137 Alerts, reads the sport completion screen. That’s 137 times (if no more) that we heard that telltale digital chirp to tell us that somebody had seen us. Every other Metal Gear game and we would be embarrassed to report so pitiful a stealth record, though it probably says more about Platinum’s change of direction for this spin-off than it does about our sneaking abilities. You spot, this is not a sneaking mission. Sure, you may silently take down guards. Sure, you’ll be able to take out cameras and slink past entire fight sequences if you need. And certain, you are able to hide in a cardboard box in the event you must. But if Raiden is able to such awesome feats of butchery, you will not wish to go undetected – you will need everyone to determine just how badass you will be.

Which, because it seems, is the whole badass. Raiden’s showboating antics in Metal Gear Solid 4’s month-long cut-scenes offered a window onto how awesome he was, but after more than one years training with Platinum, all his flashiest moves at the moment are only a button press or two away. The question we were asked most while playing through Revengeance was the way it stacked up again Ninja Theory’s excellent Devil May Cry reboot, but in reality there’s little comparison to be made. Dante’s relatively basic moveset means the depth to DmC’s combat lies in cancelling and chaining individual attacks into one monster combo, whereas Raiden… well, Raiden just goes nuts with a sword as you tap away at the controller. Canned combos are the order of the day, though that won’t to mention that the depth isn’t there, rather that it could be present in other aspects of the combat system.

The first of those is defence and with none style of block button or dodge roll in Raiden’s arsenal (a minimum of firstly), the parry is definitely an important ability inside the game for anything above Easy difficulty. Correctly time and direct a gentle attack to fulfill an incoming blow and it will contextually change from a strike right into a defensive stance – it sort of feels like poor design initially however the more you get into the sport, the more you’ll come to realize the sense of flow, risk, weight and (most strangely of all) realism it lends to combat. Every attack is telegraphed, though it is usually easy to strike your pose too early as a foe finishes up for an impressive strike, so learning audio and visible cues is important. Get it vaguely right and you may turn the incoming attack aside, while a superbly executed parry might be followed by an automated riposte, often opening enemies as much as either QTE executions or the game’s second depth charge, Blade Mode.

This gimmick lies on the very heart of what makes Revengeance’s combat so very satisfying. It may be used by itself any time Raiden’s Fuel Cell gauge is full, although it’s much more empowering (and useful) when it comes into play as a reward mechanic, a blood-soaked full stop on the end of a skilful passage. Certain attacks end with brief slow-motion windows, the blue tint and slowed action your cue to achieve for the left trigger and actually lay at the hurt. The precise analogue stick becomes your virtual sword while in Blade Mode and although this provides the supremely satisfying ability to dice foes to reserve or make clinical incisions, it is not quite as accurate because it can be. It’s greater than more than enough to take away individual limbs or strike weak spots for the foremost part, though, and if you find yourself cubing an enemy that had the audacity to check out to hit you, it’s unlikely that you will even care in regards to the one which got away.

That final act of chunking is a superb solution to say goodbye to regular foes, but more menacing opponents would require just a little more work. They sometimes have to be weakened before Blade Mode will do anything greater than minor damage, but once they’re ready for a slicing, weakened areas will glow blue. It really is your cue to get your sever on, and herein lies the game’s tactical element – do you opt for instant glory with an all-or-nothing parry attempt, whittle a crowd down slowly or single out individual foes and use Blade Mode to take away them as threats by hacking off legs and arms? It is a decision best made at the fly, though missing a chance to lop off a blue bit is little short of criminal. At the verge of death, vital organs are highlighted in Blade Mode too and as luck would have it, Raiden thinks those are delicious. Make the incision, wrench out the glowing blue innards and consume them to totally regenerate both health and FC gauges – it is a mechanic that makes keeping small-fry or near-to-death enemies around as sources of healing pretty important, though even at the higher difficulty levels, this full recharge still appears like slightly an excessive amount of of a reward.

Not that this’ll really count when you reach Revengeance mode, though. Here, rather a lot as a filthy look does a life-time bar of injury and while collectable auto-healing items and unlockable health upgrades can prevent from being murdered with a look, the sensible skills and perks you amass in attending to the tip end of the problem food chain are what is going to keep you alive. Remainder comes all the way down to player skill, which Platinum has previously put to the test with Bayonetta – where even the slo-mo mechanic was binned on the highest difficulty, so count yourselves lucky – and at this level, the insanely aggressive AI turns difficult fights into seemingly impossible ones. As mechanically complex as DmC can be, Revengeance is the tougher game, no doubt: on the highest level, one missed parry is the variation between life and death, making a sense of fear and pressure like nothing Capcom’s game can offer, at the least beyond its end-game gimmick modes. It’s brutally tough, but you will not hate it for it.

But quite a bit talk of mechanics and control when there’s narrative to talk about and… wait, what even happened within the story? Well, there are PMCs which might be bad and/or good and child labour that is bad and/or bad and armed forces coups which can be generally pretty bad but beyond that, it is all a piece silly. Revengeance lives as much as its Metal Gear name with cut-scenes that might struggle to make sense even to the individual that scripted them. There is a rival company that quite likes war (thanks to money). There are supporting characters, who rarely escape the stereotypes they’re cast into. There is a woman with as many arms as she wants, most of to be able to be hacked off in the future. After which there’s Raiden, the ‘good guy’ who, by the tip of factors, has gone quite mad. Despite which way you slice it, here is removed from conventional.

But Revengeance doesn’t wish to be conventional. It desires to be awesome and it succeeds on this most noble of endeavours. Though mechanically simple, it still has the flexibility to affect people who need to be impressed and challenge people who need to be challenged – a double whammy that few games can offer, at the least to this degree. And all of the while, crazy shit is going on throughout you. It’s brilliant, frankly.

From cheeky dialogue and legacy characters to returning elements and subtle jokes, Platinum flexes its Metal Gear muscle at each opportunity. However the greatest callout to the stealth franchise is available in the shape of sneaking gameplay, with many fights entirely avoidable if you’ve the patience to slide by enemy patrols and the restraint not to just hack everything to bits on sight. The inability of any sort of vision cones or the like makes this a tough method to play – plus you may be intentionally missing out on the very best action of this generation – but it’s an option all of the same. As are the secondary weapons, the choice of bazookas, grenades, distraction tools and things to cover in rarely used despite only being a button press away. You just don’t want them whilst you can just slash everything into teeny tiny bits instead.

Moment on moment action is exceptional, boss battles one of the most most hectic and awesome we have seen in years and the presentation – from the bonkers cut-scenes to the brilliantly eclectic evolving soundtrack – is top-notch. If it weren’t for the limp ending and a few minor niggles (most of which involve shouting on the camera), we’d haven’t any problem slapping a 10 on Revengeance. The suitable parts of Platinum’s game design ethos meet the highest parts of Metal Gear as a brand and if that isn’t enough to get you excited… well, maybe gaming simply is not the right hobby for you.

Score: 9/10