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| Cyborg Soldiers are so impressed with Raiden's ninja moves they often give him a hand...and a torso. |
If there is one series in all of video games that brings out the fanboy in me it has to be Metal Gear. Back when I was in high school I waited with eager anticipation for the release of Metal Gear Solid and was introduced to something for the first time in video games that I really had never seen before, a game that was so enthralling not only in the technical execution of it's game play but also had a story that was written and presented so well visually that it instantly raised the bar for anything I played after it. The series would continue to deliver in spades with each release and I've been marking out for all things Metal Gear ever since. Sons of the Liberty, the second entry in the Solid series and first on the PS2, of course took it to the next level but was very controversial for it's introduction of a second playable character, Raiden (a.k.a. Jack) early in the story. Many thought he came off as very whiny and a bit too androgynous to the degree of most heroes you would find in a Final Fantasy game. However, I personally didn't mind too much and felt for the story he served his purpose. He would return in Guns of the Patriots, the forth entry, as a half cyborg ninja badass to aid the long time series protagonist Solid Snake and redeem himself from much of his earlier criticisms albeit in a non-playable form. That's where Metal Gear Rising : Revengeance comes into play as an official series spin off developed by Platinum Games, of Bayonetta fame, now with Raiden as the focus of the story and game play And unlike the stealth-centric play style of the previous entries, Revengeance's focus is now on speed, timing, precision, and using Raiden's afore mention ninja badassery to literally cut his foes into a million tiny little pieces.
OK first let's get the story out of the way first, it goes from zero to batshit crazy all within the first ten minutes or so, however crazy story lines and improbably situations are the status quo for the series if you've ever played any of the games. If the plot actually made too much sense it likely wouldn't be considered to be a good Metal Gear game if one at all. Revengeance also doesn't have the longest playtime either, it easily could be completed within about 6-10 hours depending on difficulty so it doesn't waste it's time getting into yet another master thesis on the inherit dangers of the industrialized military complex that makes the world go round. Without spoiling any of the details I will say that even though it was not written by series creator, director, and writer Hideo Kojima (who relegated himself to a producer only role this time around) it seems to fit pretty well into general Metal Gear canon playing off the aftermath and themes present in Guns of the Patriots. The ending likely will leave you scratching your head about question what the hell was happening the whole time but again this is expected with Metal Gear. In terms of game play the switch from stealth action to a Devil May Cry mind evisceration of anything living with flash and style is a surprisingly fresh change of pace. It was hard not to see the updated Raiden in Guns of the Patriots and not yearn for the opportunity to play as the cyborg ninja and want to use his skills to kick everyone's ass. Revengeance gives you that opportunity in spades as you'll be dashing through each story chapter, katana in hand, cutting the limbs off of fellow cyborg soldier in so many ways it almost becomes an art. Actually since your performance is graded on each section of every chapter, you will need to learn to leverage your play style in the fastest, cleanest and most brutal way possible it needs to be like art to score the top grade. Sure that sounds a bit brutal and masochistic but it works, and again these are mostly cyborg soldiers so while you often see blood, you don't really get any guts and it's mostly electronics pouring out of their bodies. Of course what would a Metal Gear game be without insanely designed and clever boss battles, a hallmark of the series as well, and Revengeance, while short on the quantity delivers in this department as well. I wouldn't rate them as being the best in the series by any means but they certainly are pretty fun and play off of the new gameplay style as well. Although a fair warning, the final boss battle sequence the first time around will definitely make you want to throw your controller in frustration if you have not adapted to the precision and timing centric play elements.
Revengeance, like many of it's predecessors, also offers a good dose of supplemental content in terms of additional difficulties, in game collectibles in several forms that correspond to achievements/trophies and unlocks, as well as VR missions that have always offered additional game play outside of the main story. The PS3 version offers some additional and exclusive VR missions for it's platform, however I wouldn't be surprised if they are eventually available on the XBox 360 version given additional character skins and missions are just started to roll out for both platform via DLC. All in all, Revengeance is short, sweet, and brutally to the point with what it is and can be a very fun game to get into, especially if you like to replay a game to the point of becoming a master at it, and for some the game play will certainly offer a little steep in the learning curve as many of the nuances are clearly explained or shown in in-game tutorials. But it's stuff like that you are kind of seeing a bit less of in more and more game nowadays anyways, too much hand holding of the player. It's nice when a game every once and a while presents you with a bit of a challenge and tells you, "Tough luck, figure it out."
Metal Gear Rising : Revengeance is currently available for both the Playstation 3 and XBox 360 consoles. Recommended for fans of Metal Gear, God of War, Devil May Cry, and Bayonetta. A best buy around $30-40 if possible, however series diehards may want to jump on it at full price if they can't wait.
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