Metal Gear Solid: Rising devs talk Zan-Datsu

While one of the hottest trailers released at this year's E3 2010 was the dismemberment-heavy Metal Gear Solid: Rising, there was unfortunately little else to do with Konami's upcoming entry into the MGS universe. Publisher Konami tried to rectify that lack of information a little bit at its press conference today, however, with the game's producer Shigenobu Matsuyama and director Mineshi Kimura coming out to shed a little more light on their project.

Matsuyama began with addressing one of the scenes from the recently released trailer--the section at the beginning where Raiden slices up a mech before grabbing its spine and crushing it. Matsuyama explained that it was actually a stomach battery that Raiden extracted and that he used it to extract energy from the robot. Apparently, you'll be able to use fallen cyborgs or mechs for a few purposes in Rising, including restoring life, energy, and ammunition or even scavenging parts. Matsuyama said Rising would make players strategize about what items they take from their enemies.

Kimura then took over, saying that the game's tech team had long had the goal of creating a gameplay system where you could cut anything at any angle you wanted. Kimura also mentioned that you won't need to kill your enemies in Rising--if you'd prefer to incapacitate them by lopping off a limb or two, then you'll be able to do just that. Kimura says the team is still working on how all this slicing action will be controlled, but he promised that players would have fun "just cutting."

As for the stealth action the series is best known for, Kimura said Rising would still have those elements, but they will be different from previous MGS games. Rising's stealth will be speedier, Kimura says, to better reflect its main character. It would also take more advantage of height, making the stealth more akin to hunting. "So you don't have to worry about back problems like the old hero we had," Kimura quipped.

Matsuyama took over again and explained that Rising's storyline would take place in between the events of MGS2 and MGS4 and would explore how the Raiden of MGS2 transforms into the Raiden of MGS4. Lastly, Matsuyama said one of his main goals was to "express the power of having a sword" within the game and to raise the popularity of the ninja Raiden even more.

We'll have more for you on Metal Gear Solid: Rising soon. Check back later for more updates.