Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Zach Goodier

Raiden, AKA "Jack the Ripper," is working as a cyborg contractor for a 3^rd 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.

Raiden has a new body this time around, and it comes with a list of upgrades.

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.

There isn’t a whole lot of depth to the story beyond what I’ve already shared, but it does involve more of Raiden’s history as “Jack the Ripper,” a savage child-soldier who embodied all the evil he currently faces, and then some.  While it doesn’t continually come up in the story, it does serve as a struggle that Raiden must face, as he tries to come to terms with what side he truly sits on, and whether the killing he’s doing is truly justice, of it he’s simply falling back into old habits.

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.

Raiden can only recharge his health by using nano-repair units,
 which can be acquired in the field, but are most easily taken from enemies
 by cutting them open and taking them.
This game is definitely not for young audiences.

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.

This is where this game really starts to shine.  While it doesn’t have the same feeling of depth as other games of its’ type, like Devil May Cry, it does have its’ own charm.  The big addition is Blade Mode, which allows Raiden to seemingly slow time, as he moves at impossibly high speeds to freely slice and dice his enemies into pieces.  Now, this sounds like a horror game where you’re the psycho killer, and that’s not entirely a wrong description sometimes, but it can be especially satisfying when you’re ending a boss battle and you get to vent a lot of frustration on the boss that gave you a hard time.  Level design is varied, and the enemies are just varied enough to avoid feeling bland and boring.  Graphics are also fairly good, although some textures seem a little obsolete at times. 

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.

Unlockables and collectables make this game worthy of a replay, especially since it doesn’t take too long to beat, making the whole game feel surprisingly digestible.  You collect points via combat scoring and mission rankings, as well as items.  These allow you to purchase new combos, weapons, and cyborg upgrades that can alter appearance, as well as upgrade your attributes.  For easy mode, you can generally default to run and slice tactics, with the auto-parry doing just about all of the work in preventing you from taking damage.  On higher difficulties, success or failure depends much more on your timing and coordination, since evasion generally isn't a good tactic in this game.  That can really hurt players like me, who have been conditioned by games like Devil May Cry to always evade before even thinking of blocking or launching attacks.  This is still a habit I have yet to entirely break away from, and it has resulted in some frustrating moments for me; but to be honest, it does feel more appropriate to be able to deflect attacks in order to land counters.

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.

MGR  is a very exciting game that endeavors to allow players to be the badass action hero you always wished you were.  The story has some interesting and deep concepts, but doesn’t really get as much traction in the midst of bloody, brutal action.  So don’t come here exclusively for the thought-provoking moments, because they take a firm back seat to the explosive and brutal action.  There is a lot to enjoy for such a relatively short game, and the challenge really kept things interesting.  However, there isn’t a great deal of depth in terms of gameplay or story, at least when compared to some of the other RPG games out there.  For that reason, this game sits as a solid B-lister, with a lot of fun to be had, but once you get through it, a few unlockables are all that really entice you to return.  It does in many ways break away from defining game of the genre, like Devil May Cry, and bring it's own flavor that does make the gameplay very enjoyable.

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

Splinter Cell: Blacklist

By: Robert Murphy

Hey guys, sorry that it’s been so long since I last had a post for you all but I was in need of some rest and relaxation but now I’m back with plenty to share in the coming weeks with video games, anime and more. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s just start off with a new game that I have been waiting for, for quite some time now and that game is Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Yes, Sam Fisher is back once again and God help you if you’re the ones he’s after because as fans of series will tell you, nobody messes with Sam Fisher. Since the last time we saw Sam things have changed, you’re no longer laying low and avoiding your stealth assassin ways, no in fact you’ll need them more than ever now that a group known as The Engineers have come to change the world in a radical way. Enter Same Fisher and the newly formed 4^th Echelon which features some old faces such as Grim (because it’s not a Splinter Cell game without her) and Charlie Cole, with a new face to the team Isaac Briggs. Together this small but powerful group is put to the task of taking out The Engineers and the threat they pose to the United States.

Now when we last saw Sam, he was kind of gruff and was giving off the scruffy old man angle in Splinter Cell: Conviction and he was taking down everything in his way with brute force and took a little less stealthy aspect to him. In Blacklist however, things are back in order and Sam returns to the shadows to take down the new threat set before him and his team so fans of the series will once more enjoy ducking and weaving all over the place. And duck and weave you shall as almost every mission comes with multiple venues and ways to move through patrolling guards and bad guys, whether it’s vents, ceilings or pipes, there’s an angle for whatever your preference may be. But of course this was all to be expect from a Splinter Cell game but if you do enjoy going loud in a situation and going in guns blazing then there is still that option. There is a wide array of weaponry to choose from and some of those come with quite a large bang to them so you can go on a murdering spree on a room of enemies rather than silently removing them one at a time. On the plus side as well, you are actually rewarded for this type of behavior along with being stealthy and lethally stealthy through the games mission scoring system that appears when you complete a mission. This rewards you points and cash for either going through the mission as a Ghost (non-lethal stealth), a Panther (lethal stealth) or Assault (loud and lethal), making an enjoyable experience, whatever your preference.

From here you can further customize Sam and your gear by purchasing weapon modifications for the wide assortment of guns you have to choose from and with those guns comes with a huge assortment of modifications to be made. From red dot sights to hollow point rounds, you’ll be dealing deadly damage throughout the campaign anyway you like. Then we also have the gadgets, remote cameras, noise makers, rotating robot drones, they’re all here for the taking to aid in your stealthy or not so stealthy play through of Blacklist. Nothing compares to the stunned look an enemy gets when he here’s a strange sound come from no-where and then suddenly he turns around and all his buddies are missing in action and the light of your goggles shine behind him. Then there’s Sam himself, whose appearance can be altered with a number of different outfits, each with their own unique traits an abilities that can improve your stealth, weapon handling and more.

As for the campaign itself, Sam and his team work on board of the Paladin, a large aircraft carrier that can also be further upgraded with cash given to Grim in between missions, this monolithic plane is base of operations for 4^th Echelon. From here you access your missions that across the globe and these missions vary from main story missions to side missions that are given to you by your team, to be done at your leisure for extra cash. Also you can talk to your team before and after each mission to see your stats, update your arsenal or get the new missions that I mentioned earlier. But if you want to bite into the main story, you can all go right ahead because it’s a good one, the “Blacklist” terrorist attacks on America features a very grounded and enjoyable experience. There aren’t over the top explosions or antics with this enemy, they’re quick, clean and precise and prove to be a challenge even for Sam, who after the last game, you’d think would be pulling an “I’m too old for this @#$%.” And this was my really big problem with the game because Sam is now somewhat different, he’s still an incredibly skilled, stealth fighter but his character is not the same Sam. This is because Sam’s gruff voice actor has been replaced this time around and replaced with a new more authoritative voice that says, “This is what’s happening, let’s get it done” and that’s it. Sam’s sarcastic and wittiness seems to have disappeared with this one, it didn’t kill the game for me but I do miss the voice work of Michael Ironside in this one.

Now onto the multiplayer, Blacklist features both co-op missions and an online mode that returns some classic features from previous games for all to enjoy. We have a throwback to the old days with the game mode Spies vs Mercs that puts you and your friends to a task of hacking a terminal while avoiding a group of mercs defending the area in a classic 2 v 2 or the new 4 v 4 mode that lets you customize your individual load out for added fun. Then there the other game modes such as Team Deathmatch which is self-explanatory and many other game types for you and your friends to either work together in or test your stealth skills against. Then we have the co-op aspect of the game, as you play through the game you’ll notice that missions from your team may have a co-op option so you and your friend or whoever can tackle a mission together, taking some of the load off Sam in solo play. But make sure you find yourself a friend with similar playing styles or you’ll end up trying to go stealthy while your friend charges in guns firing.

All in all, Splinter Cell: Blacklist has brought back the heavy stealth element that fans of the series have always loved about the series since day one but they’ve also incorporated more of a heavier action element for players who want to give up and just blow everything away. Not only this but players will gain points for going through the mission in the various different ways that you play, either being gun heavy, stealthy or a stealthy killer, it’s your choice. Also the game brings with it enjoyable multiplayer and co-op campaign missions alongside the short but sweet action of the single player campaign that’s laid before us. My issues with the game are nothing major that wouldn’t spoil anyone’s fun playing through this incredible game either, I don’t care for some of Sam Fisher’s new attributes, he looks so stiff and structured now and not like his old self but he’s still got the legendary skills that I know and love.

Good:

-Enjoyable campaign and story

-Equally enjoyable co-op and multiplayer for you and your friends

-Massively customizable arsenal, filled with gadgets, guns and more

Bad:

-The new Sam wasn’t for me but you guys decide for yourself on that one

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10