Keep Calm and Cut at Will

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance 
(2013)
Developed by: Konami
Platform: Playstation 3 and X-box 360

OK, so before we kick this off, I want to make it crystal clear that this is a completely stand-alone title in Konami and Kojima's beloved Metal Gear series. A lot of people got a bit annoyed because it was a Metal Gear game which didn't have Snake, probably because at the end of MGS4, Snake shuffled off his mortal coil in quite spectacular fashion (I am actually thinking of the getting a PS3 solely for MGS4, which I know is a little on the sad side). The end of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty saw Snake handing over his legacy place as the hero to Raiden, the young Foxhound who a lot of people either loved or preferred to put on the receiving end of a ballistic missile. Either way, Raiden returns in this new game, older (albeit not that much wiser) and with some kick ass new toys to play with.

Once the game loaded, I had to mess around on the tutorial levels (admittedly after playing the short demo that came on X-box live) for a bit to try and get my hands around the rather interesting control system (at first it does admittedly feel a bit clumsy and awkward to get to grips with, but after about 10 minutes you are ready to go for the main story). The novelty of being able to chop everything does take a while to get old, purely because you actually want to test the theory and the general boundaries to see what you can realistically hack to pieces (anything from simple objects to bigger things like bridges or other parts of the environment) before remembering why you're there in the first place: to hack up PMC Cyborgs and steal the blue squishy electrolyte cells inside them as well as exploring a well thought out storyline which evokes memories of a past that Raiden would have preferred to have wiped clean.

The story was unusually good for a spin off, which came as a pleasant surprise. Starting with Raiden working to protect a dignitary and being introduced to rival Jetstream Sam and his rather unusual band of cyborg friends. After a battle resulting in the loss of an arm and an eye, Raiden comes back 3 weeks later in a new and more powerful body and a new fighting style that sets the tone for the rest of the game. The new idea of "Zandatsu" (literally meaning cut and take) is both as innovative and clever as it is fun to use. By entering "Blade Mode" you are free to either use the buttons or analogue stick to let loose a barrage of attacks to chop things in to little tiny pieces.

The game is backed up with fantastic visuals and a brilliant "Nu-Metal" soundtrack which both compliments the game and makes it all the more appealing to certain members of the target audience. The only thing that really got to me was the frequent swearing from characters which was never seen in any Metal Gear title but this could easily be overlooked, also, the game is relatively short and I managed to power through it within a few hours, but there seems to be scope for a sequel (as well as a demand for it in the future) so watch this space!

Overall Score: 9/10
Fantastic game with a powerful soundtrack, stunning visuals. Worthy of it's place within the Metal Gear franchise. Come on Kojima Productions, impress us some more with another installment! As for anyone else, don't knock it until you try it, this game makes up for the lack of a Snake character by packing a completely different punch!

Happy Gaming!
-SIN-