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VANQUISH |OT| Bullet Ballet performed by the London Awesome orchestra

D

Duffyside

Banned
Ridleyscott said:
This game is awesome, the only shooter I've ever played that actually interests me. I grew-up playing contra and the old school nes/arcade games. Why did this game not sell? I don't think anyone knew much about it.
Click to expand...

Because SEGA, like the man said.

Specifically releasing it the same day as Fallout: New Vegas, right at the start of the holiday crazy season. Had they let the team work on the game another 3 months and released in January or February, it would've done much better, in my opinion.

Also, as to not put all the blame on SEGA; the game is pretty short, the weapons upgrade mechanic is pretty weird, there is no upgrade mechanic for the suit, no new game plus, and no multiplayer (which I don't care about). It takes a fine eye to see how sublime Vanquish is as just a pure shooter, and most of the press was happy to rip through it in under 6 hours, slap a 7.5 on it and move onto the next thing during the holiday rush.
 
R

Ridleyscott

Banned
Duffyside said:
Because SEGA, like the man said.

Specifically releasing it the same day as Fallout: New Vegas, right at the start of the holiday crazy season. Had they let the team work on the game another 3 months and released in January or February, it would've done much better, in my opinion.

Also, as to not put all the blame on SEGA; the game is pretty short, the weapons upgrade mechanic is pretty weird, there is no upgrade mechanic for the suit, no new game plus, and no multiplayer (which I don't care about). It takes a fine eye to see how sublime Vanquish is as just a pure shooter, and most of the press was happy to rip through it in under 6 hours, slap a 7.5 on it and move onto the next thing during the holiday rush.
Click to expand...

A game like this is a throw-back to the oldschool games, it would have done better on a Wii-like system (not that wii could handle it but that it appeals to that crowd more so). I don't mind short games. I come from an era where games can be beaten in 1 hour but it took you at least weeks, months, or maybe years to even beat the game. I have no idea what "new game plus" is and I doubt the masses do either. Multiplayer wouldn't have pushed this game much more. Essentially, no one knew about the game - I don't know if that is because the "journalists" shunned it, or SEGA didn't advertise or what. You see a lot of the reviews deducting points due to the story not being fleshed out and all this nonsense. Video games don't need "fleshed-out" stories, they just need a general setting and context. This is a modern arcade game trying to sell to the PC-game oriented market on 360 and PS3 - the crowd that likes story, multiplayer, etc. over pure fast action and difficulty. We need a home arcade machine - the Wii made some successful attempts at providing that but over-all fell short and just couldn't pull-off a game like this.
 
H

Hot Coldman

Banned
They should release a sequel for Wii U in the launch window. Call it 'Vanquished' or something so it's not obviously a sequel and won't put people off.
 
robor

robor

Member
Duffyside said:
Also, as to not put all the blame on SEGA; the game is pretty short, the weapons upgrade mechanic is pretty weird, there is no upgrade mechanic for the suit, no new game plus, and no multiplayer (which I don't care about). It takes a fine eye to see how sublime Vanquish is as just a pure shooter, and most of the press was happy to rip through it in under 6 hours, slap a 7.5 on it and move onto the next thing during the holiday rush.
Click to expand...

The game's length is perfect, seeing as this is an action-dense shooter. The upgrade mechanic is awesome and re-enforces micromanagement with your arsenal of weapon choices. It's also a supercharged version of how weapons are upgraded and managed in the Resident Evil series. No new game plus because a lot of the development focused on delivering a wide array of play-styles that the game does not discriminate against. Multiplayer requires a whole subset of different issues non-related to campaign mode that would need a lot of development time to see.

On top of that, it's ridiculous that a video game must require a multiplayer component just so it can appease an audience. Naturally the developers didn't see a viability for having multiplayer and it can be seen in the single player mode. It was wholly designed around this and therefor seems natural not to have multiplayer.

There is something seriously wrong with this industry if we believe that certain length times and no multiplayer components are detractors of a game's quality.
 
A

Augemitbutter

Member
this is one case where difficulty settings can backfire. it would've been much cooler if the game had only one balanced setting like demon's/dark souls. otherwise gamers just play on easy, never ever have to learn game mechanics and call it a day. there, beat it in 5 hours!
 
Dr. Kitty Muffins

Dr. Kitty Muffins

Member
Ridleyscott said:
This game is awesome, the only shooter I've ever played that actually interests me. I grew-up playing contra and the old school nes/arcade games. Why did this game not sell? I don't think anyone knew much about it.
Click to expand...

If this was a heavily promoted first party title, it would have sold millions.
 
D

Duffyside

Banned
robor said:
The game's length is perfect, seeing as this is an action-dense shooter. The upgrade mechanic is awesome and re-enforces micromanagement with your arsenal of weapon choices. It's also a supercharged version of how weapons are upgraded and managed in the Resident Evil series. No new game plus because a lot of the development focused on delivering a wide array of play-styles that the game does not discriminate against. Multiplayer requires a whole subset of different issues non-related to campaign mode that would need a lot of development time to see.

On top of that, it's ridiculous that a video game must require a multiplayer component just so it can appease an audience. Naturally the developers didn't see a viability for having multiplayer and it can be seen in the single player mode. It was wholly designed around this and therefor seems natural not to have multiplayer.

There is something seriously wrong with this industry if we believe that certain length times and no multiplayer components are detractors of a game's quality.
Click to expand...

Dude, no one likes VANQUISH more than me. A guy asked why it didn't sell more, not why I didn't like it more. If you don't understand that a lot of people want "hours" in return for cash, and that multiplayer and longer than 10 hour campaigns are what that means, then I can't help you.

Also, while I love VANQUISH, there is no reason to defend everything about it. I find your entire argument extremely lacking.
 
robor

robor

Member
Duffyside said:
Dude, no one likes VANQUISH more than me. A guy asked why it didn't sell more, not why I didn't like it more. If you don't understand that a lot of people want "hours" in return for cash, and that multiplayer and longer than 10 hour campaigns are what that means, then I can't help you.

Also, while I love VANQUISH, there is no reason to defend everything about it. I find your entire argument extremely lacking.
Click to expand...

Who are you and why should I care about your profession for your love of this game??

It might be 10 hours in length but the game gave me actual longevity where I played it about 8 times over. That makes it almost a 70 hour game.

So I got longevity in return for cash yea?

If the artists vision isn't that which comes with a multiplayer component and/or shoehorning some trivial bullshit to string me along in order to justify having a longer campaign mode then I trust their vision in not pandering to this ridiculous archaic expectation that it should have these things. At least it's being genuine in that regard (LORD FORBID!).

Also, I didn't defend everything about it, your assumptions are factually wrong.
 
D

Duffyside

Banned
robor said:
Who are you and why should I care about your profession for your love of this game??

It might be 10 hours in length but the game gave me actual longevity where I played it about 8 times over. That makes it almost a 70 hour game.

So I got longevity in return for cash yea?

If the artists vision isn't that which comes with a multiplayer component and/or shoehorning some trivial bullshit to string me along in order to justify having a longer campaign mode then I trust their vision in not pandering to this ridiculous archaic expectation that it should have these things. At least it's being genuine in that regard (LORD FORBID!).

Also, I didn't defend everything about it, your assumptions are factually wrong.
Click to expand...

Again, the topic at hand wasn't whether you think the game is super-awesome, it was why it didn't sell well. You're not the only person buying games in the world. But you are the only person who thinks you're making any point. About anything.

And did you play the game 8 times over because you couldn't handle Challenge Mode? Maybe one day.
 
R

Ridleyscott

Banned
If one thing could have been done to make this game better it would be to not break-up the missions so much and eliminate cutscenes altogether except between the different stages. It should be more like Mission/Stage 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or whatever. Sometimes you will fight like 5 enemies and then there is another dialogue. I can skip most of it so it doesn't bother me too much but I would just rather it be one long level. Non-stop run through stage 1, skipable mini-cutscene -> go to stage 2, non-stop run, etc. Sort of like Ninja Gaiden NES. Story is just a distraction in video games.

Another thing is that there is no music. I loved the song that the robots were dancing to - freaking awesome videogame music. Would have been great if that were one of the tracks playing through the game.
 
S

sixteen-bit

Member
bbEQ3.gif


Needs to be DLC
 
C

Carbonox

Member
So tempted to get back in to Vanquish. The last time I played I was trying to go through every difficulty and get the highest score possible.

0QxVc.jpg


And on Normal I got to number 2 I think.

Be interesting to see where I am now after all this time.
 
5

54-46!

Member
Goddamnit, I just now realized you could pick japanese VA.. maybe I should replay it in God Hard.. how much harder than Hard is it?
 
Z

ZombieFred

Unconfirmed Member
Just picked this up the other day and got past the train sequence. My god this game, the level design, music, pacing, is glorious. Glorious

:bow:Mikami:bow:
 
R

Ridleyscott

Banned
_dementia said:
Not that much harder imo. No upgrades though.
Click to expand...
Wow, I don't know about that. I don't think a game can get much more difficult that god-hard. Maybe I played Normal and not Hard which is why it seems like such a huge jump.

ZombieFred said:
Just picked this up the other day and got past the train sequence. My god this game, the level design, music, pacing, is glorious. Glorious

:bow:Mikami:bow:
Click to expand...
There isn't really any music though... not on my copy anyway.
 
A

Anteater

Member
Ridleyscott said:
Wow, I don't know about that. I don't think a game can get much more difficult that god-hard. Maybe I played Normal and not Hard which is why it seems like such a huge jump.


There isn't really any music though... not on my copy anyway.
Click to expand...

It was a huge jump for me too from hard to GH, took me many hours on the last boss where as it only took me one try (I mean one retry) on hard.
 
A

An-Det

Member
I had a much longer post but Firefox just crashed and lost it, so I'll just say that Vanquish was fucking awesome. I started about a week ago and finished on Hard yesterday (playing a bit each day), and have been messing around since then. I had the urge to play this after playing Bayonetta last month, and it was well worth it. Once I got accustomed to the rocket boosters and bullet time, it really felt wonderful to play and explore the options. Little touches like the cigarettes and the
dancing robots
easter egg worked really well. Graphics and sound were both great, and while the story serves only to create combat scenarios, it knew exactly what it was and never took itself seriously. Aside from a few places (and instant-kill beams) the game was tough but fair. I think my main complaint is that my friend leaderboards were empty, so likely noone I know has played this, which I'll hopefully change now.
 
T

Teknoman

Member
Ridleyscott said:
Wow, I don't know about that. I don't think a game can get much more difficult that god-hard. Maybe I played Normal and not Hard which is why it seems like such a huge jump.


There isn't really any music though... not on my copy anyway.
Click to expand...

Lots of music, its just not really memorable. Extremely scene setting though.
 
N

Noisepurge

Member
finally got this on friday and finished it during the weekend :D so good! only the plot was super shitty and the twists at the end made no sense whatsoever.

it was refreshing to play through short missions and all chapters had quite unique elements and setpiece moments.
 
S

sixteen-bit

Member
dubc35 said:
That is pretty sweet. One of my friends sent me a link to it recently. I was going to post it in here if it wasn't already. I wouldn't pay ~$72 for it though.
Click to expand...

True. I hope some domestic sites carry it. They're always cheaper with the Play Arts stuff than importing.
 
H

Himself

Member
I was playing through the GOTG for the millionth time this week and I noticed a compelling similarity between the visage of Sam Gideon and that of Pauly D.

For the love of god, can someone with some photoshop skills make this happen? Like a quick cut and paste?
 
V

valentine71

Banned
I finished this when it came out then forgot about it. I have started playing it these days and i am curious about how to unlock challenge rooms?
 
M

Montresor

Member
I'm finally gonna play this game! I've had it for awhile and it's been taking a backseat to other games but not any more. I'm a huge fan of Bayonetta and so I'm excited to try this second Platinum/Kamiya game.

A few questions:

1) I've heard that this is a game that has a high learning curve, and that once you understand the game you start to appreciate it much more. Having said that, should I play normal first, and then hard? Or, if I can play other games on hard competently, should I be fine jumping straight into hard mode right away?

2) Is the Tri-Weapon pack (160 MSP) worth it? Are these weapons the kind of perk that gives you a much-needed boost to beat a difficult game.... or are they broken, imbalanced weapons that will make even hard mode easy... or is the pack just useless?
 
T

The Xtortionist

Member
Montresor said:
I'm finally gonna play this game! I've had it for awhile and it's been taking a backseat to other games but not any more. I'm a huge fan of Bayonetta and so I'm excited to try this second Platinum/Kamiya game.

A few questions:

1) I've heard that this is a game that has a high learning curve, and that once you understand the game you start to appreciate it much more. Having said that, should I play normal first, and then hard? Or, if I can play other games on hard competently, should I be fine jumping straight into hard mode right away?

2) Is the Tri-Weapon pack (160 MSP) worth it? Are these weapons the kind of perk that gives you a much-needed boost to beat a difficult game.... or are they broken, imbalanced weapons that will make even hard mode easy... or is the pack just useless?
Click to expand...

1. I jumped straight into hard with no prior experience and found it to be pretty easy overall. For reference, I play pretty much every other shooter (Halo/Uncharted/Gears/Killzone/CoD/etc) on the highest difficulty.

2. Didn't buy them, can't say.
 
Riposte

Riposte

Member
Montresor said:
I'm finally gonna play this game! I've had it for awhile and it's been taking a backseat to other games but not any more. I'm a huge fan of Bayonetta and so I'm excited to try this second Platinum/Kamiya game.

A few questions:

1) I've heard that this is a game that has a high learning curve, and that once you understand the game you start to appreciate it much more. Having said that, should I play normal first, and then hard? Or, if I can play other games on hard competently, should I be fine jumping straight into hard mode right away?

2) Is the Tri-Weapon pack (160 MSP) worth it? Are these weapons the kind of perk that gives you a much-needed boost to beat a difficult game.... or are they broken, imbalanced weapons that will make even hard mode easy... or is the pack just useless?
Click to expand...

Of the three weapons only the pistol sticks out in my head as really strong. Not really broken though. I do know it was one of my favorite weapons when playing harder difficulties especially against the brutally tough final boss.
 
B

B-Genius

Unconfirmed Member
Yeah, re: Tri-Weapon pack, they're pretty fun to tinker with during later playthroughs at least. If you're worried they might be overpowered or something, you don't have to pick them up.

Definitely not essential on your first time though, especially on normal.
Enjoy!
 
T

tusken77

Member
54-46! said:
Goddamnit, I just now realized you could pick japanese VA.. maybe I should replay it in God Hard.. how much harder than Hard is it?
Click to expand...

I hadn't noticed until now that there's an option to play with the Japanese VA. So, no prizes for guessing what I've just started. Yep, going though it again, this time with Japanese VA. Awesome.
 
R

rvy

Banned
Really feel like I should Platinum this. Weird that the only two games that I have and would like to Platinum are both published by SEGA. Final Showdown and Vanquish.

Where's my sequel :'(? Fucking gamers ruining my hopes and dreams.
 
R

Retro_

Unconfirmed Member
The Platinum isn't that hard. Go for it

I'll probably go back to knock out challenge 6 in a couple months for mine. Burnt out while attempting it at launch though.
 
H

Hypereides

Member
Just finally got started on the game from my big ass backlog. Dispised the controls at first, but then it kinda fell on place I got one of those "Ooooh..."-moments. Its fun, but still has a sort of steep learning curve.

Some things are just left unexplained though. Also once you get to know each enemy's soft spot/weakness, the Tactical challenges get much easier. Doesnt make them any less challenging though. Reached the fifth wave on the 4th challenge today, was pretty close to beating it but got distratced by the malfunctioning robots random aim.

Also Unknowns are easy: (shotgun (approx 4~5 shots at close range) + dash boost + close-up melee) x 4 = quick kill.

Overall enjoying the game. Taking it slow. Planning on completing all challenges. Learning all the enemies patterns and weaknesses.

Looking forward to Vanquish 2 when that happens.
 
G

george_us

Member
ZeroRay said:
So great TPS, or greatest TPS?

Doing the challenges now. I want a Vanquish 2 in my life.
Click to expand...
Gonna say greatest. The core mechanics alone destroy any TPS out there, with the closest rival being Gears 3. I was very wrong about this game earlier in the thread. I used to think it was just a faster Gears clone but there's so much nuance in the mechanics that it's crazy. Shinji Mikami and Hideki Kamiya are the best designers in the industry right now and it isn't even close imo.
 
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