So I beat Metal Gear Rising: Revengence. Coming into this game, I knew it was going to be at least interesting, for two reasons:
- I am a huge Metal Gear fan, and of Hideo Kojima’s work. It is my favorite gaming franchise, and I won’t waste time explaining again on SRK why I love it so much.
- I have mixed feelings with Platimum Games’ games. I’ve played both Vanquish and Bayonetta. I thought Vanquish was great, but I didn’t like Bayonetta at all.
First, in regards to the stealth, I was disappointed in the lack of depth in it: there is little to no environmental or movement factors involved in it. It reminded me of how stealth is implemented in non-stealth games (like the Sneaking-into-Hyrule-Castle part in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time or the Seaport stealth scene in Shenmue). The combat system clearly wasn’t built for stealth, but they put the element in anyway (likely because it has Metal Gear in the title).
Having said that, secondly, the combat in this game is great. The melee combat, with the importance of evasion and dodging, makes you happily work for the Zandastu finishers…and those finishers feel very satisfying. I never found myself wanting to sneak when I had the option to do so: why deprive myself of such hack and slash fun? However, this game has the same issue that I had with Bayonetta, where there are always enemies in hard to reach places that would chuck projectiles at you. I know that these factors add to the challenge, but when I’m busy handling multiple enemies up close (and enjoying doing so), and then get interrupted by some faraway asshole shooting rockets at me, THAT not my idea of fun. And the fact that your own long-range counter-measures are impractical in these situations adds to the aggravation. So I now have to stop what I’m doing and go find and take care of that enemy (if I can), turning a fun, challenging experience into a chore. BTW, most players would call these attacks “cheap hits” and this is something that I think Platinum needs to clean up if they want to appeal to a broader audience.
Third, the story certainly had that Metal Gear flavor. The use of Japanese motion actors for American characters always cracks me up. Senator Armstong’s over-the-stop behavior was that beautiful combination of hilarious and awesome. It didn’t have philosophical weight and depth of a traditional Metal Gear game, but it hit all the right notes. I liked it.
Fourth, the environments are too plain and dull. There isn’t enough stuff to interact with (aside from the enemies) that have any real gameplay impact. Sure, you can cut a support pillar here and there, but otherwise, it’s just cut some boxes, and desks. Outside the boss fights, the game felt like a VR mission.
Lastly, it’s too short. I take my time with games, and I beat this in 5 hours. This wouldn’t have been an issue if it wasn’t for the issue above (and the linearity of the game). The replay offerings arn’t that enticing (I was never a big fan of the VR missions).
So to summarize:
- Shallow stealth elements
- Great combat
- Good story/characters/presentation
- Lack of interesting environmental interactivity
- Too short
Overall, its good, but I don’t feel like its was worth the $60 I paid for it. Not enough content for me.
