A rare good video game from late 7th gen
The late 2000’s to early 2010’s were a wasteland. Generic Call of Duty clones, the infamous western push by Capcom, bland cover shooters, Microsoft’s Kinect. It was a dark time. However, in 2010, Platinum Games under direction of Shinji Mikami came out with a unique gem that feels like it’s from 2004.
Vanquish still has many typical quirks of the era. There’s regenerating heath, cover shooting, and a limit on how many weapons you can carry, but Vanquish uses these characteristics in different ways to create a unique game.
Combat in Vanquish boils down to using slow-motion sparingly to pick-off standard enemies with headshots while ensuring your position limits how many enemies have a sight line on you. Vanquish shouldn’t be played like a cover shooter, but it also shouldn’t be played rolling all over the place out in the open. I think this is where new players get confused.
The cover shooting and acrobatic moves with Max Payne slow-mo should be used congruently. You have limited power for your suit. Dive out of cover, pick off an enemy, then reposition somewhere else to limit gunfire from enemies. Like all Mikami’s third-person action titles, player positioning is paramount. Sticking only in cover will result in you soaking up damage constantly because you aren’t moving or slowing time. Cover is a great way to take out one enemy while waiting for your suit to recharge a bit.
Vanquish’s combat is simple, but it’s a short game with tons of set-pieces. There’s no typical rooms in Vanquish, but they also don’t vary so much that it feels like a different game. There’s always a new boss, new enemy, or new obstacle that’s unlike the previous one. These set-pieces don’t take away control and use the mechanics of the game to great effects.
Player agency is high and it incentivizes playing well. It’s easy to fall into rhythm with Vanquish, and that’s a sign of good design steering the player towards a intended way to play. The upgrading system punishes deaths hard. Upgrade pickups are rare and dying results in loosing a star. Dying also takes 1000 points away at the end of each mission. There’s a time bonus at the end of each level as well which encourages the player to get out of cover and get aggressive. I just wish there was some sort of ranking system instead of just comparing to your own personal best.
It’s not all perfect however. Regenerating health is never a good thing. Sitting in cover and waiting isn’t fun. Vanquish uses regen health to stress player positioning, but health packs around the arena could have had the same effect or maybe healing from defeated enemies like Doom (2016).
The story and characters are fun, but they’re not great. I love government conspiracies but it’s generic to say the least. I do thoroughly enjoy the dick-measuring that goes on between Burns and Sam. It’s fun.
Aesthetically, Vanquish could’ve been better. Coming out in 2010 results in a drab game. Brown, white, and grey at every turn. For the premise this game has, it’s surprising how bland the art direction is.
And for all the praise I gave the combat, there’s some issues. Even though I listed the set-pieces as a positive, there’s a few that are bad. The stealth section is really bad. Just shoot the lights and you win. All the times on the tram limits where you can move. Vanquish does turn into a generic cover shooter in these moments because the player positioning has been stripped away.
I know it was trying to be punishing, but having your suit’s power drop to zero just because you went to critical health is annoying. It makes you sit in cover and wait even longer than you’d have to normally. There should be a way to cancel it with a risk-reward.
Vanquish isn’t quite as good as Mikami’s best (God Hand/ RE4) but it’s excellent. The gameplay loop is addicting and it doesn’t overstay its welcome. It ends when it needs to and you can replay it in an afternoon off. I come back to this one often.
8/10
The late 2000’s to early 2010’s were a wasteland. Generic Call of Duty clones, the infamous western push by Capcom, bland cover shooters, Microsoft’s Kinect. It was a dark time. However, in 2010, Platinum Games under direction of Shinji Mikami came out with a unique gem that feels like it’s from 2004.
Vanquish still has many typical quirks of the era. There’s regenerating heath, cover shooting, and a limit on how many weapons you can carry, but Vanquish uses these characteristics in different ways to create a unique game.
Combat in Vanquish boils down to using slow-motion sparingly to pick-off standard enemies with headshots while ensuring your position limits how many enemies have a sight line on you. Vanquish shouldn’t be played like a cover shooter, but it also shouldn’t be played rolling all over the place out in the open. I think this is where new players get confused.
The cover shooting and acrobatic moves with Max Payne slow-mo should be used congruently. You have limited power for your suit. Dive out of cover, pick off an enemy, then reposition somewhere else to limit gunfire from enemies. Like all Mikami’s third-person action titles, player positioning is paramount. Sticking only in cover will result in you soaking up damage constantly because you aren’t moving or slowing time. Cover is a great way to take out one enemy while waiting for your suit to recharge a bit.
Vanquish’s combat is simple, but it’s a short game with tons of set-pieces. There’s no typical rooms in Vanquish, but they also don’t vary so much that it feels like a different game. There’s always a new boss, new enemy, or new obstacle that’s unlike the previous one. These set-pieces don’t take away control and use the mechanics of the game to great effects.
Player agency is high and it incentivizes playing well. It’s easy to fall into rhythm with Vanquish, and that’s a sign of good design steering the player towards a intended way to play. The upgrading system punishes deaths hard. Upgrade pickups are rare and dying results in loosing a star. Dying also takes 1000 points away at the end of each mission. There’s a time bonus at the end of each level as well which encourages the player to get out of cover and get aggressive. I just wish there was some sort of ranking system instead of just comparing to your own personal best.
It’s not all perfect however. Regenerating health is never a good thing. Sitting in cover and waiting isn’t fun. Vanquish uses regen health to stress player positioning, but health packs around the arena could have had the same effect or maybe healing from defeated enemies like Doom (2016).
The story and characters are fun, but they’re not great. I love government conspiracies but it’s generic to say the least. I do thoroughly enjoy the dick-measuring that goes on between Burns and Sam. It’s fun.
Aesthetically, Vanquish could’ve been better. Coming out in 2010 results in a drab game. Brown, white, and grey at every turn. For the premise this game has, it’s surprising how bland the art direction is.
And for all the praise I gave the combat, there’s some issues. Even though I listed the set-pieces as a positive, there’s a few that are bad. The stealth section is really bad. Just shoot the lights and you win. All the times on the tram limits where you can move. Vanquish does turn into a generic cover shooter in these moments because the player positioning has been stripped away.
I know it was trying to be punishing, but having your suit’s power drop to zero just because you went to critical health is annoying. It makes you sit in cover and wait even longer than you’d have to normally. There should be a way to cancel it with a risk-reward.
Vanquish isn’t quite as good as Mikami’s best (God Hand/ RE4) but it’s excellent. The gameplay loop is addicting and it doesn’t overstay its welcome. It ends when it needs to and you can replay it in an afternoon off. I come back to this one often.
8/10
FreedomForever94
1 year ago