I think deep down i was always going to get a raging sem-on for this game, it's directed by Shinji Mikami - a man who has either directed or had a hand in many of my favourite games of all time which meant i've had my eye on it ever since the first details were announced.
As it happens Vanquish is actually a 3rd person shooter with a cover mechanic, and has been compared by misinformed hacks and gamers to Gears Of War. To look at a screenshot you can see why, the use of cover is familiar and the design of the LT Col Robert Burns character is very similar to that of the "Gears" (something which i believe was done on prupose to poke fun).
This is where the similarities end however, and if you try and play Vanquish the same way as something like Gears Of War you will get raped on Normal difficulty and above.
What Vanquish does is take the general blueprint of a cover shooter and fill it full of amphetamines. This is mainly down to the moves that your characters suit can perform. The suit allows you to boost along the gound at high speed and also go into a "bullet time" style slow motion mode, both for only a limited time before the suit overheats leaving you exposed and very vunerable to enemy attack.
These two moves completely change the game, the boost is so intuative you will find yourself using it as your default way of getting around even when no enemies are present. The slow motion "ARS" mode allows you to pick off multiple enemies with ease and is absolutely essential to taking down the bosses.
This mode also allows you to pick off missiles that are fired towards you, the likes of which have never been seen in a game of this type before, they are more akin to the kind of flak you have to avoid in a modern day shmup to be honest!
Vanquish throws numerous set pieces at you and moves at a frantic pace, much like Resident Evil 4 felt the first time i played it. Not suprising really when they share the same director.
Unfortunately even though Vanquish has received good reviews in this specialist media it's chances of selling in large numbers seems quite remote, much like Bayonetta i belive the price will fall quite quickly which is a shame as it deserves more sales!
