Vanquish

[Dante]

Vanquish (Mikami x Halo?)

 

Vanquish Trailer

 

Vanquish is an upcoming video game developed by Platinum Games. It's Shinji Mikami's first game with Platinum Games. The game has been in development since 2007, however in January 2010 a full motion video trailer was released. The game is being publishing by Sega. Atsushi Inaba is producing the game.

 

Edited January 29, 2010 by Dante

[Ryan]

Disappointing.

[Nolan]

Reminds me more of Mass Effect than Halo, but yea it certainly has that vibe.

[James McGeachie]

Disappointing.

 

Yes, as there's so much we can tell about the game from a short trailer with nothing but cutscene footage...

 

Looks interesting to me, I'm curious what the gameplay will be like. Looks like Platinum Games are trying their hand at a title more in style with Western games.

[Caris]

Looks like a Fiat Punto to me.

[Dante]

Just like RE4, P.N.O.3 but with alittle more push for western style.

[Coolness Bears]

Platinum Games, aye?

 

I'm interested.

[Ryan]

Yes, as there's so much we can tell about the game from a short trailer with nothing but cutscene footage...

 

Looks interesting to me, I'm curious what the gameplay will be like. Looks like Platinum Games are trying their hand at a title more in style with Western games.

 

And to me, that 'short trailer with nothing but cutscene footage...' looks like a science fiction inspired first-person shooter..

[James McGeachie]

I just noticed that development pic now. Strange how it says "Written and directed by Alexi Tylevich" then "Game Director: Shinji Mikami".

[Dante]

You know that part is about the trailer because he is the owner of the company Logan.

 

The game staff is the line at the bottom.

Edited January 30, 2010 by Dante

[Dante]

Info and scans:

• Vanquish is PS3/360, it's confirmed. It's due to be out by Winter 2010.
  
• Mikami says that while it is a third person shooter, it is not a "normal" shooter. It will emphasize speed and fast paced action, and you will also be shooting robots instead of humans.
  
• The game setting is a near-future war between US and Russia. By setting it in the future, Mikami can use robots and high tech stuff to make the game more interesting. He says the reason why the enemies are all robots is because he wants to allow players who do not like shooting other humans to be able to play and appreciate the gameplay in shooters as well.
  
• The mech suit features a high speed booster which allows you to very quickly boost next to enemies to pull off close range attacks. There are a large variety of close range attacks moves in the game.
  
• There is a balance between using cover and using the boost, but it is definitely not a pure cover shooter
  
• You do not pick up and change weapons in the game, instead your weaponry is part of the suit and it all transforms in realtime into different sorts of weapons.
  
• The game is about 80% complete, and they're working on refining the AI for both allies and enemies at the moment. There is a demo planned.
  

 

Vanquish saw its video debut back in January, but Sega forgot to provide details on the game. Thanks to Famitsu and an interview with the game's director, we now have a few of the missing details.

 

First, the basics, as listed in the magazine. Vanquish is an Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 multiplatform title that's in development at Platinum Games, the studio behind Bayonetta. Shinji Mikami, known for his work on the Resident Evil series, is the director, with Platinum's Atsushi Inaba serving as producer. Sega will be releasing the game to Japan this Winter.

 

Famitsu first asked Mikami for his feelings on announcing his first new game in four years. His response was that he's happy to announce a new title, but he didn't put much thought into it being the first new one in four years.

 

Asked to describe Vanquish, Mikami answered with "Shooter." One of the big reasons for going with this genre, he explained, is that it's being developed not just for Japan, but with overseas markets in its sights.

 

"Making a normal shooter wouldn't be interesting," continued Mikami, "so it has the concept of the feeling of speed and good tempo, and something flashy. There are lots of games where you shoot and kill people, so this time we wanted to try and see how we could convey the good feeling of shooting robots."

 

Famitsu pointed out that Mikami has the image of making action games rather than shooters, to which he responded: "It will be a shooter that places importance on the good tempo and feeling of rhythm you get from playing an action game." The boss battles in particular will approach action games, he said.

 

Outside of the main interview, the magazine mentioned a few more specific areas for the game. One major feature is the use of "boosts," which can be used to close the distance to your enemy quickly. The game also has a large variety of close-range attacks along with a "Bullet Time" feature which lets you slow time down.

 

In addition to the speed being fast, you'll find that lots of enemies come out and attack. "Compared to a normal shooter, there's more information," said Mikami. One area of concern, he said, has been to keep there from being too much information, which would leave players not knowing what to do.

 

The magazine also offered preliminary details on the game's setting. The game takes place in the near future and has a story based off an American and Russian standoff. The future setting, explained Mikami, allowed them to make the enemies into robots, make the cinematic scenes flashy, and make the world large. The character you control sports a slim, flexible armor suit.

 

Mikami shared one little development secret for the game (yes, already!). Your character doesn't have a bunch of weapons in his possession. Instead, his weapon changes shape in real time depending on use. Originally, Mikami revealed, your character had a partner dog character who'd merge with your suit and take the form of various weapons. This wasn't received too favorably by the staff, so they switched to the idea of the weapons transforming.

 

Current development on Vanquish is at 80%, Mikami told the magazine. They're putting together the fundamental areas of the game, but detailed areas like enemy and ally AI remain. "The work from here on out gets annoying," he joked.

 

Edited March 3, 2010 by Dante

[Deathjam]

Ok now im semi interested. May remind me a bit of gun valkyrie on the xbox. Yes the old fat xbox.

[S.C.G]

Ok now im semi interested. May remind me a bit of gun valkyrie on the xbox. Yes the old fat xbox.

 

If it's anything like that then it should be pretty awesome, I mean it probably won't be anything like it really but damn... Gun Valkyrie was a criminally underrated game, very enjoyable.

[Dan_Dare]

Sounds generic-o

 

platinum games have a certain way with polygons though. I'll keep an eye out.

[Dante]

Screens:

[Deathjam]

If it's anything like that then it should be pretty awesome, I mean it probably won't be anything like it really but damn... Gun Valkyrie was a criminally underrated game, very enjoyable.

 

Hmmm, yeah, aftet those latest screens, its probably not gonna be anything like it.

[Dante]

First Look: Vanquish

In typical fashion, Famitsu.com followed through with a first online look at the game. The Famitsu.com story includes most of the screens that are in the Famitsu print story (I've included here official versions of these that were later released by Sega). But different from the print version, which consisted of a lengthy interview with Mikami, the online version is based off a press briefing that Sega held on February 23 with Japanese and overseas media.

 

Mikami and producer Atsushi Inaba were in attendance at the briefing. Mikami is the guy in blue in the pictures at the site. Inaba is not pictured.

 

The event began with a greeting from Inaba, who who described Vanquish's genre as "shooter," but also made note of its strong feel of action, fast pace and "high play tension." These comments are similar to comments made by Mikami in his Famitsu interview.

 

The term "shooter" is in reference to FPS (first person shooter) and TPS (third person shooter) games. In this case, the action seems to take place from behind the character's back. The site notes that this is a new challenge for Mikami, who's known for his action games.

 

Mikami conducted a demo play session for the press, controlling the main character, whose name the Famitsu.com article reveals to be Sam. Sam wears body armor which he designed himself. Mikami described the armor as "light as cotton, but extremely strong."

 

The start of the demo session placed Sam in the company of a number of NPCs (non-player controlled characters). These NPCs support Sam, and Famitsu noted that their movements look so smooth that it's like they're being controlled by another player.

 

The demo session showed off the "Boost" mechanics which help give the game its sense of speed. Boosting, according to the Famitsu report, makes the character slide around, speeding up to confront enemies, or quickly hiding being obstructions. The site describes the gameplay as "move quickly, take out enemies, then hide," different from the image of slow progress one has from typical shooters.

A later demo session held by the development staff's top player was set in a giant space ship and showed some flashy scenes, including futuristic cars being blown away by bomb blasts. The demonstration also showed what appeared to be a boss fight, pitting Sam against a creature many times his size. This creature could transform into a two legged robot form.

 

The international press was also invited to this event, so we can probably expect first hand impressions, as well as higher resolution screens, to follow.

 

 

Eurogamer Preview

Edited March 4, 2010 by Dante

[Dante]

New Info

 

Vanquish begins in space, on a cylindrical colony known as Providence. This is actually America's 51st state. It was created in order to gather solar energy. The energy that it gathers in its power generation plants is converted into microwaves and beamed down to Earth.

 

This is where the expected "but" comes in. Someone has taken over Providence and converted its power plants into weapons of mass destruction. The enemy targets San Francisco with a blast of energy from the colony, instantly wiping out 500,000 lives.

 

Meanwhile, Washington receives a declaration of war from "Russia no Hoshi" (this is either "Planet Russia" or possibly the name for a satellite). Apparently, an organization that recently staged a coup in Russia wants unconditional surrender from America, or they'll attack New York next.

 

The only person who can save America from this ultimate danger is Burns, a hero who is a veteran of three wars and has received such high awards as the Silver Star. His ship fleet is already in approach of the colony.

 

The hero of Vanquish, Sam, has been dispatched by DARPA with this fleet. On the surface, his mission is to test out the new type of battle suit, "ARS." However, he's actually been given secret orders.

 

Little time remains until the attack on New York.

 

Playing as Sam, you make use of your ARS, or Augmented Reaction Suit. This suit is made of carbon nano tubes and offers the strength of steel in a package as light as air. It was designed to give a single soldier the same attack, movement, strategy, and information processing capabilities as the latest MBTs (a combat tank).

 

While in your ARS, you'll have access to a variety of weapons. But you'll also find that close range combat, like punches and kicks, are essential attack options here. The magazine notes that these are often reduced to support roles in other games.

 

The game also includes a boost option. When this is triggered, your speed is greatly increased, allowing you to jump at an enemy in an instant and dash past storms of bullets.

 

During battle, you'll need to make use of AR Mode, or Augmented Reality Mode. You can trigger this mode only after you've met certain conditions. In AR Mode, your reaction speed becomes much higher. This is reflected in the game by slowing everything else down. In other words, bullet time.

 

Despite all this power Sam won't be alone in his fight. He'll be accompanied by fellow American soldiers. You'll have to work together with these ally characters, covering one another as you fight your robotic foes.

 

New screenshots.

 

This new information makes it sound like viewtiful joe meets Halo.

 

Swedish mag LEVEL has a 6-page preview of the game in their latest issue. They also interviewed Mikami and Inaba during a conference. A couple of highlights:

 

• The game is a lot faster than traditional third person shooters. Sam can boost from cover to cover, quick tempo and intensity seems to be keywords when designing the game.

• According to the article, the action is only ever paused to allow Sam to take a couple of drags on his cigarett (which apparently explains the low placement of his visor.

• The game plays more like a shmup a la Sin & Punishment rather than Gears of War.

• Sam carries one gun, which the suit can transform into another gun, for example a shotgun turns into a machine gun. Real-time weapon morphing?!

• close quarter combat plays a major role.

• Mikami admits that the game looks very similar to other shooters on the surface, but promises that the speed and tempo will set it apart.

• Inaba says that "Mikami is free to do whatever he wants"

• The author of the article is not too impressed by neither story nor cinematics and thinks that the game works best when it focuses on the intense action.

• Mikami opens the conference by saying "Is there anyone from IGN here? Thanks for that God Hand review".

Edited April 28, 2010 by Dante

[Goafer]

This looks like it could actually be good.

 

Gun Valkyrie was awesome, if a bit hard.

[Deathjam]

This looks like it could actually be good.

 

Gun Valkyrie was awesome, if a bit hard.

 

Totally agreed on both sentiments.

[Dan_Dare]

 

This new information makes it sound like viewtiful joe meets Halo.

 

 

That's probably the best pitch for a game of all time.

[Dante]

GT's Exclusive Gameplay Trailer

 

[Dan_Dare]

That looks pretty good- somewhere between Gears and SHUMP aesthetics. Interesting.

[Ryan]

Gameplay looks fast paced but awful cutscenes. You can already tell that's where reviewers will punch at it..

[Dan_Dare]

I dunno. Personally I'm looking forward to stopping that from happening.