Vanquish - Hands On Preview

Gears has got a lot to answer for.  Admittedly it’s hard to knock Epic’s masterpiece, but when it’s influence can be seen in virtually every game that has a gun since it all starts to get ever so slightly predictable.  So the thought of yet another cover-based third-person shooter is enough to make us crave something completely different .

But Vanquish does at least have a number of things going for it.  Firstly it’s coming from Platinum Games, who in their relatively short history have managed to create some pretty absorbing action titles with the likes of MadWorld and Bayonetta.  Secondly, it marks the long-awaited return of Shinji Mikami, back from the wilderness after 2006’s under appreciated God Hand and with something to prove after leaving Capcom under a pretty dark cloud.  So enough reason to look beyond the fact that... yes at it’s core it’s just another shooter.

Taking on the role of Sam Gideon, a US government agent kitted out with a rather spiffy ARS battlesuit, Vanquish finds the former Cold War opponents squaring up once again to gain control of Earth’s dwindling resources.  With a cast of typical stereotypes and brash attitudes, it’s apparent from the entire first act we’ve played through that Vanquish will have to rely on strong gameplay and intense action to pull you through what is shaping up to be an otherwise unremarkable Sci-Fi romp.  But then again when the action is as intense as Vanquish is shaping up to offer who wants to worry about subtle twists or romantic sub plots?

Immediately Vanquish smacks of the first title in Mikami’s infamous ‘Capcom 5’, P.N.03.  Like the poorly received GameCube title, Vanquish sets out to be a game that mixes intense combat with graceful skill and a sense of elegance poise.  It’s not merely another run-and-gun shooter, but one that would be better suited under the slide-and-gun sub category of third-person shooters.  It all stems from the battlesuit that Sam wears and the AR mode it provides.

Initially this just seems to grant Sam the ability to slide at speed on his knees until the suit overheats and needs time to cool down.  Quite handy when it comes to breaking down the monotony of merely walking through a stage, but not exactly a groundbreaking dynamic to base the game around.  Fortunately there’s much more to it then that.

Used in conjunction with the evade button, the ARS suit activates an AR mode that plays a little like Witch Time in Platinum Games’ Bayonetta.  Like Witch Time it brings a pleasant sense of serenity to the huge amount of carnage and destruction that’s happening on screen, as it slows down the action and allows you to deal some serious destruction.  The mode also activates when shooting during the aforementioned knee slide boost and also when Sam’s health is pretty low.

Initially it seems like a complex mess of button assortments to get this all working, but fairly quickly the controls become second nature and you’re dealing destruction with an air of elegance and an assortment of acrobatic evasive manoeuvres.  Commands can be used in conjunction so you can perform some pretty cool techniques such as slide boosting into an obstacle, pirouetting over the obstacle in slow mo and launching into a devastating attack or into a brutal melee attack.  All of these techniques are balanced by the suit’s tendency to overheat pretty quickly, so there’s a need to work things out beforehand.

As the first act developed we encountered a couple of gargantuan boss battles, which ended with a first encounter with the game’s primary antagonist.  Certainly Mikami and his team have taken great pleasure when it comes to memorable set-pieces, with the first act highlighted by a stunning sequence that showcases a gargantuan spaceship falling from the skies as you wage battle below it.  Although the core gameplay keeps things pretty fresh compared to most third-person shooters, we’re hoping the rest of the game keeps such memorable moments coming at a quick pace and later objectives vary the the challenge a little bit more.  Stepping into mechs and turret guns adds a little variety, but moves away from the core concept that keeps Vanquish feeling fresh.

Mikami has a tendency to take pleasure out of gamer’s pain as was pretty evident in God Hand.  Vanquish carries this legacy on with a scoring system that quite happily dips into negative scorelines with a pretty harsh penalty whenever you die.  Such a setup will find fans amongst the core audience that Vanquish is evidently going after, although there are concessions such as an automatic control system for those who might find the action a little too intense.

The thought of covering up behind walls in yet another third-person shooter is enough to make us run to the hills.  Thankfully Mikami and Inaba appear to have come up with something that, although undeniably a third-person shooter, takes pleasure in stepping away from the normal conventions. More then that, at a time when even Japanese developers are questioning their worth, Vanquish looks likely to demonstrate that the country is still relevant and can create innovative spins on popular Western genres.