Sunday, March 3, 2013

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Review




Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Review


Developer: Platinum Games
Publisher: Kojima Productions
Consoles: PlayStation3, Xbox360
Sales: Speculated around 1.75m
Genre: Japanese RPG, Action, Action-Stealth
Main Character: Raiden
Game Play: 6 hours
Platinum: Attainable (around 12-14 projected hours)



The Mrs. behind the counter asked if I was excited and ready for some more Metal Gear action, replying quickly with “It’s Finally Here!” These were a few of the words that ran from my lips numerous times on the 19th.  I have been following the franchise since the 1998 Metal Gear Solid release.  Indulging into several of the other titles, even going as far as skipping out on family gatherings to allow the time for more exhilarating experiences.  Enjoying plenty from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a loose and at times a very tasteful story to find yourself.......

Knowing that Platinum Games had their hands on a Raiden spin-off, I was ecstatic! At first, it was an amazing feeling knowing that it was just a few more months and I would have more Metal Gear in my hands.  The more I thought about it, the more I became weary about what level of perfection that would be applied on this project.  I furthered my curiosity and learned that Hideo Kojima, the master of Japanese Stealth Espionage Action, was heading the project.  After subduing my mini freak out because a nobody dev company had their hands on a story that had plenty of potential to be of ‘damn fine art’ quality.  I was eventually able to calm my worries without any psychological help. 

Rather than this being the start of a Raiden spin off, it felt a lot more like a specific mission came up that needed only the help of one very determined cyborg.  The story, in itself, was to a level that deserved some amount of appreciation.  It was a Japanese RPG style of cheesy action with a dramatic twist.  The particular dramatic twist that was used, played an interesting tune to my heart.  There was a couple moments where I felt the need to reach out to Jack and guide him through the next maze of obstacles or at the very least help my old friend to his feet. Anything to aid in his efforts to complete his mission.  

Remnant of a Max Payne signature move, Bullet Time, developers PlatinumGames Inc. and Kojima Productions have introduced a cleverly designed game mode that uniquely suits Raiden and many of the other Cyborg’s.  As Raiden, you have the option to slow things down to precisely decide the angle and the number of times you feel is necessary to slice into the foe.  This style of game play is called “Blade Mode.”  While jacking the slice count well into the hundreds, if you enter Blade Mode after injuring them enough, you are shown a sweet spot.  The sweet spot is available to slice into and provide another way to restore your health and fuel cell bars. The best part about successfully cutting into the vitals, you are giving a quick action sequence to allow for Raiden to reach into your foe and rip out his spine, crush it with the tight grip of one hand, and absorb the Electrolytes to restore you gauges to full capacity.  Sounds a bit wild and maybe a little to hard to grasp?  Understandable, but it is an amazing feeling to see Raiden flip around as if this was the one motion he was born to do.  

Why Graphics are always a top priority for gamers. 

Graphics are always looked at and heavily criticized because it is clearly known the talent and the level of skills that can be utilized while making an IP that can literally slice the socks off of the average gamer.  While pealing my eyes from the screen long enough to eat a hot meal cooked and prepared for me, I can distinctively remember pressing pause to freeze Raiden in Mid-Air and Mid-Slice.  Being completely honest, there are times where the frame rate was felt behind where it should have been.  There are also times, that you feel like your controlling the lead roll in a movie.  It makes for an awesome moment when you realize once more that you have been right there controlling him through the entire incident. 

All-In-All, This is a wonderful experience! Please, take my advice and play this title but only fire it up with level headed expectations.  Give Raiden and his Cyborg friends a chance, right before you hack and slash with a sword that I feel I should have on display in my man cave.  There are situations you find yourself in that you may feel you have experienced before.  There are positions you work your Cyborg foes into that force you to believe that you are the only person in the universe that can live through it.  





For These Reasons, I Give Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance an 
8 out of 10 or $45 out of $60

 

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