Only Japanese can make blowing up robots that much fun!
Vanquish is incredible! I don't know how else to describe it. It has been the greatest surprise of 2010 in my opinion, coming out of the blue, revolutionizing the TPS genre with its mere 7-8 hours of gameplay and positioning itself as the king of console shooters. It is also unique. While gameplay relies heavily on slowing down time and taking cover like so many other shooters, Vanquish throws a little extra in the soup that creates a flavour you will remember. Our main protagonist, Sam Gideon, sports a pu**y-magnet suit that also allows him to go naught to 60 in a split second, flashing around the battlefield, only occasionally stopping time to pop a robot's head with his trusty assault rifle.
The game is practically centered around the AR suit of Sam and its ability to boost around the levels and slow down time. There is no story, or at least not one that would interest anybody. Next time I see a megalomaniac Russian who threatens the "good" Americans and World Peace TM, I am going to vomit over my screen. Voice acting doesn't help the situation either and some of the lines in the game will make you feel embarrassed if there are other people in the room who see you watching this.
All this doesn't matter, though, as this game is about blowing up robots, and trust me, Japanese know how to make robots fun! There are humanoid robots, flying robots, burrowing robots, tank robots, spherical robots, cubic robots, big robots, small robots, transforming robots, robots with drills, robots with flamers, robots with rifles, robots with rockets, laser robots, invisible robots... ROBOTS!
Sometimes you may feel overwhelmed with robots in the most literal sense as Vanquish's gameplay is frenetic, as well as difficult. Playing on normal will not trouble seasoned gamers but try higher difficulties or some of the six challenges available in the game and your skills will be pushed to the limit.
However, as difficult as the game may be, it never feels unfair. As in all Japanese action games, controls are hard to master, but very precise and varied, and once you are able to roll out of cover in slow-mo, pop a Gorgie with the shotgun, then boost towards an obstacle, make a cadenced back flip from it and shoot a homing missile, taking out a bunch of enemies at the far end of the map, you will feel like a f***ing ninja and will toy around with your foes with a big smile on your face.
Well, to be honest, there is a point of utter frustration in this game and it is called Challenge 6. If you type "Vanquish" in Google, the first suggestion will be "Challenge 6" and there is a very good reason for that. It is so mind-stopping, it will feel certainly impossible for the first few days of trying it. Yet, even then, you will feel small improvements each time you try it, leaving a little spark of hope that one day you can actually do it. I spent a week or so of trying it and the day I did it, I was so good in controlling the AR suit, I dodged and shot like a f***ing pro and once it was over, my hands were shaking so badly, I spilled my well deserved glass of water. And there was emotion, a sense of accomplishment I cannot possibly feel with Diablo 3 or Call of Duty (n+1).
Vanquish makes you feel the battle. The smooth controls, the pleasant visuals, the *BIG* explosions and the heavy weapons will make you scream with each round fired, even though you are fighting Megatron.
The game has a very high replay value, too. Despite the lack of multiplayer, each of the difficulty settings feels like a separate game and then there are the challenges which are a whole new type of beer. Online leaderboards compare your results against the best in the world and strangely enough, the way Vanquish is handled, it makes you want to compete and try just a little bit harder next time.
Actually, even though I have platinumed the game, I feel I can do better at Challenge 1... Be right back!