The story of Vanquish takes place in the near future. Russia and the United States are vying for ownership of Earths increasingly scarce energy resources. The US has therefore developed a space station to use the suns energy. When the Russians conquer this space station and use the captured solar energy to deliver a devastating blow to San Francisco, the Russian nation forces the US to its knees once and for all. Out of necessity, the Americans mobilize their forces to retake the space station before the Russians set their sights on the next target ... New York.