Animation never fails to grab my attention. Whether it be in a film or video game, smooth, clean animation is a thing of beauty that never fails to impress me. Detailed animation made Prince of Persia (2008) one of the most enjoyable games I ever played, it gave us the most vibrant and endearing Link in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and it made Mario's leaps and bounds in Super Mario 64 endlessly entertaining in and of themselves. As you could gather from the comparisons provided, quality animation is part and parcel of an avatar with a huge range of actions and ways in which to traverse an environment. The lovelier a character moves in a game will more often than not indicate a larger assortment of moves and abilities in which to exploit. Animation leads to expression, and expression benefits movement, and when it's fun to simply move around in a game world you know you're playing a great video game. Mario in Super Mario 64 has always struck me as one of the most perfect renditions of a video game hero. Platforms can, more often than not, be approached in numerous different ways. One player may choose Mario's triple jump and give themselves a huge run up to the platform in order to land it, another may side-flip onto a wall and wall jump the remaining distance, and others may be inclined towards bouncing off an enemy in order to prolong their leap. Mario's yelps and cries match his athletic bounces and the animation lends a tactile sensation to all of his actions. It feels real because it looks real... or at least as real as it could be if someone with Mario's agility did exist.
Playing Sam Gideon in Vanquish is much like the sheer, exuberant joy felt when controlling Mario in Super Mario 64. Nestled inside of an advanced robotic suit, Sam moves at a blistering pace and quivers with detailed animations. His combat roll is complemented by a subtle motion blur and is sped up just a little in order to give a solid, punchy feel. He has numerous different idle animations bunkered behind cover depending on how big the wall is, with my favourite being when he practically lies down on the floor behind a small step. Braced against cover also gives the player the opportunity to embrace Vanquish's most excessive, and charming, animated flourish. A light tap of the left shoulder button makes Sam take a quick drag on a cigarette before lightly tossing it over his back. It sometimes distracts enemies but, let's not kid ourselves, it's primarily there to look cool. Outside of the manic, lightning fast gameplay is a very “Hoo-RAH” military shooter and Sam's cigarette toss adds immeasurable, cocky attitude.
And then there's the slide mechanic. Dropping down to his knees, Sam can boost across the environment at an incredible clip, avoiding gunfire and engaging in combat wherever the situation demands it. The slide is the central mechanic in which all other aspects of Sam's movement feed off of. In defence, it's used to quickly and easily switch cover points should you find yourself overrun by enemies, and lets you effortlessly avoid a swarm of missile fire. Offensively, the slide can be used to loop around your opponents while maintaining a clear line of sight on them at all times, unloading clip after clip as they hopelessly turn around to face you. A confident player can use the technique to deliver the final bursts of gunfire on a robot before barreling towards them and send them flying off with a sharp, powerful kick. All of these actions feel great and chunky, but the detailed animation really sells the motion. Sam exits out of the slide by flipping onto his back, spinning about, and hopping back up onto his feet much like a breakdancer. The thumping power of physical attacks is conveyed as much from animation as it is the enemy's reaction. Sam's kick is emphasised by the delay of the attack, the momentary shockwave that bursts from the hit, the scant frames of slow down, and the eventual pay off of seeing an enemy rocketing off into the distance from a massive explosion. Even the game's use of grenades emphasises excessive, character-building animation – Sam leaps into the air and tosses the thing like a quarterback, and shooting the grenade as it reaches a specific trajectory is much more effective than simply waiting for it to land and eventually detonate.
In Vanquish, Shinji Mikami captures the beats and flow of Japanese animation - the delayed reaction, the dramatic poses, and the bursts of fluid movement are all there and instantly noticeable. So much time and effort was poured into an expressive, fluid character that simply moving Sam about is satisfying in and of itself. I don't get that feeling often from a game. Animation is all about conveying weight, response, delay, and heightened reactions and yet so many developers feel content depicting “realistic” animation and avoiding its inherent strength. Sam Gideon tells so much about his character through the way he moves and I can't help but think it's an avenue of expression that ideally suits the video game medium.
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