Format: Xbox 360, PS3 | Developer: Platinum | Out: 22 February
When Konami announced that the next iteration of Metal Gear Solid would follow Raiden instead of Snake, fans were divided and confused. Raiden was a major annoyance in Metal Gear Solid 2: Son's of Liberty yet nearly stole the show in the PS3 exclusive, Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriots. But why would anyone want to play as Raiden instead of Snake? As news filtered out that this would not be a traditional 'Metal Gear' game, confusion turned to frustration. There would be no stealth or tactical espionage. In fact, playing as Raiden, players would only have a sword to rely on. Fortunately, Kojima Productions never got the chance to create their methodical action heavy button masher because Bayonetta developer Platinum Games, had other ideas. Clearly inspired by Bayonetta and Vanquish, Metal Gear Solid: Revengeance combines brutal combat with lighting fast action, all set after the events of "Guns of the Patriots". From the very start, Platinum Games promised an adrenaline filled experience and from the looks of it, they might have just pulled it off.
Why It Could Be Amazing:
Platinum Games knows how to make solid action titles. Bayonetta was superb and it looks like they have continued to hone their talents since its release. After playing the demo, I can safely say fans are either going to love this game or hate it. Whether you like it not, Raiden is a cool character and I can't wait to play some of the later levels that were teased in trailers. "Blade mode" is a nice feature too. The ability to be able to select which angle you'd like to begin your cut looks amazing. I love slow motion action and MGS:Revengeance does it better than any other game I have played. The combat is fast and smooth, with fluid animation that will see you jumping around the screen with manic persistence. It might not have as much depth as the recently released "Devil May Cry" reboot but there's more than enough combo variations to keep hack n' slash fans happy. Saying that, I'm sure some more talented players will be able to pull off some ridiculous moves. Graphically the game looks superb, with detailed lighting and realistic shadows. The combat system is designed in such a way that you are rewarded for stylish kills (dismemberment) so naturally Revengeance is extremely violent. Bodies are dismembered in every direction and blood splatters across the screen in sprays of red mist, but the gore is somewhat less realistic because of the futuristic style of the artwork, which by the way looks impressive too.
Why It Could Be Terrible:
Unfortunately, the story looks to be comically bad. I can't understand why plot still seems like an after thought for most video games. Metal Gear Solid has one of the most fiction rich universes in the world of gaming - there's no excuse for a run of the mill action movie story-line. Even the cut-scenes look terribly cheesy and the dialogue is hilariously bad. As good as the combat is, there are some issues. Raiden can't roll or dodge which is literally, quite shocking for a game that thrives on blistering pace and non stop action. The camera looks set to cause all sorts of problems too. It's too close and sometimes it's hard to see what's happening on screen, especially when fighting multiple enemies. Devil May Cry suffered a similar problem and it seems 'Revengeance' is no different.
Potential Rating: 3/5
I'm still not convinced that fans of Metal Gear Solid will enjoy this as much as Hideo Kojima would have liked. It's not going to be a true 'Metal Gear' experience but if you can look past the poor dialogue and abandonment of the stealth based gameplay, it could turn out to be a surprise hit for Konami. It's just a pity we won't have any cardboard boxes to play around with. There's always DLC I guess... Metal Gear Solid is out February 22nd. Don't forget to check out the rest of the series.