Metal Gear Rising Revengeance Hands On
The other week I was lucky enough to score an opportunity to try my hand at Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Yes, we all know it’s a bit of a silly name. Word has put a little red squiggly line under it, used normally to point out an error, but this time there’s a little judgement there. If Clippy was still around he’d smugly put his two cents in “You do know that’s not a word, right?” Stay out of it, Clippy. It was actually a lot of fun.
It’s a substantial move away from previous MGS games, set years after MGS4. The stealth elements the series is so well known for have been gutted out. Diehard fans, understandably, might be put off by this. But what I, as someone with no MGS prior dealings, found when playing Revengeance was lots of fun featuring what is perhaps the best sword I’ve ever used in a game. I’m serious here, folks. Hell, the ones I lovingly crafted in Skyrim would be tossed out without a thought to get my hands on this potent slasher!
It should have its own infomercial because it can cut through just about anything. In fact, the only thing I couldn’t chop suey my way through was cats. Ferris wheels, check. Cars, check. It went through everything like butter.
Very much fitting of the name ‘Revengeance’, everything was completely over the top and ridiculous. One thing that did take some getting used to was something called ‘blade mode’ which is when the beautiful chaos can really unfold. The world slows down and you flick the analogue stick as much as you are humanly able to do and watch as your enemy is sliced and diced into tiny little pieces. And you can play around with it a little bit, depending on how masochistic or how bad a day you had at the office! Did you just want to cut his legs off so he crawls to you, grabbing at your ankles? Or maybe an arm and a leg? Hey, you could even try to do a Zorro if you’re that way inclined.
There are a couple ways you can approach enemies. I charged in guns blazing, or in this case sword hacking through anything or anyone in my way in a mess of flesh and blood. Alternatively, you can use a bit of tactic and, for example, cut down a leg of that Ferris wheel I mentioned earlier and have it topple down on the bad guys. You can manipulate your surroundings to your own advantage. It’s something that’s genuinely a bit of fun and might promote a replay or two if you’re keen enough to explore what other ways you could’ve bulldozed through those enemies!
But chopping cars in half and turning a good dozen men into minced meat was not where the craziness ended. Towards the end of the demo I was jumping from missile to missile to take down a helicopter. Raiden was a little shaky at first but he took it all in his stride. He took to jumping from missile to missile like a child does to a game of leapfrog (In actuality what happened was I got more accustomed to the controls, but that just sounded better).
The combat in this game was, and for good reason, the standout for me. I can easily see unwinding from a hectic day with MGS: Revengeance. Being produced by Kojima Productions and developed by Platinum Games, famous for Bayonetta, there is, as said up above a big shift in the style of the game. It’s an action game through and through. This might appeal to those like me who boot up a stealth game and feel completely out of their element but it’s likely to be a problem for those expecting a more authentic MGS experience. All I can say to those people is try it yourself and take it for what it is. Some bloody good fun.
I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself.
Editor’s note: Save Game would like to thank James, Marketing Co-ordinator at Mindscape Asia Pacific, for providing Rebecca with the opportunity to experience some Metal Gear Rising Revengeance hands on time. We very much appreciate the opportunity and thank him for allowing us access to playable content.