Vanquish [PS3/Xbox 360]

[Sketcz]

Hmm, still really enjoying how kinetic and frenetic this is, but I have one slight complaint: it doesn't really feel like I'm fighting the Russians.

Here's a real Russian robot, from the military archives:


EDIT:
Just double-checked... OK, that's actually a German designed weapon from WWII, but surely everyone agrees, the robots here don't feel Soviet enough.

Here's one they put on the moon - old, but definitely Rusky.

[jimtendo]

You're shooting reds, REDS!
How much more Russian do you want!
;p

[Sketcz]

I want them REDDER.

By the way, Jim, any trick to dying only 4 times on normal? I've died more than that before the end of chapter 1, mainly due to a few occasions where I didn't see a large piece of debris flying towards me. Plus the tunnels - I rushed in and a jelly got me.

Was it a 2nd playthrough, or are you really that good?

[jimtendo]

I just abused the roll as much as possible. Also when you're going to be using AR mode, just don't use it to the limit. About halfway is good, then roll > roll > roll until it fills up. Otherwise one bullet hit will knock your armour down so it'll auto trigger the emergency AR mode which you don't want.

[parkinho]

Wow! Only played up to chapter 2-1 but this is something special. Leaping over barriers whilst activating bullet time to snipe robots in the distance, followed by sliding on your knees and peppering the enemies before delivering a deadly melee attack - all in a 10 second period. This is the OTT stuff that makes me remember why I love videogames.

This and Bayonetta in the same year? Platinum Games have very quickly become one of my favourite developers. How they'll top these two I'll never know.

[saturn-gamer]

Tackeled Challenge 3 now, easiest so far, bar the kind of stressful first wave. but lots of hiding possible, and upgrades for the RL to quickly kill the last enemies and for refill.

I hate challenge 4 already. Area makes it difficult.

[rmoxon]

I want them REDDER.

By the way, Jim, any trick to dying only 4 times on normal? I've died more than that before the end of chapter 1, mainly due to a few occasions where I didn't see a large piece of debris flying towards me. Plus the tunnels - I rushed in and a jelly got me.

Was it a 2nd playthrough, or are you really that good?

As i stated earlier in the thread, becuase you have a score and can slide around like a maniac the game seems designed to make you want to rush through it killing enemies as quickly as possible, but in truth it is alot easier to play if you take advantage of cover and pick enemies off like you would in Gears of War or Uncharted.

I have been playing the full game on hard (which is indeed hard), but having played the demo on normal it was increadabley hard to actualy die if you used cover.

[Sketcz]

DO NOT RESTART A MISSION

I died a about 6 times at the start of Act 2 Mission 2, so thought I'd restart it to keep my death average down. It said I'd lose checkpoint data, but I thought so what? I've not reached any checkpoints in mission 2 yet, so it won't matter. I'll just restart the mission and be fine about it. Unfortunately what they mean is they reset your score and remove all weapon upgrades.

I'd spent over an hour playing meticulously to level up my main guns, and my assault rifle was almost maxed already (lvl 8 I think), and now it's all gone. So I've been forced to restart, since the game later on is tougher with weaker weapons. This utterly sucks, they should have made that clearer (dunno if it's in the manual, mine is in French).

Actually, I have a massive complaint regarding the levelling system. You only level up a weapon when it's full of ammo and you find a new ammo pick-up, so it thereby forces you to run around carrying a gun with a full clip but not using it, in the hope of finding an ammo refill. As a result I've had to spend the early levels using only the **** weapons (LFE, disc gun, etc), while saving my assault rifle, shotgun and heavy machinegun in case I find an ammo pick-up. Same with grenades.

Ideally I'd like to see these weapons maxed by the time I reach the end game. I really don't like how the weapon levelling-up works. I'd rather have seen a system where you're rewarded for skillfull kills or something. Or maybe you could earn points to spend between each mission, because right now I'm trying to single-handedly win the war with something no better than a wood cutter from design-tech class.


EDIT:
also, it's incredibly stupid that if I have 5 ammo in a HMG, and pick up a fresh ammo refill I get nothing. But if I drop my 5 ammo HMG for a sniper rifle, then switch that rifle for the FULL HMG, then go back to my 5 bullet HMG, I'll get the desired level up.

In the level just before the tunnel, with the roof mounted cannons, I must have spent 5 minutes running up and down that massive corridor dropping the low ammo weapons for something else, then switching that with a full version of the original gun, so I could then traipse back to the other end of the corridor to pick up the low ammo variant, just to level up.

PROTIP: never expend all a weapon's ammo. Save at least one bullet, then drop that gun for another - it will stay on the field. Later, if you can find a fully stocked version of that original weapon, pick it up, and go back to find the dropped gun which only had 1 bullet. Picking it up will level the fully stocked weapon.

This game brings out the worst in my OCD. >_<

[saturn-gamer]

The upgrade system isn't all that great imo. Its only good in the sense that picking up ammo for a fully loaded weapon is not a waste.

But you can always death-grind a weapon to maximum level if a part is too difficult.

[Sketcz]

How does death grinding work? You mean die, restart so it has full ammo, pick up anyy refills and then die again?

I didn't realise the levels carried over when you restarted.

[jimtendo]

How does death grinding work? You mean die, restart so it has full ammo, pick up anyy refills and then die again?...

Yup, that's how it works.
When you die, you start with full ammo with all the guns you're carrying at the time of death.
Naturally upon death you lose rank, but you lose rank of the current weapons your carrying.

[rmoxon]

I'm not sure about "death grinding", I dont know how that would work as you usualy go down a level of the current weapon youre using as well as somtimes going down a level on other weapons that youre carrying too when you die.

The game never explains how this works and its a really odd system but anyway...

You can actualy cheat and go through the game without dying if you want and that way you will never lose an upgrade. The way to do this is when you do die return to the title screen instead of continuing, that way your death dosent count, its alot of messing about though I suppose, so it depends if you could be bothered to do it or not, but if youre having trouble I imagine it will help you get the fully upgraded weapon achievment alot easier.

[Sketcz]

Naturally upon death you lose rank, but you lose rank of the current weapons your carrying.

I must have missed this due to not being able to read the manual - and didn't notice it during the game.

When I die, all currently held weapons go down in rank?

Just one rank, or all the way to zero?

Because if it goes down in rank by 1, then that could explain why my assault rifle was wiped out. I must have died 6 or 7 times in Act 2 Mission 2.

EDIT:
rmoxon posted while I typing - thanks for the explanation. I might just do that.

[saturn-gamer]

I maxed out the HMG during my Hard playthrough (which means I also died a lot), and I did death grind sometimes.

It seems weapons lower a level if you deliberately quit the game. I'm sure it didn't lower at all times when I died, or I didn't notice.

[iloveannie]

I saw this in Sainsburys for &#163;34 and I've got a &#163;3 voucher but I just know this is the kind of title that will be on Zavvi's Monday Madness for &#163;16 within six weeks. I'll get it then as it does look very cool. I must say I do enjoy video games that don't try to be anything else