(Originally posted on March, 2015)
(2014, PC)
Even though the Metal Gear series isn’t my cup of tea, I was immediately interested in this more action focused spinoff since the first trailer. Later being floored by the Bayonetta games and seeing the game for less than $7.00 on a Steam sale, giving it a shot was a no brainer. The game is similar to Bayonetta 1+2’s proven template of action/combat, with bits of MGS’s stealth gameplay and presentation. The experience is a supersonic missile of moderate gore, adrenaline and solid gameplay, but suffers from being fired a bit too early.
The highs:
Matching Bayonetta 1+2’s ability to give the impression of summoning a demonic power, MGR is all about the thrill of causing massive destruction, aided by fictional but perhaps one day possible cybernetic enhancements. The main character is Raiden, who I know little of beyond that he caught a lot of people off-guard with his inclusion in MGS2. Feeling not entirely unlike something from the Terminator or Ghost in the Shell universes, his power is made most convincing by the numerous, unforgettable QTE’s, placed with a neurosurgeon's precision inside of the boss fights. After so many moments of extremely demanding combat, parrying, evasion and pattern memorization all to adrenal exhausting soundtrack, I found my faculties overwhelmed to the point where I barely registered I was just mashing a button to trigger an incredible, but barely controllable cut scene. In those moments, it was almost like I was being tricked to see the game for more than it was, yet the clever implementation and end result is so delightful that I have to give the developers credit for it. While much of the main campaign leaves something to be desired, the boss fights are so masterfully orchestrated in everything from Platinum’s stylish, novel character design, slightly cheesy vocalized but play-it-and-you’ll-understand dynamic music and eye-straining action, that these parts alone make the game worth it.
Being a huge fan of the Street Fighter III trilogy, I immediately took to the parrying system. Like Bayonetta’s witch time, successfully parrying the always heavy feeling blows of the enemy is tremendously satisfying. Harvesting ‘parts’ after being prompted to perform the Zandatsu mechanic gives one the feeling of semi-invincibly that Terminator 2’s T-1000 has. Even with the modified, glowing blue spinal columns of enemies constantly replenishing your life, the game always offers a challenge; whether you’re toying with prey like a cat, or just trying to survive until the next checkpoint. The later bosses in particular can get quite tough and panic inducing. Fortunately there’s a very welcome upgrade system where you can purchase an assortment of upgradeable weapons, armor, moves and enhancements for Raiden himself. The game’s open to be played at your own pace, as you can always replay any stage to earn more battle points for the store.
The lows:
While the gameplay itself is immensely satisfying, you’ll sometimes have to manage the camera mid-combat while cornered. The worst offender is a part of the game where you must slow down an ascending elevator. You’ll be alternating between hacking away near a wall, constantly re-prioritizing which enemy to go after and readjusting the camera. Taking place in a somewhat small playfield, a more forced perspective for this segment would have worked just fine.
Perhaps due to the game’s turbulent and rushed development, many of the environments seem like they were cut from a template, feeling more like generic set pieces than a unique game world. This highly contrasts with the game’s otherwise stylish character designs and insane presentation. The sewers, abandoned subways, office buildings, cities, towns and military bases making up much of the game were all rather uninteresting to explore. Many parts of the environment are destructible, but only in select instances does doing so directly affect battles. I kept being reminded of the Namco light gun-shooters Crisis Zone, Time Crisis 3 and Time Crisis 4. Googling images from those games, I was surprised at how “samey” the environments looked compared to MGR:R. In replaying the game, I found myself very interested in revisiting the bosses, experimenting with customization options and simply enjoying combat with the regular enemies, but didn’t really care for the stages themselves.
That’s not to say the game doesn’t have some great settings here and there, such as the grittiness towards the end of the Abkhazia’s refinery plant. A boss fight which takes place atop a skyscraper heliport, drenched in rain as the lights of weapon equipped helicopters cut through the weather and pose an additional threat. One of the most climatic battles takes place in a beautiful Colorado Desert sunset. It could have very well been the end of the game, but there’s still more beyond that…
Other thoughts:
The game’s arguably even more fun to replay, as I felt free to skip the dialogue and cutscenes, increase the difficulty and further explore the character upgrades, etc. Also included in the PC version are two bonus DLC missions from the console releases, allowing you to use different characters, though they couldn’t really draw my interest. Even with Jetstream Sam being a very interesting, likeable character, he didn’t handle as well as Raiden, making me want to go back to the main campaign or just a find a new game altogether.
Besides me personally not being particularly interested in military fiction, the game’s ungrounded presentation makes it hard to get absorbed in the story from any angle. MGR:R is parts over the top science fiction, awkward, forced sitcom, mind-blowing flamboyant Japanese action, all while going on to try to make points about the military industrial complex, the noble, twisted and mixed motivations of everyone from the final boss to the lowest of grunts, morality and the human condition itself. While I welcome games exploring such topics, Rising’s incongruent narrative couldn’t directly inspire me ponder them. All these elements mix together and reach a climax at the game’s indescribable final battle, which left me too amazed and stupefied to do much thinking.
An incredible game all around, its flaws are more of an inconvenience than a serious deterrent. With arguably the slickest, coolest, most engaging and aurally pleasing boss fights in all of gaming, I could almost excuse the un-fittingly drab stage design as a long warm up, where one can enjoy farming battle points for the upgrade shop. I’m not even a Metal Gear fan, yet was blown away. Imagine what playing it could do for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment