Hey guys. it's been a while since I've done a blog on anything and I'd thought I'd kickstart it again after playing some pretty awesome games (SONIC ADVENTURE IS A GOOD GAME; SCREW EVERYONE). I'll be starting off with a review of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Enjoy.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Platforms: PlayStation 3 (under review), Xbox 360
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Platinum Games, Kojima Productions
Release Date: February 19, 2013
Genre: Action
It’s no surprise that I am a very huge fan of the Metal Gear games. I literally marathoned through all of the Solids in the summer of 2012 and the experience was unforgettable. I am also a huge fan of Clover and Platinum and have enjoyed their games for years, starting off with the wonderful Viewtiful Joe and recently playing through the high octane Vanquish. Naturally, I would be very excited when Platinum Games gets attached to do an action game based on the Metal Gear Solid series. From the first trailer on, I was beyond excited and even though I never preorder games, I did so instantly with Rising. Was my excitement warranted? I would like to happily confirm it.
As a Metal Gear fan, do not go into this game expecting a deep plot with very large plot twists and conflicts with no true right or wrong. There is not a large emphasis on the plot, but it’s not exactly a bad thing. The story takes place after Guns of the Patriots and follows our sexily haired cyborg ninja, Raiden, now working for PMC Maverick Securities and training smaller nations in arms. A whole lot has changed in the world of military combat, and the use of nanomachine PMCs have dwindled over the years. Instead, cyborgs are used as the main method of combat. Things run smoothly until a mysterious company known as Desperado (who I swear have the biggest smiles in the universe) decides to crash the party and cause havoc. After getting his arm detached like a Lego and given the beating of his life, Raiden is rebuilt as a stronger cyborg and sent to destroy our deadly grinning baddies.
As always, Raiden goes through a phase of doubting and understanding of who he truly is. In the beginning he proclaims he is a helper of the weak and his tool is a means of justice for those who can’t protect themselves. As time goes on, he questions whether he is truly a liberator of the weak or just another man who enjoys killing. This concept is very well done and interesting in the story, but due to the lack of cutscenes (this is a surprising thing to say about MGS), the character’s thoughts aren’t explored as deep as I hoped. In fact, I never really felt a true “rising” for Raiden. The game simply ends without Raiden really finding his true calling and implies there will be a sequel to further explore his character. I am fine with this as long as there is a resolution.
"Don't worry. If you chop off my other arm, I can always use my mouth." |
Having liked Raiden and Rose’s tragic stories in Sons of Liberty, I really fell in love with his character and felt for his inner suffering he had since he was young. His suffering seems to remain to be intact; and with the lack of a proper teacher figure such as Solid Snake, he does not have a true direction to go and has to make most of his resolutions himself. This causes him quite a bit of questioning and at times, he returns to his infamous Jack the Ripper persona, bent on killing and enjoying the blood of his enemies. Again, the Jack the Ripper idea was a smart move to implement, but it didn’t feel explored. Of course, if Platinum plans on expanding him in future games, my worries will be put to rest, but for now, I didn’t feel fulfilled with the resolution on Raiden’s behalf. It simply ended, akin to Metal Gear Solid 2’s ending.
The supporting cast is pretty good. We have Boris, who serves as the game’s Colonel Campbell; Kevin, similar to Naomi and Sigint and giving weapon and military strategies; Courtney, who saves your progress; and Doktor, who upgrades your equipment and is an expert in cyborg technology. You also get a cyborg dog. Yeah, it sounds stupid at first but he surprisingly grows on you. Each of the characters serve their duties properly and add some humorous dialog every once in a while. Although the charm that existed in the Solid games is not as prevalent, they are likeable characters, but they don’t exactly pose the memorable dialog you can quote from a lot of the Solids. I’m sure everyone quotes Otacon’s “Japanese animes”, Big Boss’s ramblings on food and movies, and Solid Snake making fun of Otacon for wetting himself while telling Raiden that it’s okay to visit women’s restrooms, but I can’t really remember many lines that I can exactly deem as memorable.
The character interactions just didn’t feel as great as the ones done by Kojima, but again, they are passable. Heck, even the main bad guy’s interaction with Raiden just felt tacked on and his reveal was more like the villain from a Scooby Doo cartoon than anything properly leading to it. This might be because he was introduced much later in the game, and by that time you’re just focusing on Desperado than the benefactor. I think Desperado themselves would be a much better main villain focus and I loved the idea of Jetstream Sam and thought he should have had more more of a spotlight. Honestly, it would have worked better for Kojima to write the games and characters, but again, the game’s strongpoint is not the story. It’s the gameplay.
This overly wide grin is brought to you by Colgate! Even with the blood splatter, you still can have a lovely smile. |
The game’s main draw is fast paced action and by God does it deliver. Your simple attacks are based on high and low hits, which you can chain into combos. As you defeat bosses, you gain their weapons a la Mega Man, and said secondary weapons compliment the heavy attacks. I personally prefer the staff, which can help deliver quick and heavy blows that can easily up your combo count. As you chain away, you eventually break through enemy shields and are given the option of either chopping away at them with precision or doing a special finishing move. This is where the feature of Blade Mode comes in. Blade Mode is a mechanic that slows down time and lets Raiden slash away at any direction using buttons or the analog stick. This will let you surgically remove limbs from the enemy troops. While you use Blade Mode, you can chop away at a certain point to perform a Zandatsu, which extracts their spinal chords that contain electrolytes. Extracting their tasty robo Gatorade will fill up your entire health meter and get a much larger experience bonus. This was a very smart move by Platinum and making your health replenish so quickly encourages you to be precise in your movements while reducing the stress of looking for health. Zandatsus also allows you to replenish your Blade Mode meter, which runs out during usage (although it can be refilled with combos) and turning into Jack the Ripper.
Later in the game, you gain the persona of Jack the Ripper and with a click of the two analog sticks, you transform into this persona with a cackling laugh. As Jack the Ripper, your damage output becomes ridiculously overpowered and you gain the ability of chopping enemies into shreds. Heck, larger enemies can be taken down with a few simple hits. Of course, the main problem is that since you are tearing through people quicker, your experience gain is a lot lower due to the limited use of the Zandatsu, along with you having to restart your Blade Mode meter after it runs out.
All these tools are nifty, but what enemies are you going against that require this much energy? For the most part, cyborgs. Like you, the enemies are ridiculously strong, yet lack the ability to be a human food processor. As you get further into the game, the enemies get tougher and you go against original cyborgs along with a few familiar faces from Guns of the Patriots, like Geckos and Sliders. You also go against cyborgs with sledgehammers and gorilla-like creatures in the sewers. They may seem hard as first, but as you upgrade your weapons, the difficulty lowers significantly based on your selected perks and blade. If you want a good challenge, go on higher difficulties with lower perks and you will engage in long and fun parries with enemies. The only complaint I have with fighting the enemies is that sometimes you can get stunned after a good chunk of damage.
It slices! It dices! It even cuts through all of your delicious steaks! |
Aside from the straight up sword fighting, stealth is also cleverly implemented into the story. Since this is an action game, Platinum had to be careful on how to implement it without ruining the core of the game and I have to say that the attempt has been a success. You can also have the option of going straight up Zatoichi on enemies, but you can also do very quick stealth kills to either dwindle the enemy number of straight up avoid a fight. With the simple press of the O button, you can silently destroy your foes and implement Zandatsu to gain some bonus experience. Of course, the enemies are not always the brightest and there have been times where I murdered someone right in front of his friend and he didn't seem to notice. Eh, maybe he drank all of the coffee again or maybe it's a glitch. Regardless, it can be quite fun doing these stealth kills and you even have the option of destroying certain environments over unsuspecting enemies. Nothing says hilarity like cutting the support of a bridge to knock the structure over an enemy or even destroying an entire Ferris Wheel over a poor, unlucky man's head.
Metal Gear enthusiasts will get quite a kick from this. |
The gameplay seems very nice, right? But how does it look? Two words. Absolutely gorgeous. When Platinum was approached to make the game, Kojima Pro wanted to make sure that the game ran in 60 frames per second and boy did they deliver. The game runs very fast paced while still looking as smooth as silk. The game models themselves have a great bit of detail to them and after the stunning Metal Gear Solid 4, Revengeance follows through with the same superb art style. The background also looks quite nice, with a good change of scenery. Of course the war torn areas have been around way too much for me to be impressed, but the beaches and the Asian scenery inspired levels look very nice. Heck, even some of the offices look pretty cool. I guess my only complaint is that I wish that the office areas were used a lot less in favor of more lush looking environments. Of course, this can be just my spoiled side speaking, considering how Metal Gear Solid 3's beautiful environments made me so enamored, that I keep begging more of that and less of buildings and offices.
If you aren't as spoiled as I am, you will find some very nice looking environments. And everything looks very smooth with little hiccups. There is slow down every once in a while after a battle, but it's so brief and far few between that it really doesn't ruin the experience. And these slowdowns normally happen during checkpoints when the Codec goes off, so it's not like the combat is affected in any sort of way. Overall, although I could use less office-like environments and sewer levels (thankfully it's very few), everything looks and functions the way it should and lives up to Platinum's level of fantastic looks.The gameplay seems very nice, right? But how does it look? Two words. Absolutely gorgeous. When Platinum was approached to make the game, Kojima Pro wanted to make sure that the game ran in 60 frames per second and boy did they deliver. The game runs very fast paced while still looking as smooth as silk. The game models themselves have a great bit of detail to them and after the stunning Metal Gear Solid 4, Revengeance follows through with the same superb art style. The background also looks quite nice, with a good change of scenery. Of course the war torn areas have been around way too much for me to be impressed, but the beaches and the Asian scenery inspired levels look very nice. Heck, even some of the offices look pretty cool. I guess my only complaint is that I wish that the office areas were used a lot less in favor of more lush looking environments. Of course, this can be just my spoiled side speaking, considering how Metal Gear Solid 3's beautiful environments made me so enamored, that I keep begging more of that and less of buildings and offices.If you aren't as spoiled as I am, you will find some very nice looking environments. And everything looks very smooth with little hiccups. There is slow down every once in a while after a battle, but it's so brief and far few between that it really doesn't ruin the experience. And these slowdowns normally happen during checkpoints when the Codec goes off, so it's not like the combat is affected in any sort of way. Overall, although I could use less office-like environments and sewer levels (thankfully it's very few), everything looks and functions the way it should and lives up to Platinum's level of fantastic looks.If you aren't as spoiled as I am, you will find some very nice looking environments. And everything looks very smooth with little hiccups. There is slow down every once in a while after a battle, but it's so brief and far few between that it really doesn't ruin the experience. And these slowdowns normally happen during checkpoints when the Codec goes off, so it's not like the combat is affected in any sort of way. Overall, although I could use less office-like environments and sewer levels (thankfully it's very few), everything looks and functions the way it should and lives up to Platinum's level of fantastic looks.
High octane murder never looked this cool. |
A lot of people may ask me what makes this game so great and that my previous descriptions may make it sound like a standard hack and slash like God of War or Devil May Cry. Here is what makes Rising such a fantastic game, the hype from the actions that you do. Let me give you an example. In the beginning of the game, you fight Metal Gear RAY, which is bent on destruction. How do you destroy it? You block its massive blade, run up the machine, and cut its limb off. Oh no, it still is alive and starts shooting missiles at you! So you start running up the missiles and give it a severe beating. But wait, its still alive and it throws you on a building. What now? Run down the entire building while it is exploding and missiles are flying past you while fast paced metal is playing. And just as you think you're done, you run down the entire machine and cut it in half. This happens in the first 30 minutes of the game and pales in comparison to the rest of the game. The over the top moments are so ridiculous that it would make Nathan Drake and Dante blush in shame.A lot of people may ask me what makes this game so great and that my previous descriptions may make it sound like a standard hack and slash like God of War or Devil May Cry. Here is what makes Rising such a fantastic game, the hype from the actions that you do. Let me give you an example. In the beginning of the game, you fight Metal Gear RAY, which is bent on destruction. How do you destroy it? You block its massive blade, run up the machine, and cut its limb off. Oh no, it still is alive and starts shooting missiles at you! So you start running up the missiles and give it a severe beating. But wait, its still alive and it throws you on a building. What now? Run down the entire building while it is exploding and missiles are flying past you while fast paced metal is playing. And just as you think you're done, you run down the entire machine and cut it in half. This happens in the first 30 minutes of the game and pales in comparison to the rest of the game. The over the top moments are so ridiculous that it would make Nathan Drake and Dante blush in shame.
This sure beats driving a car! |
There are rarely times that a lot of built attention on a releasing game delivers on your expectations, but Platinum did it. By the final scene, I was sitting there and smiling, with a phenomenal game finished. Yes, the game doesn't pose a deep story that roots in the questioning of right and wrong, memes of our generation, and the question between honor or loyalty to yourself. Yes, the game doesn't have a memorable cast. And yes, Raiden isn't as likable and complete as Sons of Liberty and even Guns of the Patriots. But what the game has is fun. Pure, unfiltered fun. This is an action game that ought to be remembered as something unique. Something indescribably fun. Something wonderful. Many may question a game's direction in story or tone, but with games like these, the smile on your face as you do something over the top and finish the game. It's moments like these. Moments where you finish an overwhelmingly fun game and remember why you enjoy playing games. And Platinum/Clover followed that mantra. Videogames that deliver original, beautiful, unhinged fun. And sometimes, you couldn't ask for more.
There are rarely times that a lot of built attention on a releasing game delivers on your expectations, but Platinum did it. By the final scene, I was sitting there and smiling, with a phenomenal game finished. Yes, the game doesn't pose a deep story that roots in the questioning of right and wrong, memes of our generation, and the question between honor or loyalty to yourself. Yes, the game doesn't have a memorable cast. And yes, Raiden isn't as likable and complete as Sons of Liberty and even Guns of the Patriots. But what the game has is fun. Pure, unfiltered fun. This is an action game that ought to be remembered as something unique. Something indescribably fun. Something wonderful. Many may question a game's direction in story or tone, but with games like these, the smile on your face as you do something over the top and finish the game. It's moments like these. Moments where you finish an overwhelmingly fun game and remember why you enjoy playing games. And Platinum/Clover followed that mantra. Videogames that deliver original, beautiful, unhinged fun. And sometimes, you couldn't ask for more.
The Zandatsu also encourages you to mark specific spots to make sure you can reap as much benefits from your kills. Not only are you motivated to extract spines, but you can also chop off arms from specific enemies to contribute research towards Doktor's new technology. Careful cutting lets you unlock wigs (which have returned from Metal Gear Solid 2), and in terms give you specific perks such as having infinite ammunition and Blade Mode time. All of these perks you gain don't allow you to be absolutely reckless and in terms encourage precise movements and combat. As you keep unlocking more costumes, wigs, and weapon benefits, Raiden gets progressively stronger and earlier enemies and even Geckos become pushovers as you can violently slaughter the incoming masses. The game knows how to reward the player for fighting well and you really start feeling awesome after you do a hundred hit combo with Zandatsus and no damage taken.
If you want to be a master stealth ninja or an unstoppable killing machine, you better learn how to implement your ninja dash and using your other equipment and visor. With you visor, you can scan enemies and civilians and recognize their patterns while setting traps. You can also set traps with a multitude of grenades and for some heavy fire, guns. You get a standard grenade launcher and anti-air missiles, along with smoke grenades and other disabling devices. If you want to go old school, you can also use a cardboard box and a barrel a la Solid Snake and sneak past enemies (though it's not as effective as the MGS games). I would not say that these strategies are 100% effective, but they do work if you want to give it a shot. It certainly does come in handy when you have attempts to rescue civilians for an XP bonus and the good feeling of being a nice and harmless person as you go running around, waving your giant sword, and turning people into delicious fruit salads.
The sound in the game is quite well done and again, the characters all have good voice actors, living up to the Metal Gear games. The enemies all sound fairly well and the standard slashes and cutting are all fine. And just to be extra kind, the classic alert sound still plays whenever you get spotted by enemies. I also do like the little quips Raiden throws when he kills his enemies. Even though he says it the entire game, I never really got tired of his phrases like, "Bulls eye," or his little finishing quips like, "Playtime's over," or "We're done here!" They may be little additions, but I still enjoyed them regardless. And if you are hoping for a replacement of the classic, "SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE," Raiden gets familiar screams when he dies, so that again is a nice little touch (though it gets annoying when you play on harder difficulties and constantly get the same yell when you die).
Collective Consciousness- Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
A Stranger I Remain- Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
It Has to Be This Way- Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
I cannot say how many times I sat there staring at the screen at the amazing action just flying at my face and it compliments the game so well that you never feel it overshadows the combat. Then come the boss battles, which are extremely fast paced and action packed. I dare not spoil what happens, but honestly, the only thing that I can say is that the game made me, normally quiet when I play a game, jump up at one point and shout, "OH CRAP," as I slaughtered masses of opponents. If there is one phrase I can use to describe this game, it's larger than life. Platinum knows how to get people's blood pumping and just awed at the action going on. Want to rip a robot's arm off and beat it to death? Got it! Want to jump in the air and chop a helicopter into bits? Got it! Want to jump in the air, stab an opponent, run up to a car full of enemies, chop it into bits, then run up walls, hide, then take out a staff of pain and deliver pure unfiltered destruction? By all means, you got it. These fights and boss battles are so long and epic that after the entire fight, when I did my finishing blow, I thought to myself, "Wow. This is something."
Thanks for reading.