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.

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.

If you were in cover most of the time and not using the rocket knees you were playing it wrong.

By using a combination of the roll and AR mode, you don't need cover as much as it seems at first. There's also a way to alternate boost and roll to allow your meter to refill during each roll. If you youtube Challenge 6, you can see it in action. This is not the fastest run, but it'll give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

My chief complaint with Vanquish would actually be the generic setting and story as opposed to the gameplay. As to the idea that I'm playing it "wrong", my counter argument would be that a game should not let me play it in such a way in the first place. This is especially true if a players natural instinct would be to play it in such a way.

I didn't really feel it either. @living4theday258 , didn't you beat this several times?

Shame for you, I really loved it. Some games just don't click.

@believer258 said:

I didn't really feel it either. @living4theday258 , didn't you beat this several times?

3 times to be exact. i thought it was a fun game. the dialogue was a block of Swiss cheese but the gameplay was great. its a good podcast game.

I bought it when it was released and still haven't beaten it. Didn't really hold my attention although all the times I've gone back to it I have fun doing a mission but then just stop.

I made it to the monorail section and just got fed up. In all fairness the checkpoint system in that game was pretty dire, for a start they were pretty far apart in places and a lot of them broke the first rule of checkpoints (they should always be set AFTER a cutscene). I ended up replaying a lot of some sections of that game up to the monorail, and just got bored of doing that.

The story is not relevant to what makes the game so good. I would of agreed with you my first time playing. My whole time on normal the game never clicked for me. Some of the design choices felt, i never liked the meter for sliding and melee, etc.

When I picked it up later to play on hard mode suddenly the game made sense. Once I figured out it's specific groove the gameplay shined and I now think that game is fantastic. I'd call it a evolution of the cover shooter and the best game of that type. The flow in the game is so fun and exhilarating. If you are playing it like a cover shooter with faster movement I think you will get much out of it. Perhaps why I liked it on hard was because I was forced to explore the systems more and learn or die.

@believer258 said:

I didn't really feel it either. @living4theday258 , didn't you beat this several times?

3 times to be exact. i thought it was a fun game. the dialogue was a block of Swiss cheese but the gameplay was great. its a good podcast game.

@Deathawk said:

My chief complaint with Vanquish would actually be the generic setting and story as opposed to the gameplay. As to the idea that I'm playing it "wrong", my counter argument would be that a game should not let me play it in such a way in the first place. This is especially true if a players natural instinct would be to play it in such a way.

Well, considering the game lets you move your character around, not pressing the left joystick at all could technically mean you are playing it wrong by not moving. Should the game stop you from being stationary?

Yeah. I enjoyed it but it took a while. I was at my peak of enjoyment with it when the game ended. Even then I just thought it was a neat action game. I don't totally understand people who go crazy over it. It's a fun action game and that's all.

I feel you.

This is a game where I can forgive the story, as the gameplay is crazy fun, and frankly i'm not feeling the Gears comparison. AR/rocket mode all the way. Maybe crank up the difficulty?

For me it was one of those games when I finally got the control scheme I couldn't put it down until it was done. I Haven't been following the development closely, but I really hope Revengeance has something going on combat-wise that is 60% as fun as that game.

@Deathawk said:

My chief complaint with Vanquish would actually be the generic setting and story as opposed to the gameplay. As to the idea that I'm playing it "wrong", my counter argument would be that a game should not let me play it in such a way in the first place. This is especially true if a players natural instinct would be to play it in such a way.

Generic story and setting? Your on a space station future city fighting robotic communists. Also yes you can play games wrong, thats why every game ever made has rules and a design based around those rules. In Vanquish you're given tools, and your ability to use them is based around your skill. Nothing is locked away, its all there the second you start playing, you just need to discover how and when to use your tools.

Probably everyone that ends up liking this game starts off not really "getting" it. They play it like Gears with a dash button. By the end of my Hard mode run I had an easier time than my Normal play through because the way I played the game completely changed.

Have you been manually slowing down stuff? The whole game isn't about cover (your score is actually penalized for using cover) its about knowing how to trigger the ARS. After almost any action try pressing the LT. Jumping over cover, sliding, rolling, doing the melee during a dash, they all trigger the ARS once you hold LT. Also always use a shotgun on the bigger guys. Also if you shoot a missile coming out of the big dudes with the cannon on their backs its a instant kill.

The entire game is a balance of making you feel like a God while also making you feel overwhelmed and fragile. It's sort of like a Devil May Cry game or God Hand.

I hope you come around on it! :D I think it's one of the best shooters ever made.

@living4theday258 said:

@believer258 said:

I didn't really feel it either. @living4theday258 , didn't you beat this several times?

3 times to be exact. i thought it was a fun game. the dialogue was a block of Swiss cheese but the gameplay was great. its a good podcast game.

I've ringed every achievement out of that game with the exception of the challenge mode. That game is so well designed. Sure the story is dumb, but in a sort of cheesy charming fun way. There are Bayonetta break dancing robots for crying out loud.

One of the best games of the gen. Gears doesn't have shit on Vanquish.

'Four Finger Stance' will change your world. Use 4 fingers to interact with your gamepad's triggers and bumpers. It will change your life - and Vanquish - for the better.

@Seppli said:

'Four Finger Stance' will change your world. Use 4 fingers to interact with your gamepad's triggers and bumpers. It will change your life - and Vanquish - for the better.

Why the dualshock is better in a nutshell, your hands default to the correct position and n'ere feel awkward.

Even if you didn't think much of Vanquish it is definitely worth playing just for the final boss fight which is superb; Tactical Challenges are an extremely interesting challenge as well though it takes some people 100+ hours to get through them. The gameplay is top notch for the 3rd person shooter genre and while Uncharted 3's horde mode is probably a bit more fun due to traversal the boost mechanic in Vanquish is near flawless and the difficulty of God Hard is precisely tuned to be just vaguely possible if you master all of the mechanics the game throws at you (note it might take 1000+ deaths).

@Fredchuckdave said:

@Seppli said:

'Four Finger Stance' will change your world. Use 4 fingers to interact with your gamepad's triggers and bumpers. It will change your life - and Vanquish - for the better.

Why the dualshock is better in a nutshell, your hands default to the correct position and n'ere feel awkward.

Even if you didn't think much of Vanquish it is definitely worth playing just for the final boss fight which is superb; Tactical Challenges are an extremely interesting challenge as well though it takes some people 100+ hours to get through them. The gameplay is top notch for the 3rd person shooter genre and while Uncharted 3's horde mode is probably a bit more fun due to traversal the boost mechanic in Vanquish is near flawless and the difficulty of God Hard is precisely tuned to be just vaguely possible if you master all of the mechanics the game throws at you (note it might take 1000+ deaths).

I think the 3rd or 4th wave of the 6th challenge I always die on. This and Bayonetta, they both are really good at giving me a sense of satisfaction for overcoming what the game throws at me. Mechanically I don't think there re better third person shooters.

@Nottle: Challenge 6 is all about repetition, as long as you've mastered the boost dodge its possible. Took me about 7 hours straight to beat it (didn't watch any videos just read a couple paragraphs about it before going in), which is quite short I take it but it was an extremely stimulating experience. The last wave is by far the hardest and it takes a long time just to get that far so you kind of just have to trust your hands to make the right decisions at that point, I beat wave 5 the 3rd time I got that far I think; the LFE is your best friend for dealing with roly poly turrets and when in doubt run to the other side of the map, albeit you kind of have to keep pace with destroying the enemies.

Bayonetta always felt great, the trophies aren't especially difficult to get, though there is some completely optional stuff in the game that's absurdly difficult like Alfheim Portals on Infinte Climax or what have you. Rodin is kind of cheese it or bust; actually trying to beat him "fairly" doesn't work out so great.

@Seppli said:

'Four Finger Stance' will change your world. Use 4 fingers to interact with your gamepad's triggers and bumpers. It will change your life - and Vanquish - for the better.

I never understood why people do this. I have never played a game that was so fast paced I had to place unneeded fingers on the top buttons just to compensate.

@Nottle: If you can make it past Challenge 4 I think you can make it through Challenge 6 and if you do manage to do it it's one of the loftiest individual achievements in existence in terms of the personal skill required for execution. There's rarer achievements out there but for the most part they're dictated by taking forever to do or relying on some obscure multiplayer system to work in your favor. While I don't really need any affirmation in this regard its still a nice, easy way to show people that you kick ass, no questions asked.