Vanquish Review

By Simon Parkin Published 19 October, 2010

Overcome.

Version tested: Xbox 360

It's entirely in keeping with Platinum Games' devil-may-care attitude. For years, we've written off Japanese studios when it comes to first- and third-person shooters: always playing catch-up to their American counterparts, never quite delivering. But Shinji Mikami was never going to meekly push his team's debut shooter centre stage with a deferential bow and an apologetic glance, pleading: "Might this be good enough, Yankee-Doodle-sensei?" It's just not the Platinum way.

What is, you ask? Well. You kidnap Master Chief, that icon of contemporary Western shooters, that representative of all that is strong and successful about the white man's videogame and its gun-toting alpha-male hero. You strip him naked and throw him into the alleyway behind your Osaka studio, keeping only his clothes. Why just his clothes? Because you don't need the man. Master Chief himself is just a cipher. It's his armour that holds the iconographic value.

And once you have the armour, this suit that embodies the great American videogame? Well, then, you do what the Japanese do best. You mod the f*** out of it.

When Sam Gideon emerges in the Augmented Reaction Suit (ARS) 18 months later, it's clear combat has, once again, evolved. The round edges from the time it belonged to Halo's hero are still recognisable, but the exoskeleton now bears fifty booster flaps, whirring transistors and other bells and electric whistles.

Sure, Halo: Reach gives you a jet pack. But Vanquish gives you the ability to slide 40 yards on your knees along concrete, ducking through the legs of a giant bipedal robot while firing rockets at point-blank range into its groin. Vanquish lets you shoot individual enemy missiles out of the air like you're knocking apples from a low-hanging branch. Vanquish lets you speed up and slow down time at the touch of a button, lurching forwards and backward as you set the pace of war like a mop-haired conductor directing an orchestra of bullets. Vanquish changes everything.

Not that it does anything particularly new, mind you. Rather, Platinum has extracted the best elements of Western gaming's totem shooters: the cover mechanic from Gears of War, the squad-based progression of Modern Warfare, the environmental degradation from Bad Company and the psychics–bending weapons of Half-Life.

Then it whisks them up with a host of less obvious ingredients. The recurring hail of tracer gunfire is taken from Cave's "bullet hell" shoot-'em-ups; the gigantic boss battles are borrowed from a Metal Gear Solid cut-scene; the constant score-attack incentives are lifted from Geometry Wars. Then it tops the recipe off with set-piece after set-piece stolen from the idea safe hidden deep within Christopher Nolan's creative consciousness.

Some, you've seen before. Many of the stages in the game's five Acts take place in the inside curvature of a giant ring world, hundreds of miles of city stretching up into the sky in a gravity-defying scene plucked straight from Inception. But that's not to say Mikami and his team don't play with the idea. Midway through Act 2, for example, you streak along a train track that runs inside the circle, bending upwards into the sky like a giant's rollercoaster, while an enemy train circles above and below you like it just flew in from F-Zero.

Other set-pieces are entirely new and, pleasingly, often generated on the fly. Sliding past a mecha in bullet time and picking off the pilot before somersaulting up to the controls, punching in an override key and turning its turrets against its own side is one of the year's most memorable moments.

It's not that the idea of commandeering an enemy vehicle is innovative. But the style with which it's handled in Vanquish is unrivalled. If games are adolescent power fantasies that give us the chance to be cooler, faster, more athletic, more precise and less like the lumbering morons we really are, then in Vanquish they reach the full extent of this ambition.

It's a cover shooter, at heart. You move from pillar to post lining up shots on enemy robots, d-pad switching between your three equipped weapons. But play the game like a straight Gears of War clone and you'll catch less than half of the appeal.

Tap and hold the left trigger and Sam will lurch forward on his knees at high speed, skidding across the environment like an OutRun Ferrari mid-drift. Let go of the button and he'll spin his legs upwards like a break-dancer, landing in a combat-ready crouch in a single motion. This ability shrinks the game world, allowing you to cover vast distances in seconds, offering the chance to flank groups of enemies simply by sliding past their noses.

While in this high-speed slide it's possible to trigger the suit's bullet time mode, allowing you to pick out individual bullets and dodge between them. Bullet time is something we've seen before, but never with such grace as in Vanquish.

Both the high-speed dash and slow motion modes use up the suit's power gauge, which must be refilled after a few seconds. But the effect lasts long enough to offer near-constant use. Time rarely moves at a constant rate, instead slowing to a crawl before accelerating to fever pitch and back again, combat taking on a dreamlike quality as you dash from cover to cover before slowing the world around you to line up the crucial headshot.

These interactions are interesting in themselves, but in the context of Vanquish's wider world, they become thrilling. Enemy designs have all of the creativity of Treasure's best output: tortoise-like tanks that can click-clack into humanoid infantry; portable cover that sprouts legs and scuttles, crablike, across the battlefield before setting itself down in front of rows of soldiers; a tiny orb-headed sprite that can attract any metal debris around it to take on the form of a robotic tiger.

These are game-changing inventions; that they come from a Japanese developer that has never worked in the genre before is startling. Enemy behaviour, too, astounds in its fantastical believability. Shoot the legs from one robot and it will crawl at you. Not in a laboured, Hollywood death scene way, but with desperate lunging thrusts, its drill bit claws extended as it tries to skewer you with frantic, shocking jabs.

Combine this with Platinum's creativity in environmental, showboating thrills and the effect is spellbinding. In one level you attempt to scale a hill while gigantic pieces of masonry and concrete tumble towards you, kicking dust clouds up in the air. In another, you fight robots in a zero-gravity space station, debris and furniture floating all around within a 100-foot-high chamber, framed by stars seen through the giant windows beyond.

The engine is nothing short of breathtaking. Watching ten thousand missiles streak from the back of a bipedal robot, tracing light-lines upwards towards the ceiling before arcing over into a death fall towards your position, is a spectacle that doesn't grow old.

Vanquish is, however, a game primarily fuelled by spectacle. The story is sub-Kojima nonsense. Reduce the boss fights to their most basic components and the designs are decades old: you find the weak spot, exploit to temporarily reveal the tender core, and repeat the process.

But the riotous presentation makes each encounter feel as fresh as if it were conceived here for the very first time. As Sam launches into the air, the camera wheeling and diving about, you forgive even the intermittent QTE button-prompts that flash up on screen. The pay-offs are so magnificent that they justify these incongruous design crutches.

Devoid of any multiplayer content, Vanquish relies on its scoring mechanic to introduce longevity. Every action in the game is scored, while restarts from checkpoints incur point penalties to encourage careful progression.

While a 'God Hard' difficulty unlocks on completion, there's little incentive to keep returning to the game beyond climbing leaderboards and, at a push, trying to find the single hidden statue in each stage. This is perhaps the only area of the game which lags behind its Western counterparts, requiring the player to fully subscribe to score rivalry for any replay value.

But in almost every other regard, Vanquish is a trailblazer. It is a game of astounding creativity and polish, exhilarating on the ground in the moment-to-moment thrills of high-speed-to-slow-motion combat, as well as in its wider, twisting trajectory. Doubtless the best third-person shooter ever to come out of Japan, Vanquish builds on Western developers' triumphs to push the genre in new, interesting directions, shifting the balance of power, and cementing Shinji Mikami's position as one of the best directors working in videogames today.

9 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Simon.

About Simon Parkin

Simon Parkin is an author and journalist on video games. A core contributor to Eurogamer since 2005, he is also a critic and columnist on games for The Guardian.

Read more articles from Simon by visiting the Simon Parkin archive page.

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Comments (117) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Deckard1 #1 2 years ago

    yaaaayyyyyy!!!


    /reads

  • Murbal #2 2 years ago

    AWESOME

    /preorders
    Edited by Murbal at 19/10/10 @ 17:02

  • Rizo #3 2 years ago

    wow came out of no where for me!

  • cianchristopher #4 2 years ago

    Nicely done Platinum. What a year they've had. First Bayonetta, and now this...

  • Psychotext #5 2 years ago

    Wasn't expecting a 9.

    Still not buying though, because I'm a bad person.

  • I\'mListening #6 2 years ago

    Didn't expect EG to score this so highly. It sounds pretty decent and Bayonetta was awesome so...SOLD

  • M4RV #7 2 years ago

    Will still wait for a price drop... So many great games coming out at this time of the year, as always. :\

  • darkmorgado #8 2 years ago

    Wow. This just firmly planted itself on my radar.

    Not getting it this week (Fallout), or next week (Fable and Deadly Premonition), but it's marked on my birthday list alongside Force Unleashed 2.

  • kitsuneyo #9 2 years ago

    They gave Sonic 4 a 9 too, so I'm taking the score with a pinch of salt.

    That said, I'm looking forward to this just as much as I was before.

  • Golgo #10 2 years ago

    Um...I think I'll be getting this then.

  • SteveHolt #11 2 years ago

    This + fallout (or fable) + deadly premonition next week = mind and wallet explode like a pinata.

  • rudderless #12 2 years ago

    Fabulous review. Absolutely nails the game's appeal. It's immense, and you really should buy it.

  • beastmaster #13 2 years ago

    Thank fuck for that! Could it be that 2 Platinum games make my top 5 GOTY list?

  • Oldest_Ancient #14 2 years ago

    Great score, really been looking forward to this. Unfortunately I think the other big name releases mean a lot of people are going to pass this by.

  • NeoKenzi #15 2 years ago

    Good Review! I've pre-ordered this so I'm more confident now. Can't wait and at a bargain price of £27 ish quid... it will keep me entertained for a while.

  • Ignatius_Cheese #16 2 years ago

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

    I promised myself to not buy any more single player games on launch...

    Unfortunately, I am very weak-willed ;_;

  • Trigga_Tybalt #17 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 15:43:01 23-02-2012

  • Ninja_Tino #18 2 years ago

    Two 9 out of 10 games in one day. Both Single Player. One with a huge world that'll last for hours and hours, and another full of thrills without the padding. Two ends of the Single Player spectrum. This makes me so happy. Roll on Friday.

  • talideon #19 2 years ago

    Is it just me, or does this have a strong, strong whiff of Turrican about it?

    This is not a bad thing, believe me!

  • excelexcel #20 2 years ago

    Hmm the demo didn't blow me away but then Bayonetta's demo didn't either and that game was great

  • CptSupermarket #21 2 years ago

    Brilliant! Pre ordered this from the demo and was hoping this would score well, oh and pre order was shipped today from play! \o/

  • naffgeek #22 2 years ago

    This is getting ridiculous...I need a second job to buy all these games, not to mention The xbl arcade stuff tomorrow...hopefully there will be six month s of nothing next year so i can catch up :)

  • Spekingur #23 2 years ago

    Wow, that was a surprise.

  • Les #24 2 years ago

    Came out of left field for me. Want.

  • miiiguel #25 2 years ago

    OMG!

  • Boomerang #26 2 years ago

    No PC? *sniffle*

  • Ror1984 #27 2 years ago

    I caved and pre-ordered this from ShopTo last night for 28 quid. Great review :)

    Edited by Ror1984 at 19/10/10 @ 17:48

  • karooo #28 2 years ago

    Mikami does it again

  • Benno #29 2 years ago

    what the hell is vanquish?

    /reads

  • Old_Books #30 2 years ago

    Games that have longevity through 'scoring challenges' just aren't for me unfortunately. Given all the games coming out at the moment, though, this is probably a good thing.

  • beatwolf #31 2 years ago

    wu motherfucking hu!!!
    so glad to see some decent singleplayer only games. Extremely tired of the whole bloated multiplayer stuff that is getting crammed into everything these days. And btw, a very well written review, i must say.
    Didn't plan on buying this but seems i will have to, if not for anything else, at least for supporting an original IP.

    EDIT: Now just to wait for the face-off to see which version to get...
    Edited by beatwolf at 19/10/10 @ 17:33

  • Kenshin001 #32 2 years ago

    How long is this game? GI review said don't be surprised if you finish it in four hours or less. I'll likely pick it up but I'm not keen on paying full price for a 4 hour game.

  • telboy007 #33 2 years ago

    If Bayonetta is anything to go by, the game will take about 4-5 hours but the ending will be just as long as the main game. ;)

    Edit: Negged? You lot have played Bayonetta right? Those credits start rolling and about hour and half later you've finished it. This was not a negative comment about Bayonetta, that game well deserved those full marks. Perfect example of the genre, and completely bonkers to boot.

    "I should have been a poll dancer!"
    Edited by telboy007 at 19/10/10 @ 22:07

  • HisDudness #34 2 years ago

    Yeah be forewarned that reviews are tagging it at under 6 hours for a first playthrough.

  • Ron_Justice #35 2 years ago

    Wow. I played the Demo and thought it was decent but only wanted to play it the once. This reads like a must have. I'll pick it up I think but maybe once it hits the bargain bins. Good stuff!

  • FuzzyDuck #36 2 years ago

    And in a flash my GT5 preorder is cancelled to finance Vanquish coming home with me on Friday. Been playing the demo constantly this last fortnight so it was probably gonna happen anyway :)

  • bratmandu #37 2 years ago

    Glad it turned out well, maybe Jap games are taking a turn for the better? The demo made my eyeballs bleed.

  • RandolphScott #38 2 years ago

    This sounds fantastic but all the comments about Bayonetta are making me nervous.

    I bought Bayonetta at launch and found it just silly, weird and chaotic. I didn't really get what was so great about it.

    Anyone who's played it care to comment? Do I need to be a Bayonetta lover to appreciate this?

    Before anyone wades in with a "Bayonetta is Amazing, you retard lol" I am in no way suggesting that people that like Bayonetta are wrong. It is simply not for me and am wondering if Vanquish is.

  • jonnex #39 2 years ago

    Woah. I hadn't even heard of this game, but it looks incredible. Buying.

  • gillri #40 2 years ago

    @RandolphScott

    Bayonetta had amazing gameplay, probably the best in a hack and slash game ever, I mean did you not enjoy the gameplay?

    I dont understand how someone could not play Bayonetta and not be blown away by the polished, slick, smooth gameplay, yes it was cheesy slightly werid and japanese but if your having so much fun kicking the cr@p ouuta people why do the negative stuff matter?

    From the minute I played this demo I knew it would be another amazing gameplay rubbish story type of game

  • Eraysor #41 2 years ago

    Oh for fuck's sake, this and Fallout at the same time?!

  • lucky_jim #42 2 years ago

    I've been trying for ages to work out which two out of Fallout NV, Fable 3 and Vanquish to get when I'm paid at the end of the month. I think I might just get all three, I'll probably save the money back by staying at home playing games every night instead of going out!

  • ChthonicEcho #43 2 years ago

    If you're not allowed to swear, why type the cuss words in the first place? It makes sense in speech, because it might slip out. When you're writing, it just... doesn't work.

  • jimmyhill11 #44 2 years ago

    Simon,
    That really was a great and well written review, and it has made me seriously consider getting this game.

    "Doubtless the best third-person shooter ever to come out of Japan"

    Better than Mikami's own Resident Evil 4?

  • layleeloo #45 2 years ago

    4.5/5 on Joystiq too. Colour me surprised. Nice to see a new IP being raved about for a change instead of boring as ass sequals a la gears, cod and the hundred a like.

  • Scimarad #46 2 years ago

    Oooh, you've sold this one to me Mr Parkin.

  • Markitron #47 2 years ago

    @jimmyhill11

    Resi 4 is no more a shooter than fallout 3 was. Sure ye have guns but it wasnt the gunplay that defines the game

  • menage #48 2 years ago

    Will buy when it drops in price. I love Platinum but this isn't my type of game.

  • CloisterBlack #49 2 years ago

    I'm still gonna buy this game day one (awesome demo and a 9 from EG) , but I didn't like the fist half of this review.
    All these other games references made the game being reviewed sound too unoriginal.

  • Elukka #50 2 years ago

    I can confirm the shortness of the campaign as I reviewed Vanquish for another mag. If you cut out the cutscenes, the gameplay portion is about 4 hours long on your first go on normal difficulty. It is action-packed all the way, but I wouldn't consider it a good value of money for the full price.

    And from the consumer advice point of view it a bit odd that the review didn't have anything on the subject. The game's deviously well-made for a reviewer who's in a hurry to plow thru a lot of games. Not so much for someone who wants to spend more time with his/her purchase.
    Edited by Elukka at 19/10/10 @ 18:26

  • TRUTH #51 2 years ago

    COD games are only 5hrs long!

  • Elukka #52 2 years ago

    CoD games also feature a strong multiplayer side to extend the playtime (though not everyone likes multiplayer at all). But Calls of Duty are also criticized for their short single-player components.

  • Feanor #53 2 years ago

    "Resi 4 is no more a shooter than fallout 3 was. Sure ye have guns but it wasnt the gunplay that defines the game"

    Crazy talk. Fallout 3 has VATS, and without VATS is as clunky as it gets.
    Edited by Feanor at 19/10/10 @ 19:17

  • TheJuriel #54 2 years ago

    I know the demo blew my socks off after I was initially 'looks like a boring Gears of War clone', because I found the slide button.

  • SG79 #55 2 years ago

    I doubt it's really 4 hours long, unless you rush through it while missing the bulk of what the game has to offer. It's designed a fast paced single player game and has the replay value to complement it appropriately.

  • ruslan74 #56 2 years ago

    Holy pooh! I am out of money to finance this one. Bummer! :(

  • makariel #57 2 years ago

    Wooohooo!

    I'm surprised and since I'm not getting anything else this month I might just grab Vanquish :)

  • Beano #58 2 years ago

    Dammit... october just became more expensive :)

  • KDR_11k #59 2 years ago

    You mention that playing it like GoW is playing it wrong but the demo felt like GoW-style sticking to cover and staying there (maybe using the boost as a sprint to get to the next cover) is more effective than actually racing around and pulling stunts. Does the game actually force you to use those abilities or is it like many modern games in that it's so easy you never need to push the abilities to the limit?

  • varsas #60 2 years ago

    Older games of the same length used to be £35 and good value. What's changed? This isn't an RPG

  • jimmyhill11 #61 2 years ago

    Markitron
    Resi Evil 4 not a shooter......eh?

    It's the definitive 3rd person shooter from the last gen

  • monkfishjoe #62 2 years ago

    Boom!

    Awesome news. I've played the hell out of the demo, had a good go at the Expo and have been counting down the days. Glad it is consistently good (always worry from any good demo that the game can't be that good for it's entire length).

    Roll on Friday!

  • Pasco #63 2 years ago

    gillri:
    "Bayonetta had amazing gameplay, probably the best in a hack and slash game ever, I mean did you not enjoy the gameplay?"

    No. The gameplay consists of always pushing the evade button and then punching in a random combo where it doesn't even matter if you are in the air or not because it is almost the same moves. Ninja Gaiden in contrast has evades, block, reversal for defense, more classes of attacks that also use the environment and every part of the game has its place. Bayonetta also has an awkward control scheme where one is supposed to pause in the middle of combos to vary them but the length of the pause depends on if you are hitting someone or not ...which is stupid.

  • NOSAVIOUR #64 2 years ago

    EG predictable as ever wanting to be different from the mainstream. Everyone else is hatin it cos it's short and derivative so they give it a 9. As good as those few hours are it doesn't deserve that.

  • Feanor #65 2 years ago

    No, you were just doing it wrong.

  • Zaiz #66 2 years ago

    Only console-only game I've desperately wanted ported to PC this year. I'm also unsurprised by the review score. Platinum delivers.

  • Starkillah_79 #67 2 years ago

    9/10 congrats but seriously, the demo was not bad/great either. but then again a modern shooter without MP or at least some CoOp? Not my cup of tea...

  • Feanor #68 2 years ago

    "EG predictable as ever wanting to be different from the mainstream. Everyone else is hatin it cos it's short and derivative so they give it a 9. As good as those few hours are it doesn't deserve that."

    Sorry to burst your bubble of ignorance, but EG's score for Vanquish is very much in the mainstream.

    Gamespot also gave it 9, IGN gave it 8.5, 1up gave it a B+, Joystig gave it 4.5/5, etc.

  • Trafford #69 2 years ago

    Sounds great.The potential for showboating and production values have sold it to me.

  • George-Roper #70 2 years ago

    Proper surprised, because the advert artwork is sheeeeite.

  • Obiwanshinobi #71 2 years ago

    30 frames per second. Enough said.

  • Kostas #72 2 years ago

    Got Metal Gear 4, Uncharted 2, Yakuza 3, God of War 3 and Ratchet and Clank: Tools of destruction for 60 pounds the lot of them. Not i only got another 50-60 to spend between this and Castlevania but so far i am by 90% going for Vanquish. It looks like my cup of tea.

  • tossrStu #73 2 years ago

    Wait, "psychics–bending weapons"? Poor Uri Geller :(

  • Oh-Bollox #74 2 years ago

    Much rather have four hours of excitement than eight hours of alternating excitement/padding.

  • Triggerhappytel #75 2 years ago

    I've said it before and I'll keep saying it: Platinum Games are the best thing to happen to Sega in bloody years. They'd be mad not to secure the studio down for more collaborations.

  • RedSparrows #76 2 years ago

    i wanted this to be good.

    it is.

    WOOT.

  • telboy007 #77 2 years ago

    Platinum games really have done some sterling work, although I'm stuck on Infinite Space at a melee fight of stupid difficultly its an awesome "little" DS game, Bayonetta is just bloody brilliant and this looked stonking the second I started playing the Demo. Where the hell did that band of geniuses come from all of a sudden?

  • Goodfella #78 2 years ago

    @djronz

    I didn't think much of it either and this score isn't going to change my opinion.

    I didn't like Bayonetta that much either so I guess these genres just aren't my cup of tea [anymore].

  • bladdard #79 2 years ago

    I realise there'll be a face off but is the PS3 version borked like Bayonetta, if it is then it's a no sale for me.
    Edited by bladdard at 19/10/10 @ 22:22

  • trip919 #80 2 years ago

    I thought eight at a push, glad I'm wrong!

  • Goodfella #81 2 years ago

    @bladdard

    PS3 is lead platform this time so each version should be pretty much equal.

  • Chalee #82 2 years ago

    Why on earth is it that whenever a Platinum / Shinji game is released there's always loads of people saying how surprised they are at the high score? Do your research peoples, Platinum's record is incredible (especially if you factor in clover as well)!

  • jonbwfc #83 2 years ago

    So is 9/10 the new 8/10?

    Played the demo, not really my thing. Very pretty though.

  • The_Amazing_Potato #84 2 years ago

    I wasn't sure if this sort of game was for me, then I played the demo and giggled like an idiot the first time I made Sam do his knee slide. Flipping brilliant.

  • antasari #85 2 years ago

    I'm obviously getting old and grumpy, but really ... Vanquish is a Japanese Halo? Geometry Wars invented high scores? Inception invented ringworlds? It's a bit too much "ooh finally in this generation a Japanese developer has copied us Westerners."

    Whereas if you delete most of the first page, you get something like "ooh finally someone has made a proper Japanese high-score shooter in well-executed 3d." (Or, "the whole game is like the demo and it's good enough that the length isn't a problem.";) Would have been a better review, no?

  • ChocNut #86 2 years ago

    Demo is sweet - real fresh. Can't wait to get the full game.

  • Obiwanshinobi #87 2 years ago

    I'm obviously getting old and grumpy, but really ... Vanquish is a Japanese Halo? Geometry Wars invented high scores? Inception invented ringworlds?

    Well, none of them invented metallic grey texturing, that's for sure. Or covers and dashing while we're at it.
    Edited by Obiwanshinobi at 20/10/10 @ 01:06

  • Kenshin001 #88 2 years ago

    @Elukka, thanks for confirming the short time of the game. Will pick this up when it's much cheaper. A bit amiss of Simon not to have mentioned it in his review.

  • andromeda #89 2 years ago

    does it have 128k sound?

  • Bander #90 2 years ago

    "This is perhaps the only area of the game which lags behind its Western counterparts, requiring the player to fully subscribe to score rivalry for any replay value."

    Hooray!

    I don't care for things like experience systems or collection nonsense leading to unlockables. They are chores that get in the way of the feeling of accomplishment that a player should feel for just progressing and getting better as normal in an action game.

  • headrush #91 2 years ago

    Damit! No time! No money! :-/

  • neonxaos #92 2 years ago

    @Pesco

    "The gameplay consists of always pushing the evade button and then punching in a random combo where it doesn't even matter if you are in the air or not because it is almost the same moves. Ninja Gaiden in contrast has evades, block, reversal for defense, more classes of attacks that also use the environment and every part of the game has its place. Bayonetta also has an awkward control scheme where one is supposed to pause in the middle of combos to vary them but the length of the pause depends on if you are hitting someone or not ...which is stupid."

    In fact, Bayonetta works more like a one on one fighting game. The more effort you put into learning your "random" combos, the more hurt you'll be able to dish out in specific situations. On top of this, positioning is key, so yes, you will be evading a lot - but this is a core mechanic, allowing you to counter and overcome otherwise impossible situations. In the end, it's all about staying creative to rack up the score and avoid dying. Unlike most other action games, Bayonetta wants you to go back and practice each level until you not only win, but truly ace it. The more moves you unlock, the more facets are revealed. Take a look at the leaderboards and see what's actually possible to achieve. Your brain may have to be wired like mine to enjoy the punishment, but I truly enjoy the idea that skill is rewarded and exceptional skill is encouraged.

    I expect Vanquish to follow the same lines. This is, in effect, Contra in 3D. You must replay it to get better, and if I know Platinum right, the harder difficulty levels are where it's really at. Shinji Mikami has often mentioned the idea of gameplay over story, and to be frank, I also think that Japanese games are suffering from the bloat syndrome. A tighter experience with far more focus is so much better than a 30-hour game full of fluff and recycled textures and enemies. I have already replayed the demo several times over - can't wait for the final game (which I will be reviweing over at Eurogamer Denmark).

  • muscleblade #93 2 years ago

    This is my type of game. Glad it scored as high as Fallout Vegas since i much rather buy this.

  • TelexStar #94 2 years ago

    @Pesco "The gameplay consists of always pushing the evade button and then punching in a random combo where it doesn't even matter if you are in the air or not because it is almost the same moves. Ninja Gaiden in contrast has evades, block, reversal for defense, more classes of attacks that also use the environment and every part of the game has its place. Bayonetta also has an awkward control scheme where one is supposed to pause in the middle of combos to vary them but the length of the pause depends on if you are hitting someone or not ...which is stupid."

    I appreciate that you may prefer Ninja Gaiden over Bayonetta (Gaiden was a truely great game) but from all the criticisms you levelled at Bayonetta, it's obvious you haven't spent much time with the game. The very fact that you talked about spamming the evade button, it's doubtless that you've progressed through hard or Climax mode and faced some of the truely fearsom enemies; Fairness & Fearless, Gracious & Glorious, Joy - but to name a few who would have you crying on your arse if you employed the above tactic.

    I could reel off a number of other gameplay elements that you've either ignored or missed, namely; launchers, extended aerial combos, sweeps, dodge-offsets, weapon combinations split between hands and feet, taunts. All of these have a drastic effect on how you play the game and how you approach certain enemies.

    Bayonetta is one of those rare games that's immediately accessible to those who just want a bit of button bashing fun (on easier difficulties) and hugely rewarding to those who choose to spend some time with it on harder settings.

    *edit* ... And as for Vanquish, I'm really looking forward to this. I admit, I was surprised by the 9 but I can't say I'm disappointed :)
    Edited by TelexStar at 20/10/10 @ 09:19

  • Tinrib72 #95 2 years ago

    Will purchase...several months from now. It'll only be a tenner.

  • zhgingaah #96 2 years ago

    Well it's moved from a 'that was a pretty demo but I ain't handing over 40 notes' to 'hmm, when I can get it as cheap as I got Bayonetta (£12 about 5 months ago) then why not' - I admit it looked impressive, but if it's a bit short and it didn't quite hook me...

    ...but good to see more Japanese devs getting back on track/

  • muscleblade #97 2 years ago

    I love Ninja gaiden, but Bayonetta is the best game in its genre this gen. Its even my GOTY this year so far (sorry ME2).

  • riz23 #98 2 years ago

    Awesome. The Platinum machine rolls on. Bayonetta should be GOTY and I'm very glad I pre-ordered this for 28 quid. Go get ppl.

  • Badassbab #99 2 years ago

    Can't wait to play this one. Love Platinum Games at the mo.

  • Pulsar_t #100 2 years ago

    Jim Sterling is officially certifiable. No way this game deserves a 5/10. And the hilarious part is that a lot of his followers (ie sheep) agree with him on principle.

  • TelexStar #101 2 years ago

    Sorry, who is Jim Sterling?

  • iago71 #102 2 years ago

    Think Im gonna pick this up on Fri......

  • Darren #103 2 years ago

    I thought the demo was great but there's way too many games I'm playing at the moment for me to buy another so this one will sadly have to wait until after Christmas. I won't have time for this, Fallout: New Vegas, Castlevania: LoS and the other half dozen games I'm currently playing/finishing.

  • Kostas #104 2 years ago

    For the people that wonder where this genius comes from. Platinum Games is made up by the same masterminds that gave us all those gems when they were at Capcom. Resident Evil, Okami, Viewtiful Joe, Devil May Cry, Killer 7 to name but a few. Why do people wonder then that this game is so kick ass? Was Bayonetta not a kick-ass game (except the PS3 version)? Infinite Space on the DS maybe or even Mad World on the Wii?

    Anyone else wonders now why Capcom struggles to put up a single good game (except Super Street Fighter 4 and to a lesser extent DMC 4) these last few years?

  • Mr_Git #105 2 years ago

    Was on the fence about buying it at day one, mainly for the sheer amount of games coming out. Then the reviews started pouring and it's only £28 on Shopto - an evening in the pub and some tobacco, so it's ordered. Absolutely loved Bayonetta; it's still high in the running for my game of the year, which for a january release that was stuck in limbo for ages with the postal strike is quite a feat. Genuinely excited to see what Platinum do next year.

  • slivir #106 2 years ago

    I'm glad this scored highly. I really want Platinum to do well, other Japanese developers need a good role model these days it seems.

  • kenty #107 2 years ago

    I picked a copy up last night (in Canada btw) and It took me nearly two hours to play through the first chapter (on normal), there are five chapters so maybe it’ll take me 8 hours or so to get to the end. I died quite a lot whilst getting the hang of it so I expect to make faster progress moving forward, I guess people who are better than me at games will do it quicker. At the end of each mission I would often realise that there’s a way I could have done it better so I know I’m going to be replaying the game at least once to get higher scores.

    So for me the concerns about length of game aren’t an issue, actually I prefer shorter games anyway, I rarely finish anything that takes longer than 8 hours. It defo feels like a solid 9 so far, I’m having a blast with it and my housemates seemed to be having fun just watching me play it.

  • Grayvern #108 2 years ago

    I cant be the only one that hated the demo, the boss battle in it was repetative and dull with bad checkpointing, and the gameplay only seemed to punish you for wanting to pull off the stunts.

    Also styling can out you off a game. Definately the case from what Ive seen from vanquish and why I have no motivation to ever go back to bayonetta after the initial playthrough to really learn it's intricacies.

  • Postumo #109 2 years ago

    what!??? is eurogamer nuts? demo seemed mediocre at best!

  • Harmonica #110 2 years ago

    It's criminally short. It looks quantitively ugly. It's stolen every single element from another game that probably did it better.

    Unless your tilt towards these kind of things is as absolutely sky fucking high as some of the trailblazing rockets in this thing, then I would avoid like the plague or treat it as a must-rental if those kind of terms exist for you.

    Yes I've been playing it for a lot of the past week and no I can't see what the fascination is, although I have tried. Mate who actually owns it is a hardcore bullet hell mentalist, and fan of most japanese import style stuff. He loves it. And I love EDF if that's any comparison. I just hate cover shooters and shitty shitty crazy mental stories.

    Not bad just mediocre and if you're talking scores then it's a 7 from me.
    Edited by Harmonica at 21/10/10 @ 03:38

  • HokutoNoKen #111 2 years ago

    EDGE review (PS3 version tested):

    http://www.next-gen.biz/features/vanquis... ( 8 / 10)

    / Ken

  • TelexStar #112 2 years ago

    @Harmonica
    - It's criminally short. It looks quantitively ugly. It's stolen every single element from another game that probably did it better.

    Unless your tilt towards these kind of things is as absolutely sky fucking high as some of the trailblazing rockets in this thing, then I would avoid like the plague or treat it as a must-rental if those kind of terms exist for you.

    Yes I've been playing it for a lot of the past week and no I can't see what the fascination is, although I have tried. Mate who actually owns it is a hardcore bullet hell mentalist, and fan of most japanese import style stuff. He loves it. And I love EDF if that's any comparison. I just hate cover shooters and shitty shitty crazy mental stories.

    Not bad just mediocre and if you're talking scores then it's a 7 from me.

    It's quantitatively ugly is it? Please explain to me how you plan on assigning a quantitative number to the visual style? Unless you plan on doing the same for ever single game ever made to provide your baseline? No? Then jog on.

    I appreciate you obviously don't like the game (and that's fine). Having only played the demo, I don't know myself how I'll enjoy the full game but I know I enjoyed the demo immensely and it looked far from ugly.

    In addition, I must tip my hat to your mate who clearly holds the de facto last-say in all things "japanese import style stuff". I admit I had no idea. Games industry - take note and fear!

    Finally, as for your "It's stolen every single element from another game that probably did it better" comment... There's seldom any truely revolutionary games anymore (and I don't mean that as a diss). More often than not, games are an evolution from the ones that came before them. That's generally the way that design works in this world, whether it be games, music, film, art etc. Very occasionally something revolutionary comes along and it should be praised but that doesn't mean that everything else is automatically shit.

  • Harmonica #113 2 years ago

    I think my assessment was entirely fair; unless you're particularly enamoured with these kind of things it's not going to seem anything special and/or different.

    It's quantitively ugly in the sense that if you wrote an article discussing 'visual design decisions in Vanquish' you could pick apart the elements of it and why they are either unappealing on a simple aesthetic level, technically base, unhelpful in terms of gameplay coherence, and sometimes just baffling/irrelevant. Quantitively, because you can argue these things were it the time and the place. Which it isn't, as proved by the five negs I received just for posting a less than glowing opinion.

    I'm not sure what exactly you're saying about my mentioning my friend's opinion being the opposite to mine. The reason I posted that was because I've been in the company of a completely dissenting opinion, and someone who plays through the vast amount of (what he admits is often) complete tripe, for completists sake. As such I'm aware that Vanquish will be a 9 to genre obsessives and those who appreciate its hook and not for others. It's not as playable for those it doesn't grab as some other even lesser games.

    I fundamentally don't agree with terms like revolution, evolution and so on since they're wishy washy and can be used to mean almost anything.
    Edited by Harmonica at 22/10/10 @ 08:03

  • Kostas #114 2 years ago

    I still do not understand why every game has to be judged around the notion of "being playable and liked by everyone". I completely disagree with this kind of policy/ philosophy because it is a fact that the quality will be mediocre -at best- for this to happen. A game like Vanquish (made FOR gamers such as myself) is not meant to be a crowd-pleaser.

    You say that the game looks the way it does if you pick it apart but friend you forget that some games are much more than the sum of their parts in either visual or gameplay levels or both. I am a person who favours and values a stilistic and "art" like style over any kind of drab so called "reallistic" looking visuals. You can imagine that what i have seen (from the demo myself) greatly appeals to me and that is NOT adding in the kudos this game gets for being a refined and better P.N.03.

    Edited by Kostas at 23/10/10 @ 03:00

  • ibenam #115 2 years ago

    i just picked up bayonetta and vanquish with the special sleeve for £30 from play.com! Really looking forward to playing it since i love those crazy jap devs. Can anyone direct me to a bayonetta demo for ps3 otherwise its going on fleabay!

  • spekkeh #116 1 year ago

    Awesome game. It's nowhere near 4 hours for your first playthrough though, I think it's more along the lines of 10-12 hours. I also noticed some other mistakes in the review, boost is left button, not trigger, and you can't go into slowmotion while boosting, but after dodging with the a button.

  • Bangaioh #117 1 year ago

    Bought this on day one, started playing it yesterday. THIS GAME IS AWESOME!