Imagine "Metal Gear Solid" with the fast-paced combat of "Bayonetta". That's pretty much sums up "Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance", a violent hack n' slash featuring the cyborg ninja Raiden doing his best Ryu Hayabusa imitation. Developed by Platinum Games, the creators of "Bayonetta", MGR does contain a few trademark staples of the MGS franchise, but this spinoff is more in the vein of "Ninja Gaiden" and "God of War". More than just a mindless button masher, "Rising" is an engrossing action experience due to some key features; difficulty, hidden collectibles, over-the-top cutscenes and Blade Mode. The story is pretty straightforward for a "Metal Gear" game, but it stays true to the futuristic universe created by Hideo Kojima.
"Revengeance" picks up four years after "Guns of the Patriots" with MGS 2 hero Raiden working for Maverick Securities, a Private Military Corporation. At the start of the game, he is assigned with protecting the Prime Minister of Africa, but ultimately fails when Desperado, a terrorist PMC organization that seeks to destabilize world nations, intervene. Weeks later, Raiden infiltrates a Middle Eastern nation after his support team discovers that Desperado is staging a military coup there. Eager for payback, Raiden eventually re-discovers and embraces his psychotic tendencies from his "Jack the Ripper" days. The plot, while simple, is in the tradition of past MGS games. It deals with corrupt politicians, child soldiers and war profiteering, but it's not all doom and gloom. Unlike MGS 4, "Rising" features the weird off-putting humor from MGS 1-3. In that sense, this spinoff feels like a proper sequel to MGS 2.
Although MGR was not made by Kojima Productions, it certainly feels like it. Platinum Games saved the game from cancellation with a superb combat system and epic boss fights, but the MGS feel is apparent throughout. The developers have included the codec conversations from past games along with trademark items and weapons such as cardboard boxes, rocket launchers, chaff grenades and magazines. Stealth tactics, while optional, are still in the game, and exclamation and question marks still appear over the heads of enemy soldiers. Cutscenes are over-the-top, bloody and can be lengthy. Platinum also included 20 VR missions and various (and numerous) collectibles scattered throughout the main game. While MGR is a linear action game, if you explore, you'll find hidden enemy soldiers, item boxes, pin-up girl posters and secondary side-missions. You can also collect severed left arms for extra points to upgrade Raiden and his weapons.
"Blade Mode" is perhaps the coolest feature in combat. When you use it, time slows down and you'll be able to use the analog sticks to angle Raiden's high frequency blade. Hit the right spot on an enemy, and you can perform Zandustu, where you pull the cyborg's spine out. Zandustu can be used in many ways; during direct attacks, after stealth kills, and after an enemy has been weakened. You can also use Zandustu on more than one enemy in one attempt. It's a quick way to dispatch bad guys and regain your health. Overall, the combat in MGR is challenging. Like "Ninja Gaiden", you'll be constantly blocking attacks from various enemies each with their own patterns and weaknesses. The environments are almost always bland and the camera has a problem keeping up with the action, but those are the only weak areas of MGR.
Overall, "Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance" is a very good hack 'n slash title. It should please fans of MGS with its tone and plot and as a pure action game, it certainly ranks up with its contemporaries "Devil May Cry", "God of War" and "Ninja Gaiden". Grade: B Plus.