Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
As the game series that single-handedly
created the stealth genre, Metal Gear Solid may be a weird choice of video game
franchise to get a hack-and-slash action spin-off at first glance. Despite
this, the over-the-top melodramatic excess of the series ends up lending itself
perfectly to the genre, guided by the capable hands of cult favourite
development studio Platinum.
The first thing to address is the change
in genre. Metal Gear Solid is usually very slow-paced and methodical, as Snake
would need to patiently wait and observe his surroundings before making his
move, with the occasional big action set-piece. As a hack-and-slash game, Metal
Gear Rising reverses the formula, with the majority of the game built around battling
waves of enemies. As far as comparisons to others in the genre go, Metal Gear
Rising feels like the middle ground between Devil May Cry and God of War. While
the former is built around defeating solo enemies or small groups as stylishly
as possible, while the latter focuses on larger-than-life attacks with huge
range and armies of enemies, Metal Gear Rising has mid-sized groups of varying
enemy types. Having to face several types at once means the enemies are very
good at covering each other’s weaknesses, keeping you on the back foot
throughout. Raiden’s fighting style, therefore, is focused on precision. While
battling, he can parry an enemy’s attack, leaving them open to a counterattack,
giving Raiden to opportunity to weaken or kill them and move on to neutralise
the next threat. He also has Blade Mode, an ability that slows down time and
allows him to cut the enemies manually with a flick of the right stick. This
system allows for attacks that sever particular body parts, such as an arm or
leg, knock an enemy’s weapon out of their hands or break their armour, leaving
them open to more fatal damage. Blade Mode is also the key to healing in
battle, by using it to strike enemy weakpoints, allowing Raiden to absorb their
nanomachines and repair himself. Raiden moves and fights very quickly, and you
get an immense sense of power from controlling him, even early on. You’ll need
that power though, as this isn’t an easy game. Flailing about wildly may be
enough to dispatch basic grunts, but you’ll need more finesse to deal with the
tougher, more specialised enemies, and that goes double for the bosses. The
difficulty curve is very well balanced, as although the game is always
challenging, it’s never unfair. This is a game that rewards skill, and you will
need to get good at it to progress. Fortunately, the game mechanics are
intuitive enough that you will learn naturally as you go on. Early on, you
might block enemy attacks, only countering when they stop to rest. Later, you
might get the occasional lucky parry from trying to land a pre-emptive strike
on them. By the end, you’ll have the timing down pat and be deliberately
parrying enemies, as it’s the easiest way of cutting short what could otherwise
be a long and gruelling battle. There’s even a bit of variety in the form of
stealth sections, a tip of the hat to the traditional gameplay of the series.
Again, this takes a faster-paced, more aggressive approach, as stealth is
primarily used to deal with enemies who would call for reinforcements if you
are detected, or to defuse hostage situations with extreme prejudice.
The highlight of any hack-and-slash game
tends to be the boss battles, and Metal Gear Rising is no exception. The bosses
provide more than a match for Raiden, and each has a strategy to help even the
odds in his favour, as well as a niche to make battling them a unique
experience. For example, Sundowner’s battle requires Raiden to use Blade Mode
to cut away his shield, but carefully does it, as reckless cutting will
detonate the bombs on his shield, like a deadly game of Operation. Monsoon is
the traditional Metal Gear mind screw boss, with the ability to split apart
into tiny pieces and reassemble himself, which will require thinking outside
the box to overcome. The final boss brings together everything you’ve learned,
and you’ll need to master all of your skills to achieve victory. The bosses are
where Metal Gear’s eccentricity comes to the fore, with highly theatrical
stunts and philosophical posturing mid-battle. Thanks to the influence of Platinum,
there’s also a bit of anime inspiration this time around in some of the
sequences that choose to ignore the laws of gravity and suspension of disbelief
in favour of going over the top in the name of being exaggeratedly cool, and
rock songs describing the backstory, personality and motivation of each boss as
the battle reaches its climax. Smartly, the most memorable boss battles are the
first and last ones, allowing the game to start and end on a high note. The
former serves as a big, bombastic opening sequence accompanied by the
adrenaline pumping metal scream of RULES OF NATURE that sets out what you can
expect from the game, as well as showing how far Raiden has come since Metal
Gear Solid 2. The latter closes out by taking Metal Gear’s melodramatic wackiness
as far as possible, with each new twist raising the bar higher than previously
thought possible. It certainly leaves an impression.
Metal Gear Solid is known for having one
of the most eccentric and convoluted plots in video games, and some players
might be put off by this, feeling that they need to have played the other games
to get what’s going on. Fortunately, this is not the case, as despite taking
place chronologically later than the rest of the series, Rising is the start of
a new storyline revolving around Raiden, and is fairly self-contained at that.
There is the occasional nod to the events of Metal Gear Solids 2 and 4, but
nothing that unfamiliar players cannot figure out from the context. Because of
this, Metal Gear Rising acts as a good jumping on point for the series, as long
as players remember that the other games play very differently from this one.
Since Metal Gear loves its themes, they’re present and correct in Rising, this
time exploring the acceptance or rejection of one’s past in their present
circumstances, and the determination and drive to achieve your goals. If the
player is interested, Raiden’s codec communication team also provide plenty of
backstory from calling them frequently.
The biggest complaint that I can make is
that the game is pretty short, with only 8 levels. Moreso, the pacing of the
levels is odd, with about half of them around an hour long, and the other half
only lasting 10 to 20 minutes. This is most noticeable with what is built up as
the final level coming half way through, but when you beat it, there are three
more levels which are all much shorter in comparison. Because of this, the
second half of the game feels much shorter and more rushed than the first half,
as if they ran out of development time and had to rush to finish the game.
Having said that, it’s all worth it for the incredible final boss fight. I
don’t want to spoil it, because you need to go in blind if possible for the
best effect, but it is a great way to finish the game.
I can forgive the negatives because,
although the game is short, it’s an absolute blast while it lasts, and hugely
memorable throughout. Metal Gear Rising is a cut above.
Graphics: 9 Very detailed and fluid, the only minor
nitpick is that chopped scenery will sometimes disappear while you’re looking
at it.
Sound: 10 RULES
OF NATURE! AND THEY RUN WHEN THE SUN COMES UP, WITH THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE,
THEY RUN!
Gameplay: 8 Tough but fair. You will need skill to succeed, but that same
skill is rewarded.
Lifespan: 7 Short with weird pacing, but there’s plenty to unlock, and you
will want to replay even if just for fun.
Overall: An unexpected, but hugely
successful genre hop. Hack-and-slash fans owe it to themselves to check this
out, even if they’re not Metal Gear fans. 9/10
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