscreen at once. You are will likely be hiding behind something most of the time and taking occasional potshots at the insipidly stupid AI. For example: There is a function called "Smoke Break" in which Sam Gideon removes his helmet, takes a drag, and tosses the still burning cigarette. Somehow, the little blip of light means "shoot here" for the (get this) red robot foes (symbolism? Of course not!), and you are free to take off in the opposite direction. Yes, this is ridiculous in premise, but its surprising fun if you're smart with its use. Not every enemy falls for the trick either, so you can't rely on it. The main attraction to combat, which takes center stage in the game itself, is your Augmented Reaction Suit. Yes. Your ARS suit. Your ARSe suit has many functions including slowing down time around you for some impressively done slow motion action, using your ARSe rockets to slide around on the ground, and...well, that's about it. Really, the game relies on very few key functions to make it fun.
You have smoking a cigarette and ARSe rockets. Whoopdie bloody doo.
The next brilliant idea is the BLADEs weapons system. Don't get excited. All it means is that you can carry three weapons around and upgrade them with an unintuitive and piss-worthy system which you must use if you want to stand a tiny bit of a chance against the final boss, even on normal difficulty. The guns are standard fare assault rifles, snipers, rocket lawn chairs, etcetera.
Nope, not even a secondary fire function to make things interesting.
All in all, there isn't much variety to be had here. You have the option to melee, but one melee attack immediately overheats your suit for some godawful reason. I can take a rocket to the face and brush the meager dust off my visor with a smirk, but I can't break a robots arm off without figuratively breaking a nail? This is a major combat function that is hilariously (in a bad way) sold short, but for what? So that Platinum Games could focus on making the game look as beautiful as possible?
That might be the only redeeming quality of the game itself. The environments are beautiful, the combat looks brilliant - while feeling stale - and there are numerous moving parts and flashing lights just on Sam's armor. Slow motion slows things down so far that you see individual bullets in mid flight with their sonic trails behind them, and not once did I experience a lagging frame rate. The set pieces are outstanding as well. As dull as the gameplay was, I really did enjoy watching an absolutely massive battlecruiser crash in the very first level, not but three hundred feet to my left as I laid down machine gun fire on the enemies flank. I also had fun sliding with my ARSe right between a giant robots legs and lodging a rocket in the back of its skull. I did think it was awesome to have a smoke break, take a deep breath in the large scale battles, and leap over my cover in slow motion, John-Woo meets Max Payne meets Master Chief, and blow three robots heads off in rapid succession.
Let me give a list of the things that they should have included:
-Customizable survival modes. I understand that this isn't Halo, but be damned, if I could put my suit into permanent overdrive, or have infinite ammo or something, just for the survival, I would play the game every day for a week straight.
-A soundtrack that doesn't suck. I will not mention the music further. If I ever hear so much bad orchestra or techno shit again I may grind my face into a bowl of broken glass.
-Weapons with a much greater variety and an upgrade system that doesn't take an hour to master. Get the HMG, the assault rifle, and the shotgun fully upgraded, and they're the only weapons you need use.
-I don't want awesome cutscenes nearly as much as I would like to actually play those scenes. So much wasted excitement...
Despite my numerous complaints, I played the game three times in a row, played the survival bonus missions, and still ache for another playthrough. There's no variety, and the cutscenes steal the show, but it still manages to be really fun. I will never tire of using my ARSe rockets or overused slow motion feature. It's baffling. Overall, if you're looking for a good rental, I highly recommend Vanquish. If you were hoping for a futuristic game like this to buy and cherish forever, then wait until the price drops to fifteen dollars.