360

Published on June 7th, 2012 | by Davis Fan

0

[E3 2012] Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Preview

When first unveiled two years ago, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance quickly drew skeptical eyes for absence of Snake, but at the same time resulted in excitement for the two people who liked Raiden (myself included). The most perplexing part of Revengeance may not be the choice of protagonist, but how the game would consolidate its roots as a stealth action game with the tone that a cyborg-ninja Raiden would set for it. From the early build offered at E3, there is definitely a switch in focus, but Hideo Kojima’s long time love for sneaking still survived.

From the get-go, players will see the importance of the new Blade mode as it is introduced. Once activated, they may either flick the right analog stick about or slowly aim it to get a precise cut. While we may remember the exciting possibilities it provided a la watermelon slicing, there are applications already being shown in the demo in the form of soldiers with riot shields. Though that was the most obvious application so far, we can only wait to see how Kojima’s ingenuity and creativity will apply the Blade mode to boss fights and puzzles. Impressively, players can cut at any angle imaginable, making for a feature that is not only technically impressive but enhanced only by the players’ imagination.

Though sneaking will provide an easier avenue for eliminating enemies, Raiden hardly needs to do so. Even if he rushes in, the game has adequate tools so far to defend against groups of enemies, whether it be by staggering them and taking them out one-by-one or a parry that can even withstand a kick from Metal Gear Solid 4’s fearsome gekkos. In the demo alone, Raiden had access to several more moves that made each kill more cinematic than the last, from launching an enemy airborne and slicing them up through the Blade mode to dropping down on and executing enemies.

So far, Platinum Games’ influence has definitely been felt on the game. In particular, the Ninja Walk helps to dwarf any threat from enemies from the demo’s gekko to a (not so) fearsome chopper. Simply by holding a shoulder button and direction, players will direct Raiden to scale falling bridges and incoming missiles with ease. Raiden truly feels like a speed demon, much like the characters in either Bayonetta and Vanquish. Action gamers will undoubtedly be thankful for Platinum Games jumping onboard this project, which gave it the proper direction to truly emulate Raiden as he was in Metal Gear Solid 4.

Being a Raiden fan myself even since te days of Metal Gear Solid 2, I cannot stress how excited I am for this game. Fans will be happy to know that a demo will be included in this year’s release of Zone of the Enders HD Collection. Look out for Revengeance’s release, and my subsequent isolation from society, in early 2013.