metal gear rising: revengence
Developer: Platinum Games
Publisher: Konami
Release date: 22/02/2013
Format: PS3/XBOX360
Some of the ideas they proposed, I was originally opposed to them, for example there's a scene where Raiden throws Metal Gear Ray up into the air and I thought 'there's no way, this is ridiculous.” For me, this quote from Hideo Kojima tells you everything you need to know about Metal Gear Rising. From the opening few levels, to the climatic ending, Rising is a game stuck in a tug-of-war, with Platinum Games on one end, fighting for a new universe for one of their eccentric hack n slash titles, and on the other, Kojima, pulling with all his might to keep things in line with his treasured universe.
Initially, I thought Metal Gear Rising would be the perfect game for me, taking my favourite game series and character, along with one of my favourite genres, and merging them into one. In the end, Rising falls short of that expectation, but still hangs in there as one of the best hack n slashers on PS3.
The premise of Rising is that you control Raiden, in a much strengthened form from his MGS4 counterpart. Remember the Gekko fight in MGS4? Remember the epic battle between Raiden and Vamp? Well, this game is all about letting you play out similar scenes. And that’s all it really ends up being. Sadly, as mentioned in the tug-of-war previously, Rising is essentially proof that the phrase; “A camel is a horse designed by committee” has a lot of truth to it. On one side, you have Kojima trying his best to add to Raiden’s character, send out a message to us all about the way we ignore killing in video games, and tell a deep and interesting story. On the other hand, you have Platinum Games, who are only interested in giving Raiden as many backdrops and enemies to slice up as possible (although it has to be said, they sure know how to slice things up!) Because of this, Rising’s story is absolute nonsense. Platinum totally misunderstood what makes Metal Gear games great. The story is poorly explained, totally unbelievable (and not in a Kojima way, it just doesn’t make sense) and doesn’t have any weight to it. How did this terrorist group get access to Metal Gear Rays to pile onto Raiden?How did almost the entire world turn into cyborgs? And most bafflingly of all, what was that laughable ending all about? Kojima does intervene a few times, bringing a genuinely thought provoking theme on the morale’s behind killing in video games, but its soon tamped out by Platinum’s love of sword play.
Publisher: Konami
Release date: 22/02/2013
Format: PS3/XBOX360
Some of the ideas they proposed, I was originally opposed to them, for example there's a scene where Raiden throws Metal Gear Ray up into the air and I thought 'there's no way, this is ridiculous.” For me, this quote from Hideo Kojima tells you everything you need to know about Metal Gear Rising. From the opening few levels, to the climatic ending, Rising is a game stuck in a tug-of-war, with Platinum Games on one end, fighting for a new universe for one of their eccentric hack n slash titles, and on the other, Kojima, pulling with all his might to keep things in line with his treasured universe.
Initially, I thought Metal Gear Rising would be the perfect game for me, taking my favourite game series and character, along with one of my favourite genres, and merging them into one. In the end, Rising falls short of that expectation, but still hangs in there as one of the best hack n slashers on PS3.
The premise of Rising is that you control Raiden, in a much strengthened form from his MGS4 counterpart. Remember the Gekko fight in MGS4? Remember the epic battle between Raiden and Vamp? Well, this game is all about letting you play out similar scenes. And that’s all it really ends up being. Sadly, as mentioned in the tug-of-war previously, Rising is essentially proof that the phrase; “A camel is a horse designed by committee” has a lot of truth to it. On one side, you have Kojima trying his best to add to Raiden’s character, send out a message to us all about the way we ignore killing in video games, and tell a deep and interesting story. On the other hand, you have Platinum Games, who are only interested in giving Raiden as many backdrops and enemies to slice up as possible (although it has to be said, they sure know how to slice things up!) Because of this, Rising’s story is absolute nonsense. Platinum totally misunderstood what makes Metal Gear games great. The story is poorly explained, totally unbelievable (and not in a Kojima way, it just doesn’t make sense) and doesn’t have any weight to it. How did this terrorist group get access to Metal Gear Rays to pile onto Raiden?How did almost the entire world turn into cyborgs? And most bafflingly of all, what was that laughable ending all about? Kojima does intervene a few times, bringing a genuinely thought provoking theme on the morale’s behind killing in video games, but its soon tamped out by Platinum’s love of sword play.
So, the story is a right off, and is better of ignored by Metal Gear fans. But what about the combat? Well, it’s outstanding. Absolutely outstanding! It is here that Platinum excel, giving the player unprecedented control of the flow of Raiden’s sword and body movements. It is without a doubt one of the most hardcore and exquisite combat systems of this generation, all running at a smooth 60 frames per second. Kojima has had his influence here too, and Rising excels because of it. Due to him wanting Raiden to only use a katana throughout the game; his beloved weapon has been given one of the most comprehensive and intelligent move sets in any game. Although three other weapons are eventually introduced (a long spear, “get over here” style sai, and a heavy hitting double machete) it is possible to complete the game without ever using them, which I chose to do on my first playthrough. It has to be said, although useful, since the other weapons take the place of your heavy attack button, they can sometimes detract from the flow of solely using the katana. This of course doesn’t take anything away from the game, as the Raiden’s main weapon is both useful and interesting enough to hold your interest and deal with any kind of enemy. The blocking/parrying system is also the most skilful and challenging in any game, which is a major plus point.
Another place the game shines is its boss battles, which are just about the best you’ll find on PS3. From the initial Metal Gear Ray fight, to samurai on samurai style duels, it’s all executed with the perfect balance of fairness, difficulty and fun. The soundtracks rock
too. Most characters have a good personality as well, although only Jetstream Sam, and maybe even Sun Downer are truly memorable.
However, there a few points that let this game down. The cutting mechanic, although incredibly satisfying and precise, is never used
outside of combat. That means no chopping down bridges etc to kill enemies, and even if you try this, the enemies are not programmed to react to it, therefore taking no damage and not even acknowledging the destruction. The environments have virtually no detail, although this was the sacrifice made to keep the frame rate at a solid 60 throughout. The stealth sections are rubbish, and feel tacked on, and a few of the setpieces seem unnaturally difficult. The number of times I dies running over a bridge in an early level was laughable.
All in all, Metal Gear Rising boasts a smart enough combat engine that outweighs its many flaws. Metal Gear fans won’t get anything from the story, and in all honestly, are better off ignoring it completely. However, fans of the original Devil May Cry games, Ninja Gaiden, and Bayonetta are in for a treat. Rising can now be considered number one when it comes to technical combat games, and no ridiculous Platinum story can take that away from it.
Jack Gillespie 8/10
Another place the game shines is its boss battles, which are just about the best you’ll find on PS3. From the initial Metal Gear Ray fight, to samurai on samurai style duels, it’s all executed with the perfect balance of fairness, difficulty and fun. The soundtracks rock
too. Most characters have a good personality as well, although only Jetstream Sam, and maybe even Sun Downer are truly memorable.
However, there a few points that let this game down. The cutting mechanic, although incredibly satisfying and precise, is never used
outside of combat. That means no chopping down bridges etc to kill enemies, and even if you try this, the enemies are not programmed to react to it, therefore taking no damage and not even acknowledging the destruction. The environments have virtually no detail, although this was the sacrifice made to keep the frame rate at a solid 60 throughout. The stealth sections are rubbish, and feel tacked on, and a few of the setpieces seem unnaturally difficult. The number of times I dies running over a bridge in an early level was laughable.
All in all, Metal Gear Rising boasts a smart enough combat engine that outweighs its many flaws. Metal Gear fans won’t get anything from the story, and in all honestly, are better off ignoring it completely. However, fans of the original Devil May Cry games, Ninja Gaiden, and Bayonetta are in for a treat. Rising can now be considered number one when it comes to technical combat games, and no ridiculous Platinum story can take that away from it.
Jack Gillespie 8/10
