The beating heart of the game is Japanese re-imagining of an old-school shooter where the emphasis is on having fun with a gruff protagonist, and where the learning curve and narrative arc is almost non-existent. If you're looking for a game that doesn't even give you a chance to scratch your itchy trigger finger then Vanquish delivers, joyously.

Speaking of triggers, you will technically only be pulling one; though your Battlefield Logic Adaptable Electronic Weapons System (or BLADE, if you will) cannily transforms into any of three weapons at a time, with pickups throughout the missions giving you the opportunity to customise and upgrade your layout. The ordinance is a wonderful mix of rapid-fire machine guns, multi-homing lasers and disk launchers, and there's a pleasingly varied selection of gleaming robotic death-dealers to try them out on. And try them out you will. Whether it's vaulting over cover in slow-motion to blast the head off a charging mech or hijacking a walking gun platform, Vanquish has been built from the ground up to make looking like a hardcore pro a cinch. Thankfully it's intuitive, so that your brain can attempt to register all that's happening on screen; if you really struggle there's always 'casual-auto' mode.

Thanks to the linear mission structure you'll never be out of the action long. The missions are straightforward jaunts from A to B, but the on-rails sections and occasional branching routes are a nice change of pace.

The best part of these brief respites is the chance to admire your surroundings. The vibrant reds of your cannon fodder, the ring-world via Citadel design of the colony and even, more latterly, the lush green of a forest, all make Vanquish visually striking. Even better; despite robot ex-limbs flying past your head as you weave through a hailstorm of bullets and explosions, Vanquish doesn't drop a frame. The HUD is non-intrusive and the overall effect is of a quicksilver moving tapestry of chaos.

Vanquish might feel too clinical however, were not for Platinum Games' offbeat humour. The repartee between Lt. Col. Robert Burns and Sam for example, or the robots dancing to a giant boom-box that transforms into a mini-gun. It's self-reflexive and it works; Gideon's frequent wry smile likely to be mirrored by your own.

Hyper-kinetic and hyper-explosive, Vanquish is that rare beast; a genuine new look at the third person shooter. The narrative is almost completely ridiculous and it's not going to last you longer than 10 hours (including the tactical challenges) but at times the action is breathtaking. Even next to Bayonetta, Vanquish might well be Platinum games' best yet.