Vanquish

 PlayStation 3
User Score
9.5

Universal acclaim- based on 1755 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,653 out of 1755
  2. Mixed: 74 out of 1755
  3. Negative: 28 out of 1755
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  1. dupplawt
    Sep 1, 2011
    6
    The controls are great, the graphics are pretty good and the gameplay is relentlessly fun. Vanquish is a great game for those looking for an adrenaline rush; a rush it is coming in at just over 5 hours long on Normal difficulty. The story is pretty poor; Russian evil dude wants to destroy USA etc... it's been done a million times before. Most male characters have a rough accent and atThe controls are great, the graphics are pretty good and the gameplay is relentlessly fun. Vanquish is a great game for those looking for an adrenaline rush; a rush it is coming in at just over 5 hours long on Normal difficulty. The story is pretty poor; Russian evil dude wants to destroy USA etc... it's been done a million times before. Most male characters have a rough accent and at times annoying and over the top dramatic. Nonetheless, it's a decent game and I had fun playing and I'm glad I rented it. The graphics are good in the sense of large environments and the particle effects are good as are the characters models. The let downs are the length and the story, the best bits are the gameplay and levels. 3/5.… Expand
  2. Jellybean15
    Jan 30, 2015
    7
    Vanquish is a game that doesn't focus on trying to tell a story. It doesn't focus on trying to create an immersive world. It doesn't even concentrate on making good characters. What Vanquish strives to accomplish is to create an absolutely high octane adrenaline fueled shooting fest using fast paced gameplay, awesome bosses, and constant gameplay change ups to keep the game fresh and fun.Vanquish is a game that doesn't focus on trying to tell a story. It doesn't focus on trying to create an immersive world. It doesn't even concentrate on making good characters. What Vanquish strives to accomplish is to create an absolutely high octane adrenaline fueled shooting fest using fast paced gameplay, awesome bosses, and constant gameplay change ups to keep the game fresh and fun. Ultimately, it accomplishes this goal, but when you look at Vanquish outside of the core game mechanics, it's revealed to be a very hollow experience.

    Vanquish, despite it's flaws, gets one thing right for the most part, and that's the gameplay, which centers around your character, Sam, who has been fitted with an Augmented Reaction suit, which enhances his abilities and gives him new ones. With the AR suit, Sam is more durable, can boost and slide at fast speeds, has more strength, and increased agility. He even has an ability called AR mode, which allows Sam to slow time around him, allowing you to line up shots while boosting, dodging, or save yourself when you're in danger. The controls for this game are perfect. Despite all the room for error with the control scheme, you're always in perfect control of Sam, what he's doing, and how he's doing it. It's really impressive that Vanquish lets you have so much control over such a fast character.

    More impressive is the amount of effort put in to make sure the game doesn't become stale. Throughout the game, there are multiple change-ups, including things like Anti-gravity segments, sniping sections, turret gameplay, and many more variations that keep the gameplay fresh. The bosses and mini bosses are epic and are designed to center around the AR mode gameplay, where you have to slow down time to line up the perfect shot on specific weak points. Even the quick time event finishers used on recycled bosses are different in an attempt to make every battle with one feel unique in it's own way.

    The gameplay is the one thing Vanquish got right, which is why it's all the more surprising to see just how much less effort is invested into the rest of the game. For starters, the story is a complete joke. Set in a futuristic Earth setting centering around Russia trying to dominate the world through technical warfare, Sam is sent in along with the military as a mercenary to help the American marines, which is a simple premise that works but falls apart when the story tries to be more complicated than it needs to. The whole conspiracy revealed near the end of the game feels shoe horned in, trying to create a more complicated narrative in a title that just has no real place for one. The subplot centering on Sam and his relationship with a high ranking Marine named Burns is somewhat interesting and tries to touch on some morality issues, but it ultimately doesn't amount to anything. Even the final interaction between Sam and Burns feels strange and out of place and feels like an attempt to make your care about a character that you really have no reason to.

    The story is just the start for a few problems. There are plenty of cheap attacks from enemies that one shot you or send you into a near death state, which become way more frequent as the game progresses. This also highlights a flaw in the AR mode, where every action centering around the suit - melee, boosting, and AR mode - uses fuel cells. They recharge fast but need to cool down if completely used. The main problem with this method is that there's no manual button to turn AR mode on or off, so when you take cover after going into a near death state, AR mode continues to deplete your fuel cells all the way to the end, causing a cool-down, and as the game becomes more cheap and difficult, it makes all the abilities provided by fuel cells less ideal in areas where you need them the most. You'll just end up shooting a few bullets at a time from cover instead of boosting everywhere like the game is meant to on the later levels.

    The last thing this game gets wrong is the sheer lack of any replay value. There are upgrades to be picked up in the field, but they only increase the max capacity of your currently selected weapon. There's no upgrade to increase your health, fuel cells, or the max amount of melee attacks you can do. The abilities you start the game with are the ones you'll end the game with, meaning there's no real new game plus. There are challenges and extras, but there's no real reason to play the game a second time after your first playthrough.

    Despite the solid gameplay mechanics, Vanquish's lack of anything else substantial is what sets it back. In all honesty, I recommend that you borrow this game from a friend, rent it, or buy it for cheap, and that's because you'll have an awesome playthrough on the first go, and have no reason to return to it afterword.    … Expand
  3. daemeh
    Aug 26, 2014
    7
    Repetitive and over the top, some interesting mechanics but overall a mindless linear shooter. It's like Gears of War combined with Devil May Cry - which might be a good thing if you're into such games.
  4. HTGamer
    May 26, 2017
    5
    Vanquish is a mediocre game overall. Sure it feels amazing in its first hour or so, but after that the novelty of the fast gameplay fades away, the game runs out of ideas and becomes repetitive and cliche' as hell. Plot, setting and characters are far worse than the myriad macho movies from the 80s/90s. And let's not forget the subpar performance of this game on PS3/Xbox 360, with the 30Vanquish is a mediocre game overall. Sure it feels amazing in its first hour or so, but after that the novelty of the fast gameplay fades away, the game runs out of ideas and becomes repetitive and cliche' as hell. Plot, setting and characters are far worse than the myriad macho movies from the 80s/90s. And let's not forget the subpar performance of this game on PS3/Xbox 360, with the 30 fps target being dropped quite constantly. The low resolution of 1024X720 hides many of the game's artefacts (low quality shadows and such), so I don't consider this as an issue.… Expand
  5. SuperkenGaming
    May 27, 2017
    7
    Vanquish
    don’t believe the hype
    Vanquish is a 7 hour long 3rd person shooter where you play as agent Sam with a sick augmented reaction suit. Russia destroys San Francisco with a solar beam and demands the United States surrenders before they do the same to New York and you set out to stop this. Before you do play this game, I need to bring you back down to reality, because this is not    Vanquish
    don’t believe the hype
    Vanquish is a 7 hour long 3rd person shooter where you play as agent Sam with a sick augmented reaction suit.
    Russia destroys San Francisco with a solar beam and demands the United States surrenders before they do the same to New York and you set out to stop this.
    Before you do play this game, I need to bring you back down to reality, because this is not some hidden gem classic that everyone on the internet makes it out to be…
    Don’t get me wrong… Vanquish is a really fun game...
    The shooting feels great, you can slide around on the ground for slow motion shots or just move around maps faster…
    And when you take too much damage the game will go into slow motion allowing you to find cover or have a better shot at taking out the enemy before you die
    Which makes for some pretty epic feeling gun play…
    And the best part of this game is the guns and their upgrades…
    There’s a huge variety of weapons here to find what you like best...
    You can carry up to 3 weapons at a time plus grenades, and enemies will randomly drop upgrades that you can assigned to your favorite weapon to increase its stats instantly..
    The game doesn’t slow you down my making you go into some skill tree, no... You pick up an upgrade with your equipped gun and you’ve got an upgraded gun right then and there...
    And even better if you pick a duplicate while your ammo on a certain gun is still full... you also instantly get an upgrade for that weapon…
    This system had my actively switching guns and holding out on more rare weapons just incase I could upgrade it on the fly…
    upgrading all of the guns in the game while still making sure you have the ammo to get the job done is a meta game itself…
    But the greatness ends there..
    Because the rest of the game is bland and repetitive…
    The story is hard to follow,
    the characters are uninteresting
    There are no epic moments here...
    There are annoying one hit instakill bosses that will have you replaying the same fight over and over…
    every level looks and feels pretty identical...
    a lot of grey…
    no colors here which bores me…
    just a bunch of repeat killing the same enemies bosses and mini bosses over and over until the credits roll…
    I had a bit of fun with vanquish...
    But the expectations of the internet sorta ruined this experience for me
    I don’t know what everyone sees in this game...
    It’s a good game… but not beyond just good
    I give Vanquish a 7/10    … Expand
  6. XRAIN
    Nov 9, 2010
    6
    Could have got much better score from me, probably even a GOTY award from me if it wouldn't have some problems. Never saw annoying lags and bugs, great looking graphics, controls are good if not counting, that you can do evade move only in four dircetions. What problems in this game? Well, first of all, I completed this game on hard in 4 hours, giving you '' What? Did I already completedCould have got much better score from me, probably even a GOTY award from me if it wouldn't have some problems. Never saw annoying lags and bugs, great looking graphics, controls are good if not counting, that you can do evade move only in four dircetions. What problems in this game? Well, first of all, I completed this game on hard in 4 hours, giving you '' What? Did I already completed this game? '' feeling. Even though completing this game gives you a God Hard difficulty option, it doesn't save you from the feeling. For second problem, the end section of the game. At the final sections of the game, you will face boss battles, repeatedly. Worst of all, boss enemies which you had faced before, you will need to fight againts them, again, again and again. It just gets annoying when almost every fight is againts bosses, making you bored. Buy this only when it gets cheaper.… Expand
  7. Icekyng
    Jun 19, 2011
    6
    Mmm, i thought it looked a bit grainy??? Re release in HD please. Incredible matcho snake talking nonsence but enjoyable in places. Repetitive. Repetitive. Repetitive.
  8. Stealthgear
    Oct 19, 2010
    7
    This game's shooter mechanics are average or acceptable. The concept of a man in a spacesuit with a gun has been done before. The graphics are very good. I wasn't excited to play this and I had never heard about it before. The game engine felt borrowed from another game. Nothing stood out about this game, and the difficulty was very high. It was more overwhelming than being an addictive orThis game's shooter mechanics are average or acceptable. The concept of a man in a spacesuit with a gun has been done before. The graphics are very good. I wasn't excited to play this and I had never heard about it before. The game engine felt borrowed from another game. Nothing stood out about this game, and the difficulty was very high. It was more overwhelming than being an addictive or fun experience. I can't really recommend this over Lost Planet or Gears of War which are more interesting, but this game seems just OK.… Expand
  9. SabinFrost
    Nov 18, 2010
    6
    I'm not about to argue that Vanquish isn't fun, it is, it is tons of fun and stylish to boot. The story is inconsequential but that's cool, I don't mind if the gameplay is there, which it is. But at the same time, I am absolutely shocked at all the brilliant reviews it has been receiving for one reason. It has the life span of a three course meal at a restaurant, you can hire the game andI'm not about to argue that Vanquish isn't fun, it is, it is tons of fun and stylish to boot. The story is inconsequential but that's cool, I don't mind if the gameplay is there, which it is. But at the same time, I am absolutely shocked at all the brilliant reviews it has been receiving for one reason. It has the life span of a three course meal at a restaurant, you can hire the game and if you have excellent shooting chops, blow through it in four hours straight on the hardest difficulty. I don't mind the exclusion of multiplayer as it has become rather trendy of late and often feels tacked on instead of properly worked with and wouldn't fit within the element of the title. I do mind that it has next to no re-playability. You'd think in a world of 40 hour open world games and engrossing, linear epics like Uncharted the developer could have at least found a way to make the ride last longer, even it it was just to include a stack of challenge modes eg. Timesplitters. In conclusion, it could have been brilliant, but I see a high score as a recommendation to buy, and I wouldn't buy this title, it's a fun rental for a night and that is all.… Expand
  10. DelTorro
    Jan 14, 2011
    7
    Seriously, how short can a game be? Its fun in parts, but christ If it wasn't for the large boss health bars the game would be half the length. Rent for a laugh and a few hours of ADHD enducing action, but dont buy unless you want to feel like a sucker.
  11. kitru
    Feb 22, 2021
    7
    Приятный сюжет и много интересных механик. Было интересно побегать и пострелять, не как в Call of Duty (нету линейности и бездумного тира).
    A nice story and a lot of interesting mechanics. It was interesting to run and shoot, not like in Call of Duty (there is no linearity and thoughtless shooting range).    Приятный сюжет и много интересных механик. Было интересно побегать и пострелять, не как в Call of Duty (нету линейности и бездумного тира).
    A nice story and a lot of interesting mechanics. It was interesting to run and shoot, not like in Call of Duty (there is no linearity and thoughtless shooting range).
  12. MaxieZeus
    Sep 5, 2022
    6
    Great gameplay, forgettable story and too short. Still recommend it just for the fun gameplay.
  13. Caestus
    Feb 26, 2013
    7
    Its face paced action is sure a good thing. However, the games to short and besides the turbo function nothing special. Still had fun with it, liked the end fight.
  14. AlienSpaceBats
    Apr 9, 2013
    7
    A great-looking game with an emphasis on having fun. Vanquish isn't attempting to wow anyone with its plot/narrative, it's all about giving the player some cool toys to play with. Story and dialogue are clichéd and cheesy with hammy voice acting, but I got the impression the game knew that, and didn't care, which as far as action games go is just fine.
  15. shaun8pickles
    Jun 23, 2013
    6
    Vanquish, a game I got mad at countless times... I can't really complain since I got it free through PS+, but I will still review it. I swear they must have picked the worst voice actors in this game other than Elena. But Robert Burns, my God... He sounded horrible, and the main character wasn't bad but not great at all. So basically this games story won't make sense, the story is based inVanquish, a game I got mad at countless times... I can't really complain since I got it free through PS+, but I will still review it. I swear they must have picked the worst voice actors in this game other than Elena. But Robert Burns, my God... He sounded horrible, and the main character wasn't bad but not great at all. So basically this games story won't make sense, the story is based in the future with Russia and the US at "war" never heard of this concept before! The Russians have taken control of Providence, a space ship that hold American personnel and civilians. The Russians used this beam weapon to destroy San Francisco and have told the US to give up. And the US says no and send troops to destroy Russian robots... That's it. That's extent of the story! If you're a shoot em up kinda gamer you may like this, 'cause that's all you do in this game. Every mission is go kill robots here, go on an elevator fight more robots, go on a flying "ship" if that's what you want to call it and once again kill more robots. There is little variation between robots, there is the big and small robots and some ANNOYING bosses. The bosses are some of the cheapest in a game ever. The learning curve is something that drew me and a lot of other people away from the game, its so steep. The first boss you face is hard, and I did beat him with 5 to 6 deaths, which by the way takes away from your average score. The weapons are also pretty basic, you got the rocket launcher, sniper, machine guns, laser guns, and some special weapons. I hated how the turrets are not infinite or even have that much ammo, they run out of ammo so fast. I think some of the only things I liked about this game was the graphics, the graphics for their time are good. But looking at them now, they're not so good they're decent. Sam's suit, however, is very creative and has a lot of moving parts and the weapons also look good. I also like the games slow-mo mode, and adds depth to the combat system which by the way is pretty cool. Your character is usually just a "lets go kick some butt" type of guy, which gets very annoying. Also I don't thing I ever cared about one character in this game, except for Elena. She is about the only character that has some depth and story behind her. Not to forget, the story at the beginning was laughable, WHY? Why even start it like that (no spoilers), no one shows fear at all. San Francisco was just blown sky high and everyone is showing no fear, or even something that grabs your heart and pulls you in. They don't even explain how they took over the ship in space, or why a civilian space craft would be armed with a weapon capable of leveling a city of that magnitude. I am glad I got this game for free and didn't have to pay for it. I would not recommend this game.… Expand
  16. Silrog
    Jan 22, 2013
    7
    Vanquish's appeal bases on the traditional aspect of mastering the difficulties of a game.
    The game doesn't offer amazing graphics, new gameplay innovations or a lot of variety or content. Hell, even the story is nothing but bland, so are the stereotype characters.
    But there is one thing that this game handles exceptionally well: The balance between challenge and frustration. On higher    Vanquish's appeal bases on the traditional aspect of mastering the difficulties of a game.
    The game doesn't offer amazing graphics, new gameplay innovations or a lot of variety or content. Hell, even the story is nothing but bland, so are the stereotype characters.

    But there is one thing that this game handles exceptionally well: The balance between challenge and frustration. On higher difficulties you really face a challenge and intense combats and that's got to be worth something.    … Expand
  17. Dchao
    Feb 24, 2013
    7
    Quick reviews to help with your purchase.
    An understatement to call this game fun. Fast paced and a breath of fresh air for third person shooters. Lukewarm plot, though used best to help pace the game and certain times excite the player before taking over the controller again. Short at base game, expects player to either play on a harder difficulty, or try one after first play through.
  18. Overy1984
    Dec 22, 2012
    7
    Corto pero engancha. Buena jugabilidad, argumento algo simplón aunque con sus giros argumentales. Buenos gráficos, los habituales en SEGA, nada especial. Algo repetitivo en cuanto a variedad de enemigos y de escenarios.
  19. FreedomFighters
    Jul 14, 2020
    7
    *DISCLAIMER: Although this review is being posted on the page for the PlayStation 3 version the game, the version I played was actually on the PlayStation 4, and was part of the “Bayonetta & Vanquish 10th Anniversary Bundle” that recently came out. There’s no individual page for the PS4 version of the game, so this is the closest I can get to that. I don’t think it’ll make a huge*DISCLAIMER: Although this review is being posted on the page for the PlayStation 3 version the game, the version I played was actually on the PlayStation 4, and was part of the “Bayonetta & Vanquish 10th Anniversary Bundle” that recently came out. There’s no individual page for the PS4 version of the game, so this is the closest I can get to that. I don’t think it’ll make a huge difference, but I thought I’d get that out there regardless.*
    Even though I’ve found myself getting PlatinumGames’ titles a bit more, I didn’t think I’d be giving this game a shot anytime soon. Blame it on the fact that my brother picked up the “Bayonetta & Vanquish 10th Anniversary Bundle” for the PlayStation 4 that I found myself intrigued by it. Not only that, but in doing a lot of research, I found that a lot of people considered this to be an underappreciated gem (like many of PlatinumGames’ games), and a considerably innovative game in the shooter genre. So, given that I heard that it was a pretty short game if you play through it once, I thought it would be worth giving it a try to see if I enjoyed it as much as anyone else. And maybe I’m spoiled by the “Bayonetta” games and “Astral Chain” that I found this one to be not quite as good as PlatinumGames’ best, but even so, I will agree that I mostly enjoyed my time playing through the game.
    As many have said, I will give it to PlatinumGames: with “Vanquish,” they’ve created a fun and fast-paced game with this one. From a gameplay perspective, there’s a lot to love about this one: the controls are fluid, the action is compelling, and there are lots of really cool movement mechanics. I do think in that sense, the game does still feel fresh, distinct and different than other third-person shooters. I especially enjoyed the game’s “AR Mode” mechanic, and the ways that it added to your character’s movement and reflexes, and it really added an extra layer to a game that definitely had plenty of those already. On paper, I think the game’s robotic, somewhat futuristic setting is pretty great, the graphics are sharp even today, and aesthetically, this is yet another wonder from PlatinumGames. They have a strong knack for creating very interesting worlds and clever gameplay, and with “Vanquish,” they certainly don’t fall flat in those areas.
    I will say, though, that in a few areas, they do fall flat: for starters, the story is boring and overly-cliché. I know that PlatinumGames has crafted a lot of titles with over-the-top stories like “Bayonetta” and “The Wonderful 101,” but at least those games didn’t take themselves TOO seriously, and the writing became more charming as a result. Here, the game tries a bit too hard to be serious, and it just misses the mark. Not helping much is that the dialogue is complete CHEESE, and even though some might enjoy the campy nature of the voice acting, I found myself all too frantically trying to find reasons not to skip the cutscenes because they were just not fun to watch. Also, while the gameplay is mostly very strong, I will agree that I found the campaign can be really short, not just in its overall length, but in its mission structure. The game’s five-act structure awkwardly ratios the number of missions in each act, and the length of these missions can feel a bit awkward for me, especially given the way that some of the cutscenes disrupt the gameplay. It often feels like a mission ends, and you find yourself going, “oh…that’s it?” and not feeling as fulfilled as you probably should.
    Overall, I have to say that “Vanquish,” to me, is far from PlatinumGames’ best game. It doesn’t nearly approach the standard set by the “Bayonetta” games or the company’s most recent title “Astral Chain.” With that said, though, it’s still a rip-roaring fun time while it lasts, and while there are elements that do hold it back for me, I think the gameplay has aged very well, to the point where it still feels like a very distinct game even a decade after its initial release. That alone is what makes it worth playing in my eyes: the fast-paced action and stellar gameplay make up for its short length and narrative shortcomings, and make it a game you should definitely try yourself. Don’t expect it to be the most mind-blowing thing you’ll ever play, but if you’re in the mood for some brainless but exhilarating, good old-fashioned fun, “Vanquish” will certainly satiate your desire.
    Final rating: 7 out of 10 “Good”    … Expand
  20. huss2215
    Nov 14, 2013
    7
    Graphics: Nice graphics, not the best some low textured environments. 8.

    Sound: Fast paced themes match the game just fine, the voice acting isn’t the best, and at best its average. 7.5. Gameplay: The game is a fast paced third person shooter with suit abilities that allow you to boost and fly through and shoot enemies. The game also has a slow-mo mechanic built into it. The    Graphics: Nice graphics, not the best some low textured environments. 8.

    Sound: Fast paced themes match the game just fine, the voice acting isn’t the best, and at best its average. 7.5.

    Gameplay: The game is a fast paced third person shooter with suit abilities that allow you to boost and fly through and shoot enemies. The game also has a slow-mo mechanic built into it. The shooting in the game feels kind of arcady but that’s not a bad thing. The game is littered with enemies which can get very annoying throughout the beginning of the game. Near the middle to end you get a laser gun which makes the game feel a lot better, although the game litters more enemies and reuses bosses/mini bosses. The boss before the last boss was a real pain in the ass, because at times even (playing on normal) regular enemies when they are about to die, they end up doing a 1 hit kill, which makes the game more cheap than challenging. Overall it’s a good game. 8.5.

    Story: Confusing story, weird at times, cliff hanger endings, a main protagonist who thinks he’s solid snake. Average story. 7.5.

    Replay Value: The game has 5 acts and on normal I beat it in about 6-8 hours. There’s no feel to want to play it again on any harder difficulties, once is enough, I would rent or get this game cheap. I got it free with plus. 7.5.

    Overall Score: 7.8 out of 10.    … Expand
  21. KayVen17
    May 12, 2022
    7
    Es war wirklich gut zum abschalten. Es geht flott durch wie ein 12 Episoden Anime. Steuert sich super und ist bombastisch inszeniert.
    Ein sehr leckerer Snack für zwischendurch.

Awards & Rankings

34
#34 Best PS3 Game of 2010
21
#21 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2010
9
#9 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 61 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 61
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 61
  3. Negative: 0 out of 61
  1. Thunderbolt
    Feb 9, 2011
    80
    Vanquish manages in many ways to be quite literally awesome though; from the bombastic battles you partake in, through its outstanding technical performance, brilliantly ridiculous cutscenes and superb twists on an established genre.
    Read full review
  2. Absolute Games
    Jan 31, 2011
    50
    If you're still itching to waste a few hours on Vanquish, here's some advice: wait until the inevitable price reduction.
    Read full review
  3. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Jan 25, 2011
    80
    There's really been nothing else quite like it this generation, which makes comparison difficult, and its one misstep is the fact that its only online component is a paltry ranking system. In truth, having multiplayer inside the chaotic sphere of Vanquish would have made Mikami's latest baby the prodigal son of third-person shooters. There's always next time though. [December 2010 p78]
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