- Tested on Xbox Series X via Xbox 360.
- Game purchased on the day of its release in physics.
- About 7 hours of play for this game, but an indeterminate amount of runs in the legs before that!
- Part started in difficult mode.
- Personal screenshots made on Xbox Series X.
When Shinji Mikami, father of iconic franchise Resident Evil, leaves Capcom with some of his most talented colleagues to set up a more personal (but always very ambitious) studio, all looks are looking to the future. A future that can be catastrophic for this great name of video game, or the contrary. However, to the general surprise, it turned out that Mikami laid some of his best opus once removed from the grip of a Capcom who had often left him blank. Among his recent successes, a certain Vanquish, directed by Platinum Games for a release in 2010, and having much more to do with horrific imagery that seemed to stick to the gentleman's skin.
The robots of dawn
With the idea of surfing the news, I had originally planned to talk to you this week about Silent Hill, a horrific frankness that I love very much, and on which there is much to say. But if the calendar really lends itself to it, I nevertheless felt the need to move away from a time of horror, after having ingurgitated at a crazy speed the best opus of the series, on PlayStation 2, and its remake in the wake. I needed a little breath of fresh air before I went back to lose myself in the dark hallways and the foggy alleys of Silent Hill, and my outlet was in a clear green box, far too often handled for its own good. Vanquish, little candy that I loved with all my soul from the first contact, has therefore assumed some importance in my history as a player, and in my habits. Not only is it a title that I've eaten, but I've come back to it a grim amount of times, with an average of one to three runs a year since 2010. Which is starting to do a lot.
So why so much love and time wasted in front of a screen, rather than riding a bike or running after a balloon? It's simple, never any game before him (and rarely after, we'll come back to it) had been so fun or had managed to provide so many greying sensations in hands. There was a lot of Devil May Cry, especially the third strand, which is felt as a reminiscence in the Vanquish. Or Max Payneand to some extent Stranglehold (his distant cousin arrived on foot from China). But nothing fully comparable to the sensations given by the title of Mikami and the young studio Platinum Games. To understand it, the best thing is to take the controller, of course. Because on paper, Vanquish looks like it misunderstands all the other Third Person Shooter who swelled on consoles (and rarely on PC) after the release of Resident Evil 4 (always by Mikami) and Gears of War.
Two titles which, for one democratized one genre, for the other refined and seated a recipe which, therefore, will become a real reference in the microcosm of the action game. The list is long, and there is as much evidence such as Resident Evil 5, Lost Planet or Kayne & Lynch ; that of « subtle » other genera in the equation, such as Mass Effect, Dead Space (read our critical) and Avatar : The Game. So on paper, we come back, Vanquish seems quite close to a Fracture or Inversion, two perfectly forgetable titles, which simply added unnecessary mechanics over the Game Design of Gears of War, losing the entire bone of Epic's franchise. With this in mind, Platinum's game displays a rutilating plastic, at the top of the technological and artistic basket of its time, guaranteeing it, unlike many of its grizzly contemporaries from the cradle, to age beautifully well.
Yes, Vanquish is beautiful to damn, with its futuristic architectures propelling us straight on a fantasy version of The Ring World of Niven, or Rama but built by man and placed in Earth orbit. With its robots that it is possible to dismember also, its explosions of the most beautiful effect, the impression of speed that it makes us feel quickly, and of course with the high tech armor that puts on our protagonist (and that is not without echoing the Zone of the Enders). That badass soldier who smokes bitches just because it's cool, and being cool is worth every cancer in the world. With this, and despite its vivacity, Vanquish is fluid as not two, does not suffer from any slow down or technical problem during his adventure. Little feat, a fortiori for a title developed by such a young studio, without the colossal means of a Capcom (despite SEGA's support for publishing).
The variable man
So of course, Vanquish his faults, among which, and it is the reproach that caused him the most damage to his exit, a slightly thin life, not exceeding seven hours in straight line. And do not look for detours in his exclusively linear adventure. Vanquish has a clear objective, and never departs from it: to keep us awake. What he succeeds very well, with his amazing rhythm (probably dangerous if you suffer from the heart) that only falls back (so to speak) during his sublime kinematics, putting most of the time emphasis on action, explosions and bullets that fume in every corner. We only have little rest in this game of not banal shooting. The only real moments of calm find their fleeting place between two levels, when it's time to count his balls, recharge his weapons, and prepare psychologically for what happens next. A little air of DOOM (2016) before the hour, with a mental overload quickly reached in the highest modes of difficulty.
Perfect transition on the challenge in this failed TPS. It is not obvious to overcome his adventure, let alone the optional challenges he offers apart from the campaign. At a time when the Cover Shooter, declination from Gears of War, made law, and where the difficulty no longer seems to be a distant memory of a past era, Vanquish revives painful deaths repeatedly. Because if he borrows his blankets well in the subgenus referred to above, and he should not hesitate to abuse them, the title of Mikami nevertheless pushes the player to stay in motion. Not only will the enemies come to us quickly if we stay too long hidden, but in addition we quickly take damage by leaning over our wall to send a few bursts of bullets. This is where all the strength and originality of Vanquish. Because this trifle-like GST has in fact plucked in several influences, including Max Payne (still him), to offer a gaming system that he is the only one to offer on the market.
In addition to the classic and inevitable roulade, Sam, our hero, will be able to slide at all speed on the ground, thanks to his latest armor. But it will above all allow him to return to a state of Bullet Time (reduce action to allow us to shoot more precisely). System that will be abused during adventure, since the liveliness of the enemies does not always allow to target precisely. But also because this slowdown offers a significant advantage at stake, Vanquish practically pause the movements of the opponents during this time. Something that doesn't look at it, but quickly becomes indispensable especially against bosses. Vanquish also borrowing from Bullet Hell way Touhou (more affordable, fortunately), the two mechanics mentioned above are indispensable to slalom between the many projectiles that come on us continuously. In addition to this, Sam can also use several body-to-body attacks, depending on the weapon he is equipped with, which can also be used to move differently, especially to take up a few seconds.
There are many possibilities, and you don't have to search the internet for a long time to find out, since each one goes with their little tutorial. No need to know how to cancel the reloading of his weapons, or to trap the game to save time from Bullet Time, if your only goal is to end the adventure. But it is very important to note that the margin of progress in understanding and using the gameplay of Vanquish is quite dizzying, reminding again what is being done at Devil May Cry. Comparing the part of a novice and that of a speedrunner has never been so upbuilding. That's also why the argument of lifetime makes little sense to me. Since Vanquish we have developed into a skill as we go through our parts, we have soon done to climb ourselves into the high levels of difficulty to measure ourselves against a more full-bodied challenge and implement everything we have previously learned. A fortiori, since the title is the weapon of a score system, which allows the most fierce to compare with other players across the globe, or even to simply aim to improve the game after game.
Love is a dog of hell
With all this, Vanquish can boast of a jubilatory gameplay, which its fairly easy grip never fails. As said earlier, no game before him was so playful in his hands, and those who managed to match his punch afterwards are not numerous. We are obviously thinking about DOOM of 2016 and its aftermath, but also to Rage and new Wolfenstein (which makes many games from Bethesda, indeed). And even compared to those, Vanquish makes a bit of a UFO figure. As much as he has nothing to envy the grim dynamism of a DOOM Eternal (read our critical DLC) or Post Void. Of course, after so much praise, we would almost forget that the title of Mikami suffers from some small problems, including a readability sometimes taken in default, and some serious peaks of difficulty that do not do good by where they pass. But he is easily forgiven for these wanderings, as he manages to renew himself during his adventure, which does not propose two similar situations, notably thanks to a very thoughtful Level Design. Again, its low lifespan is not a problem, as it would probably not have kept its pace much longer.
Another flaw cited at its release, the absence of online mode... well, we will not develop around the reasons that make this argument absolutely stupid, and rather evoke what could really have brought a plus to this adventure: content to unlock. Because Sam's armor is jubilatory to use, but the gauge of « stamina » is a little short, and that the armament is well chosen but a little rachitic, we would not have been against options to modify the first, and the possibility of acquiring new petts. But above all, I think that there was a lot of people looking for a way to unblock the armor of the great villain, in 2010, or at least a version that was more grounded down, in the most literal sense. Because seeing him move with even more grace than Sam has something grim, but nevertheless leads to some jealousy, inevitably. Only things to unlock finally, an additional (and absolutely legendary) difficulty mode, as well as challenges to launch via the main menu. A few collectibles are also to be found in the levels, but do not serve much more than to push us to explore.
Finally, you certainly noticed, Vanquish is a title that it is perfectly possible to deal with without addressing its scenario, as it is relegated to the background once the first games are started. That being said, we must not squander this melting pot of influences resolutely old school, pinging in action films from the 70s to 90s for a result which, if never taken seriously, nevertheless works rather well. The great villain, the president of the United States of America who announces in great pomp a military operation of colossal scope, all braver (and a little dumber) bidasses than each other, and of course an avalanche of replicas over the top launched between two clopes. The whole is also supported by an excellent VF, which makes us find some renowned doublers such as Michel Elias (Pumba in The Lion King), Martial Le Minoux (Roy Mustang in FMA) and Raphael Cohen (Nasus in League of Legends, excuse my references). The soundtrack is not left behind, moreover, with nerve electronic pieces that perfectly stick to the atmosphere and support the dynamic action. At least when one manages to hear it over the sounds of fire and explosions.
Vanquish, he's a little illegitimate son of Max Payne and Die Hard 3. Behind his screenplay and his staging over the top, there is an extremely nervous gameplay and a short adventure that is enjoyed without hunger. The title of Mikami and Platinum Games has, however, a lot more to offer than we've been wanted to believe. In particular, a real margin of progress in its gameplay, and a challenge that, although sometimes quite unfair, offers an excellent response to all those who adhere to its radical proposal. From there to say this is one of the best action games ever? Definitely.
For
- Very nice to the eye...
- ... and a technique never failed
- Take over immediately...
- ... and gameplay of unsuspected depth
- Jubilatory from the first moments
- Not too short, not too long
- Directing and dialogues over the top
- Excellent VF coatings
- Electro sound tape that stays in mind
- No online mode
Against
- Challenge sometimes poorly measured
- Sometimes taken in default
- Maybe lack of things to unlock
What a joy to see a game of caliber Vanquish processed on the site. Thank you!
I remember sweating on this game when it came out on 360! I was chaining the runs without ever satisfying my fury.
My only regret? I never managed to beat the double boss in difficulty mode God Hard. I had tried again and again, but I had finally given up.
I think it's one of the very rare times in my life as a player where I had to resolve to give up (it was also the case for Ikaruga and Metal Slug 3 with 3 credits).
What a game in any case, a real classic of the action game.
Legendary of this mode of difficulty, I confess to having lost a 360 controller at the time...
May the future bring us other games of the same acabit, even if I sincerely doubt that anyone can. The meeting of Platinum members and Mikami's ideas was perhaps the only way.
Vanquish... Life!