In a near-future world where Russia and the United States vie for ownership of the world’s fast-depleting energy resources, the US has constructed a space station in order to harness energy from the sun. Russian forces capture this space station and divert its harvested solar energy into a blast wave that destroys San Francisco, aiming to force the US into a total and unconditional surrender.
GenreFirst-Person Shooters
Platforms xbox360
DEVELOPER platinumgames | PUBLISHER Codemasters | RELEASE DATE
Vanquish Reviews xbox360
thunderboltgames.com review
while the pace is frenetic. Load-screens are shrewdly masked by cutscenes (and when they do occasionally appear, they’re mercifully short) and when the screen teems with action, even the framerate holds up. It’s a mere seven hours long, but Vanquish is that rare title that benefits from its brevity. Were it any longer it’d risk being diluted, dulled, nullified. The game that stands is an absolute thrill-ride, brimming with verve and excitement. And as the adage goes, the star that burns most bright is the star that dies twice as fast.
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extremegamer.ca review
The enemies in this game are intense. First of all, there are always a myriad of them coming at you, and not just one type, and bunch of different types with different mechanics. It feels like an 2D shoot em up where there are bullets and enemies coming at you from all directions and you have quickly dodge and shoot in order to bring them all down. Enemies will hide from you, flank you, pop up to shoot you just after you empty a clip – needless to say – the A.I. is very intelligent. You’re not alone in the fight, and some very competent friendly A.I. is usually helping you on your way. One of the things I really love about this game is that the A.I. on both sides engage each other all the time and as you’re running (or sliding) across the battlefield you’ll see all kinds of confrontations going on that make you feel like you’re part of something, instead of all enemies focusing all their attention on you.
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realgamer.net review
Vanquish is polished and supremely well executed, and everyone should really make the effort to give it a go. If SEGA ever decide to re-enter the world of hardware development and populate their platform with games like this, I won’t hesitate to clear space under my telly.
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gamechronicles.com review
Vanquish is a mix of Zone of Enders (anyone remember that game) and Iron Man with firearms. The action is relentless, the challenge is immense, the settings are breathtaking, and the feeling you have when it’s all over is indescribable.
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gamerstemple.com review
Once the bullets started flying my fears were laid to rest. Vanquish seems to have been designed with the lofty goal of shattering gamers' perceptions of how much action is too much. Games like the recent Medal of Honor reboot rely on these big moments without weaving them seamlessly into gameplay (i.e. walk forward or that unexpected ambush will never happen…yawn), but Vanquish keeps the pace moving and feels like you're in a dynamic world where stuff would go down whether you are there or not.
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eurogamer.net review
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.
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gamespot.com review
Vanquish feels exactly right. It’s fast and furious. It’s totally entertaining. It’s got style oozing from every pore. Vanquish is all game and no filler, and that’s exactly what makes it one of the most gleeful and memorable experiences of the year.
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joystiq.com review
The gameplay in Vanquish may have been possible on the PSOne, but the presentation is pushing the 360 and PS3 into overdrive. There’s so much going on, so much detail and so much … wow that it’s no wonder there’s a button that makes Sam take a smoke break — the spectacle simply has to be taken in.
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gamesradar.com review
Insanely fast and relentlessly fun, Vanquish manages to keep up a breakneck pace almost throughout its entire runtime, never quite slowing down enough to get boring. Of all the Gears of War-alikes we’ve played, this may be the best.
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darkzero.co.uk review
Unless something entirely terrible happens, Vanquish will be a making appearances in a lot of Game of the Year 2010 articles soon enough. It’s a fresh, unrelenting take on a stale genre that has you grinning from beginning to end. Complaints have been noted about the game’s lifespan – you can finish a playthrough in around seven hours – but with an experience as replayable and dense as this, such complaints seem petulant. This is a game that deserves the attention of anyone who ever enjoyed pretending to shoot things.
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gamingexcellence.com review
Honestly for a game that appears to be a successor to Shinji Mikami's earlier, less well received, title P.N. 03 this is a fantastic game. Vanquish is fun, it's exciting and it's a fresh take on the cover based shooter that breathes a bit of originality into the genre. Unless you're some sort of little pansy that can't handle a bit of a challenge, or just loathe the genre entirely, there's no reason not to add this gem to your library..
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worthplaying.com review
Despite the length of the game, Vanquish is a delight to play. While the sound could have been punched up a bit, especially with the voices, no one will argue that the game controls well and looks amazing. The story may be passable, but the sheer fun of blitzing all over the battlefield as you dispatch waves of enemy robots never gets old, and the bosses only amplify the fun factor
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impulsegamer.com review
In all these highly anticipated games for 2010, Vanquish actually delivered whereas some other games have not. This science fiction third person shooter is a fast and furious experience and nothing is more satisfying than taking down all these crazy designed robots. The story is a little lame but fun, however the gameplay more than makes up for this and at the end of the day, when you’ve finished playing, you will be craving for more Vanquish! The only downside is that the game is a little short but Yeah-har… what a blast!
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dpadmagazine.com review
Those looking for a challenge will be catered for here as the game can be unforgiving on higher difficulties, but it’s all in the name of good fun. Vanquish represents the next stage in third-person shooters and will likely spawn a number of sequels and, we suspect, a few wannabe rip-offs in the near future. If you’re looking for a slice of science-fiction heaven that injects the gameplay of Gears of War with a crazy dose of speed, then you won’t do much better than Vanquish. Exhilarating stuff.
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consolemonster.com review
Vanquish easily takes place as one of my top games of 2010 but then I do love my shooters. For anyone who enjoys running around carefree and blowing robots to bits, this is the perfect game for you and if not then surely you want to slide on your arse all day, right? If not you can call yourself very weird…or is that me?
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gamecritics.com review
My highest possible praise goes out to Shinji Mikami and Platinum Games, and my sympathies go out to every third-person shooter that comes after Vanquish—it's an impossible act to follow.
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gamer.nl review
No Synopsis Available
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telegraph.co.uk review
Still, when one considers the sheer, grin-inducing fun Vanquish has to offer, these complaints become insignificant. It should also be pointed out that Vanquish is also one of the best looking games released all year and in terms of sheer specatacle, there are few titles that can match it. This is a fast-paced, high-octane and resolutely hard-core shooter, which makes no concessions to casual gamers. It also happens to be one of the best games of 2010.
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planetxbox360.com review
Vanquish takes almost every exciting component from our favorite 3rd-person shooters and combines them into a hell of a good time.
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ign.com review
Vanquish is a stylish, spectacular looking game with great gunplay and some stunning set pieces. Although the game’s story and character development pale in comparison to the action, I had a great time with Vanquish from the in-game tutorial all the way to the ending credits. Even though Mikami’s latest creation is difficult at times, players looking for a highly entertaining shooter should look no further. Vanquish will keep you on the edge of your multi-thruster booster seat.
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nowgamer.com review
Far from attaining the mere status of Epic hanger-on, Platinum Games has delivered the concept of acrobatic third-person shooter to the public, making it appear far less ridiculous than this sentence does. Considering that gamers seem to have this constant obsession with innovation, what more could we all ask for than that?
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videogamer.com review
If you enjoy shooters then you absolutely must experience Vanquish; just know that you’re not going to be getting much more than a weekend’s play unless you get addicted to high scores and challenges. It’s hard to be down on the game, though. I enjoyed every second, with the build up to the final encounter being particularly exciting. While we’re being told that the Japanese games industry is on its deathbed, Vanquish is a shining example of what the most talented developers from the East are capable of.
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next-gen.biz review
Vanquish isn’t substantial enough to be a brilliant whole, but there’s more than enough here to bother its western competitors. Finally, Sega can dust off that classic marketing line, because once you’ve played Vanquish, everything else seems a little bit slow.
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gameinformer.com review
If Vanquish had been fleshed out with better characters, more variety, and a more substantial campaign, it could have been great. As is, the awesome suit amounts to little more than a fun toy in a forgettable world.
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gamepro.com review
Some of the most interesting level design and most dynamic firefights you’ll ever experience. The environments are epic and the boost slide is awesome. CONS: A thin story packed to bursting with cliches, a painful lack of what could have been a spectacular co-op mode.
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gamingbolt.com review
A fast paced, stylised arcade shooter made by its quick gunplay and cinematic fights but, sadly, crippled with repetitive missions and the most irritating protagonist in gaming history
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