Prepare Yourself for the Sensory Barrage of Vanquish

About two weeks until Sega unleashes the craziness known as Vanquish onto the unsuspecting world. Throw ya' gunz in the air if you're excited! 

In an effort to train your senses to fully process Vanquish in the millisecond your reflexes will require for you to survive, here are two recent trailers for Platinum Games' latest; one showing you what you're up against, the other flossing the transforming weapons system you control. Now that is some beautiful fragging right there. I'd shed a tear if I weren't too busy disintegrating Russian death machines and smoking a cigarette. Damn, Sam Gideon is a bad ass.

An Amazon pre-order is supposed to net you three exclusive in-game weapons, but I don't see them advertising that deal anymore. I'll have to get to the bottom of this.  Stay tuned.

Vanquish Demo is a Velocity Attack

I wish I could tell you I have a complete grasp of what's going on in the Vanquish demo. I can't, but that doesn't mean I didn't have a hell of a time playing it. I think to comprehend Vanquish in it's entirety, I'd have to be on either coke or speed, and hope my brain would function at the sufficient level of 300%, thus making the game's electric pace seem more like a Sunday morning stroll through Central Park. 

The demo's subtitle is Velocity Attack, and I don't think it can be summed in two words any better that. Right from the start of things, you're tossed into a world of perpetual fast forward, where the only thing more helpful than shooting things, is moving really fast, or at times, really slow. Some points of observation:

+ Feels like a shooter with racing game mechanics
+ Flashy style with intense action and bullet time makes for cinematic gameplay
+ Learning curve, rewarding results 
+ Scoring system adds leaderboard competitiveness and replayability
+ Language choices for voices/subtitles/menus - Japanese voice acting wins

- HUD is too busy, limits field of view
- Subtitles for comms during in-game action are huge and distracting
- Gruff English voice acting is abrasive, Sam's voice especially
- You can only evade in four directions from the point you're on, vertically and horizontally

I took a quick look at the button config and jumped right into battle. I struggled a bit, so after
completing it, I went through the tutorial, got a grasp on things and played again, performing
at a much more respectable clip. Once you get a hang of the action and controls, the game
becomes a ballet of augmented reaction, transforming guns, headspins, and cigarettes.

If you were unaware or unsure of Vanquish, give the demo a shot. Fans of stylized action will be
ready for more come October 19th.

Preorder Vanquish From Amazon, Get More Guns

Platinum's next big thing, Vanquish, has released fresh footage, dedicated to getting you to preorder for some goodies. The action flosses three exclusive weapons; the Laser Cannon, the Anti-Armor Pistol, and the Boost Machine Gun. True tools of destruction worthy only of those heroes brave enough to preorder.

Trailer releases to plug preorder bonuses are nothing new, Gamestop has been using this old ploy for what seems like ages now. The curve ball this time, however, is that you have to preorder through Amazon to get these shape reconstructing armaments. I've been strictly buying games from Amazon for almost a year now, as they usually offer $10-$20 credit toward future game purchases, and with their Prime program, release date delivery costs you no extra. So for me, this preorder bonus seems like a no-brainer. 

Vanquish slides into your home on October 19th. If you're still on the fence about this wild thrill ride, you're absolutely mad! You can also download the demo on September 2nd to give yourself a good month to realize you've got a loose gasket for sleeping on this title.