The Metal Gear series is one of tactical espionage action, over-the-top villains, numerous conspiracies, complex but well written storyline and excessively long cut scenes.
2012 marked the 25th anniversary of the stealth-based franchise, and the recently released Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance marks the ninth entry for the main series. The game succeeding 2008’s Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.
Revengeance follows Raiden, the protagonist of Metal Gear Solid: Sons of Liberty, released in 2001, who is newly enhanced as a sword-wielding cyborg.
Revengeance strays from the usual stealth-oriented gameplay and instead plays as a third person hack and slash action/adventure game.
Being a huge fan of the series, I was a bit skeptical to see the series take this radical new direction (not to mention the fact that a completely different developer made the game), but after playing, my worries have been washed away.
The game is frantic, fast and wonderful to play. The quality of gameplay is smooth, fluid and the cutting mechanic works beautifully. Although there were some mild camera issues (specifically when targeting enemies), the gameplay is where Revengeance shines; and it is a breath of fresh air to the series.
The upgrade system is awesome, and as you upgrade, you are able to see yourself become a truly powerful cyborg.
Although it is an absolute blast to play, Revengeance is not without faults. The story is terrible. It was generic, uninteresting and at times, the dialogue was a bit goofy; which is not what I associate with the Metal Gear series.
It does have a few good moments, proving that it could have been more enjoyable, but this game contains easily the worst story in the entire Metal Gear series. This is disappointing since the core “Metal Gear Solid” series has always had an engaging storyline. I managed to beat the game in under 10 hours with mild difficulty and already started a second time.
Despite the short and uninteresting storyline, Revengeance has plenty of content and encourages multiple playthroughs. There are 20 VR missions, which are extra missions that range from more hacking and slashing to actual stealth. You have to find these VR missions in the campaign and cannot get all the upgrades in one run-through.
The missions that you have already unlocked however, carry over to from each playthrough. Also, exclusively to PS3 owners are 30 additional downloadable missions for free through the Playstation™ Store.
Verdict: Overall, Metal Gear Rising is a fine game from Platinum Games. It’s worthy spin-off that has superb gameplay but its story falls short. Fans of the Metal Gear series however, will appreciate the various references to the former titles.
