Taking place several
years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 4, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
allows players to take the role of Raiden for a change. His emergence marks
a distinct change from the brooding Solid Snake and his stealthy style. The
game takes a different approach almost immediately, with a brutal initial
boss encounter that shows the character’s limits and flaws while also
showing his potential in combat. Most of the stealth action, extended
cinematic sequences and lectures players have come to expect from the series
have been scaled-back to focus on the action. It’s not an entirely
unexpected approach, given that the developers from Platinum Games have
built their reputation on titles like Bayonetta, but one that makes the
latest game in this long-running franchise feel different from previous
installments. There’s definitely a more kinetic style this time around and
it makes the game more exciting and accessible for new players, though
veterans might miss the more cerebral style of the MGS series. It’s a
trade-off that seems to have been made a nd while its not entirely a new
game, it does contain some fresh ideas. There are definitely some memorable
moments that come unexpectedly and make you feel like you’re in a different
time. However, there’s enough that carries over from previous installments
and that the game successfully breaks new ground while staying somewhat
consistent with the long-running mythology. One of the biggest differences
between Revengeance and the usual MGS mechanics is evident right away in it
combat style.
As most players are probably aware, Raiden’s main form of attack lies in his
sword which he can use to slash any enemies nearby. He can also use it to
cut open other items such as boxes and cases to uncover hidden items.
Slicing through opponents isn’t that difficult, you simply press the button
and the sword flies through opponents quickly. Using this technique allows
you to inflict a lot of damage quickly. He has two basic attacks, a sideways
motion and a horizontal slash, which players can toggle between to create
combos for maximum effectiveness. Most of the standard opponents take
several attacks to defeat, but you can hasten their end by quickly slashing
them at close range. This leaves you vulnerable to attack, but allows you to
inflict plenty of damage from this mode. Once you’ve gotten the basic moves
down, you can then switch to free-range mode where you can cut enemies down
in a free-flowing fashion, giving you the ability to alternate attacks
quicker with more precision, inflicting even more damage. The controls are
fairly easy to get the hang of and the extended tutorials and trademark VR
missions will help most players sharpen their skills effortlessly. Its
definitely not something you want to spend to much time on, but learning how
to maneuver your blade effectively will aid your progress during the main
game. The system is quite good and fairly intuitive, allowing you plenty of
freedom without becoming confusing or directionless.
This gives the player much more freedom and helps to give Revengeance a
unique feel. In this mode, you can attack foes in a variety of ways and
effectively take control of his blade with your hands.
This opens up the combat structure
in significant ways, making the action occur at a frenetic pace as you
furiously attack opponents. When they counter attack you can respond in two
different ways. At some points, they’ll pummel you relentlessly if you stay
in one place, quickly cutting down your life gauge. The first strategy is to
get out of their way. You can use his ninja run mode to quickly escape their
attacks. You simply press the shift button and run, from them quickly. This
helps Raiden escape danger and allows you to regroup, or collect power-ups
nearby. As you gain more proficiency with the controls, you can also learn
to use the parry technique. Here, you only need to press down on the analog
stick in the same direction, which both deflects their attack, and stuns
then briefly. Using this opportunity, you can damage them and get away. Most
enemies are fairly smart and won’t go down easily. Most opponents take
several attacks to beat and can usually be finished off by a succession of
standard moves. Players will also find a variety of extra weapons such as
grenade launchers and missiles that they can use. These can be equipped on
the menu quickly and can effectively damage an opponent. Most of these
secondary weapons are single-use only and while they give you an advantage
in battle, they usually aren’t the decisive factor.
The exception to this rule comes when you can sneak up behind them and
finish them off instantly. It’s a fairly simple move that’s reminiscent of
other MGS titles, you basically walk up to them slowly and slash them from
behind once your stealth indicator appears. This is a highly effective way
of clearing out some of the enemies before you engage in the main battle.
However, this usually alerts other nearby opponents of your presence, so you
can only use it once or twice in most areas. This gives Revengeance a
different feel than most other titles, with a much stronger emphasis placed
on combat and cutting combat. Another change in the basic mechanics comes
when you reach the extended boss battles or encounters with the smaller
Metal Gears during the missions. These battles can become long struggles of
endurance and skill. You usually need to find the foes’ weak points and
pummel them and avoid their attacks, which can be tricky to uncover. Most
players shouldn’t have much trouble once they get the conventions down, it’s
just a matter of endurance and execution. These battles also bring forth a
different play mechanic. When you’ve beaten an opponent down enough, they’ll
become dazed for a moment. At these points, the game changes into quick0time
events where you have to press a button at a certain point. These timed
sequences take you out of the action a bit, but allow the game to show some
fairly dramatic finishing move sequences. Once you’ve gotten their damage
gauge down a bit, you can then perform a finishing move and slice them open.
When they fall, most enemies leave behind nano that you can integrate into
Raiden’s suit, giving him a quick health boost or the nano-paste which
upgrades your abilities. This system works fairly well and gives players an
excellent sense of risk and reward. You definitely take a chance with every
encounter and a few mis-steps can mean significant damage. However,
defeating them allows you to quickly recharge your energy and upgrade your
suit with the nano-paste modules.
His
suit gives him some other special abilities such as the inclusion of
augmented reality, which aids him in locating hidden enemies. This allows
him to see their heat signatures behind walls and other objects. Its quite
an advanced suit and looks technically cool and futuristic in the style
Kojima fans have become used to. Keeping track of all of this technology
he’s embedded with is a fairly simple task. You pull up your inventory at
almost any point, using the d-pad to scroll through and equip various items
instantly. It’s fairly similar to the system used in previous MGS titles,
though it seems a bit more streamlined this time. This is mostly useful
during standard combat sequences, since the action during boss battles
doesn’t give you enough time to really think about this. The game’s
structure isn’t as convoluted with the combat unfolding in fairly linear
fashion, you won’t be doing a lot of backtracking or making many side-quests
during your missions. What’s most interesting about this approach is how it
effectively melds the traditional MGS approach with a more straight-forward
action title. You aren’t spending a lot of time listening for hints on your
radio, and you don’t have to map out levels in advance. Each section of the
game is surprisingly compact as well, which confines the action into your
immediate surroundings. It helps to sharpen the game’s overall focus. While
it’s not as ponderous as one would expect, there are still some interesting
plot points and background that should please long-running MGS fans.
Revengeance’s action sequences are fairly good for the most part and the
graphics engine performs well. There’s a decent level of detail in the
design, rendering and movement of most objects. However, there are a few
camera glitches that occur occasionally, which is especially annoying when
you’re against multiple foes and cannot escape their clutches. This causes
needless and frustrating choke-points where the game seems to become stuck
in itself. It’s frustrating to see these annoying points occur when the rest
of the design feels so polished and sophisticated otherwise.
Despite these glitches and technical problems, this is still one of the
best-looking current generation games on the market. It’s lush environments
and beautifully rendered set-pieces give it a sleek look that few titles can
match, It’s elaborate cut-scenes and excellent cinematics give it a flourish
and style players will probably enjoy. It definitely has the classic MGS
look down to a science with its militaristic genre and weapons showing the
now famous attention to detail. The game’s overall design is coherent
throughout and players will probably find many of the new characters,
enemies and bosses to live up to the MGS legacy. Some of the boss encounters
are absolutely epic as well, dragging on for many exciting minutes. The
game’s overall pacing is superb as well, taking players from standard
battles to epic confrontations at a good clip throughout. You can see the
game’s design begin to unfold as it gradually introduces its unique slicing
and slashing play mechanics to the player, which gives the game’s elaborate
combat sequences a fresh appeal that the more ponderous stealth games
lacked. There is a tradeoff to be made and the storyline isn’t as deep or
interesting as some of the previous games. They’ve done a good job of
bringing Raiden to life, but the foes he faces aren’t that interesting in
many ways. Still, there are plenty of memorable moments in Metal Gear
Rising: Revengeance that make it well worth playing.
- Michael Palisano
