Support NeoGAF

[Animator]

Asura's Wrath pretty much looks as close as we'll ever get to God Hand 2, unless Mikami makes another brawler.

Trailer

I dont know what I just watched but I know I am buying it :lol

 

[burgerdog]

Fuck challenge 4 act 5.

 

[∀ Narayan]

Fuck challenge 4 act 5.

Wait until you get to Challenge 6. It's fucking crazy.

EDIT: Wait, you mean Act 4: Mission 5? What's so bad about that?

 

[practice02]

Asura's Wrath pretty much looks as close as we'll ever get to God Hand 2, unless Mikami makes another brawler.

Trailer

the way they talk about Asuras wrath makes it sound like its not a brawler. so i wouldnt expec5t it to be a god hand like game.

 

[burgerdog]

Wait until you get to Challenge 6. It's fucking crazy.

EDIT: Wait, you mean Act 4: Mission 5? What's so bad about that?

Challenge 4, Stage 5 or whatever it's called. You fight a viper in a very small area. Challenge 1,2,3,and 5 were so much easier than this.

 

[Animator]

Wait until you get to Challenge 6. It's fucking crazy.

EDIT: Wait, you mean Act 4: Mission 5? What's so bad about that?

Wait there is a challenge 6?! Does that unlock when you beat all challenges?

 

[slaughterking]

shit i only just realised its SEGA publishing these games.

whatever it is we want, we're fucked.

That's a bit unfair. They may not appear to be the smartest business out there and their internally developed games are not worth mentioning (aside from the occasional Valkyria or Yakuza), but SEGA is a very, very precious publisher. They are the reason Platinum could even release four pretty highly regarded, unique games and they are certainly not hesitant to greenlight sequels that do not look like a no-brainer to most other game companies out there (I'm looking at you Conduit 2).
I would say SEGA's irrationality should, if anything, give us hope for a Vanquish sequel.

 

[∀ Narayan]

Wait there is a challenge 6?! Does that unlock when you beat all challenges?

Yes, and it's fucking TOUGH.

 

[bubnbob]

Challenge 6 isnt TOO bad. I havent finished it, of course. But I can consistently get to Wave 4. Then... yeah

imo 4 is the worst. Horrible weapon drops, horrible level layout... just not fun

 

[panda21]

That's a bit unfair. They may not appear to be the smartest business out there and their internally developed games are not worth mentioning (aside from the occasional Valkyria or Yakuza), but SEGA is a very, very precious publisher. They are the reason Platinum could even release four pretty highly regarded, unique games and they are certainly not hesitant to greenlight sequels that do not look like a no-brainer to most other game companies out there (I'm looking at you Conduit 2).
I would say SEGA's irrationality should, if anything, give us hope for a Vanquish sequel.

well i guess just from my point of view, they are fucking terrible at giving fans what they want. they completely missed the fighter revival by sitting on a newer VF5 port for so long, they completely fucked up the yakuza 3 western release, we're not even getting yakuza kenzan, valkyria got... demoted.

then again, given that releasing another vanquish/bayonetta might seem like a really stupid move after they sold so badly, perhaps you're right and it will probably happen :lol

its just that conflicts with sega's prime directive of fucking with their fans

 

[Animator]

Yes, and it's fucking TOUGH.

Looking forward to it as soon as I can beat challenge 1 - wave 2. :lol

 

[Y2Kev]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URclwKnmvm8

Was this posted omg

 

[iconoclast]

I've been getting raped on 5-3 on God Hard for like 3 hours straight. My best run so far had one of them down to 30% health; usually I just die before I can get him down to 75%. This shit makes Ninja Gaiden look like a Nintendo game.

 

[A Human Becoming]

I've been getting raped on 5-3 on God Hard for like 3 hours straight. My best run so far had one of them down to 30% health; usually I just die before I can get him down to 75%. This shit makes Ninja Gaiden look like a Nintendo game.

Okay, so I'm not crazy; Vanquish is a lot harder than Bayonetta.

 

[bubnbob]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URclwKnmvm8

Was this posted omg

This isnt that special... the demo Challenge is different from Retail (Bogey on Wave 5)

 

[rollingstart]

I've been getting raped on 5-3 on God Hard for like 3 hours straight. My best run so far had one of them down to 30% health; usually I just die before I can get him down to 75%. This shit makes Ninja Gaiden look like a Nintendo game.

5-3 is the last one, right?

I was having so many problems on hard. Don't want to think about how brutal it would be on god hard, especially with a smaller boost gauge.

 

[jvalioli]

Okay, so I'm not crazy; Vanquish is a lot harder than Bayonetta.

Yes it is. Bayonetta is a joke in comparison.

 

[iconoclast]

5-3 is the last one, right?

I was having so many problems on hard. Don't want to think about how brutal it would be on god hard, especially with a smaller boost gauge.

Yeah, it's the last mission. The boost gauge is actually the same size I believe, it's just that when you go into ARS mode it sucks up the meter twice as fast. You can still boost around like usual. I'm only using ARS on them when the blue guy tosses the nades in the air that cause you to overheat, otherwise I save my meter for sliding around from cover to cover.

Thing is, if you get touched by an attack from these fuckers, you're in overheat. Get hit again and you're dead. And of course they're always moving all over the fucking place and your cover is constantly shifting.

You can consider my butt hurt.

 

[rollingstart]

Yeah, it's the last mission. The boost gauge is actually the same size I believe, it's just that when you go into ARS mode it sucks up the meter twice as fast. You can still boost around like usual. I'm only using ARS on them when the blue guy tosses the nades in the air that cause you to overheat, otherwise I save my meter for sliding around from cover to cover.

Thing is, if you get touched by an attack from these fuckers, you're in overheat. Get hit again and you're dead. And of course they're always moving all over the fucking place and your cover is constantly shifting.

You can consider my butt hurt.

I used ARS with the rocket launcher to speed it up so they wouldn't evade it.

 

[hamchan]

well i guess just from my point of view, they are fucking terrible at giving fans what they want. they completely missed the fighter revival by sitting on a newer VF5 port for so long, they completely fucked up the yakuza 3 western release, we're not even getting yakuza kenzan, valkyria got... demoted.

then again, given that releasing another vanquish/bayonetta might seem like a really stupid move after they sold so badly, perhaps you're right and it will probably happen :lol

its just that conflicts with sega's prime directive of fucking with their fans

That's the thing, I really love Sega's output this generation and I think they get too much hate just because their Sonic games are still crap.

Anyways, sucks that Vanquish bombed but it's not surprising. It's like Clover and now Platinum Games are cursed with making insanely high quality titles that all bomb in sales. From my perspective it looks like Vanquish bombed from the bad marketing and bad release date.

 

[SapientWolf]

That's the thing, I really love Sega's output this generation and I think they get too much hate just because their Sonic games are still crap.

Anyways, sucks that Vanquish bombed but it's not surprising. It's like Clover and now Platinum Games are cursed with making insanely high quality titles that all bomb in sales. From my perspective it looks like Vanquish bombed from the bad marketing and bad release date.

I think it's gonna have a long tail like Valkyria Chronicles, especially if they support the game with DLC. Bayonetta has sold nearly 2 mil at this point so I wouldn't worry too much about Platinum.

 

[iconoclast]

I used ARS with the rocket launcher to speed it up so they wouldn't evade it.

There's only one rocket on the map though, as far as I can see. Even if I hit one guy with all three rockets, it'll only do about 25% damage. I'm thinking the key to killing one of them is to make perfect use of all of the EMP grenades on the map, but even then it's hard to even get an opportunity to shoot them since there's always another guy shooting lasers/throwing grenades at you from the side.

Maybe I should message the one guy who's listed on the leaderboards and ask him for some protips.

 

[∀ Narayan]

Maybe I should message the one guy who's listed on the leaderboards and ask him for some protips.

Yeah, I think he works for Future Press, so you may be in luck.

 

[adversesolutions]

Yeah, it's the last mission. The boost gauge is actually the same size I believe, it's just that when you go into ARS mode it sucks up the meter twice as fast. You can still boost around like usual. I'm only using ARS on them when the blue guy tosses the nades in the air that cause you to overheat, otherwise I save my meter for sliding around from cover to cover.

Thing is, if you get touched by an attack from these fuckers, you're in overheat. Get hit again and you're dead. And of course they're always moving all over the fucking place and your cover is constantly shifting.

You can consider my butt hurt.

What's the most damage you managed to do to one bogey?

 

[Animator]

note to self: don't stand in front of a dying argus robot.

 

[Lostconfused]

note to self: don't stand in front of a dying argus robot.

Oh yeah that got me to, bastard move.

Edit: Also was kind of weird seeing this boss in the game

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

Vanquish is clearly trying to cater to the Western market. I expected it wouldn't do as well as Bayonetta in Japan.

The question is, will it do better than Bayonetta did in the West? At first I thought that would be a sure thing, but I'm not so sure anymore. =/

No, we must compare this game in a unpopular genre to games in other genres! It is important!

The game is probably doing fine in EU and US regions. It is still a shooter, which is a far more straightforward genre than Bayonetta. It also is far less... well, plain wierd.

 

[Rush2thestart]

I think it's gonna have a long tail like Valkyria Chronicles, especially if they support the game with DLC. Bayonetta has sold nearly 2 mil at this point so I wouldn't worry too much about Platinum.

What? Where did you hear Bayonetta sold 2 million? It shipped 1.1 million last I heard.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

What? Where did you hear Bayonetta sold 2 million? It shipped 1.1 million last I heard.

According to Gamasutra that number was updated 1.35(and this reported was during the summer) million. And I've heard mentions of 1.5 million since then(that was around the end of summer).

 

[iconoclast]

What's the most damage you managed to do to one bogey?

I managed to get one down to 30% or so, but that's as far as I've gone.

So close yet so far away.

 

[SapientWolf]

According to Gamasutra that number was updated 1.35(and this reported was during the summer) million. And I've heard mentions of 1.5 million since then(that was around the end of summer).

Yeah, it was 1.5 around the end of summer and I'm thinking that all the Bayo bundles (360 Elite Bayo bundle in Japan, Vanquish and Bayo in the UK) put it north of that.

 

[DrBo42]

Bought it on a whim, clocked about 2 hours so far. Is the pace at the beginning bad or am I just not liking this?

 

[leng jai]

Bought it on a whim, clocked about 2 hours so far. Is the pace at the beginning bad or am I just not liking this?

You're going to have to be more descriptive son.

 

[Animator]

Bought it on a whim, clocked about 2 hours so far. Is the pace at the beginning bad or am I just not liking this?

Are we playing the same game?

 

[Deleted member 30609]

Bought it on a whim, clocked about 2 hours so far. Is the pace at the beginning bad or am I just not liking this?

Act 2 is significantly better than Act 1.

 

[ToyMachine228]

honestly, Sega can be redeemed of everything if Mikami makes Comix Zone 2 aka God Hand 2.

Mikami isn't at Platinum permanently. It was just for Vanquish. He is doing that game with Suda 51 and Grasshopper and he has started his own development studio for his next project beyond that.

 

[DrBo42]

The boss battles are fun, definitely. The waves and waves of robots inbetween I'm not feeling. All I end up doing is boosting into cover, then flipping over said cover in slow motion to get some quick headshots, then repeating. I definitely feel like I'm not "getting it" because I'm playing it the wrong way. I just feel like there isn't much other than evade/slow-mo. *Shrugs*

 

[ZealousD]

From my perspective it looks like Vanquish bombed from the bad marketing and bad release date.

No it was pretty well marketed. The first trailer had pretty high visibility, and it had a pretty big push inside GameStop stores.

But I don't think the release date was so smart. I don't think it's the kind of game people put on Christmas lists. It's just getting overshadowed by stuff like Fallout, Fable, and Star Wars.

Okay, so I'm not crazy; Vanquish is a lot harder than Bayonetta.

Most definitely. Enemies are more aggressive, insta-kill moves, less environmental visibility... etc etc

 

[leng jai]

The boss battles are fun, definitely. The waves and waves of robots inbetween I'm not feeling. All I end up doing is boosting into cover, then flipping over said cover in slow motion to get some quick headshots, then repeating. I definitely feel like I'm not "getting it" because I'm playing it the wrong way. I just feel like there isn't much other than evade/slow-mo. *Shrugs*

Stop using cover as much and you'll have more fun. Integrate melee into your game and combo in different weapons during slow mo. EMP nades are super useful and let you destroy groups of bots with ease. Also never use the disc launcher unless you're against Romanovs.

 

[Beezy]

No it was pretty well marketed. The first trailer had pretty high visibility, and it had a pretty big push inside GameStop stores.

no television ads = not well marketed

 

[Animator]

The boss battles are fun, definitely. The waves and waves of robots inbetween I'm not feeling. All I end up doing is boosting into cover, then flipping over said cover in slow motion to get some quick headshots, then repeating. I definitely feel like I'm not "getting it" because I'm playing it the wrong way. I just feel like there isn't much other than evade/slow-mo. *Shrugs*

Congrats you keep using the one move available to you out of two dozen over and over.

The game is as fun as as you make it. You can stay back in cover at the entrance to the stage and plink away at the robots from a distance but that sure as shit not going to get you the time completion bonus at the end of the round. The whole point of the game is to push yourself to do better. Go hop out of that cover and shotgun some robot mid air and then switch to sniper and snipe the other in the back while you are boosting and drop a grenade in between the two robots you just passed all in the span of 10 seconds and then light up a smoke while you are waiting for your suit to cool down and you will start to get this game.

 

[shaowebb]

Fucking game informer gave this game a 7.75. Time to mail somebody.

 

[thetrin]

Oh yeah that got me to, bastard move.

Edit: Also was kind of weird seeing this boss in the game

Man, I thought I was the only one that got the reference :lol

 

[george_us]

Kind of weird Sega marketed the balls off Bayonetta but something like Vanquish gets jack shit. You'd think it'd be the other way around.

 

[FrostuTheNinja]

Kind of weird Sega marketed the balls off Bayonetta but something like Vanquish gets jack shit. You'd think it'd be the other way around.

Bayonetta has boobies.

 

[practice02]

Kind of weird Sega marketed the balls off Bayonetta but something like Vanquish gets jack shit. You'd think it'd be the other way around.

sega probably doesn't have any marketing money right now.

 

[SapientWolf]

sega probably doesn't have any marketing money right now.

Sega has been profitable for years. I know they didn't spend that money on Sonic game development. Time to open the warchest.

 

[practice02]

Sega has been profitable for years. I know they didn't spend that money on Sonic game development. Time to open the warchest.

contrary to the way it would seem based on the quality of the games they are throwing a lot of money at sonic game development.

 

[Sallokin]

Saw this posted on JP Kellam's twitter feed.

http://platinumgames.com/2010/10/25/narrative-design-in-vanquish/

It has a neat little video with some dialogue outtakes.

 

[Pooya]

Narrative Design in Vanquish
http://platinumgames.com/2010/10/25/narrative-design-in-vanquish/

there is a video.

Hi. I’m JP, one of the writers on Vanquish. Normally, I fill a role as translator; however, on Vanquish, I also wrote some scenes in the script, added in most of the naming/jargon, and tried to bring that PG flavor to the script.

Approaching the story to Vanquish was an interesting endeavor. It isn’t often that you sit in a room with the directors of Resident Evil and Code Veronica and get asked your opinion about the story. One of these points was the opposing force in the game. Our initial candidate was China, but ultimately we went with the Russians. I’ve noticed some people on the net claim that Russia is clichéd as an enemy force, but it really is the only logical conclusion. Vanquish is based on an extension of our current world into the future, so the original plan of a Chinese enemy makes very little sense. China owns most of the United States debt, and the US buys most of China’s manufactured goods. When there is money to be made, people tend to find ways not to fight. Russia, on the other hand, makes perfect sense. Over half of all Russian exports to the US are petroleum products, so in a resource crunch, the economic ties that bind Russia to the US would be severed, allowing them to attack. After all, all wars are essentially about resource control.

Another reason I really pushed for Russia as an enemy is because I really enjoy the pseudo-Cold War nostalgia that nation-on-nation conflicts, especially with Russia, brings about. It’s got that great G.I. Joe sense of good guys taking on bad guys, which plays directly into the style of dialogue we were going for in Vanquish. In essence, Vanquish is tinged with parody, but not the point of being overt. I read a review that said, “It’s hard to tell whether it is taking the piss or not, which in itself may well be the intention.” Many of the dialogue lines in Vanquish are way over-the-top, but then again, you are talking about a group of super-powered space marines attacking a colony the size of a small city in space. I think it would be incredibly strange if they played things overly straight faced, so why not have fun with things? Why not make the characters aware of not only the ridiculousness of the situation, but also the varied cultural influences that lead to the creation of a game like Vanquish. My intent, at least with the English script, was not fan service, but rather making sure the game never forgets what it is – a game. There are plenty of companies working towards the serious. We never forget we are making games. I love that. As that same review said, “We weren’t sure if we were laughing at it, or with it, but we were definitely laughing.” Perfect.

That being said, Vanquish is a bit serious. When I first went through the completed script outline, I realized that what Hiroki Kato, our lead script writer, had come up with was ultimately a morality tale on the frailty of one’s best intentions. All of the characters in Vanquish are rough around the edges, with motivations that conflict with the idealized world they are striving to create. If you read into it a bit, it draws many parallels with the attacks French philosopher Voltaire launched against fellow philosopher Gottfried Leibniz and his concept of optimism. While I don’t think Kato-san explicitly set out with Voltaire in mind, it was nice to be able to strengthen these parallels in some of the naming and situations in the game. I hope you all have fun trying to find these references.

Finally, a bit on the English voice acting in the game: I was incredibly privileged to work with top notch people across the board on the English script. It is always fun to be the dumbest one in the room, because you have so many people to look up to. From my editor on the script, Alexander O. Smith, to our voice director, Kris Zimmerman (of Bayonetta and Metal Gear Solid fame), to our incredibly talented cast, it was an awesome experience working with everyone. It isn’t often you can bring Gideon Emery (Sam), Steve Blum (Burns), Marc Worden (Zaitsev), Kari Wahlgren (Elena), Lee Meriweather (Winters), and Benito Martinez (Candide) together on one project, but we were able to pull it off, and got some amazing performances as a result. We also realize that many of you want to play in your native languages, so we’ve included Japanese, French, Italian, German, and Spanish voices as well. I know there are plenty of fans with a preset bias towards the Japanese language track for whatever reason, but I really urge you to set aside your biases and try out the game in your native language. English was the lead language on Vanquish, but all of the languages were equally important to us, so don’t dismiss things as a “dub”, because you will just end up missing out on some great performances by some really talented actors. Mikami-san has already spoken about how much he loves Gideon’s voice as Sam, and I am a huge fan of Japanese voice actor’s performance for Zaitsev. For a little bit of fun, here are my favorite outtakes from the studio: