Metal Gear Series and Hideo Kojima are two names which can’t be imagined without each other, and yet here we are reviewing a MGS title which has very little of Kojima’s presence. Undoubtedly, we’re talking about Metal Gear Solid: Revengeance. However, Rising can’t be termed as being a new Metal Gear Solid game, far from it. It instead wants to take you on a joy ride, putting you in the shoes of the Gray Fox, and Raiden which you met in Guns of the Patriot and The Twin Snakes. It wants to be a game which’ll bring chaos to the MGS series, and who better to develop such an experience than Platinum Games.
MGS: Rising will seem familiar to anyone who’s accustomed to playing third-person action games. It isn’t hard to become familiar with controller your cybernetic character and get right into the middle of the action. However, the game uses a unique combat system which isn’t your regular affair. It lacks any kind of block or evasive combos and instead gives you an unique parry system which is a core part of the gameplay on offer.
Using this system, almost any kind of attack can be deflected. Also, what makes this parry system unique is that it’s a two-tier based system. The first tier will just deflect the enemy’s attack and save you from incurring any sort of damage, however a perfectly tmed parry will ensure that not only will you deflect the attack but push your enemy back and make them momentarily stunned, which’ll enable you to dish out easy damage or cut them into pieces. This kind of system ensures that novices has more breathing space as even a slightly mis-timed parry will result in a deflect. This bring a kind of freshness to the game while also ensuring that the normal difficulty setting provides little to no challenge for most seasoned players.
The game is able to successfully blend in stealth and the humor which MGS games are known to contain, which results in a very fun to play action game. Using stealth properly can enable you to avoid direct conflict with enemies in some portions of the game altogether. You can also take down enemies quietly by utilizing it intelligently. Although Raiden isn’t known to be the stealthy character of MGS, it’s refreshing to see that Platinum has kept that option open in the game. However, stealth is just presented as an option in the game and you can breeze through the entire game by indulging in blood splattering combat.
There’s also plenty for the series fans as easter eggs, VR mission, and other content is in plenty to be unlocked. Crates and drum canisters, which are reknowned throughout the MGS universe, also make a comeback. These are very pleasing memories from the series of which this game is so alien to yet to near. There are also some cool weapons you can unlock by taking part in these games.
Kojima Production played a masterstroke by hiring Platinum Games to develop Rising. It’s able to do justice to the character of Raiden, who specializes in sword fighting and is able to create a world which is able to accomodate that style of play effortlessly. The game can be termed as a no holds bar action game which doesn’t stretch more than its needed to and although it’s a far cry from what the series is known for, it does a pretty good job and can be enjoyed by fans and newcomers alike.
