So recently I picked up Vanquish and it has a few neat ideas, but I'm just not really feeling it. My problem could be summed up in four words: I've already played Gears. Granted Vanquish plays like a much faster Gears of War but nevertheless it does play look and sound an awful lot like Gears.The story is awfully weak too: I mean. I'm on chapter 4 and apart from trying to stop some Russian dude from blowing up the earth I have no idea what's going on. On the plus side though, the opening cutscene features the main character being reprimanded for smoking...in space. So yeah, I guess the game's worth it for that last sentence alone.

In the gameplay department Vanquish has some cool ideas too. It's one of the few games where I'm actually excited about the QTE's, partly because a lot of them feel unique and partly because they're just so f'in cool. Another cool thing is the jet pack boost, circle strafing around bosses in a jet pack is pretty sweet as it turns out. Unfortunately both these elements happen too infrequently to recommend The jet pack for instance is really only practical in a handful of situations: the other times it's much more practical to use cover GOW style. The QTE's on the other hand seem to appear almost randomly to the point where I had to consult Gamefaqs to make sure they weren't.

I'll probably see this game through. I'm already almost on the last act, but yeah, talk about missed oppurtunites.