I Am Disappoint: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Hi, Hello! I'd like to discuss with you a bit of disappointment I've had with Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.

Now before I have you dive into a sea of text, I need to toss out a disclaimer: I've never played Revengeance, and I'm so terribly apathetic towards it that the demo is the last thing I ever touched. So what disappointment could I be talking about? Well, just like last time with Ground Zeroes, my disappointment with Revengeance has nothing to do with the actual game, and everything to do with the powers that be behind it.

Aside from my terrible bias against the game's very existence, I can respect Revegeance for what it is: an entertaining and over-the-top action game with enjoyable hack-n-slash gameplay in the same vein as any other Japanese ninja game (if you're into that sort if thing). But you see, there in lies my problem: That's not what we were going to get originally. Perhaps some of you remember the game's announcement at E3 2009? Funny thing, it wasn't the same game back then.

Sit down gents, I'm about to give you a history lesson that you totally don't already know about. Originally, Revengeance was known as Rising, as in "Metal Gear Solid: Rising". Rising was going to be a prequel game set between the events of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots... and no I'm not talking about Metal Gear Solid 3 (don't think too hard about it). Anyhow, Rising would follow Raiden's adventure to rescue Sunny from the Patriots after having been turned into a Cyborg. Despite explaining Raiden's change into a more acceptable character, the most interesting factor of the story was the reintroduction of Dr. Madnar, a character we haven't actually seen or heard from since the second Metal Gear... ON THE BLOODY MSX2 (don't know what that is? Exactly). Although, I'd be lying if I said the game's plot details was what had me salivating at my computer.

Now I don't know what invisible law mandates this terrible trend, but for some reason all games involving ninjas must be hack 'n slashers with brain-numbingly unnecessary quick time events and wherein the game's camera is just another addition to the enemy variety. A kind of game that should be about timing, stealth, and experimentation has consistently become what-to me-felt like the complete opposite. I've always wanted a modern ninja game that wasn't about hacking and slashing a bunch of enemies, but was instead about infiltration with a stealth/action dynamic. That's what made Rising such a big deal for me.

Rising wasn't just another hack 'n slasher, the fact that it was a Metal Gear Solid game would have to ensure that it would break the mold that games like Ninja Gaiden, Naruto, and Ninja Blade helped to solidify like hard plaque. The game would have to put stealth, experimentation, and infiltration above all else. Rising was going to make us the kind of ninja that we've always deserved. The game wasn't going to have you battle a bunch of goons in an arena, it wasn't going to have you beat a giant robot boss by having you mash your way through quick time events while a super cool and totally too-awesome-for-actual-gamepla y cutscene played in the background. The trailer showed us that cutting things was going to attribute to the strategy of infiltration, not just to cutting enemies up a bunch. Like oh mah Gawd, you gais! This was going to be the game that could change how companies approached Japanese ninja action! Good Lord!

Oh but wait, without Kojima's direction (who at the time was working on the portable Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker) to guide the game's development, the project fell into disarray. Apparently, Kojima Productions couldn't manage without God's gift to euphemisms at the helm, and after being delayed for what felt like an eternity,we just let the game fade into obscurity. But, as fate would have it, the game resurfaced at the 2011 Video Game Awards with a new trailer. To my wide-eyed, jaw-dropping and pants-tightening surprise: the game had resurfaced as "Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance":

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

The game had been handed off to "Platinum Games". You know, "throw a woman-who wears her own hair as a suit-into a fight on a falling clock tower PLATINUM FLIPPING GAMES". Now that's not to say I have something against Platinum, quite the contrary actually. I like their style, and I enjoy what little I see of it as a casual passer-by. Hell, I enjoy the character of Bayonetta to the extent that I'll watch trailers for Bayonetta 2; a game I don't plan on buying, for a system I don't even own. So, the thought of Platinum feeling pressed to include more Metal Gear elements into Revengeance just so hardcore fans will shut up, only makes me more disappointed with the game's turnout. A midst all the justified yet misguided fan backlash, my only problem with Revengeance was what felt like cruel irony: The game I always wanted was turned into the same kind of experience that I was hoping it would set an example against. Sure, it was doing some pretty neat things; it brought back the "cut anything" mechanic and did meaningful things with it right? No seriously, did it? I don't know because I haven't played it.

Gents, Revengeance might be a good game, it could be a terrific game even, but that doesn't change the fact that it replaced a game that was going to give us something different. Perhaps had Kojima lead Rising instead, Kojima Productions could have set an example with a ninja experience where-shockingly enough-you're actually a bloody NINJA. We can't blame Kojima though (he gave us the excellent Peace Walker), this disappointment falls on the industry as a whole. It's sad that in a day and age where Assassin's Creed and Batman not only exist but prove that legitimate ninja-style gameplay can be incredibly successful, we're still seeing Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z: an arguably fun game in its own right (is it?), but one that continues a stagnant trend that doesn't seem to want to deviate too far from "kill everything on-screen".

Oh well... I got Strider. That's got some Metroidvania going for it. That's a start.

[randomass171]

If you have to blame anyone, you should probably look toward Kojima Productions. His team was so incompetent they couldn't even come together to make a stellar Raiden and game and as a result the project needed to be outsourced to someone who was able to make it work out fairly quickly. Platinum saved the project from ending up in development hell. To me Revengeance isn't about being a ninja, it's just about taking Raiden and making him do even crazier stuff than in MGSIV.

[sweetSWAGGER]

Like other informed individuals, I never wanted Revengeance to be a legitimate ninja game; that door closed the second Kojima Productions stopped working on it. That's why it annoyed me to see so many MGS fans whining to Platinum to make a stealth game. Platinum makes action games: therein lies their strength and expertise.

The real shame is the fact that all the right factors were in place to not only produce the first actual ninja experience, but one that could hopefully set an example that might break the stigma of generic hack 'n slash action in ninja games. Kojima Productions dropped the ball however. "Incompetence" just about sums it up; Kojima can't give them one game on their own without the whole lot falling apart it seems.

[jc48573]

They could have outsourced it to Acquire to make a ninja stealth game. I guess the other problem is that they were having a hard time connecting the story before he became....

Well, not sure if Acquire has the engine to even make a great looking game.

[gamejediben]

Yeah, when they first announced Metal Gear Solid: Rising, I was thinking it would be more like Tenchu: Lots of sneaky action with gadgets and stealth kills followed by a boss fight that required well timed attacks to win.

What we ended up getting was a weird, over the top, mindless action game with a story so crazy that it makes your typical MGS plot look slow and mundane. And considering how crazy a typical MGS plot is, that's saying something.

It wasn't terrible but I can't help wishing that it was never released. Like the recent Ground Zeroes demo, I feel it does great harm to the MGS brand. Overall, I'd give it a 6.5 out of 10 and that's being generous.

I still want to see a ninja game like Tenchu with Grey Fox starring in it set between MG1 and 2. But keep Platinum Games and their corny designs as far away from it as possible.

[sweetSWAGGER]

Tenchu...? You mean somebody not only made a legit ninja game in the same vein as Metal Gear but a series out of it!?

Why did nobody tell me about this? I feel like a child who was just told his birthday was yesterday.

[gamejediben]

Are you saying you never heard of Tenchu before? I first discovered Tenchu a few months before the first MGS released and I remember thinking that MGS was like a modern day Tenchu game.

The first 3 Tenchu games were some of the best stealth action games I have ever played. Unfortunately, the series eventually became half baked. But the first 3 games still hold up quite well, IMO.

[sweetSWAGGER]

In all seriousness, I have heard of it, but I had no idea what it was a stealth action game. Everything I've seen of it had me assume it was just an action game.

Someone needs to make a spiritual successor to this series.

[gamejediben]

Well actually...

the developer of Tenchu (Acquire), did make a spiritual successor called Shinobido for the PSP and PSVita. I haven't played any of them yet but supposedly From Software bought the rights to Tenchu so Acquire created Shinobido to continue making ninja stealth games.