Vanquish Review – The Perfect Weekend Game Rental
If there was ever a game that I could recommend completely, but only as a rental and not a purchase, it would be Vanquish. Probably the perfect weekend action game to keep you busy, on your toes and overloaded with chaos.
The team behind Bayonetta, Platinum Games, have really outdone themselves with this third-person action game set in the (not so) distant future which places the USA against an army of gigantic evil Russian robots. It’s cliché, but this is a prime example of gameplay being better than story and sound.
The thing about Vanquish is as follows: it’s nuts. It’s complete chaos on screen, all the time. You and a squad will be taking down wave and wave of Russian robots, blowing them to pieces and advancing onward trying to save the country and New York from complete and utter annihilation.
Honestly, the amount happening on screen at one time is breathtaking. It’s like every shot, every movement and every part of the screen has something happening. Shots being fired. Robots being destroyed. People being shot at. Enemy craft flying in the air. Someone screaming directions. Explosions. It’s insane. And simply beautiful.
You’ll play a dude named Sam who is in control of some futuristic suit that allows him to boost out of trouble, or go into super slow-motion to target enemies and pump them full of bullets from whatever weapon you have equipped. This includes things like sniper rifles, shotguns, automatic machineguns, grenades and rocket launchers really, there is a fun variety of weapons to use here.
If at any point you’re close to dying, you’ll automatically go into slow-motion, which I found to be amazing. It really makes you go into a panic mode and try to get out of harm’s way. Hide behind cover, or take down an enemy before he kills you. Speaking of enemies, the bosses in this game are incredible. They’re huge. They’re creative. And they are deadly. Taking them down is highly rewarding and some of these battles are so intense, you’ll be slack-jawed at just how badass things become and how action-packed these battles are. Really.
There was so much going on at some points during my first play-through, I had to take a break just because I was so impressed. My mind was blown. Now, if only the game could have blown something else of mine… then we’d be talking.
The graphics in Vanquish won’t be winning any awards, but they are impressive to say the least. Sam’s suit alone is a really amazing achievement because it does so much, like flashes, has gizmos turning all over it and overall just looks incredible. The backgrounds are also really spectacular with far off buildings and smoke showcased in the horizon, enemies flying in and landscapes that look good enough to be ripped from a photo.
Even though I’ve seen better, these graphics are supreme. Supreme enough to be on the King Supreme menu at your local Burger King.
The sound is one of the game’s weaker areas. Nothing from a soundtrack perspective is going to be remembered for years to come. But what it does have works. Weapon sounds, explosions, battle cries, you name it, it works.
The dialogue on the other hand is really a parody of action films and American stereotypes. The main general, for example, reminds me of the lead general from the overrated film Avatar, who reminds me of the lead soldier from the film Small Soldiers. Does anyone else remember that movie? Good times. And the chatter between Sam and other soldiers kind of reminded me of Star Fox 64. This is a very good thing.
The worst part about the game is the time it takes to complete. Roughly 6-8 hours and the ending, without giving anything away, is pretty lacklustre. You’ll be remembering it for how inconclusive it is. Kind of like if they ended the original Star Wars trilogy with A New Hope and never made Empire. What happens to Vader? Maybe he goes off to work at Dairy Queen or something? Anyway, the same type of issue happens here, so even though the story isn’t the best thing in the world, it kind of made it seem like playing through the game for this kind of finale wasn’t quite worth it. Luckily, I played through it to get to the next epic boss fight.
Is Vanquish a game you should buy? Absolutely not. It’s the perfect rental that will keep you busy, and give you a lot of fun. It’s a game where the score I give it reflects it as a $10 rental rather than a $70 purchase. If it was longer, I could say buy it, but the way it is, for the length of the game, I feel this score is well-deserved.
10/10* (7.8/10)
*As a rental only
