16) Vanquish (2010)

Video games, as a medium, can be used as vehicles for amazing, compelling stories. Creators have the chance to tell deep, meaningful tales that explore a wide range of themes, whether it be deeply personal narratives or broad, sweeping topics. By nature of being interactive, video games can allow for a more nuanced approach, forcing the player to make tough decisions and question their beliefs and morality. The best among them will leave the player with a sense of personal growth and allow a period of deep reflection by the time the credits roll.

Vanquish is not this type of game.

Set in the excessively vague time frame of the near future, the story opens with the Russian government, overtaken by a militant group known as the Order of the Russian Star, capturing the US space colony, SC-01 Providence. They use the colony's solar powered microwave transmitter, designed as an alternative power source, as a weapon to completely decimate the city of San Francisco. Victor Zaitsev, a Russian Star agent, demands the American government surrender, lest they target New York next.

The player assumes the role of Sam Gideon, a DARPA soldier equipped with an Augmented Reaction Suit (ARS) prototype. The suit comes equipped with a Battlefield Logic Adaptable Electronic Weapon System, abbreviated as BLADE because it sounds cool, which can scan weapons and transform into them, along with jet boosters attached to the wearer's thighs. All of this is use to explain why you can use enemy weapons and slide around the battlefield on your knees as though you're performing a particularly sick guitar riff. It's up to Sam, along with Lieutenant Colonel Robert Burns and his group of very expendable space Marines to infiltrate Providence and rescue scientist Dr. Francois Candide.

If that plot seems complex, don't worry, because the game certainly doesn't. The paper thin story, along with the incredibly shallow and over the top characters, exist solely as an excuse for you to slide around from different points of cover while mowing down wave after wave of enemies. There are some incredibly obvious twists and turns that, if you bother to think about for too long, make absolutely no sense. Luckily, the developers knew exactly what kind of game they were making, and you get thrown from one action set piece to another before you have time to question things.

Thankfully, what it lacks in plot or nuance, Vanquish more than makes up for with its gameplay. If we imagine video game design as adjusting a series of sliders, then the plot slider would be at zero, while the action slider would be cranked well beyond whatever arbitrary limit this metaphorical slider would have at its upper limit. The movement and shooting are refined to near perfection, and its a genuine joy to power slide around the battlefield wreaking havoc. It's a fun to move around, and when you take damage or struggle in combat, it feels like a fair failing of your skills.

Vanquish can best be compared to a mindless action movie. The action, music, and effects are all top notch, and the writers and actors show up more to get their check than anything else. I imagine that Steve Blum, who voices the Lieutenant Colonel, was told to give his most over the top performance. When asked how big and cliche to go, the voice director probably just said yes. As for our protagonist, Sam Gideon may as well have been a cardboard cutout that spouts snarky one liners. A fun game to play while watching the cutscenes is to count the number of times Gideon casually lights a cigarette only to flick it away having smoked none of it. It's almost as if it's a form of punctuation to him, and I'd almost recommend making it a drinking game if not for the risk of alcohol poisoning.

That said, the developers absolutely knew the game they were making. The plot's enjoyable in a very tongue in cheek way. While you can breeze through the experience in a handful of hours, the gameplay certainly encourages repeat playthroughs on the higher difficulties. Its the kind of game you either have a really solid weekend with, or you deep dive into, mastering its finely tuned mechanics. Vanquish, I feel, is the definition of a video game that's here for a good time, not a long time. While I certainly don't regret my time with it, I can say that I remember little else outside of the cheesy plot and the badass feeling the gameplay provides.