Metal Gear Rising: Revengence is a polarizing title. Metal Gear purists would cry foul over its pure action elements rather than any stealth that the franchise has perfected. It also stars the surprise protagonist from Metal Gear Solid 2 (Raiden) who was rather whiney and a push over, even if Metal Gear Sold 4 helped his image by turning him into a bad ass, the bad taste still remains. There’s a lot going against Rising, but with Platinum Games at the helm the game seems like it is in good hands.
It’s important to note that while this game may have Metal Gear in the name, it is most certainly not Metal Gear Solid. If you’re expecting the stealth gameplay from the game you’re in for a rude awakening. Rising should be taken on the merits of its own rather than compared to the prior Metal Gear installments.
The demo shows you the basics of how Rising plays, specifically the ‘cut anything’ aspect. With the tap of L1 the game goes into slow motion. When you pull back the right analog stick a line forms to show you exactly where you’re going to cut and all you have to do is let go of the stick and he will swing the sword. Basically it’s the mechanic from the first trailer shown where Raiden is cutting watermelons, only now it’s actually in playable form rather than just a concept. Speaking of watermelons, further along the path there just happened to be a few watermelons on a table. I couldn’t resist the urge to cut them up, which turned out to reveal something very impressive about the game. You can cut things in a very precise manner depending on where YOU want to cut it rather than predetermined places where you can cut. For instance you can cut just a small sliver of the side of the watermelon, or cut it into thirds, halves, etc. It’s rather ridiculous and sort of unneeded, but it’s awesome none-the-less. The whole game isn’t completely based on this system as it has a combo system very similar to one of Platinum Games prior games- Bayonetta.
While it wouldn’t do the game justice to talk about the graphics right now as it really isn’t finished, the game is very stylized. While cutting through enemies you will get prompts every now and then where you can press square and x and the same time which will swing an enemy up into the air while the game goes into slow motion and you cut the enemy up like sushi. Another example while I want to bring up is the helicopter fight towards the end of the demo. Near the end of the fight the helicopter will shoot rockets at you. At this point the game tells you to press R1 (the Ninja Run button). Doing so will have Raiden run towards the rockets and jump on each one to get to the helicopter where you can then proceed to chop up the chopper. The demo ends with a tease when a Metal Gear RAY shows up and the screen cuts to black.
If this game remained cancelled I would’ve been disappointed, because what I played was some of the most over-the-top fun I’ve had in a while. Kojima did well in trusting the game in the capable hands of Platinum Games. If you’re looking to have a lot of fun, then the game is worth checking out when it will be released early 2013.
—
Press Release:
“METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE takes the renowned METAL GEAR franchise into exciting new territory by focusing on delivering an all-new action experience unlike anything that has come before.. Combining world-class development teams at Kojima Productions and PlatinumGames, MGR REVENGEANCE brings two of the world’s most respected teams together with a common goal of providing players with a fresh synergetic experience that combines the best elements of pure action and epic storytelling, all within the expansive MG universe. The game introduces Raiden as the central character; a child soldier transformed into a half-man, half-machine cyborg ninja, equipped with a high-frequency katana blade and a soul fueled by revenge.
In the near future, cyborg technology has become commonplace throughout society. Three years have passed since the collapse of the Patriots system that had been secretly controlling the global power balance from the shadows. However, peace remains elusive. The dissemination of cybernetic technology has triggered instability and conflict as those who control the trade gain increasing power. Furthermore, large ‘Private Military Companies’, or PMC’s, that had been supported and controlled by the Patriots have collapsed, spawning countless rogue entities with origins to larger criminal organizations. These renegade PMCs employing cyborg technology have become increasingly more disruptive shifting policy and power at will. As a member of the peace-keeping PMC ‘Maverick Security’, Raiden lives by the mantra of protecting and saving lives. But as the world plunges further into asymmetric warfare, the only path that leads him forward is rooted in resolving his past, and carving through anything that stands in his way.”
