[4][7][8] Its most important innovation, however, is the aforementioned sliding-boost mechanic that allows the player to slide into and out of cover at high speeds (and in slow motion using AR mode),[8] acting as a defensive escape and an offensive set up, opening up new gameplay possibilities for cover-based shooters and increasing the pace significantly.

[6] The game features a unique end credits rail shooting sequence, depicting faces of staff members on asteroids.

Victor Zaitsev (Marc Worden / Yoshirō Matsumoto), a Russian Star agent, demands the American government to surrender or he will target New York City.

[10] Elizabeth Winters (Lee Meriwether / Orine Fukushima), the President of the United States, sends Lieutenant Colonel Robert Burns (Steve Blum / Teruyuki Tanzawa) to infiltrate the station, along with the Bravo Company, an army of space Marines.

They recruit Sam Gideon (Gideon Emery / Kenichirou Matsuda), a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) soldier equipped with the prototype Augmented Reaction Suit (ARS), a cutting-edge battlesuit outfitted with a vast array of functions, including jet boosters attached to his thighs.

Winters gives classified orders for Sam to rescue scientist Dr. Francois Candide (Benito Martinez / Hitoshi Bifu), whom Zaitsev kidnapped.

Burns tells Sam that he will change the microwave's target to Moscow under Winters' orders, explaining the city's destruction as an "economic stimulus package."

Zaitsev tells Sam that Winters had secretly supported the Order of the Russian Star, but she betrayed them by using the coup as a pretext to declare war on Russia.

Shinji Mikami stated that the game's graphics were partially inspired by Casshern, a 1970s anime series by Tatsunoko Production.

However, while making Vanquish a shooter, Mikami still wanted to maintain Casshern's "feeling of speed", which is the reason he introduced the sliding-boost mechanic.

Mikami has stated that the game is being developed with the PlayStation 3 as its lead platform in an effort to "help avoid dodgy PS3 ports", commenting that it was a "great success.

If pre-ordered from GameStop in North America, the game came with the exclusive "Tri-Weapon" DLC pack[18] that later became available for sale on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network in November 2012.

[citation needed] Zavvi in the UK offered a Limited Edition release which included a statuette of lead protagonist Sam Gideon as a pre-order bonus.

The retail release includes a steelbook and Vanquish, alongside fellow PlatinumGames title Bayonetta, on a single disc, with support for 4K 60fps visuals for PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X users.

[36][37] Many reviewers praised the game's visuals, gameplay,[44] innovation, fast pace, and over-the-top style, though some also criticized its short length, lack of multiplayer, mediocre plot,[31] and corny dialogue.

[48] Elsewhere, The Daily Telegraph gave the Xbox 360 version a score of nine out of ten and called it "a fast-paced, high-octane and resolutely hard-core shooter, which makes no concessions to casual gamers.

Club gave the same console version a B+, calling it "flat-out ridiculous, designed strictly to amuse, not to offer any greater message.

"[49] The Escapist gave the PlayStation 3 version a score of four stars out of five, saying, "All of the trappings are perfectly sound if not extraordinary, and despite one or two incredibly vexing design decisions, Vanquish's combat is blisteringly fast and a genuine pleasure to watch and play when it's going well - but an exercise in maddening frustration when it isn't.

"[35] The Guardian also gave the same console version four stars out of five, saying that it "isn't going to change the face of gaming, but it's impressive to behold, satisfying to play (as long as you're reasonably hardcore) and shot through with humour (look out, for example, for the robots dancing to a ghetto-blaster which transforms into a mobile gun).