REVIEW: Vanquish

Space marines, cover-based battle, and quick-time events are some of the most cliched ideas in the action genre. Vanquish attempts to build on the mundane by allowing you to spring out of cover and slide a hundred meters forward on your knees, while skillfully picking off your opposition with sniper rifle headshots, and at the end of your jet-propelled dash, breakdancing into an evasive roll, before dashing up a 30 foot tall robot, to punch his head off, clean. Sure it sounds good in theory, but can Vanquish pull it off in practice?

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Platinum Games Working on a Multiplayer Title

Recent favorite of mine Platinum Games just teased their next project, a multiplayer game. I know this may not seem like much news, but think about it. Platinum has developed some of the truly fun and unique games of recent memory, such as MadWorld, Bayonetta, and the upcoming Vanquish, but they have never implemented multiplayer in any of their releases. That shows that unlike some other developers, Platinum Games is doing their duty to make the best single player experiences possible, without dividing their attention with a half-baked multiplayer throw-in.

In an interview with NowGamer, Platinum Games producer Atsushi Inaba states "We haven’t officially announced it yet, but we have a big multiplayer title that we’re working on right now. There are many different projects running internally, but please look out for the announcement."

Sweet. If the track record is worth anything, this multiplayer project is going to be an over-the-top, balls to the wall orgy of awesome. Even if it's just an online deathmatch version of Vanquish, count me in! 

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.

Vanquish Slides On

Last month we saw the Vanquish launch trailer on the E3 floor, and we were all wholly impressed, weren't we? I know I was. If you want the rundown, click the above link for thoughts and impressions.

Enough talk! Like Vanquish, this post is about action! Suck on this trailer, gangsta scum!

E3: Vanquish

Vanquish, is a very cool sounding word. Say it with me, Vanquish. I think we sound noble, yet deadly. Vanquish. Vanquish is more than just an awesome word. It's Sega and Platinum Games answer to Gears of War. And that answer is on just about every amphetamine you can imagine. This thing is pumped! The voice acting is a concern, as is the story, but it looks like the action could quite possibly make up for those flaws. Look at the vibrancy, the frantic pace, the weaponry, the giant baddies, and the swarmer missiles. Gods, I fucking love swarmer missiles. Watch the trailer. If you're not excited to sit down and play this game, watch the trailer again. If you're still not excited to get your hands on this thing, you're quite possibly deaf and blind.

Vanquish!