When Shinji Mikami first described how Vanquish would blend the third person shooter genre with the fast pace of an action game, my interest was immediately piqued. I loved the concept, but at the same time I had no idea how it could successfully be pulled off.

Amazingly enough, they found a way. Vanquish has all the normal concepts of a cover based shooter, but polished up to be incredibly smooth. They then added an insane sense of speed and mobility for both you and your enemies, creating a game that really evolves the genre into something truly special.

One of the reasons Vanquish is so satisfying to play is that the core mechanics are such a potent recipe for fun. You can’t help but enjoy yourself no matter what situation the game presents to you. You take control of Sam Gideon, a researcher from a special organization known as DARPA, equipped with an Augmented Reaction Suit (ARS). This robo suit let’s Sam do some amazing things, provided he’s got the juice.

Don’t worry, you don’t need to collect anything to power up the suit. It uses a simple energy bar that begins refilling as soon as you stop using it. However, use the entire bar up and the suit will overheat, causing it to have to completely refill before you can start using it again. Since so many of Sam’s abilities use this gauge, you’ll want to be careful to avoid overheating.

Often you’ll use Sam’s robo suit to go into bullet time. Since the action in Vanquish is so fast and frantic, it might be more accurately described as “Normal Time”. Besides initiating it while stationary, you can also slow down time while rocket boosting at insane speeds across the battlefield or flying through the air.

All your actions chain together surprisingly well. You can rocket boost right into cover. You can then easily walk away from cover without having to press the cover button again, so you never feel stuck when you’re trying to move around. And cover isn’t just chest-high walls. Some cover is so low that you’re practically laying down behind it.

If you don’t mind a guaranteed overheat, you can do a melee attack from a rocket boost as well. This will often cause you to backflip off the enemy, allowing you to go into bullet time in the air to finish them off if they’re still alive. Speaking of melee attacks, what Sam does actually changes depending on which weapon you have equipped. There’s only one melee button, but your equipped gun will determine whether it lets you perform a barrage of fast punches, a kick, or another close combat maneuver.

The cool ideas don’t stop there. If you pick up a weapon you already have full ammo with, that weapon will level up. These levels stay with you throughout the campaign, so it pays to look for guns lying around. Besides in boxes, you can also get weapons from reviving fallen soldiers on the battlefield. You’ll have to be quick, though. Leave a fallen soldier alone too long and he’ll die.

Then there’s Sam’s transforming gun. At first, I thought the gun’s ability to transform into the various weapons you collect was purely aesthetic. However, this allows you to switch weapons with no delay. Almost used up the clip in your assault rifle? No problem! Switch to the heavy machine gun with no break in your fire, then reload both when you’re done and have a free moment. This lets you take an even bigger advantage of an enemy’s most vulnerable situations.

Sam isn’t the only one who’s agile. Often times, enemy robots will leap great distances (sometimes aided by a jet pack) over cover. Some of these robots ARE cover, but transform into laser shooting spiders. In fact, a lot of different enemies transform. Some turn from mini helicopters into bipedal robots. Others roll around like invulnerable bouncy balls before unfolding into death machines. And these are just examples of some of the small enemies.

There are a ton of large enemies that I figured were one-time boss fights. To my surprise, some of these turned into normal encounters. One such enemy can be described as some sort of panther/scorpion hybrid that (surprise!) transforms into a giant bipedal bot with a lance made out of what use to be its tail. Oh, also it can shoot flying turrets at you! The first time I encountered one was intense, but later I encountered two at once, which was (for me) one of the most difficult portions of the game. Later I made my way through an empty looking hallway only to have one jump at me from behind cover.

Remember that giant spider boss from the beginning of the game? Well, sometimes he’ll just come crashing in through a wall to say hello while you’re dealing with swarms of other enemies. With a few exceptions, the characters often viewed as “bosses” are seamlessly worked into levels instead of making a huge deal out of their arrival.

Taking place on a space station creates the opportunity for some interesting set pieces. Everything has an appropriately futuristic look to it. One section had me traveling through a cylindrical area where I could walk up the side of the walls/floor, unhindered by gravity. Another section had me running to stay alive across a crumbling highway. I thought at one point I had found the cliche “two trains shooting at each other” section, until one of the trains started riding on the ceiling track, upside down above me.

Whether it’s any combination of the stages, the enemies, or the incredible speed of the gameplay itself, Vanquish is a constant adrenaline rush. Sure, the story is forgettable and all the voice work is downright silly, but none of that will matter when you’re being shot at from every direction and a giant mech is dashing toward you with drill arms.

It’s a bit on the short side (I finished the campaign in six hours), but would you honestly rather have the campaign diluted just to make it longer? Vanquish makes sure you’re constantly having fun during the entire campaign. Even when you’re dying repeatedly like I did, you’ll be happy to retry knowing that the scenario will never play out the same way twice. It’s a campaign you’ll want to play again and again, especially after unlocking God Hard mode.

You’ll also get more time out of the experience by tackling the Challenge Stages. These stages re-purpose a few set pieces from the campaign to make challenges where you must destroy several waves of enemies in order to get the best clear time and shame your friends’. That is, if you can even survive. The waves get exponentially more difficult and they’re no walk in the park to start with. But any excuse to play more with Vanquish‘s fantastic combat is welcome.

If you’re a fan of shooters or action games, you’re going to want to play Vanquish. Games this satisfying don’t come around that often. The pace is relentless, never letting you feel safe. You’ll definitely want to take breaks to catch your breath, but you’ll be happy to know that no matter where you are in the game when you return, you’ll be coming back to “the good part”.

This review is based on a copy of the Playstation 3 version of Vanquish provided to us by SEGA.

Tags: action, Platinum Games, ps3, Sega, shooter, third person shooter, Vanquish, Xbox 360

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