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[Foxix Von]

Oh... come on, seriously?

I've only been able to sit down with it on two occasions for about 15-30 minute bursts. Pardon me for trying to acclimate myself to the gameplay mechanics in the starting area.

Thanks, iconoclast. I thought that's what they might do but like I said, I haven't had any time to actually see what good they were for.

 

[CLEEK]

You get 3 cigarettes per chapter, there's an indicator on your hud right above the weapon select on the bottom right.

Only when you're behind cover though.

I know knew what they did when I looked the the Trophy list. Ahhh!

 

[Curufinwe]

Oh... come on, seriously?

Easy, smart guy.

 

[digita1alchemy]

So did anyone in Europe get the figure from Zavvi.com? I would have picked it up in a heartbeat but I am in the US, so I have been checking ebay periodically to see if anyone puts one up for sale. I could buy it off the site, but it would be like $90 and I really just want the figure.

 

[JPKellams]

We are doing an in-office Vanquish Tactical Challenge mode competition on Ustream. It is in Japanese, but check it out. http://bit.ly/dklIiO

Here is a hint - you guys are better than us.

 

[Discotheque]

We are doing an in-office Vanquish Tactical Challenge mode competition on Ustream. It is in Japanese, but check it out. http://bit.ly/dklIiO

Here is a hint - you guys are better than us.

Oh my God. An angel from the divine circles of heaven has descended upon us!

 

[JPKellams]

Oh my God. An angel from the divine circles of heaven has descended upon us!

I'm putting that on my business card.

 

[JPKellams]

Done for today, but we will be back with three more people tomorrow at the same bat time, same bat channel. 11PM EDT, 8PM PDT. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/pgeye

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Done for today, but we will be back with three more people tomorrow at the same bat time, same bat channel. 11PM EDT, 8PM PDT. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/pgeye

I enjoyed watching.

You guys are way faster than me at least.

 

[JoeFenix]

I'm putting that on my business card.

Paradisio Third sphere

Glorious PlatinumGamesJP

 

[Rahxephon91]

Just finished it. Easily one of the best pure action shooters this gen.

 

[LiK]

Here is a hint - you guys are better than us.

i find you incredibly attractive.

 

[Scythesurge]

Done for today, but we will be back with three more people tomorrow at the same bat time, same bat channel. 11PM EDT, 8PM PDT. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/pgeye

Wish I wasn't busy tonight or else I would have watched this!

 

[JPKellams]

i find you incredibly attractive.

Thanks. Feel free to send freshly baked chocolate chip cookies to the office.

Wish I wasn't busy tonight or else I would have watched this!

Check it out tomorrow. Final three are going to play then.

 

[Teknoman]

Grabbed this and Bayonetta via Target's B2G1 sale. Action overload incoming.

 

[LiK]

Grabbed this and Bayonetta via Target's B2G1 sale. Action overload incoming.

prepare to spooge like you've never spooged before.

 

[mintylurb]

ps3 version does not have v sync. I have the ps3 version it has tearing in the same areas the 360 version has it but also framerate issues If had to choose again I'd get the 360 version. Joe fenix was saying they are identical and as a graphics nut I'm telling you they aren't.

Gameplay tearing comparison:

QTE tearing comparison:

 

[rvy]

Easy, smart guy.

I actually thought they served as nothing more than make you look badass, so there you go.

 

[ataboada]

I can't see the difference from the pictures above, or at least I cannot discern the subtleties well enough from each other, since they are not comparing exact same frames.


That said, I will finally pick up the game for my birthday using the Kmart discount. I hope by that time to have finished at least one game in my backlog (Halo: Reach?) so that I can live at peace, knowing I'm not adding more to what I can't handle.


I read the posts about replay value for the game, but I must have missed the ones that mention average time to complete. What is it?

 

[TheKaeptain]

I can't see the difference from the pictures above, or at least I cannot discern the subtleties well enough from each other, since they are not comparing exact same frames.


That said, I will finally pick up the game for my birthday using the Kmart discount. I hope by that time to have finished at least one game in my backlog (Halo: Reach?) so that I can live at peace, knowing I'm not adding more to what I can't handle.


I read the posts about replay value for the game, but I must have missed the ones that mention average time to complete. What is it?

4-5 hours not including challenges and GOD HARD!

 

[Mistouze]

Finally got it in my mail box two days ago and HOLY SHIT THIS GAME IS AWESOME!!

This game is pure adrenalin, I get the same rush from it that from certain shmups. So goood! The rythmn is so high I always feel like taking a pause after finishing an act:lol

I've completed Acts 1 and 2 so far and its glorious how the game keeps mixing it up. Each confrontation feels different and engaging. The train section was glorious, like the Uncharted 2 one but on crack and a car battery tied to each of your nipples :lol

Jump out of cover into AR mode, Boost as soon as you hit the ground, shotgun while boosting, kick out of boosting = SO BOSS

Tried the first challenge and got torn appart :lol Those will be fun!

 

[mintylurb]

I can't see the difference from the pictures above, or at least I cannot discern the subtleties well enough from each other, since they are not comparing exact same frames.

Vanquish's gameplay probably makes is difficult to do like-for-like performance anaysis. Whenever there's a screen tear, DF's equipment marks it with 2 short red horizontal lines. I'll use a screen shot from MOH comparison to show how DF's equipment shows screen tearing.

Now, take a look at DF's Vanquish gameplay comparison video. http://www.eurogamer.net/videos/vanquish-ps3-360-gameplay-performance?size=hd. You'll notice that the 360 version shows those red lines rather frequently but the ps3 version is pretty much free of them.

 

[Hot Coldman]

OK, the PS3 version of this is 30 quid from Play.com with Bayonetta free. I heard bad things about Bayonetta PS3, but that's a good deal. I might get it, does anyone know exactly how bad Bayonetta PS3 is?

 

[TheGoldenGunman]

We are doing an in-office Vanquish Tactical Challenge mode competition on Ustream. It is in Japanese, but check it out. http://bit.ly/dklIiO

Here is a hint - you guys are better than us.

You guys are too awesome!

Do you have an internal QA team there? I'm sure that those guys must be pretty badass at the game, and I'd love to see them play!

 

[ChryZ]

Time for a new game and ordered my Vanquish copy last night. Can wait

 

[conman]

Oh... come on, seriously?

I'm on my third play-through and only just discovered the cigarettes. I'd hate to think I'm alone in my ignorance.

 

[Dave1988]

OK, the PS3 version of this is 30 quid from Play.com with Bayonetta free. I heard bad things about Bayonetta PS3, but that's a good deal. I might get it, does anyone know exactly how bad Bayonetta PS3 is?

It's probably one of the worst ports ever (runs at 30 fps and below, screen tearing, washed out colors, etc). Still, Vanquish for 30 quid is a good deal so get it. You can use Brokenetta's disc as a coffe pad or something, I guess.

 

[mjemirzian]

Err.. the cigarette's purpose is mentioned in the instruction manual. It's not some big secret. But who reads manuals these days, right?

Anyway, I have a couple of issues with the scoring mechanics:

Random weapon drops from boxes, wounded allies, and enemies means you'll have to restart the checkpoint until you get the best weapon for the highest possible score in the area. This is tedious and boring, the exact opposite of what a score based action game should involve.

If you are playing for score, the death penalty is meaningless when you can exit to title every time Sam dies. Although there may eventually be a trick where dying to replenish your ammo is worth the 1000 point penalty, assuming you can't just keep reloading to get the ammo you need from boxes or enemies.

The developer credits mini-game is long, boring, and counts towards your score so you must play it every time. This is a tedious barrier to anyone hoping to play for score, and it frankly smacks of egotism.

Finally, given how important the time bonus is towards your score, I'm surprised there's no option to display your current time and how much time bonus you'll be getting at that moment.

Looks like the developers at CAVE are still one of the only console developers who know how to put together a proper scoring system that doesn't involve tedium these days. Better luck next time, Platinum Games.

 

[B-Genius]

Looks like the developers at CAVE are still one of the only console developers who know how to put together a proper scoring system that doesn't involve tedium these days. Better luck next time, Platinum Games.

Yes, good luck pleasing mjemirzian next time, PG. Unlucky.

The overall main game scores are nice to boast about, but the real 'cave shooter' style scoring rush is surely found in Challenge mode, no?

 

[Seraphis Cain]

OK, the PS3 version of this is 30 quid from Play.com with Bayonetta free. I heard bad things about Bayonetta PS3, but that's a good deal. I might get it, does anyone know exactly how bad Bayonetta PS3 is?

Despite what some here may say, Bayonetta PS3 is far from unplayable. It may be vastly inferior to the 360 version, but it's still a hell of a game. Just be sure to install the game before playing it.

 

[mjemirzian]

Yes, good luck pleasing mjemirzian next time, PG. Unlucky.

The overall main game scores are nice to boast about, but the real 'cave shooter' style scoring rush is surely found in Challenge mode, no?

An ad hominem (Latin: "to the man"), also known as argumentum ad hominem, is an attempt to link the validity of a premise to a characteristic or belief of the person advocating the premise. It's ironic that fans of Vanquish will defend it by claiming you're supposed to replay it for score and that mainstream journalists missed the point of the game, then when someone points out some glaring flaws with the scoring system that introduces tedium into the system, it's all 'attack the messenger'.

First of all, it's not a 'cave shooter style scoring rush'. It's the most basic form of scoring system going back to the earliest arcade games. CAVE games are just the most modern example of a skill based game with an entire focus on skill and not tedium (such as restarting a checkpoint repeatedly until you get a weapon drop that lets you get a higher score). And to answer your question, I'm not exactly sure. If there are random drops in challenge mode, then how fast you can complete it will likely depend on what weapon drops you get.

 

[Ashkeloth]

OK, the PS3 version of this is 30 quid from Play.com with Bayonetta free. I heard bad things about Bayonetta PS3, but that's a good deal. I might get it, does anyone know exactly how bad Bayonetta PS3 is?

Aside from worse graphics and framerate issues in a couple of spots coupled with loading times (which are sort of fixed due to the patch now if you install), an example of how badly Sega broke Bayonetta on the PS3 is, that there is an easy way to get halos the (currency of the game) from a certain boss. On the 360 version, you can get up to 11 million per run, but because of something that Sega did when porting it, during uncontrollable cutscenes, your combo countdown timer still runs and you lose your combo, meaning that you can only get up to 5 million per run.

That said, the game is far from unplayable, and unless you're a graphics whore or get into the game hardcore enough to notice things like I pointed out above, for free with this game, you can't go wrong.

I actually got the platinum on the PS3 Bayonetta, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Just remember you can hold R2 and press select to skip cutscenes rather than going to the menu everytime you don't want to watch a cutscene. It saves a ton of annoyance and load time.

 

[jetsetfluken]

I've beaten my US version long ago now (except for the Challenges/God Hard), and my UK Collector's Edition still hasn't gotten here yet. Note I did order from an Ebay seller and the game released there 22 October...and it has to be shipped overseas...but it's been 13 days now.

Anyone in the US got theirs yet?

 

[LiK]

I've beaten my US version long ago now (except for the Challenges/God Hard), and my UK Collector's Edition still hasn't gotten here yet. Note I did order from an Ebay seller and the game released there 22 October...and it has to be shipped overseas...but it's been 13 days now.

Anyone in the US got theirs yet?

My zavvi CE shipped but I haven't gotten it yet either. I want my FIGURINE!

 

[sixteen-bit]

I'm on my third play-through and only just discovered the cigarettes. I'd hate to think I'm alone in my ignorance.

this is my first time hearing about cigarettes

 

[LiK]

this is my first time hearing about cigarettes

I didn't know about it until my 2nd playthrough while cheevo hunting. Its not mentioned in the tutorials at all.

 

[jetsetfluken]

My zavvi CE shipped but I haven't gotten it yet either. I want my FIGURINE!

No tracking for my order either. Let's hope I get it before GT5 comes out.

Until then here's some non-stock photos I've found (credit to Ebay seller 3ch3l0n)

So sexy.

I didn't know about it until my 2nd playthrough while cheevo hunting. Its not mentioned in the tutorials at all.

Neither is cover-jumping (jump over cover then go into AR, 3-6 sec of air slow-mo) and a few other things. Wish they would have.

 

[prodystopian]

OK, the PS3 version of this is 30 quid from Play.com with Bayonetta free. I heard bad things about Bayonetta PS3, but that's a good deal. I might get it, does anyone know exactly how bad Bayonetta PS3 is?

If you like action games, it is pretty much a must play. The problems that make the PS3 version worse do not make it anywhere near unplayable. Enjoy.

 

[Minamu]

I haven't bothered with cigarettes at all (I mean, I barely use cover anyway) but the game sort of kind of hints at it in a cutscene where some helicopter or something directs its fire to the heat signature for half a second

 

[LiK]

If you like action games, it is pretty much a must play. The problems that make the PS3 version worse do not make it anywhere near unplayable. Enjoy.

Yea, I would urge anyone with both consoles to get 360 ver of Bayo but since that PS3 ver is free, go for it.

 

[jetsetfluken]

I still think it's screwed up that only 2 of my friends on my friend list (not including me) of about 80 that are active daily or offline for 2 days at most, have played Vanquish (one of them stopped playing after act 1).
So depressing.

 

[Tain]

Err.. the cigarette's purpose is mentioned in the instruction manual. It's not some big secret. But who reads manuals these days, right?

Anyway, I have a couple of issues with the scoring mechanics:

Random weapon drops from boxes, wounded allies, and enemies means you'll have to restart the checkpoint until you get the best weapon for the highest possible score in the area. This is tedious and boring, the exact opposite of what a score based action game should involve.

If you are playing for score, the death penalty is meaningless when you can exit to title every time Sam dies. Although there may eventually be a trick where dying to replenish your ammo is worth the 1000 point penalty, assuming you can't just keep reloading to get the ammo you need from boxes or enemies.

The developer credits mini-game is long, boring, and counts towards your score so you must play it every time. This is a tedious barrier to anyone hoping to play for score, and it frankly smacks of egotism.

Finally, given how important the time bonus is towards your score, I'm surprised there's no option to display your current time and how much time bonus you'll be getting at that moment.

Good points. I would absolutely expect a game like this to have scoring issues, too; the scoring system, while more fleshed out than most that you'd see in a 2+ hour long game, is still clearly secondary to having the kind of presentation that the game has.

Clearing the challenge modes should satisfy for a bit, either way. I have yet to dig into them.

 

[mjemirzian]

Good points. I would absolutely expect a game like this to have scoring issues, too; the scoring system, while more fleshed out than most that you'd see in a 2+ hour long game, is still clearly secondary to having the kind of presentation that the game has.

Clearing the challenge modes should satisfy for a bit, either way. I have yet to dig into them.

I am enjoying Vanquish, I just wish the scoring system was a bit more solid. And it's certainly challenging to get around the higher end of the top possible score.. it just seems like there's a bit more randomness involved than competitive players would like to see. A game doesn't have to be entirely deterministic, but when you get the right weapon at the right time constantly while someone else gets screwed with a significantly lower score, there's only so much you can do. The challenge modes seem to be a bit more solid since they are entirely based on the amount of time taken.. it doesn't look like you get extra points for dismantling an enemy.

Overall the game is great. But just like Bayonetta there are easy ways to break the scoring system, unfortunately.

 

[B-Genius]

An ad hominem (Latin: "to the man"), also known as argumentum ad hominem, is an attempt to link the validity of a premise to a characteristic or belief of the person advocating the premise. It's ironic that fans of Vanquish will defend it by claiming you're supposed to replay it for score and that mainstream journalists missed the point of the game, then when someone points out some glaring flaws with the scoring system that introduces tedium into the system, it's all 'attack the messenger'.

First of all, it's not a 'cave shooter style scoring rush'. It's the most basic form of scoring system going back to the earliest arcade games. CAVE games are just the most modern example of a skill based game with an entire focus on skill and not tedium (such as restarting a checkpoint repeatedly until you get a weapon drop that lets you get a higher score). And to answer your question, I'm not exactly sure. If there are random drops in challenge mode, then how fast you can complete it will likely depend on what weapon drops you get.

Why do I always pick the smartest folk to have semantics battles with? :lol
Ok, the score is a big part of the game, seeing as that's how you rank on the leaderboards. Yes. But I doubt many fans actually defend the game (and condemn journalists) based on this.

For the vast majority of us who are immensely enjoying it, it's not necessarily about the points. It's just a really fun game to get better at regardless of your score, and any journos or casual gamers too afraid to stray from their usual pickups are missing out. However, I doubt they'd be missing out on a "proper scoring system" even if there was one.

I only attacked you because you sounded a bit pompous. We are blessed to have games like this over here in the west, let alone people who appreciate them. So maybe we shouldn't write them off just because a scoring system isn't quite on par with purely score-based games.

I do see your point about Challenge mode, though. I'm not sure why they made the decision to have random weapon spawns. Perhaps they designed the game with all weapons equal, and people haven't realised the potential of some of them yet. Or maybe it's just luck, like you say.

Edit: So bottom line is, "competetive players" enjoy points and hoped for more from Vanquish. Fair enough!

 

[Minamu]

Is it normal that I keep losing weapon ranks when I die?

 

[sixteen-bit]

Is it normal that I keep losing weapon ranks when I die?

yeah

reboot to the system OS instead of selecting a menu option if you want to avoid this

 

[Tain]

Didn't enemies drop random shit in Mercenaries?

Ammo would be a little less vital than entire weapons, though, I guess. Distribution is king when you have the drop frequency that Mercenaries mode has.

 

[ApolloJoh]

My copy came in yesterday and I'm at 2-3 on Normal right now.

Died a couple times but it's really fun so far.

 

[jetsetfluken]

My copy came in yesterday and I'm at 2-3 on Normal right now.

Died a couple times but it's really fun so far.

Restart and switch to Hard now, even that's a little too easy at times.

 

[Retro_]

Err.. the cigarette's purpose is mentioned in the instruction manual. It's not some big secret. But who reads manuals these days, right?

Anyway, I have a couple of issues with the scoring mechanics:

Random weapon drops from boxes, wounded allies, and enemies means you'll have to restart the checkpoint until you get the best weapon for the highest possible score in the area. This is tedious and boring, the exact opposite of what a score based action game should involve.

If you are playing for score, the death penalty is meaningless when you can exit to title every time Sam dies. Although there may eventually be a trick where dying to replenish your ammo is worth the 1000 point penalty, assuming you can't just keep reloading to get the ammo you need from boxes or enemies.

The developer credits mini-game is long, boring, and counts towards your score so you must play it every time. This is a tedious barrier to anyone hoping to play for score, and it frankly smacks of egotism.

Finally, given how important the time bonus is towards your score, I'm surprised there's no option to display your current time and how much time bonus you'll be getting at that moment.

Looks like the developers at CAVE are still one of the only console developers who know how to put together a proper scoring system that doesn't involve tedium these days. Better luck next time, Platinum Games.

I agree with most of this

I can understand why there wouldn't be an option to select weapons during a full run of the game, since it would kind of defeat the purpose of ammo and upgrades and bog the game down with menu navigation

but I was really disappointed there wasn't an option to select weapons for acts from mission select. Instead it just starts you off with default HMG, Assualt Shotgun with no upgrades, regardless of the point in the game the stage takes place.

and yeah I'm 100% with you on the credits. They shouldn't be tied to the score and you should be able to skip them. At least after the initial run like the tutorial. As is it's the ultimate buzzkill to what was otherwise a fast paced and intense experience.

the death penalty and lack of timer don't really bother me though. I think the latter was intentional as to not put pressure on the more casual players, since timers usually have that effect. Would have been nice if there was an option to toggle it though.