"An act, process, or instance of changing place," is how Merriam-Webster defines motion. That meaning also perfectly summarizes the Platinum Games-developed Vanquish, a third-person shooter in which static play is a death sentence. Exquisitely designed with movement in mind, Vanquish's kinetic, jet-powered action adds visual flair and a wonderful sense of movement as you wreck mechs, vehicles, enemy troops, and super-powered bosses in a near-future setting. If Battlefield and Call of Duty have turned you off from shooters, Vanquish's unique take on the genre may be the title to make you strap on your in-game guns.
The Iron Man
Vanquish takes place in a time when dwindling resources force the United States to launch an orbiting space colony/solar-powered microwave transmitter—the SC-01 Providence—as a new, reliable energy source. Unfortunately, a terrorist group named Order of the Russian Star executes a space coup d'état against the Providence's Russian Federation contingent, seizing control of the microwave transmitter and using it to fry San Francisco.
After Order of the Russian Star demands the United States surrender to the group or suffer an attack on New York City, President Elizabeth Winters—a Hillary Clinton-like political figure voiced by Batman's Lee Meriwether—sends a crack team of Aliens-inspired space marines to battle the enemy. Among them is Sam Gideon, a DARPA soldier who wears the experimental Augmented Reaction Suit (ARS).
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The slick power armor is equipped with Battlefield Logic Adaptable Electronic (BLADE) technology that shapeshifts suit portions into weapons, and Boost, which lets you coolly jet across the battlefield on your knees as sparks fly everywhere. These two elements provide Vanquish's primary gameplay hooks and flexibility for you to create awesome offensive and defensive maneuvers.
Battlefield Awareness
Cover-based shooters are no longer novel affairs thanks to the pioneering Kill Switch and the incredibly popular Gears of War (and its many sequels and knock offs). In those games, you lumber or run from cover point to cover point, blasting enemies along the way. Vanquish differs in that ARS' jets lets you zip from place to place, facilitating a speedier, hectic play style. If a giant spider mech, for example, launches a missile swarm your way, you can swiftly power slide out of danger to a safer position and return fire. Not only does boosting quickly shift the gameplay momentum from defensive to offensive, it simply looks cool with its motion blur effect.
Naturally, the game wouldn't be much of a challenge if you could zip out of danger all the time. If you abuse boost, your suit overheats and requires a short cooldown period to recover. In those moments, you can feel ARS's weight as you lumber about without boost, which makes you really appreciate the mechanic's combat usefulness.
Augmented Reaction (AR) mode also significantly overheats your suit. AR mode—activated by getting nailed with a melee attack or aiming while boosting, evading, or leaping over cover—temporarily and dramatically increases Gideon's awareness and reaction to incredible levels that the enemy can't match. In other words, you enter a Matrix-like bullet time where you're given a short period to eliminate enemies as they move in molasses-like fashion. A well-timed AR activation gives you the leverage to dish out big hurt in tight situations, such as when your health has dwindled.
This is where Vanquish transforms from a good shooter to a terrific shooter. By combining the high-speed boost with the slo-mo AR mode, you can perform a lethal dance of bullets, grenades, and rocket launchers that devastates enemy troops, vehicles, and mecha. Not only will foes have trouble laying a finger on you (provided that you time the momentum shifts so that your suit doesn't overheat), but you can up your damage output, too. For example, if you hurl a grenade at enemy troops, boost toward them, enter AR mode, and shoot the grenade before it explodes on its own, you'll unleash massive splash damage. Vanquish rewards this creativity, and the more you play, the more you'll see how the simple systems offer gameplay freedom.
Mixing It Up
Vanquish, despite its wonderful gunplay, is more than just shooting. Gideon has super-powerful melee attacks that stun enemies should they connect; you can easily drain a third of a mook's life bar with one hit, thus making it an effective finishing attack should you wear the foe down a bit with your weapons. Naturally, as melee attacks do so much damage, your suit overheats after uncorking one.
That said, I wish Platinum Games offered more melee move freedom. There is a solid attack variety, but they're tied to the weapon you have equipped. With the heavy machine gun active, you'll execute a backflip kick; with the shotgun active, a chargeable backslap. I would've much preferred a standard melee move set that could be launched at any time, regardless of the in-hand weapon. Still, that's a relatively small gripe.
Vanquish also leverages Quick Time Events (QTE) that nicely break up the normal action. At certain moments, typically during boss fights, you'll be tasked with inputting a button or controller sequence in what is essentially a high-tech game of Simon. For example, when fighting the first level's spider mech, you must twirl your controller's analog stick to avoid incoming missiles, and grab one to cram it back into the launcher for big damage. Or, run up its arm and repeatedly punch the machine squarely in its mechanical face. Success means big damage to an opponent, but failure sees you take damage and blow a significant offensive opportunity...and the ability to look anime cool. If you've played Platinum Games other titles, such as Anarchy Reigns, Bayonetta, or Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, you know what type of QTE wildness to expect.
Under the Armor
Vanquish was originally developed for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, so nearly any PC with a decent graphics card can run the game. According to its Steam page, Vanquish requires a 2.9 GHz Intel i3 CPU (or AMD equivalent), Nvidia GeForce 460 or AMD Radeon 5670 GPU, 4GB of RAM, 20GB of storage, and at least the Windows 7 operating system. If you own a 4K gaming monitor or TV, rest easy in knowing that Vanquish—like an increasing number of PC games—supports that Ultra HD resolution and HDR.
This PC port plays extremely well thanks in no small part to the uncapped frame rate. My Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics card pushes Vanquish's polygons at a brisk 100 frames per second (FPS) at 1080p settings (yes, I know, I need to upgrade to a 4K monitor). The frame rate occasionally dipped to roughly 80 FPS when the screen filled with enemies and ammunition. Still, that frame rate is better than Bayonetta and Nier: Automata's 60 FPS cap. In addition, Vanquish lets you tweak its resolution, graphics quality, anti-aliasing, texture quality, texture filtering, motion blur, and other visual settings.
As a Steam game, Vanquish supports the expected Valve-related features, including Steam Cloud, Steam Achievements, Steam Trading Cards, and Big Picture mode.
The New Formula
Vanquish takes the familiar shooter formula and injects it with a raw energy that only Platinum Games could deliver. Its simple mechanics enable you to experiment as you shift between breakneck dashes and slow-motion bullet ballets. Simply put, Vanquish is one of the best shooters ever made, and one that appeals to people (like me) who grew tired of the staid shooter formula.
For more in-depth PC game reviews, visit our Steam Curator page, where you'll find nearly 200 reviews and more than a dozen genre-based lists.
Platinum Games' groundbreaking shooter blends dazzling speeds, Matrix-like slow-motion effects, and simple but creative gameplay into one the best shooters ever made.
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