modeps
10-26-2010, 10:42 AM
<table width="100%" style="padding:2px; background-color: black"><tr><td>Vanquish Review [360]
Also on: PlayStation 3
Developed by: Platinum Games (http://www.platinumgames.com)
Published by: Sega (http://www.sega.com)
You pay: $59.99</td><td align="right"><img style="border:1px solid red;" src="http://evavhost.com/i/press/lost_head.jpg"></td></tr><tr><td>Release Date: Oct. 19, 2010 (NA)</td><td align=right>Martin 'lost' Perry</td></tr></table>
Time to smoke cigarettes and Russian robots.
Vanquish comes to you by way of Platinum Games. Captains of cool, alternative Japanese videogame products, their most recent titles include MadWorld, the ultra-violent Wii combat game, and Bayonetta, sexy witch alternative to Devil May Cry. The former is still in shrink-wrap, my copy sitting abandoned in a drawer. The latter is one of my favorite games in recent times - a heady trip through constant stimulation, variety and an exciting combat system. Regardless of my opinion on those titles, both have a distinctly Eastern flavor. Vanquish wears its inspiration on its armour covered sleeve - calling on Gears of War and its army of diligent, cover-based followers. Now Gears is just about the most American thing in gaming, so as a starting point for a wild mix of Japanese craziness it seemed like an odd choice.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/vanquish_1.jpg
Fear not, Japanorama fans! Within seconds of firing up the game disk you will immediately find yourself at home in this sci-fi world. Sam Gideon, named in a suitably odd fashion, is a member of DARPA, an agency that only the East seems to care about, and his employers have handed over a super-powered Iron-Man-esque suit that grants him increased strength, speed and endurance. A massive cylindrical American space colony is attacked by a Russian guy wrapped in rubber with an army of deadly robots at his disposal. Robert Burns (who we’ll assume bears no relation to the Scottish poet) is your military alternate--a gruff old man with a massive cybernetic arm that transforms into a rather impressive mini-gun. The story proceeds through revenge, political deceit and double-crossing, all the while forming a romance between Sam and his ever-present female DARPA assistant.
So, suitably barmy plot established, Shinji Mikami and his band of merry men equip you with the ability to boost around the floor while ducking into cover. Slow-motion regularly kicks in while shooting or when taking heavy damage, and the massive vista of the colony spreads out ahead of you while chaos crashes down around your head. Style is obviously important to Platinum, and it shows in Vanquish. Your super-powers have plenty of application in battle, but the boosting is really only a replacement for a sprint button. However, it looks a whole lot cooler to blast across on your knees than ducking down doing a roadie run. Giant robots regularly attack, smashing through walls and bringing down towers, all contributing to this continually mixing blend of scale and speed.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/vanquish_2.jpg
The game features a similar level structure to Bayonetta, with individual sections generally lasting no more than 15 minutes. Rather than just resting on the cover-based laurels of its competitors, Vanquish likes to throw something unusual into most sections. The game keeps a persistently speedy pace as you battle on monorails, collapsing bridges, through dark caves and at the top of towering spires. It’s all pretty exciting, although your place in all the chaos is more that of a spectator rather than a vital part of the action. Your job, your only job really, is to keep shooting. Monorail track bending out of shape? Keep shooting. Armored personnel carrier on fire? Keep shooting. Bridge collapsing? Keep shooting.
Other than the occasional turret (usually with a surprisingly low amount of ammo available) and a walker-style mech that you can leap into following a successful headshot on the driver, things don’t really ever change for Gabe or the player throughout the campaign. The weapons--a mix of familiar assault rifles and shotguns given a sci-fi twist and a more novelty devices like a bladed disk launcher--all make themselves known fairly early in the game. You don’t really discover anything new; it’s just shown to you from your cowering position behind a rock or burnt out car. I think that’s why I didn’t really have an awful lot of fun with Vanquish. Sure, I was blasting around in slow-motion style and taking down mechs ten times my size. But I was doing it repeatedly, only against different back-drops to the action each time. I caught myself wondering why the game wasn’t capturing my imagination, wasn’t gripping me and having me begging for more like Bayonetta did. It wasn’t due to the lack of a black-latex clad witch; more likely, it was due to my lack of involvement in what is really a fairly passive shooter.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/vanquish_3.jpg
There has been a bit of controversy surrounding the game’s length. As a full-price release, lacking any multiplayer, the reported four hour length of the game would certainly seem alarming. My completion time came in at 4:54, a time that included all the failed attempts at beating bosses and conquering battlefronts. The funny thing is, while Platinum has denied the game can be completed in four hours, I wasn’t even achieving the target times that earn bonus points on completion of a level. It would seem that despite their protests, the developers actually want you to complete the game pretty quickly. Because of the short duration, I can’t really recommend Vanquish as more than a rental. It’s the kind of game that you would play mostly for the scenarios and impressive visuals. A challenge mode adds a pretty weak Horde style game type to the single-player game--a bizarre decision that adds nothing to the value of the game.
Based on style and the sheer size of some of the truly stand-out set pieces, Vanquish is a worthwhile release that you’ll not regret trying out. The mechanics are tight, the boosting mechanic is enjoyable, and the quirky characters and cheesy dialog are good fun. The problem is that the over-the-shoulder, cover-based shooter doesn’t lend itself well to the theatrics that Platinum so enjoy developing. Weird quick-time moments where the suit seems infinitely capable aggravate the player’s sense of disconnection, but the strong cover system, and the well designed levels make the whole thing a decent experience overall. The developers are capable of genre re-definition, this is just a neat addition to a saturated market.
http://evavhost.com/public/35n.gif
<table width="100%" style="padding:2px"><tr><td width=33% valign=top>http://evavhost.com/public/the_good.jpg The mechanics all work well, with the boosting being particularly fun. Strong level design that demonstrates a good understanding of what makes a cover shooter great. Visually impressive, and technically proficient with not a single glitch encountered.</td><td width=33% valign=top>http://evavhost.com/public/the_bad.jpg Too short for a full purchase, no question about it. You feel like a spectator, rather than a participant, too often during the most impressive set pieces. The variation on offer, and there’s plenty of it, seems mostly superficial.</td><td width=33% valign=top>http://evavhost.com/public/the_ugly.jpg The God Hard mode that unlocks after the first play is a complete bitch.</td></tr></table>
Also on: PlayStation 3
Developed by: Platinum Games (http://www.platinumgames.com)
Published by: Sega (http://www.sega.com)
You pay: $59.99</td><td align="right"><img style="border:1px solid red;" src="http://evavhost.com/i/press/lost_head.jpg"></td></tr><tr><td>Release Date: Oct. 19, 2010 (NA)</td><td align=right>Martin 'lost' Perry</td></tr></table>
Time to smoke cigarettes and Russian robots.
Vanquish comes to you by way of Platinum Games. Captains of cool, alternative Japanese videogame products, their most recent titles include MadWorld, the ultra-violent Wii combat game, and Bayonetta, sexy witch alternative to Devil May Cry. The former is still in shrink-wrap, my copy sitting abandoned in a drawer. The latter is one of my favorite games in recent times - a heady trip through constant stimulation, variety and an exciting combat system. Regardless of my opinion on those titles, both have a distinctly Eastern flavor. Vanquish wears its inspiration on its armour covered sleeve - calling on Gears of War and its army of diligent, cover-based followers. Now Gears is just about the most American thing in gaming, so as a starting point for a wild mix of Japanese craziness it seemed like an odd choice.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/vanquish_1.jpg
Fear not, Japanorama fans! Within seconds of firing up the game disk you will immediately find yourself at home in this sci-fi world. Sam Gideon, named in a suitably odd fashion, is a member of DARPA, an agency that only the East seems to care about, and his employers have handed over a super-powered Iron-Man-esque suit that grants him increased strength, speed and endurance. A massive cylindrical American space colony is attacked by a Russian guy wrapped in rubber with an army of deadly robots at his disposal. Robert Burns (who we’ll assume bears no relation to the Scottish poet) is your military alternate--a gruff old man with a massive cybernetic arm that transforms into a rather impressive mini-gun. The story proceeds through revenge, political deceit and double-crossing, all the while forming a romance between Sam and his ever-present female DARPA assistant.
So, suitably barmy plot established, Shinji Mikami and his band of merry men equip you with the ability to boost around the floor while ducking into cover. Slow-motion regularly kicks in while shooting or when taking heavy damage, and the massive vista of the colony spreads out ahead of you while chaos crashes down around your head. Style is obviously important to Platinum, and it shows in Vanquish. Your super-powers have plenty of application in battle, but the boosting is really only a replacement for a sprint button. However, it looks a whole lot cooler to blast across on your knees than ducking down doing a roadie run. Giant robots regularly attack, smashing through walls and bringing down towers, all contributing to this continually mixing blend of scale and speed.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/vanquish_2.jpg
The game features a similar level structure to Bayonetta, with individual sections generally lasting no more than 15 minutes. Rather than just resting on the cover-based laurels of its competitors, Vanquish likes to throw something unusual into most sections. The game keeps a persistently speedy pace as you battle on monorails, collapsing bridges, through dark caves and at the top of towering spires. It’s all pretty exciting, although your place in all the chaos is more that of a spectator rather than a vital part of the action. Your job, your only job really, is to keep shooting. Monorail track bending out of shape? Keep shooting. Armored personnel carrier on fire? Keep shooting. Bridge collapsing? Keep shooting.
Other than the occasional turret (usually with a surprisingly low amount of ammo available) and a walker-style mech that you can leap into following a successful headshot on the driver, things don’t really ever change for Gabe or the player throughout the campaign. The weapons--a mix of familiar assault rifles and shotguns given a sci-fi twist and a more novelty devices like a bladed disk launcher--all make themselves known fairly early in the game. You don’t really discover anything new; it’s just shown to you from your cowering position behind a rock or burnt out car. I think that’s why I didn’t really have an awful lot of fun with Vanquish. Sure, I was blasting around in slow-motion style and taking down mechs ten times my size. But I was doing it repeatedly, only against different back-drops to the action each time. I caught myself wondering why the game wasn’t capturing my imagination, wasn’t gripping me and having me begging for more like Bayonetta did. It wasn’t due to the lack of a black-latex clad witch; more likely, it was due to my lack of involvement in what is really a fairly passive shooter.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/vanquish_3.jpg
There has been a bit of controversy surrounding the game’s length. As a full-price release, lacking any multiplayer, the reported four hour length of the game would certainly seem alarming. My completion time came in at 4:54, a time that included all the failed attempts at beating bosses and conquering battlefronts. The funny thing is, while Platinum has denied the game can be completed in four hours, I wasn’t even achieving the target times that earn bonus points on completion of a level. It would seem that despite their protests, the developers actually want you to complete the game pretty quickly. Because of the short duration, I can’t really recommend Vanquish as more than a rental. It’s the kind of game that you would play mostly for the scenarios and impressive visuals. A challenge mode adds a pretty weak Horde style game type to the single-player game--a bizarre decision that adds nothing to the value of the game.
Based on style and the sheer size of some of the truly stand-out set pieces, Vanquish is a worthwhile release that you’ll not regret trying out. The mechanics are tight, the boosting mechanic is enjoyable, and the quirky characters and cheesy dialog are good fun. The problem is that the over-the-shoulder, cover-based shooter doesn’t lend itself well to the theatrics that Platinum so enjoy developing. Weird quick-time moments where the suit seems infinitely capable aggravate the player’s sense of disconnection, but the strong cover system, and the well designed levels make the whole thing a decent experience overall. The developers are capable of genre re-definition, this is just a neat addition to a saturated market.
http://evavhost.com/public/35n.gif
<table width="100%" style="padding:2px"><tr><td width=33% valign=top>http://evavhost.com/public/the_good.jpg The mechanics all work well, with the boosting being particularly fun. Strong level design that demonstrates a good understanding of what makes a cover shooter great. Visually impressive, and technically proficient with not a single glitch encountered.</td><td width=33% valign=top>http://evavhost.com/public/the_bad.jpg Too short for a full purchase, no question about it. You feel like a spectator, rather than a participant, too often during the most impressive set pieces. The variation on offer, and there’s plenty of it, seems mostly superficial.</td><td width=33% valign=top>http://evavhost.com/public/the_ugly.jpg The God Hard mode that unlocks after the first play is a complete bitch.</td></tr></table>