Zach Goodier
Raiden, AKA "Jack the Ripper," is working as a cyborg contractor for a 3rd
world government in Africa. His role is to train
the new national army and protect key personnel in order to bring stability to
a region ravaged by turmoil. However,
there are people out there that don’t share the same views of peace, for in an
era of peace, what use are the soldiers for hire? They ambush Raiden and his convoy in order to
assassinate the Prime Minister, and undo all the efforts toward peace. Despite Raiden’s best efforts, as well as
some explosive action sequences, he fails, and finds out that not only is he
going to have his work cut out for him to bring justice to the killers, but
that his body needs a serious upgrade in order to compete with this new
generation of killing machines.
Story:
This is in-game, and it's the first boss fight. Not all bosses are giants, but like Devil May Cry, it's usually the humanoid bosses that prove the most difficult. |
In terms of the main story, it’s pretty
straightforward. Following the prologue
mission, Raiden embarks on a mission to bring down the rogue mercenary group:
Desperado. Along the way, he must fight
several of their cyborg captains in epic boss battles. Along the way, you start to unravel the full
extent of Desperado’s activities, and the deeper conspiracy behind it all. It all comes together well, but doesn’t
really give you a wild ride. It gives
you just enough story to know what your goal is, then sets you on your way to
cut through or evade your enemies to get through the missions, which is all you
really need, anyways. However, the story
is fairly short, only needing a few hours to beat it on easier difficulty
modes.
The "Winds of Destruction:" Sundowner, Typhoon, Mistral, and Jetstream Sam. Sam technically isn't a member, but is still highly active as a mercenary within Desperado |
Characters:
Raiden himself is a fairly interesting character, although
there really isn’t an extensive amount of depth to him. I already mentioned his internal struggle of
identity, which really plays well into the story, on a more personal level. Aside from Raiden, there are an assortment of
other characters that support him, and they can chat through the menus for tips
on how to beat enemies/bosses, or just discussing the mission itself. This is all optional, and you are left to
explore this regularly on your own, but it can add to the characters, and make
the game feel more interesting.
On the other side, Desperado offers mostly cliché Japanese
anime stereotypes. A femme fatale, a vicious
and disturbed psychopath, an oversized strongman, and the hero’s counterpart
are all on call here, but the execution for all these characters feels solid
and believable. Jetstream Sam, Raiden’s “counterpart”
in Desperado, sets up for a strong rivalry, and helps drive the player along in
their quest for vengeance, setting up for an epic, yet straightforward duel
that not only challenges the player’s skill in gameplay, but your previous
conceptions about Sam.
Gameplay:
Sam takes badass to a whole new level. |
Blade Wolf serves as a useful scout and sidekick to Raiden later on in the story, but he doesn't help in combat, which is a shame. |
Conclusions:
The ability to literally hack your enemies into tiny pieces can bring a mix of satisfaction and a sudden urge to consult a psychologist. |
Good:
-Awesome action and swordplay.
-Ability to slice and dice enemies in Blade mode adds a new gameplay element that actually challenges you to collect certain items and allows you to heal yourself.
-A few interesting story elements and thought-provoking moments.
-Interesting villains, even if they fall into cliche anime patterns.
Bad:
-Short, especially for a major title.... I really mean it's short, too. You can probably knock it out in an afternoon and evening if you wanted to.
-Some textures feel outdated at times.
Scully Rating: 8.9 out of 10
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