PS3 Review: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Metal Gear Solid 4 

PlatinumGames was an inspired choice of developer to help Konami save Metal Gear Rising from development hell. Creators of some of this generation's most revered action games, the studio seemed an obvious fit for a hack and slash spin-off staring the cyborg ninja, Raiden. But what have they brought to the Metal Gear series besides a painful subtitle? Read on to find out.

Combat is what Platinum is best known for, and this aspect of Revengeance is compelling, if simplistic. Lacking either a block or a decent evade move, Raiden is reliant on parries to deal with oncoming attacks. This forces defensive play where you might have expected something more aggressive, but works well once you get into the rhythm. Blade Mode, Revengeance’s take on the ubiquitous time-slow mechanic, allows Raiden to target specific points on a cyborg’s body for removal. This could have added an interesting, puzzly dimension to combat, but outside of collecting 30 red arms it feels underused. Blade Mode also allows Raiden to perform Zandatsu, a precision slice that gives him the chance to snatch a sack of blue goo from a cyborg’s body, instantly replenishing his health and blade energy. The constant repetition of this simple mechanic is addictive, although it would have been nice if there were a few more animations to keep it fresh. Raiden can also use a variety of secondary weapons, such as grenades, but while they are sometimes useful, changing between them is such a pain that you probably won’t bother. Also unwieldy is the upgrade system. Found buried in the codec menu, available upgrades consist of predictable boosts to health and attack power, offering little option for true customisation. It’s also galling that making alterations mid-game warps you back to the last checkpoint, instantly hobbling the pace.

One of the more subtle moments in Revengeance's delicate narrative (Picture: Konami)

Beyond combat, there’s very little to Revengeance. Stealth is encouraged, but inevitably thwarted by the fact that Raiden can’t lie down, duck, or even stick to cover. Exploration yields little in the way of interesting collectables, and non-fighting objectives rarely get more imaginative than ‘get to point X’. The promise of Raiden’s blade being able to cut though anything also turns out to be hot air, with Revengeance’s extreme linearity being enforced by indestructible barriers that look tantalizingly sliceable.

Metal Gear games are beloved for their memorable boss fights, and while there’s nothing here to rival The End or Psycho Mantis, it’s certainly something Revengeance gets right. The philosophical babble is back, and the bosses are imaginatively designed and brimming with character. The battles themselves are great showcases for the combat system, featuring innovative uses for Blade Mode that recall similarly tactical bouts in Zelda: Skyward Sword. It’s a shame that these duels are often disrupted by the need to crowd control, breaking the tension of a one-on-one showdown. Music during boss battles is also painful, filled as it is with distasteful guitar solos and angsty lyrics. It’s not enough to spoil the fights completely, but the music is an unwelcome distraction, and a world away from the suspenseful, considered themes that soundtracked the most memorable confrontations in previous Metal Gear games.

After Metal Gear Solid 4, fans will be keen to see what Kojima’s world looks like post-Patriots. Not much different, as it happens. Private Military Companies are still commonplace, and cyborg implants have replaced nanomachines as the cop out of choice when a daft plot point needs explaining. Tonally and thematically, Rising is inconsistent, but certainly as ambitious as previous Metal Gear games. The narrative draws freely from sci-fi, dystopian fiction, and transhumanism, and towards the mid point gets extremely dark. Unfortunately, the dialogue doesn’t afford the game’s perverse twist on the theme of child soldiers the gravity it deserves.

Playing Revengeance, you get the distinct impression that Solid Snake wouldn’t approve of Raiden’s latest quest. Unlike previous Metal Gear games, which rewarded no-kill playthroughs, Revengeance requires regular, graphic slaughter to progress, and Raiden’s bleating that he fights for justice feels hollow by the time he’s chopping up police officers in the third act. At one point, Raiden begins to question his bloody mission. This injection of self-doubt hints at an interesting narrative turn, but collapses into farce when it simply introduces Raiden’s supercharged Ripper Mode. A wasted opportunity.

Raiden himself is the worst thing about this game. I was unconvinced at the attempt to recast him as a badass in Metal Gear Solid 4, with the endless, over choreographed fights seeming extremely try hard. If you felt the same way, there’s nothing for you in Revengeance. Whether deflecting bullets with his blade or nonchalantly resheathing it with his back to downed enemies, Raiden is still a walking collection of animé tropes. Worse, though, is Quinton Flynn’s laughable voice acting. Raiden sounded annoying in Metal Gear Solid 2 (“There’s a lot of pressure on my torso!”), but I feel like that was the point. Here, Flynn is doing a third rate David Hayter impression. Not only is this not convincing, it makes Raiden into a charmless, fiercely unsympathetic character.

And this really wouldn’t be a language blog if I didn’t comment on the name. Firstly, the less obvious point of contention in the title: why ‘Rising’? What exactly is ‘rising’ in the game? Except, that is, for the player’s ire at the stupid subtitle. Revengeance. Revengeance. Set aside for a moment the stupidity of combining two words with similar meanings into one word (imagine if Metal Gear Solid 3 was subtitled ‘Snake Devoureater’). Not only is the ‘word’ revengeance never (to my knowledge) used in the game, Metal Gear Rising is a game predominantly about the horrors of war and child soldiers, not revenge or vengeance. So not only is the subtititle ridiculous, it’s inaccurate. However, the subtitle sums up Revengeance better than I ever could. Like its subtitle, Revengeance is brash and attention grabbing, but ultimately silly and lacking in depth. While certainly worth playing if you’re a fan Platinum or Kojima Productions, don’t expect Revengeance to match up to either developer’s previous work.

6/10

Note: I will usually be posting my reviews on a Tuesday. Reviewsday Tuesday, if you will.

@ludolinguist