03-20-2013, 09:49 PM
Even though I started a Mass Effect 1 playthrough the other day, I'm going to review Metal Gear Rising: Reveangance.
I'm going to talk about the negatives first. First off, I was really disappointed with the weapon selection. Playing through the main game you get two main weapons and three sub weapons. Both of the main weapons are katanas that play exactly the same, and you don't get the second one until literally the last ten minutes. The sub weapons you get are all pretty bad. The bo staff type thing is the better of the three, but there is really no point in using it at all. The sai you get from the boss Typhoon doesn't even work like a sai, but more of a grappling hook that pulls enemies towards you. It might do more, but I didn't even bother checking the upgrades. The third is actually an awesome weapon, but it's so goddamn slow that it's not practical at all. There are some other swords you can unlock by grabbing collectibles. I haven't unlocked any of them, but I'm pretty sure that they play exactly like the default katana
Secondly, I was really bummed about the lack of customization options. There were a few teaser trailers that well...teased it and sort of implied you'd have a lot of options. But you don't. If you didn't get any of the pre-order skins you get five pre-designed suits, three of which give Raiden stat boosts, one of them is the default suit, and the last one is a mariachi suit he wears during one mission. I really wish there were more unlockable skins, hats, torsos, etc. It really bugs me when developers skimp on character customization.
Now for the good stuff. WHICH IS EVERYTHING. This game is balls to the wall, nonstop action. MGR has some of the most fluid combat I've ever played, and it's really the only game I've ever played where I've felt like an actual badass ninja. Sure, the Ninja Gaiden games are good, but the difficulty is crazy hard and I never feel like I'm this super awesome badass ninja because SO IS EVERYTHING ELSE AND THEY'RE BETTER AT IT THAN YOU. Raiden is a total motherfucker, and it shows. That doesn't mean this game is easy though. I played through the normal difficulty and there were some challenging parts, but nothing soul crushingly difficult. You can upgrade all of your swords and gear, increasing stats and unlocking new moves. It's all good here.
Despite the fact that Rising isn't a stealth game, it is still very much a Metal Gear game. If you enjoy how bat shit insane most of the Metal Gear stories are, then you'll fit right at home with Reveangance. Everything about this game screams Metal Gear; from the weird characters to the even weirder plot twists, and even the classic, cheesey "so bad it's good" dialog. There are cardboard boxes to hide in and lengthy CODEC conversations to be had. The game is really short, like 4-5 hours short, but it's meant to be played through multiple times, as some things can only be found/unlocked by playing higher difficulties such as wigs that give you unlimited "Jack the Ripper" mode which is makes Raiden much stronger and faster.
All in all, I really enjoyed this game and I highly recommend it to any fan of the genre.
I'm going to talk about the negatives first. First off, I was really disappointed with the weapon selection. Playing through the main game you get two main weapons and three sub weapons. Both of the main weapons are katanas that play exactly the same, and you don't get the second one until literally the last ten minutes. The sub weapons you get are all pretty bad. The bo staff type thing is the better of the three, but there is really no point in using it at all. The sai you get from the boss Typhoon doesn't even work like a sai, but more of a grappling hook that pulls enemies towards you. It might do more, but I didn't even bother checking the upgrades. The third is actually an awesome weapon, but it's so goddamn slow that it's not practical at all. There are some other swords you can unlock by grabbing collectibles. I haven't unlocked any of them, but I'm pretty sure that they play exactly like the default katana
Secondly, I was really bummed about the lack of customization options. There were a few teaser trailers that well...teased it and sort of implied you'd have a lot of options. But you don't. If you didn't get any of the pre-order skins you get five pre-designed suits, three of which give Raiden stat boosts, one of them is the default suit, and the last one is a mariachi suit he wears during one mission. I really wish there were more unlockable skins, hats, torsos, etc. It really bugs me when developers skimp on character customization.
Now for the good stuff. WHICH IS EVERYTHING. This game is balls to the wall, nonstop action. MGR has some of the most fluid combat I've ever played, and it's really the only game I've ever played where I've felt like an actual badass ninja. Sure, the Ninja Gaiden games are good, but the difficulty is crazy hard and I never feel like I'm this super awesome badass ninja because SO IS EVERYTHING ELSE AND THEY'RE BETTER AT IT THAN YOU. Raiden is a total motherfucker, and it shows. That doesn't mean this game is easy though. I played through the normal difficulty and there were some challenging parts, but nothing soul crushingly difficult. You can upgrade all of your swords and gear, increasing stats and unlocking new moves. It's all good here.
Despite the fact that Rising isn't a stealth game, it is still very much a Metal Gear game. If you enjoy how bat shit insane most of the Metal Gear stories are, then you'll fit right at home with Reveangance. Everything about this game screams Metal Gear; from the weird characters to the even weirder plot twists, and even the classic, cheesey "so bad it's good" dialog. There are cardboard boxes to hide in and lengthy CODEC conversations to be had. The game is really short, like 4-5 hours short, but it's meant to be played through multiple times, as some things can only be found/unlocked by playing higher difficulties such as wigs that give you unlimited "Jack the Ripper" mode which is makes Raiden much stronger and faster.
All in all, I really enjoyed this game and I highly recommend it to any fan of the genre.