METAL GEAR RISING REVENGEANCE

Over two and a half decades, the Metal Gear saga is a hallmark of Konami history. With over a billion copies sold worldwide, it become one of Konami's flagship titles and in case you missed last year's 25th anniversary party, there's a movie in the works. As a trendsetter of pop culture, I always love how the saga evolves into new and exciting ways to sneak your way through redemption and now, there's a new game that changes the way Metal Gear has played...forever.

METAL GEAR RISING REVENGEANCE

Welcome to METAL GEAR RISING REVENGEANCE, the latest chapter of the Metal Gear saga with a vengeful twist and when I said "twist", it really is because RISING marks the departure of the stealth action genre that coveted the saga for decades with the birth of a new high speed action game that lets you...well, as the saying goes, CUT WHAT YOU WILL. (キレる体験。)

This is the first time a Metal Gear game that lets players kill everyone on sight and it's definitely the most BRUTAL hack-and-slash game ever made. If you think that's surprising, this game is, for the first time ever, a collaboration between Kojima Productions and PlatinumGames. If you don't know what PlatinumGames was, it's a Japanese game developer behind the sanely bonkers games such as Bayonetta (which was directed by the man behind Devil May Cry series), Vanquish (directed by the creator of Biohazard/Resident Evil franchise), Max Anarchy/Anarchy Reigns, Mad World, Infinite Space, and others. In the spirit of PlatinumGames, games like Bayonetta or Vanquish were really really HARDCORE and gamers were so impressed on how those games were developed because of its uniqueness.

Here's a little story, when you caught the trailer from the VGA 2011, you might be noticed why it was titled REVENGEANCE. Apart from being a combination of the words "REVENGE" or "VENGEANCE", the blokes from Kojima Production found out that making this next chapter is a bit challenging. They did well on the storyboard but in the terms of quality assesements, that's a different story. Hideo Kojima could have killed this project until he joined forces with PlatinumGames. With PlatinumGames doing the bits of Metal Gear Rising, Hideo Kojima was very impressed and they're really back in business. Thing is though, what the folks from PlatinumGames said "Uh, Kojima-san, you do the storyboard, we do the action". Which means, with an epic storytelling courtesy of Kojima Productions and the hardcore gameplay feel courtesy of the same blokes that brought you Bayonetta and Vanquish, REVENGEANCE really turned skeptics into believers and fans really drooled over Raiden's unique hack-and-slash action that defies all odds.

After the fall of the Patriots four years ago, Private Military Corporations or PMC's that were controlled by the Patriots were collapsed and spawning rogue entities that origins traced back to criminal organizations. As PMCs are employing cyborg technology, the balance of global power has gone out of control. You are Raiden, a child soldier bearing the namesake "Jack the Ripper" who became a cyborg ninja whose origins are connected from Sons of Liberty and Guns of the Patriots. Raiden is a member of a PMC called Maverick Security, with the support of Boris, Kevin, Doktor, and Courtney, he lives by the mantra of protecting the innocent right until a terrible incident that lead him fueled with the soul of revenge.

This new game though showcases a new style of gameplay with a new main character and as Raiden, armed with the HF Blade, you can hack-and-slash your way against cyborgs as your quest for revenge leads you from the villages of Eastern Europe, the sewers of Mexico, the streets of Denver, Colorado, the underbelly of World Marshal HQ, and all roads lead to the climactic battle in Pakistan. What surprised gamers is the system called Blade Mode and ZANDATSU. In Blade Mode, players are free to "CUT WHAT YOU WILL" and with the right timing and the right target, you might be able to initiate ZANDATSU. ZANDATSU restores your life and electrolytes, giving you an exciting edge on your gameplay.

Apart from this hack-and-slash action, there are subweapons that changes the course of your gameplay such as an RPG, heat-seeking missile  grenades, electromagnetic grenades that paralyze cyborgs, chaff grenades that is effective against surveillance machinery, red phosphorous grenades that clouds the place in smoke, or distract your enemies with a 3D hologram. How you use it is all up to you.

As you progress through the game, you'll get some new weapons that can make up with the strong attacks and combine it with some deadly combos to thrash down your foes such as Mistral's Pole-Arm "L'étranger" that is my kind of favorite because it poses a well balanced attack against surrounding enemies, Monsoon's Ninja Sai "Dystopia" that can paralyze cyborgs at the right time or useful for breaking down a heavy cyborg's armor, Sundowner's pincer swords "Bloodlust" that is slow but powerful enough to crush your foes, and the HF Murasama Blade used by baddie Samuel Rodrigues. As you play, you'll earn Battle Points and you'll spend it for upgrades and new skills that might be useful enough on a more intense gameplay, especially boss battles.

If you want to polish your skills, there are VR missions offered in Rising but if you want to unlock some VR missions, you have to find computers that scattered throughout this game. Find one and you've unlocked a new VR mission that tests your stealth, subweapon, Blade Mode, and other skills. This is how worthy you are being a true "Jack The Ripper" in Rising but that's just the half of battle because on early April 2013, there are some special VR Missions available as a DLC on the PlaystationStore. It will be priced at 300 Yen and these VR Missions involve on mastering the Dwarf Gekko, just like what you did in the Mexico mission. Yeah, good luck mastering this pesky little critter...

It maybe a twist to the franchise but Metal Gear Rising Revengeance combines the best of both worlds. With the storyline provided by Kojima Productions and the high-speed lightning bolt action provided by PlatinumGames, it is, by far means, the most remarkable hack-and-slash game I like. Sometimes, even though it was a great game made by the best people in Japan, there are so many things that went wrong with it. Yep, many things are wrong with it BUT IT'S STILL...

...THE BEST GAME I'VE EVER PLAYED. Best game ever played...end of discussion.

LIMITED EDITON:

With Metal Gear Rising Revengeance available exclusively on the PS3 for 6,980 Yen, your fandom thinks it's not quite enough because if you're a hardcore fan, you'll need to speed 9,980 Yen for the Premium Package. Metal Gear Rising Revengeance Premium Package not only includes the game but also an art book with works by Yoji Shinkawa, a soundtrack CD, and 2 Dwarf Gekko figures that can be split into half or reaatachable thanks to some magnets from each half of it. The Konamistyle special, which costs 12,980 Yen and availabe exclusively at Konamistyle.jp, features the same content from the Premium Package with the addition of a special Square Enix Playarts Kai Raiden White Armor version.

The Zandatsu Package gives you a headstart on Rising if you didn't have a PS3 yet. Not only you'll have a specially designed 250GB Playstation3 but also you have the Metal Gear Rising game and a downloadable code for a special theme on your PS3's XMB.

Those who pre-ordered it will be on a wild ride because they'll have a code to access a special body for Raiden and it's a special Cyborg Ninja body that resembles Gray Fox from the original MGS game. For Amazon.jp customers, they'll get an MGS4 version body of Raiden. For Konamistyle or Loppi, customers get the White Armor for Raiden. Tsutaya customers get the Inferno Armor for Raiden plus a special card on Metal Gear Solid Social Ops. GEO customer get the Commando Armor for Raiden and a card for Metal Gear Solid Social Ops. Joshin and Edion customers will receive special Raiden cards on Social Ops and most will give you a special Raiden (Mariachi version) card in Social Ops mobile game. Well, you get the idea.