Die Hard with a Revengeance
I’ve been a huge Metal Gear fan for many years now; I’ve played every game and even have the FOX logo tattooed on my shoulder. After the epic events of MGS 4, I was wondering where they could take the series since it seemed to wrap up more or less everything, Snake’s story was over and Raiden was reunited with Rose and discovered he had a son, it seemed a fitting end. But it seems Kojima wasn’t quite finished with Jack the Ripper…
The story takes place 4 years after Guns of the Patriots, Raiden works for a PMC (Private Military Company) working on security mostly when his client is killed by a different PMC and as you would expect, plenty of typical Metal Gear twists, plenty of WTF moments and a lot of speeches about ideologies. I personally enjoyed this extra addition to the Metal Gear story, but it did feel more of a side-story than past games.
Revengeance doesn’t play like any previous MGS game, Raiden is a fully functional cyborg ninja who cuts his enemies at will, ripping out their power units from their chests to recharge and doing crazy things like jumping from missile to missile or running down sides of buildings, it’s fast-paced and off the wall. Platinum Games of Bayonetta fame have done wonders in combining their style of combat in the Metal Gear universe, although the camera can be problematic sometimes during fights or when you attempt to be stealthy.
Yes, you can be stealthy in Revengeance with the standard Metal Gear methods of cardboard boxes and barrels. But mostly the game is focused on defeating enemies in each area and moving on, with a few boss battles thrown into the mix. The MGS games have always had epic and unforgettable boss fights and Rising is no exception, although they are slightly less forgettable than the likes of Psycho Mantis and Sniper Wolf.
The game will take a while for you to get used to, more so if you haven’t played a game like Bayonetta or Devil May Cry before. You can upgrade Raiden with points earned in battle and can make him achieve higher combos, better skills and make his weapons more powerful which will be essential if you dare attempt to tackle the game on the Revengeance difficulty. Combat is incredibly quick and achieving S Ranks is no small feat. Collectables are scattered throughout the game and there are plenty of codec conversations to listen to, perhaps too much even for a Metal Gear game.
Visually, Metal Gear Solid games have always been cinematic experiences and Kojima’s influence can be seen everywhere. The cutscenes are brilliant, the game looks truly amazing and there’s barely any slowdown in the framerate…even when Raiden hacks a huge object into thousands of little pieces. It’s a truly impressive game to look at and shows there’s still plenty of life left in this generation of consoles. Voice-acting from Raiden has had mixed opinions over the years, I wasn’t a huge fan of his in MGS 2 but warmed to him in MGS 4 and in Revengeance he does a good job, but alas I do miss Solid Snake.
The Verdict
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a great addition to the Metal Gear games, Raiden establishes himself as a serious badass. The combat is fast-paced and insane, it’s Metal Gear for sure…but just not as we know it.
