A shallow package with a few breathtaking moments, but as a whole, Vanquish feels like a demo compared to other games.
GAMEPLAY - This game feels very similar to other 3rd-person shooters like Gears of War, Transformers: War for Cybertron, and Uncharted, to some degree. The difference here is that you are able to glide across the ground in this game. While this is a nice way of getting you past the long periods of walking, I felt like it was very gimmicky. Most of this game is pretty much your usual experience, but there is the occasional fight or sequence of the story that really gets your blood pumping. These are few and far between though, and for the most part this game is very dull all the way through. Even the boss fights, who are reoccurring enemies, feel very lame after the first time you encounter them. To top all this off, there is only one mode of play; single player. There isn't any multiplayer, no co-op, nothing. This is quite disappointing, and with such a short campaign, this game feels like a demo compared to other games out there. Overall the gameplay itself is decent, but other than the occasional breathtaking moment, there isn't anything here out of the ordinary. - 6.5/10
STORY - The story here is almost nonexistent. I went through this game with the sound off after the first hour just because I didn't care. Not to mention the three main characters are very forgettable. It's almost as if Sega just didn't care, and wanted to make an in-your-face shooter without any substance. This aspect wasn't taken seriously at all, and it shows. - 4/10
GRAPHICS - The presentation here is fine, but nothing mind-blowing. One thing that kept bothering me about this game, and I have the same beef with Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, is that the top 3rd of the screen (the part that usually makes up the sky) is abnormally brighter than the rest of the screen. Otherwise everything here was decent. I think that if the graphics were improved upon, this could have really made the gameplay outshine the problems here. - 7/10
SOUND - Poor voice acting and uninspired music really don't do anything for this game. - 5.5/10
LENGTH/REPLAY VALUE - 4 hours and the only reason to replay being different difficulties doesn't do much for this game here either. I beat this game in 3 hours and 45 minutes exactly, and the worst part was that I was bored with it long before the end. - 3/10
BOTTOM LINE - For what it is, Vanquish is fine, but just isn't worth anything more than an afternoon rental. Everything about this game is pointless except for the gameplay. That paired along with a tremendously shallow package really makes you wonder how this game ever sold any copies. If Vanquish had more game modes or a decent story, this could have been so much better. As it is, it's nothing special. Avoid buying at all costs, and don't believe the hype for this game. If you want to try it, rent it first. - 5/10