Vanquish

[Carbo]

http://www.gamersyde.com/news_vanquish_demo_gets_a_date-9842_en.html

Next week

I'm going to have to download the shit out of this on my new PS3.

[Sega DogTagz]

OMG YES

I usually make it a habit not to play games during the first week of a new semester.... but I think I can make an exception for 1 little Demo.

[Dobkeratops]

Heads up: Demo's available on the US PSN Store and XBL.

Edited September 1, 2010 by Dobkeratops

[Phos]

Demo's up on XBL, ya know.

I'm kinda disappointed that the demo area doesn't have more popcorn enemies, you basically blaze right through the ones there and most of the demo ends up being spent taking on the giant soviet robot crab thing. Still though, I'm probably getting this. A few thing about it that bug me though: The forced slow mo when you take damage tends to get you into more trouble than it's worth. You can't boost as far under slow mo (the meter drains at the same rate even with time slowed, probably intentional), and then you end up overheated and can't boost at all. I personally wouldn't have even put boosting on a meter, but that's just me.

Landing a melee attack overheats you. No idea why.

The game doesn't allow you to jump from a high area to a low area. This isn't a big deal, but it means you can't have a "It looks like we're gonna have to jump!" moment without it being a QTE, and if there's ever a part of the game where being swept off the level is a threat, I'm going to be a bit peeved.

This demo has me wanting more even though it's basically like being given Act 3 of Palmtree Panic as a demo for Sonic CD.

[Dobkeratops]

this motherfucking game <3

Landing a melee attack overheats you. No idea why.

You are supposed to keep mashing the attack button to land a shitload of punches with added roundhouse kick to the face before the bar depletes.

[Carbo]

I'm going to have to download the demo when I get home from school.

In related news, Vanquish apparently supports SDTV mode.

Jesus, Platinum thinks of everything.

Edited September 1, 2010 by Columind

[Scar]

This will be one of the 6 new games I'm planning on getting.

Seriously, this kicks so much ass its not even funny.

Yes, if Shadow the Hedgehog played like this, people would have (maybe) loved it.

[Phos]

You are supposed to keep mashing the attack button to land a shitload of punches with added roundhouse kick to the face before the bar depletes.

That only works while using melee with the assault rifle equipped and not boosting. Every other circumstance limits you to one attack, making melee more of an input trap than an useful thing. If there's a group of enemies, melee leaves you vulnerable, and if there's only one little enemy, it's still better to just shoot it because if you punch it you overheat which slows down your progression because you can't boost towards the objective. There doesn't seem to be a circumstance where it's actually useful.

Edited September 2, 2010 by Phos

[Dobkeratops]

Yeah, I remembered a while after the moves change according to the equipped weapon. For the shotgun it's a chargeable punch and the machine gun has flip kicks.

But you're not meant to melee your way through the demo, it's a quick & reliable way to deal with an enemy that got too close for comfort, seeing how they do have melee attacks too and more often than not it's an instakill (well, insta life support mode). Besides, different kind of enemies later in the game might require some physical approach and/or there could be suit upgrades that reduce the overheat.

[Detective Shadzter]

Just tried out the demo on PS3 and will try the Xbox 360 version later. I think it's pretty fun and challenging. I couldn't defeat that giant robot though, it always gets me in the end and I kept running out of ammo trying to take its limbs apart. I'm going to have another pop at it later.

[Chooch]

Played the demo. Then I played it again. Then I played it again. And again.

Holy shit, this game is awesome.

[Carbo]

So yeah I just downloaded the demo and look forward to see what the fuss is abouHOLY SHIT THIS IS AWESOME

Goddamn, this is going to be one hell of an expensive fall season. I kinda failed the QTE at the second phase of the boss though, although knowing Platinum I assume that was just a mini boss.

[Badnik Mechanic]

Every single person on my PS3 friends list is currently playing this demo... the last time that happened was when the Uncharted 2 beta came out!

Not tried it myself but is it really as good as you guys are making out or does it have some annoyances?

[Carbo]

The only problems I really had with the demo was its length and getting used to controls. After getting used to Gears 2's flawless control system it feels weird having to map the roll and cover function to two completely different buttons.

The length mostly cause the demo is only about 10 minutes long depending on how good you are. Half of the demo is spent on a boss. In fact the game itself pretty much expects you to breeze through everything flawlessly. I finished the demo act in approximately 25 minutes, yet it didnt give me any time bonus.

Other than that I'm sold on this and cant wait until it comes out.

Edited September 2, 2010 by Columind

[Dobkeratops]

Weeeell,it's a cover based TPS that plays nothing like a cover based TPS. Here you don't pop out and shoot, you jump over the cover, trigger AR in mid air, aim and shoot. You don't run from wall to wall either, you're expected to literally zip from one edge of the battlefield to the other. Takes a few minutes to click in but when it does it becomes so awesome.

Full of little details too. The red cannon fodder robots will triple their speed if you destroy their legs, different moves according to your active weapon, the sweet animations on everything that transforms, the RE4-like countergrabs and you can even do that one optional QTE on the bipedal boss (destroy one arm).

[Remy]

Can you do the headpunching shoryuken QTE? I know about the arm related one, but I was wondering if there was a trick to trigger the other...

Also, did anyone else find the sniper rifle? It's super fun, probably my favourite weapon from the demo

[Sega DogTagz]

*shudders in corner*

Only 1 more day and I can go after the Vanquish Demo. Surprised my willpower has lasted, but it will be all worth it when I get home from classes tomorrow.

[SykoTech]

Finally got a chance to play the demo. Pretty awesome. No real collision problems when sliding and even the QTE was cool (I was shaky on the analog thing at first). Beat it in about 20 mintues, but spent the first 10 getting used to the game...and blown up in the process. Definitely left me wanting more.

And now off to buy VCII. Great way to start a long weekend of gaming.

[SuperStingray]

I only got to play it at PAX since my internet isn't working with my consoles for whatever reason. I liked it, but not quite as much as I thought I would. That's not to say it wasn't awesome, but maybe it was as Phos said that the demo was just a bunch of mooks then a boss. (Epic boss, BTW). I'm looking forward to dealing with those wall enemies.

[Badnik Mechanic]

I've played the demo. I was very impressed with it, as a PS3 owner, I don't have anything like it or as good as it for the gameplay mechanics it offers (well thats not strictly true... theres Terminator Salvation... I own that...)

Basically my thoughts are what everyone else has said, but there is one thing that bugs me about the game. This is a demo of the third level is it? Despite clearing out a huge space of grunts, picking up their weapons... is it just me or was it too easy to run out of ammo?

I was using the slow down time move and aiming on the boss' weak points exactly, yet still I ran out of bullets. Even when I died and had to restart at the checkpoint I had to take a lot of care not to run dry on ammo. And this is the third level!

Just played it again and discovered that you can take controll of those initial walker robots if you like. That was quite cool.

Edited September 6, 2010 by Gnasher

[Sega DogTagz]

I've played the demo. I was very impressed with it, as a PS3 owner, I don't have anything like it or as good as it for the gameplay mechanics it offers (well thats not strictly true... theres Terminator Salvation... I own that...)

Basically my thoughts are what everyone else has said, but there is one thing that bugs me about the game. This is a demo of the third level is it? Despite clearing out a huge space of grunts, picking up their weapons... is it just me or was it too easy to run out of ammo?

I was using the slow down time move and aiming on the boss' weak points exactly, yet still I ran out of bullets. Even when I died and had to restart at the checkpoint I had to take a lot of care not to run dry on ammo. And this is the third level!

You always gotta watch your ammo, especially with your weapon of choice. I found that the game really rewards you for keeping your allies safe. Reviving a fallen teammate grants you a (random?) ammo/grenade supply to keep you in the fight. I always kept my eyes peeled for the health signals and I never stayed away from the group for too long. Keeping your squad on their feet in the initial waves saves the ammo containers for when the real fight starts.

Plus I ran into a couple opportunities to upgrade my weapons, which gives them a 20% increased capacity right off the bat.

Also, you gotta make every bullet count. Shooting while sliding looks cool, but its not the most accurate thing in the world. Also, the turrets and mechs can mow down swarms, but it takes only a few properly placed shots to get the job done. Utilizing the melee attacks when its safe to do so also saves a few precious rounds. Finally, like all shooters, headshots are the golden rule.

I kinda thought the limited ammo was a good balance to how overpowered Sam apparently is.

Edited September 6, 2010 by Sega DogTagz

[Dobkeratops]

You have to take into account Vanquish's weapon system is designed in a way that encourages a "tactical" approach to ammo usages.

Ammunition is fully replenished via picking weapons, but if you take a gun you already have at max capacity, it'll advance a little on its upgrade path. To prevent obvious exploiting of this feature, pickups are considerably less common than the usual TPS. As a side effect, the player is thus encouraged to help teammates, search the levels for boxes and use different weapons often.

I'm not implying you couldn't go all gung-ho, especially when you can get all those 800 bullets back with a single machine gun pickup (I've encountered no less than 3 in the demo via item boxes alone), but the game will reward versatility and a little planning ahead. Nifty feature.

[Badnik Mechanic]

I'm not implying you couldn't go all gung-ho, especially when you can get all those 800 bullets back with a single machine gun pickup (I've encountered no less than 3 in the demo via item boxes alone), but the game will reward versatility and a little planning ahead. Nifty feature.

You can go pretty much all Last Action Hero right up until the boss, then just pick up a weapon and bobs your uncle.... the problem is the actual boss fight. That was a long fight and it does take a lot of ammo out of you, especially if the boss destroys the turrets (if indeed there will be turrets later on), the boss fights are only going to get harder and longer, if indeed the game doesn't get generous with how powerful the weapons are (mind you I bet those upgrades will help big time). Then there could be a lot of boss fights that you're waiting for an ally to die just so you can reload.

[Dobkeratops]

Hm, I must say I didn't encounter ammunition issues in any of my demo playthroughs and that's counting the first one where I let the mounted turrets get blown to pieces. I'm fairly sure you can down a leg in 3-5 shotgun blasts up close. The core does have a shitload of HP though, I think the game wants you to unleash a full machine gun clip into it every time it falls. Given the replenishing nature of ammo in the game, I'd suggest not to refill it until the weapon is completely depleted or close enough.

Thinking about it, is there an "emergency supply" system in place for if the player is completely out of bullets? Perhaps one of the item boxes refills or the commander throws you something.

And I'm not worried about the balancing, Mikami knows his shit very well. Game progress should scale properly with Sam's suit and the player's capabilities - at least on Normal. I do expect GOD HARD mode to dragon kick the player's ass into the milky way :3

[SykoTech]

I'll admit that I did run out of ammo my first time. But that's because I was rushing through until I got upstairs. Not to mention there was a lot of ammo I wasted trying to hit the core without stunning the boss first. I had to run back down the stairs and gather ammunition from teammates and whatnot.

If you approach things at a reasonable pace, it shouldn't be too hard to keep your guns loaded.

Edited September 7, 2010 by SykoTech