PS3 News: Mikami: Vanquish's Hero Was Going To Be A Robot - PS3 News

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Mikami: Vanquish's Hero Was Going To Be A Robot

It's always interesting to look back on a development process, and see just how different a game could've been...

Oh yes, there's a whole lot of brainstorming going on behind the scenes; much of it goes unknown. That is, of course, unless the developer decides to tell us all about it: in Shinji Mikami's last "blog" entry at the Platinum Games site, he gives us a look into the design process behind Vanquish. Astonishingly enough, Sam Gideon didn't exist at one time; in fact, the main character would've been remote controlled by three different pilots who would take turns controlling it from a distance. It's actually quite an intriguing idea:

"The robot would change forms according to the pilot in charge, as each pilot had been specially trained in areas such as shooting, melee, or hover and snipe. This single robot was capable of being battle effective in a variety of situations. I thought we could make something interesting out of how these three different pilots interacted with each other, much like Kamen Rider Den-O. This idea died a quick death early in the project, but personally, I still think the idea has its merits."

In truth, this feels more Japanese in its approach, but it seems Platinum wanted to appeal to a wider audience and hence, the cocky, gruff, wisecracking Sam Gideon. As for Mikami's next project, he isn't sure what he wants to do (although he is collaborating with developer Suda51 on Shadows of the Damned), but he thinks it'll be "completely different from Vanquish." Remember, these guys aren't really into sequels; they want to produce new IPs, so perhaps a Vanquish sequel is out of the question.

But as much as we love fantastic new IPs, we're still hoping for a follow-up. Vanquish was awesome.

Related Game(s): Vanquish

Tags: vanquish, shinji mikami, platinum games

12/13/2010 8:50:51 PM Ben Dutka

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Comments (30 posts)

Snaaaake
Monday, December 13, 2010 @ 9:52:02 PM
Reply

I wonder if he will have a freedom to do whatever he want now that he is under ZeniMax.

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WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, December 13, 2010 @ 9:57:03 PM
Reply

Eh, who cares. Nobody bought it nobody cares.

(not about the article, still a fan of PSXE, just been busy) :)

This old man is goin back to school!
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 12/13/2010 9:57:52 PM

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Snaaaake
Monday, December 13, 2010 @ 10:01:12 PM

Okay World, what's gotten in to you?

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WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, December 13, 2010 @ 10:08:43 PM

Whatcha mean? What'd I do?

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Jawknee
Monday, December 13, 2010 @ 10:13:20 PM

I bought it and thoroughly enjoyed it. :)

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Snaaaake
Monday, December 13, 2010 @ 10:14:57 PM

Ya don't like Vanquish?

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WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, December 13, 2010 @ 10:19:19 PM

Demo made me sigh, but hey I'm loving Splatterhouse so what do I know?

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sunspider13
Monday, December 13, 2010 @ 10:51:55 PM

I got it as well and I thought it rocked. I'm one trophy away from platinum.
Last edited by sunspider13 on 12/13/2010 10:52:21 PM

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WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, December 13, 2010 @ 11:58:09 PM

Oh yeah and my Splatterhouse review is up, short but sweet, all you need to know cuz it's not a big in depth experience ya know?

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MadKatBebop
Monday, December 13, 2010 @ 10:36:33 PM
Reply

To me, Vanquish was one of the most mundane, boring game I have played this year and in a long time. It looks like a lot of fun, but it felt a lot like Halo and MGS with no likable characters and no lasting appeal. I do wish I finished it though, I stopped playing after 2 hours it just felt so tiring.
Last edited by MadKatBebop on 12/13/2010 10:37:25 PM

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WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, December 13, 2010 @ 10:40:31 PM

The game was empty. Which is okay if you are after an empty experience, but when it comes to Mikami you sort of expect substance. And he lacked it in Bayonaise too.

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MadKatBebop
Monday, December 13, 2010 @ 11:12:44 PM

I know right! I was really disappointed on the games turnout.

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Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 @ 12:44:39 AM

...have no idea how anybody can compare that game to Halo or MGS.

It's not about story or characters. It's about nonstop insanity; no title has done that better this year.

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Lawless SXE
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 @ 1:10:50 AM

What Ben said. Vanquish isn't about engaging the player through a top-notch story, with an incredibly deep background and interesting characters. It's about rocket knee-sliding, butt-scooting and thousands upon thousand of bullets coming at you from every direction at every second... Well, that may be overstating things a bit, but you get the picture.
Peace.

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Tim Speed24
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 @ 7:30:43 AM

I guess this game is a Love It or Hate It game.....I loved it and would like to see a follow up. The best part....no multiplayer, yeah!

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Oxvial
Monday, December 13, 2010 @ 10:38:50 PM
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This , the boomerang chick and the robotic dog would be so AWESOME!

Of course after the low sales of Bayonetta on 360 considering the awesome reviews and being that one the lead console , perhaps they don't wanted to be too much wacky this time...still it didn't do really good =/.
Last edited by Oxvial on 12/13/2010 10:42:19 PM

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WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, December 13, 2010 @ 10:41:36 PM
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I do like his idea though. Maybe they can put that in another game that's good.

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Lawless SXE
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 @ 1:08:12 AM

I concur. The idea is solid, and with good implementation could be really unique.
Peace.

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eLLeJuss
Monday, December 13, 2010 @ 11:50:22 PM
Reply

Robocop! :D

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WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, December 13, 2010 @ 11:56:51 PM

SPOILER ALERT for "Dexter" fans:


But I truly enjoyed watching Dexter kill Robocop (peter weller) both great actors.

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Oxvial
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 @ 12:08:58 AM

Sucks so much how he got pwnd that fast,he was more entertaining than Jordan Chase.

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WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 @ 12:13:33 AM

It was unfortunate that Weller didn't have a bigger part, but damn he played it well. Like a real nutcase. I enjoyed watching Chase die and I think Dexter enjoyed watching Lumen do it :)
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 12/14/2010 12:14:34 AM

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Oxvial
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 @ 12:56:13 AM

Weller played his character so well that almost all Quinn haterz started to feel bad about him xD, just watched the final of the season, it was okay not at the level of the first and forth seasons but way better than two and three.

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SolidFantasy
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 @ 1:28:06 AM
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I'm really looking forward to buying this game. It would have been another standard shooter except it has that high octane action maxed out all the time. Plus that slow motion mode that makes it pretty unique.
As always I like to dream about what this game could have been if it were an exclusive. Maybe some more colorful environments?

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johnld
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 @ 4:45:08 AM
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Theres 2 things that bugs me about vanquish, one is that the challenge mode is insanely difficult. Seriously, its the only trophy that keeps me away from a platinum. i figured that its not worth the trouble to get it. i played it and it was a pain. theres no checkpoints, limited ammo, less damage, and it set me up against at least 5 big enemies at the same time that has the ability to kill you with one shot.

the second one is that the character relationships werent fleshed out.

*spoiler warning*
the relationship between sam and the girl kinda bugged me. they never did go pass one liners and such. i think the farthest was when he asked her to go to a bar after the tutorial. all other communication was mission related though. at the end of the game when sam gets caught in that final explosion, her reaction didnt really make sense to me. their relationship seemed purely professional. it didnt give me any implication that there was anything more than that. her reaction to seeing the explosion, breaking down, seem to have came out of nowhere.

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Tim Speed24
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 @ 7:34:21 AM

I agree about the challenge mode.....Yikes, that is one pain in the butt. Not worth the trouble to get the trophy. I liked the idea but not the difficulty.

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MadKatBebop
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 @ 9:39:50 AM

I feel exactly the same way about Star Wars TFU2. Some of the challenges aren't really hard but one challenge in particular just pisses me off, and if you mess up once that's it, and Ive tried that challenge about a hundred times. And I only need one more trophy for platinum (sigh).

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Beamboom
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 @ 10:07:56 AM
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This game is right now on sale of the week at Play, at £17.99. Just mentioning it. :)
I've ordered it of course. However it would be *waaay* cooler if the main character was a robot...!

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Alienange
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 @ 1:06:08 PM
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Should have stuck with the robot idea. Could have almost been a ZoE kinda thing.

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MadPowerBomber
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 @ 11:54:32 PM
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Should'a gone with it. Vanquish is already my favorite non-Transformers Transformers game, this would've just made the nerdglee all the more satisfying.

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