Tip: Highlight text to annotate itX
Many people, including myself, were skeptical about Metal Gear Rising. The Metal Gear series
has always presented itself as tactical espionage action. How will a straight up action game
hold up in this series? And the answer is amazingly well. You can’t even describe
the game with real words, you have to make them up, Revengeance.
Most people were upset having to play as Raiden in MGS2. He was whiney and bratty, and not
Solid Snake. Then after he came back in Guns of the Patriots in his new cyborg ninja ways,
opinions on him greatly changed and people wished they could now play as this new awesome
Raiden. And now, we finally can.
The story is similar to other games in the Metal Gear series. It takes place a couple
years after Metal Gear Solid 4, with those events throwing the world economy into chaos.
Raiden is now working for a private security organization. After some events, he sets out
on not just an assignment but his own personal mission. I don’t want to spoil anything,
because just like Metal Gear, the story is heavy and deep while not getting too preachy.
Because this is a very different game than the others.
The game is straight-up, no joke, no holds bar action. Raiden comes with his trusty High
Frequency Blade that can cut through practically everything. Raiden has a quick attack and
a heavy attack, but he can also enter into blade mode where he can precisely target and
aim his blade strikes. The action is very smooth and rewarding. It does an amazing job
of making you always feel like a super high powered cyborg ninja while also providing
a good challenge and not just mindless action. You will have to be quick but also smart,
as different enemies attack in different ways and you have to target different areas. Sometimes
it will feel grounded and real, then the next has Raiden hopping across incoming missiles.
The levels are mixed up nicely too. Some areas can be completed with stealth, so while this
is an action game, it still holds series staples intact and definitely feels like a Metal Gear
game. There is also a very nice unlock and upgrade system, as killing enemies will earn
you BP that can be used on new attacks, weapons, health and armor. It adds more value and really
increases the replay value. And played here on the PS3, there are VR missions that can
be unlocked by finding terminals within the game. The game is not perfect though, as the
camera can be more than a little wonky at times and some sections feeling cheap more
than challenging, but these problems don’t interfere too much with the overall awesomeness
of the game.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a very impressive game. It is solid, buttery smooth action that
is both deep and accessible while also remaining trademarks to keep it tied to its series.
It will make fans of the series happy and also action game fans satisfied.
