Metal Gear has always been a mixture of stealth with mayhem and with a hint of comedy in it as well. When word came around with a new MGS game on the horizon with Raiden as the main character, people had different views on how the game would fair. MGS has been about guns, but Rising is about the blade which would scare many fans to think that this will be a bad game. Is it though?
Story 8/10
The story starts off years after the events of MGS 4 where the world is no longer at constant war and the story focuses on Raiden. A group of cyborgs interrupts the peace and kill the prime minister that Raiden is currently working with. Raiden works to go against their plans and fight to protect the weak and uphold justice. The story is decent for a MGS game, but there just felt like there were some plot holes and things that I didn't fully understand. Raiden also is fighting to understand what he truly is fighting for and you learn more about what he was holding back in the end.
Gameplay 9/10
The gameplay felt smooth in Rising and the sword play was a pretty good change from all of the gun play. The game played more like a DMC action game than it did a TPS or a stealth game. The sword attacks that differentiate from basic attacks to strong or unique weapon attacks makes combo attacks fluid Parrying is the defensive mechanic of the game in which using a basic attack and moving the Left stick will cause the character to parry if used at the right time. Raiden also can move around the area with ninja movement, but sometimes it feels clunky and he will either get stuck or fail to even climb something that is climbable. Raiden also has Blade mode which he can use to slash up enemies when they are weakest which the direction can be controlled with x or y. Jack can also use weapons like rockets, boxes, and other gadgets to help him get through the map. The boss fights that are put in the game can possess a unique challenge sometimes and at times you will begin to notice patterns in their attacks on when to parry them or when to attack. Like the bosses there is a variety of enemies in the game, but you really only fight cyborgs, then again that is a big purpose to the game itself.
Graphics and sound 8/10
The graphics appeared to be nice and even though I am a believer that graphics don't make a game, Rising had great graphics and it was appealing to look at. The sound was also nice, but some of the voice actors were just plain annoying to listen to during the cut scenes. The sounds of the blade and other attacks/environments of the game were also well done. There is also some comedy through out the game which is fun to listen to when things have usually been a bit serious.
Overall 8/10
Rising was a good new MGS edition to the series, but it is not a perfect edition. There are flaws and there is a bit of lag and sluggishness that occurs through out the game. Overall Rising is a good experience, but the game only lasts 7 missions which will last about 3-5 hours of gameplay. Sure you can go back and play through on harder difficulty, but the game felt too short which left me feeling the same like Dishonored did after beating it. Rising hacked and slashed it's way to a 8/10.