Everybody’s favorite peroxide imposter is back, and back with a vengeance, a re-vengeance. Who was once an androgynous, side-flipping, pretty-boy; is now a robotic, no-jawed, ninja badass. Platinum Games has stepped in to revive a game on its deathbed, breathing life into a critical project that was plagued with issues.
Initially I was worried about the change in developer, not because Platinum aren’t a great studio, just because I’m a big fan of the stealth foundations of the Metal Gear franchise. Stealth is still there however, but now it’s more about thinning the numbers before an exclamation mark pops up above a distant enemies head, and the real game begins.
The newest addition to the Metal Gear franchise is an action game, don’t expect anything else, but Platinum sure know their action games. The combat feels lovely and fluid: with one button for mid-range attacks, one for short-range flurries, you hold down a shoulder button to enter “blade mode” – allowing you to cut an enemy in precise locations, lopping off limbs like a mental metal butcher.
Blade Mode is a joy to use, you trace a transparent, blue line across your target and you use the rights stick to control the angle and the left stick for location. This is slightly jarring at first, as the left stick becomes the camera and any battle-hardened gamer will know, that the opposite is usually true. Activating this mode triggers a bullet-time (or more appropriately “witch-time”) state, allowing you to cut even falling enemies with deadly precision. This mode is powered by an energy bar and once you get used to cutting your enemy in a way to reveal the sweet nectar inside, you can chain together many kills, in spectacular fashion.
Please read on at http://www.gamegrin.com/game/preview/metal-gear-rising-revengeance-preview
