Oh! Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is brilliant. It’s more Bayonetta than Solid Snake, mind, and with occasional lashings of Vanquish thrown in for good measure, but it’s exactly the refreshing interlude the series has needed for a while. And sure, there’s enough Solid in there to keep the synapses firing – quick, mention PMCs! – and the UI still looks (and pings) like Metal Gear, but Raiden needed only to whip out his hair and don ridiculous boots and the cycle would be complete.
Note that this is from someone who thought the mid-game switcheroo in Metal Gear Solid 2 was probably the single best thing about last generation (apart from Rez, mind – I still love you, Mizuguchi) and I think Raiden’s been a prime candidate for his own dedicated game for some time. Like him (high five) or loathe him (shame on you) his slightly androgynous nature and troubled (he’s still not at ease with his child soldier background) upbringing give him an air of mystery and fragility – and – crucially – let him run absolutely rampant with his katana.
Kojima’s absence from the mechanics is evident, and, yet, most welcome.
This is unashamedly a Platinum game. It’s as far from a traditional Solid game as it could have been without being a first person shooter and yet there are still echoes of previous entries in the franchise. File it under “hack and slash”, then, but rejoice in the fact that this is as much a suitable episode in the saga as you might have hoped. There’ll be those that balk at the thought of this, but they’re missing out on a cool interpretation by a studio not afraid to have some balls.
So whilst the development of Rising might have not been the smoothest ride a game has ever had, since Platinum took over it seems like the new direction has really paid off.
No longer is Metal Gear about hiding in a cardboard box (although you can if you want) and waiting for the ideal moment to shoot a single, silenced tranquiliser bullet (have a rocket instead) – it’s about wanton destruction with a blade capable of slicing up cars and huge Metal Gears (there’s one in the first five minutes of the game) as much as it is heads and arms. Combat takes all of ten minutes to figure out, and from there it’s plain sailing: it’s as if old Snake never really existed.
Don’t gasp.
Of course, this isn’t going to be the MO and SOP for all future ‘Gears. It’s a side project, it’s not labelled as Solid (at least not any more) and it’s very much a one-off. But it’s definitely a Metal Gear game, just one with a twist. A few twists. There’s the hefty increase in pace; there’s the quick time events; there’s the emphasis on structured episodic battles; there’s experience points and shop-like upgrades and – yes – there’s the sword. A quick attack and a heavy one?
That sounds like Platinum, and it feels like Platinum too. Anyone familiar with Bayonetta, God of War and the like will dive right in, but there’s a subtlety in the mechanics here that is only really apparent on the upper difficulty levels. Parrying takes some practice, for example, but mastering that aspect of the game makes you feel like you’re the ultimate ninja. Either that, or shove the game on ‘easy’ and walk your way through the tough spots.
Equally of note is Blade Mode, activated via a trigger and – as the camera shifts instantly to a first person viewpoint – the analog sticks are used to slice and dice with complete freedom. It’s not just a neat visual effect (although it certainly looks good) rather it’s used for precision and accuracy, with certain soldier parts more useful in the upgrade process.
As character driven as Revengeance is (and should be) there’s a plot here that feels tightly stretched over the eight hours or so playtime – it’s far leaner than your average Solid game for sure, despite the odd moment of fluff and padding. Cut-scenes are quicker and less numerous, leading normally and directly (apart from a loading screen) into another set action piece. If Halo’s “thirty seconds of fun” mantra paid off for Bungie, Platinum’s bullet-paced fight/interlude/fight mechanic works just as well here – the pacing is near perfection and whilst it can often feel like an out of control roller-coaster, it’s hard to not be sucked in.
It’s also very pretty. Running at 60fps and with lovely image quality, Platinum understand how to get the most out of a contrast slider and it’s animated brilliantly. There are a few nuances with lip-syncing and close up the detail suffers, but in the midst of an action piece with everything whizzing around so fluidly I’d take speed over texture resolution any day of the week.
Nobody’s saying Rising is perfect, at least from where I’m standing. It’s a clever attempt to take a set of rules and roles and bend them into something else that works to impressive results, but alongside the genre best (and I’d include the aforementioned Platinum titles in that list) it doesn’t quite match up. It’s powerful, explosive and absolutely stacks of fun, but you can’t help feeling that the developers have tried to tick every box, and not just the ones marked “Property of Konami”. Bullet hell, button challenges, endless streams of enemies, screen filling bosses, punctuated pre-rendered movies, stealthy bits. You get the idea.
Something for everyone, perhaps? Perhaps.
Nate
I had to give up on the demo, after I was too cack-handed to beat the dog boss thing. Doesn’t bode well for me and the full game!
Taylor Made
+1 the game is no vanquish
Forrest_01
To be fair to it, it isn’t trying to be – It’s much closer to something like Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden or something similar, just set in the MG universe.
FluBBa
I had a to retry that section almost 10 times before I understood how to parry…
And then I felt the same way I did the first time I understood Ninja Gaiden on the X-Box, the game is hard but very fair, it’s (almost) always your own fault if take a hit or die.
The thing is you have push the analog stick at the same as you push the attack button, you can’t keep the analog stick pushed while pressing the attack button.
The timing is pretty relaxed so once you get the hang of it, it should work well.
Forrest_01
Yep, FluBBa is correct – Once you get the parrying down, things seem much less of a chore & as Al mentioned above, you feel like an absolute badass when you get it right.
Overall, i have only played the one level at eurogamer (possibly the same as the demo), but i thought it was excellent. I have to admit that i haven’t liked a MG game since MGS, but i definitely liked this.
leeroye
Same here, the on screen instructions on how to doge his attacks are not very clear. I had to look up on line how to dodge correctly, but never went back to the game to try it out.
Blair Inglis
Wonderfully written, almost fast-paced article. I can’t wait – I actually like RoboRaiden and ever since MGS4 I’ve wanted to hack and slash some bosses with him.
Forrest_01
I was dubious about it (the game, not the article!), but after playing it at eurogamer, i was sold.
TSBonyman
Not for me, the novelty of hacking everything to pieces ran out of steam by the time i had left the beach at the beginning.
Eldur
I’m excited by this, not because I’m a MGS fan (although I am), but because it’s a Platinum game. If MGR:R is even a patch on Bayonetta then I’ll be a happy, katana wielding camper.
FluBBa
After beating the dog boss in the demo, this game feels like it’s what Ninja Gaiden 3 or DMC should have been (have not played those yet).
60FPS, hard but fair hack ‘n slash, in the Metal Gear universe, what’s not to like?
The Lone Steven
I don’t recognise this as a Metal Gear game but as a cyborg ninja game. I swear that they wanted to do a cyborg ninja game but were unwilling to take the risk thus got the rights to MGS:R. Apparently, they had to reduce the amount of stuff that we can cut otherwise, we could end up cutting the entire game up.
If it turns out to be a good game, i shall pick it up as it sounds like something i would enjoy. I’ll just have to keep reminding myself that stealth is not an option. Am glad that it’s more Bayonetta, then GOW as i just didn’t enjoy the GOW games but loved Bayonetta.
Wonder if the ending will be 5 hours long to make up for the lack of long cutscenes, that can cause you to play the game for a few more hours because you want to stop but can’t as you don’t want to waste the last few hours due to not saving? :P
stage1
Will be saving my money for Ground Zero. The demo for this was pretty awful.
Deathbrin
“It’s more Bayonetta than Solid Snake, mind, and with occasional lashings of Vanquish thrown in for good measure”
Sounds about right, i’ve felt from the demo it’s something like all their games at once, with a recognizable chainsaw from Anarchy Reigns appearing as well.
First thing i did was slice the stairs -.-
hazelam
i did that, and i nearly got stuck right at the start of the demo, i got a little slice happy and cut down nearly all the platforms leading off the beach.
i only realised as i started cutting down the last one, i left myself with a just about jumpable gap.
one thing bothers me though, the sword can cut through almost anything, but why does the sword still go through stuff it can’t cut? it just doesn’t damage it.
it really should bounce off shouldn’t it?
Enzo DeGregorio
I like that this game is taking a new direction for the series (though I’m still more excited to play Ground Zeroes) and I very much enjoyed the demo, but I don’t know if I can justify spending £35 on this with only 6-8 hours playtime.