Ten Video Games 2010: Vanquish

Coming off an abortive attempt to wring even an ounce of fun out of Fallout: New Vegas, Vanquish was a tonic. Shinji Mikami's latest is about relentless, agitated movement; whether that be a sprint towards your enemy for a full health clash, or a zippy retreat to let your shields recharge. You never sit still. Vanquish is a rock solid recalibration of populist cover mechanics polluted with boss rush gameplay and Japanese mech-suited heroism. Play is essentially just dealing with a series of partitioned, foe heavy arenas. Juggle rocket-man skill sets and on-fly weapon load-outs, whilst harassed by an endless charge of communist robots. Short, and designed specifically for Game+ super-play, Vanquish feels like a heyday Capcom title - Godhand with guns, or PNO3 with cigarettes and dick-man swagger.

I hear there's a 'smoke cigarette' button

Shinji Mikami tackles the West's kink for third-person sticky cover in a typically delirious fashion. Why plod wearily between hide points when you can blast around on your shins, propelled by a portable jet system? Similarly, why yawn a metric tonne of bullets at something gigantic, when you can simply leap onto its sternum and punch its head clean off? Vanquish will be answering these, and lots more difficult questions in October.