Being punched in the face is not normally a good sensation, yet I found myself thoroughly enjoying the metaphorical equivalent in the newly released, super-quick paced demo for Platinum Games’ upcoming ‘third-person action shooter’ game Vanquish.
From the outset, Vanquish looks like the lovechild of Gears of War’s or Uncharted’s third-person cover-based shooter mechanics and Halo’s sleek sci-fi, space marine sheen – a combination that has seen many people dismiss it for being “just another shooter”. However what this game truly has to offer makes it a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stagnant, over-saturated market. This game is Gears of War on ‘roids.
You take on the role of Sam Gideon, a battle-hardened military man who is the brains behind a new, experimental piece of battle armour – the A.R.S. (Augmented Reality Suit). Gideon, along with his suit and a whole battalion of marines are dispatched to a space station that has fallen under attack from Russian forces. Platinum Games have always been one for surprisingly western storylines considering their Japanese origin, and the meshing of this narrative with the absurdly crazy and slick gameplay and art design Japanese developers are famed for lends for a truly unique and enjoyable title.
The demo is presented similarly to the one Platinum put together for their last release, Bayonetta; featuring two parts of an early level (in this case, ‘Act 1 – Level 3: Giant’). The first section introduces you to the core gameplay elements of running, gunning and covering.
All basic stuff, right?
Wrong. One press of a button and you find Gideon blazing across the battlefield thanks to his rocket-propelled mech suit. Start shooting while sliding and you enter Augmented Reality mode; where the world around you grinds by in slow motion as you pick off enemies one by one with deadly accuracy. The action in this game is fast – and that’s an understatement. If you don’t keep moving, you’re going to find yourself coming under heavy fire from the very smart A.I. of the enemies and visiting the game over screen often. Thankfully, the NPC allies are also smart enough to look after themselves and not get in your way.
The second part of the demo is a boss battle against a giant robot that puts even the most epic of Bayonetta’s foes to shame. I found myself zipping around the arena-like level avoiding an endless onslaught of attacks, trying to wear down the enemy’s armour until its core revealed itself to the business end of my sniper rifle. This process was both fluid and an enjoyable challenge – taking me the better part of twenty minutes to take the behemoth down!
One major worry many have had while observing the development of this title has been whether or not the frame rate could hold up or the graphics remain looking so sharp with so much happening on the screen at once, what with the two army factions going head-on with bullets, missiles and debris filling Gideon’s field of vision. However, while playing I noticed not one moment of lagging or graphical inconsistency at all and it appears the PS3 won’t be getting shafted like it did with the terrible port of Bayonetta, as the console is being used as the lead to design the game and the demo appeared as smooth as could be.
There were a few issues I had with the demo, such as the camera not being quite quick enough to keep up the insanity of the action, which hopefully will be fixed before release. The voice acting, too, seems very over the top. Yes, we understand that characters are bad ass space marines here to blow sh*t up and be done with it, but it appears Platinum Games wanted to make extra sure we knew it – the two leading males’ voices could be likened to Solid Snake talking in unison alongside Christian Bale’s Batman, with extra gravel shovelled down their throats. Oh, and not forgetting the button solely assigned to lighting up a cigarette in the middle of the battlefield!
This brief look at Vanquish and its world elevated this release from a possible low-price pick up, to a potential day-one purchase for me. Everything seems to be in place for an exciting deviation from the run-of-the-mill shooters that litter the gaming market these days, and with promises of varied missions, countless collectables and high replay value, the final product looks set to vanquish the competition (pun!).
The demo is now available on both the PlayStation Store and Xbox LIVE Marketplace, with the final game set for release on October 22nd (E.U.). Expect a full review around that time.
