| Platform | OVERALL |
|---|---|
| PlayStation 3 | 8.70 |
| Overall | 8.70 |
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Platinum's game latest effort brings their incredible over the top action to the Metal Gear franchise. There are some elements of the MG franchise within the game but for the most part this is a platinum game through and through. The core combat mechanics are rather unique in that it is mostly about parrying. In Rising your attack combos don't actually mean much. It doesnt matter if you use the same attacks over and over, it has no effect on scoring. In high level play normal attacks are almost worthless, meaning all those combos you get are meaningless. When you break it down the combat is about doing enough damage to break enemies armor so that you may enter your blade slashing mode to finish them off. At first combos is how you perform damage but by the end of the game you have a revengance meter that when full makes your attacks superpowered meaning you break armor in one or two hits. In harder difficulty modes the best way to do damage is to parry, in fact the only way to stay alive is to parry everything. I will say the biggest issue with this game is that to parry you must do two actions, the block button and push the stick in the direction of the enemy. Timing blocks with just one button is hard enough but now having to aim, in a game with a crappy camera, it becomes a pain in the ass at times. Don't get me wrong it works most of the time but most of the time in action games does not cut it, I want to be in full control of my character. If you perform a perfect parry (hit parry just as you are going to be hit) you make a super counter move which leads to a QTE instant kill. On the highest play the ONLY way to survive is to perfect parry everything. Enemies destory you if you screw up a block, you will be juggled to death. Even a hoard of normal enemies are extremely deadly if you let them hit you first. This game has the most aggressive enemies since NG1 meaning every single battle is super intense. That is probably its greatest strength, moment to moment this game is bringing the wow factor. While the game maybe short, every second is filled with great battles. New enemies around every corner or some crazy action sequence that will leave you breathless. It is platinum at its finest but with a battle system that is lacking. The bosses are fantastic, they all have some cool power kind of like the crazy cast of villains of past Metal Gear games. There are a bunch of VR missions which range from cool to flat out sadistic impossible, a welcome addition but very frustrating at times. Of course on higher difficulty the enemy load out changes and as I mentioned before your strategy starts to change as well meaning there is much reason to play the game multiple times. One of the biggest features is the free cutting mode which is simply a glorified QTE. Instead of pressing a button for a flashy kill you enter a slow mo mode where you need to aim at a box to get the instant kill. Aiming with the sticks is a bit of a pain which is why the game for the most part never requires you to slash in specific ways, well except for two bosses which are beyond frustrating. The cutting of objects in the game world is simply a gimmick and serves no purpose in the gameplay at all. I will say it is more satisfying to slash an enemy to bits than watch some pre-recorded QTE but this is not like Zelda SS where the combat revolves around sword combat. The story is pretty basic stuff which is simply there to hype you up for battles. Like all MGS games it has a certain message to it so at least it tries to have some social commentary but in an anime style. There are plenty of codec conversations to listen to many lead to hilarious conversations. You may be stealthy in certain areas but this is mostly an after thought, still it is nice to have this kind of diversity in an action game. Most everything around the combat is stellar but the core mechanics simply dont reach the highest levels of this genre. If you like a game where block timing is your ultimate skill then this is for you but I rather it be about powers and attacks. |
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Posted by Dvader Tue, 05 Mar 2013 02:55:05
GG, there are too many cats if you ask me. I did not need to watch a two minute cut scene with a guard petting a cat.