There are few things i admire more on the planet of videogaming than the brilliantly bat-shit crazy, Metal Gear series and the incomparable talents of Osaka based Platinum Games, unquestionably (individually) the preeminent developer of triple-A action games.

So, as you’re able to imagine, after I heard that Platinum have been brought in to avoid wasting Kojima’s ailing attempts at turning Raiden from blonde haired mincer into super bad-ass cyborg ninja, my heart gently skipped a beat. Development of this type of title were rumoured ever since Raiden showed up looking all awesome and shit as an NPC in Metal Gear Solid 4 and, despite some positive early demo footage, it looked, for some time not less than, that Kojima and co. had hit something of a virtual brick wall of their attempts to bring their unique ‘slice everything’ sort of gameplay to fruition.

Wisely, instead of falling by the wayside, Konami and Kojima outsourced the sport to Platinum Games and, well, the consequences, as one may think, are really rather special. an ideal mixture of Metal Gear style storytelling and Platinum’s renowned skills within the way of fast-paced videogame combat, Rising provides an ideal marriage of 2 top notch companies seemingly working together in complete harmony. It’s the baby of both its parents with each in their individual qualities and traits shining through without ever overpowering or diluting the alternative. From Metal Gear’s renowned art direction to Platinum’s sly sense of humour and perfectly balanced hack ‘n slash gameplay, the 2 companies have combined to create one in all this generation’s finest action games and a fitting vehicle for Raiden to finally prove his worth.

Of course, with such classic action games as Bayonetta and God Hand under their belt, it was always going to take something pretty special to make Rising stand proud of the impressive Platinum crowd – that something special? Blade Mode and the accompanying Zandatsu technique. The facility to slice up an opponent in slow motion as you align each slice to chop enemies to shreds in anyway you spot fit simply never gets old and, when combined with the extra challenge of cutting through an enemy’s weak spot to initiate your Zandatsu ability, it proves a mechanic both pleasingly technical and wildly enjoyable.

Manage to hit that sweet spot and Raiden, is a moment of sheer ferocity, tears through his opponents chest and rips out their spinal repair units (all enemies are cyborgs / robots, so no use to fret about excessive blood). This move both replenishes Raiden’s health and increases his electrolyte levels that can then be used to fuel the subsequent bout of Blade Mode carnage. Yes, some parts of the scenery inevitably can’t be cut into, but this never gets within the way of the joy with all major props and enemies along the largely linear journey there to be cut to shreds.

Even without Blade Mode, the core combat is slick and interesting with skilled player’s capable of cut a swathe through a collection of enemies without taking such a lot as a lick. As you will expect from Platinum, the combat is straight away engaging but hides a wealth of depth for those willing to master Raiden’s impressive repertoire of attacks. Like such a lot of in their games, finishing Rising (especially at the standard difficulty setting) isn’t a massive challenge, but to take action with style, or on one of the crucial higher difficulty settings will take a significant commitment of both effort and time.

It’ll only be 5-6 hours long, but Rising, like Vanquish before it, begs to be played repeatedly, demands that scores be bested and abilities improved. From the brilliantly nuanced parry system (there is no such thing as a block) to the skill required to take the left hand off each opponent within the game in an try to collect all 30 data stores (about as hard because it sounds), playing Rising is simple, but to play it well is a unique kettle of fish altogether. Heck, in the event you actually need a challenge, you may also, aside from a number of scripted scenes, wade through all the game without creating a single kill. You’ll leave a number of limbless, worm-like cyborgs on your wake, but hey, their little cyborg hearts will still be beating……actually, on second thought, it’s probably best which you put them out in their misery – killer cyborg soldiers have feeling too ya’ know.

As I said though, this is not all Platinum; beyond the visual style screaming Metal Gear (as one would expect), there’s actually, amongst an array of pleasant little nods scattered during the game, a stealth meter for those trying to take a more cautious solution to battle. Needless to say, the sport generally favours and positively encourages direct combat, but you’ll get a good little bit of work done sneaking around within the shadows and scaling down enemy numbers before embarking on a more direct approach.

Of course, any Metal Gear game worth its salt has to have a potty, politically driven, melodramatic mess of a narrative and Rising, despite providing an infinitely more streamlined tale than the traditional Metal Gear fare, remains to be home to a number memorable characters, an array of sprawling codec conversations and a delightful narrative link to Metal Gear Solid 4: Sons of the Patriots. This will likely inevitably go over many a head, but for those versed in Metal Gear lore, it’s nice to peer Rising doing its upmost to continue at the series’ fine (read: bonkers) storytelling traditions.

While the boss battles and core enemies never quite match the highs that the series has become famous for, those here provide a gradual challenge, an always unique aesthetic and most pleasingly of all, some genuinely enjoyable banter. Not one of the four members of the Winds of Destruction will go down within the annals of Metal Gear history, however the Brazilian cyborg samurai, Samuel “Jetstream” Rodrigues certainly stands proud from the gang, providing a couple of genuinely memorable moments along the way in which.

The big draw though is Raiden himself. Battling an internal conflict  – is he here to maintain the peace or is he simply finding an excuse to satiate his own bloodlust? – Rising at its best is an ideal marriage of this core internal struggle and his own increasing ferocity at the battlefield. Yes, there’s loads of chat on politics, private security firms and the character of war, but despite a couple of interesting moments, the genuine narrative highs come from Raiden’s more personal transformation.

It can not be essentially the most visually impressive game of the generation, but given the action on screen, it’s a borderline miracle that the frame-rate is as rock steady because it is. Rising, on a purely technical level is extremely the achievement. Surely, it’s quite the achievement full stop. The camera does get within the way of the action once in a blue moon and may occasionally lose its shit when performing the Zandatsu technique on the subject of a wall or prop and, despite the enemy design and animations both being first-rate, the true levels can sometimes be a little bit at the bland side. Still, these minor niggles don’t hinder what’s an otherwise top-notch action game and a fitting instalment within the Metal Gear franchise. It is usually a chief departure for the series in a technical sense, but Rising still appears like a Metal Gear game at heart, comfortably delivering all of the quality we now have come to expect from this much loved franchise.

Rating: 9/10

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