Since the start of its development in 2007, third-person shooter Vanquish has been something of a mystery. Directed by Shinji Mikami (known mainly for the Resident Evil series), the game looks like a Halo or a Gears of War.

Some of the most interesting level design and most dynamic firefights you'll ever experience; The environments are epic and the boost slide is awesome

It's entirely in keeping with Platinum Games' devil-may-care attitude. For years, we've written off Japanese studios when it comes to first- and third-person shooters: always playing catch-up to their American counterparts, never quite delivering.

This game is simply amazing. It takes all the standards of cover based TPS and turns them on their head to create a new experience in a genre that is rapidly becoming driven into the ground.

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+ High-octane action; + Unique take on third-person shooting

+ High-octane action; + Unique take on third-person shooting

Vanquish is the latest effort from Platinum Games, the minds behind Bayonetta . This time they're looking to put a boot up the backside of the third-person cover-shooter genre. How By combining rocket boosting, bullet-time and cover-shootouts that's how.

Boosting around while shooting couldn't be cooler; Excellent cover-based shootouts; Fun start-to-finish

Way too short at under five hours; Too much grey; Not enough boss fights

Vanquish, a game that certainly carries an appropriate name since that is precisely what the player does to many, many enemies. At first, I wasn't entirely sure how to approach this game, but it certainly has some interesting backing.

There was a time, not too long ago, when it was easier to tell certain kinds of stories. In times of war in America during the 20th century, you could get away with any kind of ridiculous, over-the-top narrative as long as the bad guys were Nazis or Russians and you doled out some good old-fashioned...

Crazy cool style; Great speed-altering mechanics; Awesome vistas and set pieces; Well-integrated upgrade system; Cool boss fights

Cheesy plot; dialogue; and VA; No multiplayer

While lacking in the story department, Vanquish is cool to the bone, driven by a number of great gameplay mechanics that make it an absolute treat to play. The cover system works well, as does the seamless weapon upgrade system.

Vanquish is a sci-fi shooter where you take control of DARPA operative Sam Gideon, who has been assigned a mission to battle legions of future-tech enemies using a vast arsenal of weapons.

The evolution of the gaming medium is important nowadays as it seems all too easy for developers/publishers to fall into comfortable formulaic ruts of churning out samey titles that feel more like mods than memorable experiences that stand on their own two digital feet.