Video Game Vintage Title: Vanquish

Vanquish

Vanquish is a third-person shooter video game developed by Platinum Games and published by Sega for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. The game began in development in 2007, and was released in October 2010.

The game is notable for introducing several innovations to the 3D shooter genre, including a fast-paced style of gameplay reminiscent of 2D bullet hell shooters, beat 'em up elements, and an original sliding-boost mechanic.

Vanquish Plot

In the near future, Earth's human population grew so rapidly that nations are fighting for the scarce remaining resources and the United States of America has attempted to alleviate its energy problems by launching an O'Neill Cylinder space station that harbors a solar energy-driven generator to provide them with an alternative source of energy, but the government of the Russian Federation has been overthrown in a coup d'�tat by ultra-nationalist forces calling themselves the Order of the Russian Star, capture the space station and divert its harvested solar energy into a blast wave that devastates San Francisco. The main antagonist, Victor Zaitsev (Marc Worden) demands that the American government surrender or he will choose New York City as his next target.

The President of the United States of America, Elizabeth Winters (Lee Meriwether) takes Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Burns (Steven Blum), a decorated war veteran, and puts him in charge of a newly commissioned task force called Bravo Company that consists of several space-faring special forces, veteran Marines, and the remnants of the defending U.S. forces on board the space station. She also gives them the game's protagonist and playable character, Sam Gideon, (Gideon Emery) a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) researcher equipped with an Augmented Reaction Suit (ARS), a cutting-edge mechanical suit outfitted with a vast array of functions, including jet boosters attached to both arms and legs. He is armed with an experimental Battlefield Logic Adaptable Electronic Weapons System (BLADE), which is capable of scanning any existing weapon and then transforming into a perfect replica. Its ability to store three scans at a time means that at any given time the BLADE can shapeshift between three different weapons.

The mission gives DARPA the perfect chance to test the ARS. The President and the Secretary of Defense give Sam classified orders to rescue a scientist named Dr. Francois Candide (Benito Martinez), who works on-site when the station was attacked, he decides to take matters into his own hands and tries to disable the array before it can be used to attack another city.

As Sam reaches the microwave source station, Candide tells him that Burns and the President has betrayed all of the Americans. After killing Candide with his shooting rifle inside his arm, Burns tells Sam that he will change the microwave's target to Moscow with an economic stimulus package before attacking to prevent him from doing so. The dying Burns apologizes and allows Sam to escape before using the bomb on his robotic arm which explodes and kills him and all of his men. Sam destroys two Bogey warriors which they are slave unit, one then activates the tactical nuke which then explodes and destroys the O'Neill Cylinder in space that Sam manages to unite with Elena Ivanova (Kari Wahlgren) in the SBC2 spaceship by piloting the escape pod. The game ends with Zaitsev surviving the explosion pilots his own escape pod for the next phase and President Winters shot herself in the head with her pistol at the desk.

Vanquish Gameplay

Players control Sam Gideon, a DARPA agent armed with the Augmented Reaction Suit. If the player takes too much damage, the suit will automatically enter Augmented Reaction mode (AR mode), which slows down time, helping the player to avoid being killed. The player can also manually enter AR mode by holding down the target button while evading, allowing the player to target enemies easily. At any time, the player can use boosters on the suit to move quickly across the area. If the player uses AR mode or the boosters too much in a short time, the suit will overheat and will require a short period to cool down, during which Sam is less mobile. The suit will also overheat instantly if the player performs a melee attack, and certain areas will also overheat the suit.

Sam's weaponry consists of the BLADE weapons system and two types of grenade. The BLADE system can store up to three weapons at a time (from a total of eight weapon types), with the player able to swap weapons if he encounters a new one. These weapons, and the grenades, can be upgraded by collecting upgrade boxes, or by collecting the same type of weapon while it has maximum ammunition. Upgrading these weapons improves their abilities, such as their maximum ammunition capacity, accuracy, and blast radius. Players can aid injured allies on the field to earn weapons, or find them in crates or weapon lockers. In Normal difficulty or higher, weapons are downgraded if the player dies.

Other gameplay mechanics include the use of explosives during certain areas, commandeering enemy vehicles or turrets, the ability to use cigarettes to distract enemies, and quick time events during certain battles against larger enemies. It has also significantly improved upon the cover system, which it has been credited for taking "to the next level." In contrast to previous cover-based shooters, Vanquish has bullets and missiles coming from all directions in a manner reminiscent of bullet hell shooters and the cover is easily destructible, forcing the player character to be on the move, while the game also penalizes the player's score for the amount of time spent in cover. Its most important innovation, however, is the sliding-boost mechanic that allows the player to slide into and out of cover at high speeds (and in slow motion using bullet time), acting as a defensive escape and an offensive set up, opening up new gameplay possibilities for cover-based shooters and increasing the pace significantly. The game also has a unique end credits sequence, which is interactive and plays like a rail shooter, with the lead designer Shinji Mikami being the most difficult 'enemy' to take down.

Reception
Vanquish received generally positive reviews, with many reviewers praising the game's visuals, gameplay, innovation, fast pace, and over-the-top style, though some also criticized its short length, lack of multiplayer, mediocre plot, and corny dialogue. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the Xbox 360 version 83.95% and 84/100 and the PlayStation 3 version 83.44% and 84/100. GameTrailers gave it a 9.0, noting that it is hard to imagine the slow-motion gameplay working in multiplayer. Game Informer stated "Don't be surprised if you finish your first playthrough in four hours or less." This view was challenged by Platinum Games' writer Jean Pierre Kellams as well as Eurogamer.