is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Konami. It was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in February 2013, Windows and OS X in January and September 2014, and Nvidia Shield TV in January 2016. It is a spin-off in the Metal Gear series, set four years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. It features returning Metal Gear character Raiden as he confronts a private military company (PMC) that intends to destabilize peaceful nations for profit. The gameplay focuses on fighting enemies using a sword and other weapons to perform combos and counterattacks. Through the use of "Blade Mode", Raiden can dismember enemies in slow motion and steal health items from their bodies. The series' usual stealth elements are also optional, serving as a means to avoid combat. Two downloadable content chapters were also released, set before the main campaign and centers on Raiden's enemies.
The game was originally developed by Kojima Productions, which announced the game in 2009 under the title of Metal Gear Solid: Rising. However, the team faced difficulties in developing a game based on swordplay, and supervising director Hideo Kojima subsequently halted development until a solution could be found. The project resurfaced in late 2011 under its finalized title, with PlatinumGames as the new developer. The game underwent significant changes in gameplay mechanics and storyline with PlatinumGames' involvement, although Kojima Productions retained responsibility for the overall plot and Raiden's design.
Upon its release in February 2013, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance was well received by critics, with praise for its sophisticated cutting system, use of Metal Gear elements to complement the story despite its focus on action, soundtrack, and boss fights. Some criticism was directed at its camera mechanics and the short length of the campaign. The game was estimated to have sold more than copies.
Gameplay
Players assume control of Raiden, a katana-wielding cyborg. He is initially playable in his "Standard Body" form, which resembles the body used by Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 4, but with a more natural-looking face. The player can alter Raiden's appearance through alternative skins. Unlike previous titles in the Metal Gear series, where players try not to be noticed by enemies, Rising is action-oriented, focusing on sword fighting and a sophisticated cutting system to fight and defeat enemies. Although Raiden's main weapon is his high-frequency blade, he can also use other replacement blades, sub-weapons, and secondary weapons. Raiden's sub-weapons include two kinds of rocket launchers, four kinds of grenades and several other tools, such as the iconic cardboard box, an empty oil drum, and a 3D photo frame. Other melee weapons can be obtained after defeating the game's bosses.
The game's cutting system allows players to engage in melee combat, as well as to precisely slash enemies and objects at will along a geometrical plane using the "Blade Mode" game mechanic. Virtually any object in the game can be cut, including vehicles and enemies, though elements of the environment were intentionally limited to structures such as pillars and walls to better facilitate the game. Entering Blade Mode produces a special targeting reticle in the form of a transparent blue plane which can be moved and rotated freely, tracing holographic orange lines across the surfaces of targets to indicate exactly where they will be cut; it can also be used to enter a bullet time state, giving players the opportunity to precisely cut targets during moments of action, such as slicing through an airborne target multiple times before it hits the ground. Blade Mode can be employed strategically: for example, disabling opponents, finding weak points and gaps in armor, severing support columns to collapse ceilings or walls onto enemies, deflecting enemy fire, or cutting through objects to remove enemy cover. However, entering Blade Mode reduces Raiden's energy, which if reduced to a certain level prevents Blade Mode from being used. Throughout the story, the player obtains "Ripper Mode", a state which greatly enhances Raiden's power for a limited time as it quickly consumes energy.
Raiden has the ability to parry attacks even when his back is turned, allowing him to counterattack enemies and perform multiple combos. The player also has access to a "Ninja Run" mode, which drastically increases Raiden's speed and allows him to deflect bullets and climb certain areas for ambushes. Another key feature is called , wherein parts, energy, ammunition, items, and occasionally data are taken from the bodies of dismembered cyborgs and robots. This maneuver can be employed when slicing an enemy through a small indicated red box during Blade Mode, and fully restores Raiden's health and energy. When completing a mission, the player will be rewarded with a specific number of points depending on their performance and will receive a grade, with the highest being "S". These points allow players to purchase upgrades for Raiden's equipment.
The player can carry out reconnaissance using Raiden's visor, which can highlight enemies through walls. Hiding in a cardboard box and oil can hides the player's presence from enemies, making sneaking easier. The player also gains assistance from Blade Wolf, a canine-like robot that scouts and gathers intel for Raiden.
Synopsis
Setting and characters
The events of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance are set in the year 2018, four years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. The Patriots, a powerful deep state running the world's war economy, have been destroyed, and PMCs have splintered into numerous factions. The player controls Raiden (Quinton Flynn), a former Liberian child soldier turned into a cyborg that now works for the PMC Maverick Security Consulting, Inc. Raiden is supported by his Maverick colleagues, consisting of Russian pointman Boris Popov (JB Blanc), military advisor Kevin Washington (Phil LaMarr), computer specialist Courtney Collins (Kari Wahlgren), and cybernetics expert Wilhelm "Doktor" Voigt (Jim Ward). Returning from Metal Gear Solid 4 is Sunny Emmerich (Cristina Pucelli), a child prodigy and friend of Raiden working at Solis Space and Aeronautics.
Rival PMC Desperado Enforcement LLC serves as the game's main antagonist; Desperado aims to destabilize peaceful nations and preserve conflict, allowing them to reap the financial rewards and technological advancements of the war economy. Desperado operative Samuel Rodrigues (Philip Anthony-Rodriguez), also known as Jetstream Sam, serves as Raiden's rival, with a conversation between the two in the beginning influencing Raiden. Sam works with an elite team of Desperado cyborg assassins named the "Winds of Destruction": Sundowner (Crispin Freeman), Desperado's de facto leader, who wields machetes that combine into a large pair of pincers, and who also has a set of reactive armor shields connected to his body; Mistral (Salli Saffioti), the team's only female member, whose frame can support multiple additional arms, some of which combine into a staff that she can use as a whip; and Monsoon (John Kassir), who wields dual sai and uses magnetism to manipulate large objects and separate his body into individual components, while retaining control over each part.
The IF Prototype LQ-84i, later named Blade Wolf (Michael Beattie), is a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence housed within a quadrupedal combat robot who serves initially as Raiden's Desperado-controlled enemy, but it is later reprogrammed to aid Raiden and Maverick. Additionally, Colorado Senator and potential presidential candidate Steven Armstrong (Alastair Duncan) is involved in Desperado's activities. An additional member of the Winds of Destruction, Khamsin (Benito Martinez), appears as part of the Blade Wolf DLC chapter.
Plot While providing security detail in an unnamed African country for its prime minister, N'Mani, Raiden and his team are attacked by rogue PMC Desperado. While Raiden fends off their forces, their leader Sundowner kidnaps and assassinates N'Mani. Raiden is badly wounded in a duel with Sundowner's lackey "Jetstream" Samuel Rodrigues, losing his left eye and arm, but Boris saves him as Sundowner and Sam escape. Doktor later repairs and upgrades Raiden with a more capable cyborg body.
Three weeks later, Raiden infiltrates the breakaway Georgian statelet of Abkhazia after learning that Desperado is leading a military coup there. He plans to capture Andrey Dolzaev, a Chechen extremist leading the forces, to force Desperado into standing down. Desperado anticipates the move and assigns a prototype AI robot designated LQ-84i to stop Raiden. Raiden defeats the LQ-84i in combat and later has Doktor rebuild it as an ally, naming it Blade Wolf. He faces further opposition from Mistral, the commander of Desperado's forces in Abkhazia. After Raiden kills Mistral in combat, Dolzaev commits suicide by blowing up an oil tank he is standing on.
Maverick assigns Raiden to investigate a research facility in Guadalajara, Mexico. There, Raiden meets an orphan named George, who was brought to the facility to have his brain—along with the brains of several other orphans—surgically removed and shipped to the United States. He learns that Sundowner inspected the facility in the company of Senator Steven Armstrong, creating an alliance between Desperado and World Marshal, a major PMC Armstrong has invested in. World Marshal plans to condition the children to become killers through constant VR training, and place them inside cybernetic bodies to create new soldiers, similar to Raiden. Raiden rescues George and the children to Doktor.
Furious at their unwillingness to take action against World Marshal, Raiden resigns from Maverick and, with Blade Wolf by his side, launches a one-man assault on World Marshal's headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Though no longer Raiden's employer, Maverick unofficially provides discreet support throughout. After he fights his way through the city's privatized police force and soldiers, Raiden encounters Sam and another operative named Monsoon, who, using technology they developed, force Raiden to listen to the thoughts of the police officers and soldiers he kills, which cause him to become extremely conflicted over his actions. Eventually, this leads to him unleashing his repressed personality of "Jack The Ripper", which he developed due to the Sears Program when he was young. He kills Monsoon and infiltrates World Marshal's headquarters before locating and killing Sundowner. There, he discovers that Armstrong is using Desperado to distract Raiden while readying "Operation Tecumseh", a plan to assassinate the President of the United States during peace negotiations with Pakistan to ensure another war on terror.