Prologue.
Vanquish begins in space, on a cylindrical colony known as Providence. This is actually America's 51st state. It was created in order to gather solar energy. The energy that it gathers in its power generation plants is converted into microwaves and beamed down to Earth.
This is where the expected "but" comes in. Someone has taken over Providence and converted its power plants into weapons of mass destruction. The enemy targets San Francisco with a blast of energy from the colony, instantly wiping out 500,000 lives.
Meanwhile, Washington receives a declaration of war from "Russia no Hoshi" (this is either "Planet Russia" or possibly the name for a satellite). Apparently, an organization that recently staged a coup in Russia wants unconditional surrender from America, or they'll attack New York next.
The only person who can save America from this ultimate danger is Burns, a hero who is a veteran of three wars and has received such high awards as the Silver Star. His ship fleet is already in approach of the colony.
The hero of Vanquish, Sam, has been dispatched by DARPA with this fleet. On the surface, his mission is to test out the new type of battle suit, "ARS." However, he's actually been given secret orders.
Little time remains until the attack on New York.
Playing as Sam, you make use of your ARS, or Augmented Reaction Suit. This suit is made of carbon nano tubes and offers the strength of steel in a package as light as air. It was designed to give a single soldier the same attack, movement, strategy, and information processing capabilities as the latest MBTs (a combat tank).
While in your ARS, you'll have access to a variety of weapons. But you'll also find that close range combat, like punches and kicks, are essential attack options here. The magazine notes that these are often reduced to support roles in other games.
The game also includes a boost option. When this is triggered, your speed is greatly increased, allowing you to jump at an enemy in an instant and dash past storms of bullets.
During battle, you'll need to make use of AR Mode, or Augmented Reality Mode. You can trigger this mode only after you've met certain conditions. In AR Mode, your reaction speed becomes much higher. This is reflected in the game by slowing everything else down. In other words, bullet time.
Despite all this power Sam won't be alone in his fight. He'll be accompanied by fellow American soldiers. You'll have to work together with these ally characters, covering one another as you fight your robotic foes.
Are you surprised that we're seeing a second update on Vanquish so quickly? Don't be. The game is already 80% complete and has entered a balance adjustment stage, Mikami revealed to Famitsu. The wait is still going to be a bit long, though, as the game is planned for winter release.
http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/0 ... _prologue/Some older shots.