Review: "Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance" (2013) "Konami Hacks And Slashes Cut Scenes More Than Bosses."

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I'll keep this review short and sweet just like the game!

The newest addition into the "Metal Gear" series is truly lacking. And what's it lacking you might ask, well time, difficultly and oh yeah of course the sword that can cut through anything among other things.

Konami did something right with this game when it had some of the most impressive cut scenes BUT that's all the game really is! There are 7 missions for me on the hardest difficulty totaling about 5 and half hours and in that there is maybe 3 hours of gameplay tops. The rests are beautifully crafted scenes with Raiden cutting through and surviving almost near death fights. However when it's the players turn to actually cut something it barely works. Your limited to what can be cut in this linear fashion. And when you're in "Ninja mode" (super speed etc.) and go to slash through fences you fine yourself more less phasing through.

Does anyone else remember the teaser trailer nearly a year ago when Konami showed Raiden cutting through everything?? (Video Belongs to CGR trailers).

The video also shows Raiden easily slicing through his opponents however that's not the case and you'll find yourself doing combos and slicing and dicing enemies to soften them up. This is your typical hack and slash game just like another title to recently come out. Now what was that game called?

Hmm. Oh yeah, "DMC: Devil May Cry" ! This game plays exactly like the new "DMC" game. With hints and jokes to its original series and of course no online play. Leaving the replay value very slim. Unless you are a perfectionist who wants to get S achievements on each mission. The big difference however to this games are your "RV" mode. Throughout the game there are hidden laptops in rooms and achievable missions called "RV" which is specialized missions to play once you complete the game. They are pretty exciting and without them all you really have is your run of the mill hack and slash boring game. However with exciting cut scenes.

Graphically this game fails to please us. The graphics are a 2009 game at best, I was hoping for a 1080p but sadly just 720. The only time you have amazing crystal sharp graphics are in the cinematics and of course in "Ninja Mode" otherwise they look rushed. Especially when you have a look going on at once. When there is fifteen bad guys and just you and it looks like a train wreck. My biggest complaint with the graphics though is the fact that the game is a linear game. SO the scenery should look as crystal clear and perfect as possible. In Metal Gear it's a blurry and not that impressive.

There was only one impressive thing that Metal gear has that was enjoyable are the customization of Raiden's suit. You can change Raiden's appearance add life, learn new moves and even last longer when using your "Ninja Mode". However the most exciting part of the customization is the ability to use secondary weapons. You can add the weapons to the first three bosses. This will give you the ability to use a pole type weapon that can bend and extend. Or a claw that stretch out and grab opponents. And lastly a double swords, which pack a punch. When fighting bosses if you charge up the swords or hit combos you move a hell of a lot slower but it's worth it because you can do double damage. Throughtout the game you will even find rocket launchers, grenades and even boxes to help you even up the score. This is a must have to find seeing as the targeting system is a nightmare especially when fighting enemies that are airborne. Which makes you relay on using rock launchers to blast them out of the sky. Also some of your typical bad guys have jet packs and with the camera angles not supporting you either, I found myself looking at their shadow on ground and JUMPING up to take them down.

Now the boxes of course is for stealth which isn't a must in the game but helps in certain parts. Unless you want to fight 3 huge machines at the same time? Didn't think so, they also serve as a nod for the original games in the series.

Now lets talk about the story. It's a little cheesy not going to lie and is typical. Not many plot twists are involved. You start off guiding a huge political leader then of course the bad guys attack and leave you pretty banged up. This leaves the idea for Raiden to get a new upgraded suit with of course new abilities. The suit would be amazing if the game could support it. The controls are a little sluggish and unless you do the tutorial there is no real reminder. Which get's us back into the story. I'll skip ahead and yes something bad happens to Raiden which causes him to seek revenge, i.e the whole point of the game. And on his quest for revenge he looses his sidekick his sword oh yeah and more importantly Bladewolf. But before he goes he gives you a perfect sword for kicking the main and final bosses ass Armstrong. Who is the reason for Raiden to seek revengeance.

I won't go into more of the story and spoil it, but the controls cause a huge problem and can prohibit you from beating the game. The game doesn't really teach you how to dodge only parry attacks. Which are blocking your opponents attacks no matter how strong. Weak opponents will get dizzy and off balance from this giving you an advantage to kill them. Up until this fight parrying attacks works find with every boss but they never tell you to try something else. IF you only parry attacks with Armstrong who has double your life, you will lose every time. TRUST ME. The only real challenge in the game was trying to beat him until I figured out that I could dodge each one of his attacks. And the most annoying part of this boss is he'll start healing and quickly. You must quickly go into "Ninja Mode" and find his weak spot. (Not going to reveal it.)
*SPOILER* You can actually beat Armstrong without take a lick of damage.

Our Honest View gives, "Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance" (2013) 2 out of 5. This game is a lackluster of complaints and definitely not worth 60$. With no online and only a few RV missions 100% this game in under 7 hours is a definite. The controls, graphics, and of course storyline leave us wondering why did we wait so long for this. I mean if Konami wanted to use 3 hours of cut scenes in a game they could have just made a movie. I probably would have thoroughly enjoyed that more than this game.

By: Gabriel Roderick

Replay Value: Moderately Low

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Review: "Devil May Cry: DMC" (2013) "In A World Of Reboots DMC Slashes It's Own Name."

This reboot of the “Devil May Cry” series raises a lot of questions on whether or not Ninja theory did Dante justice by changing his look, his voice actor, and his origin by making his mother an angle instead of just a normal human. I am proud to say that they were able to pull it off bringing new life into a character and opening the doors for more games to follow. To clear the air the new Dante does not act emo… doesn’t bitch or wine about his mother’s death, he doesn’t wear makeup or talk about how much pain he is in and how futile life is.

 He is though a confused and somewhat tortured soul, he has been forced to fight demons ever since he was a little child and even had to kill all the demons in the orphanage that he was living in. Given his personality grounds as to why he acts the way he does. Ninja theory also harkens back to the old Dante as well with his witty quips to demons and his impossible feats of strength and agility in cut scenes. They also made a rather obvious statement rather early in the game when a long haired white wig falls on to Dante’s head and he looks in the mirror and states “not in a million years” meaning that this is a new younger Dante, and more importantly that this is their version of Dante.  Now while many fans of the old Dante hated the new look I personally didn’t mind it Dante needed a reboot there have been no new DMC games for 7 years when the PS3 first came out my only complaint was the change in voice actors but the new guy Tim Phillips did a surprisingly good job and brought a lot more emotion and believability into the character.

Now while we can argue about his looks all day but it’s time to move on from that and into the new combat system. The main new changes that have been made were the removal of the style changing system from Devil May Cry 4 for a newer, sleeker, and faster combat system. Throughout the game you will be acquiring 6 extra weapons after you acquire Rebellion and Ebony and Ivory. The changes that Ninja Theory makes it so that you can switch between these weapons quickly and more fluidly so that you can keep the momentum of combat moving. Also all the motion capture that the actors did have not gone to waste Dante’s moves look much more believable and it looks like his moves actually carry weight and momentum.

Another interesting addition to the combat is the ability to spend and return your upgrade points. In the game you gather upgrade points you can use to unlock combos or weapon damage, and if you decide that the combo you unlocked doesn’t fit your play style then you can simply take the point out and put it in another skill which gives the player a lot of freedom on how they want to play the game.  Now amongst all of these great positives and fun aspects of the game there are a few glaring negative I need to address and that is the awfully short play time, no replay ability, and rewarding players for barreling through levels.  On the story side it only took me about 9 hours to complete on Nephilium which was the hardest start off difficulty and while I did thoroughly enjoy myself and yes there are harder difficulties to play and beat the game on after that I didn’t find myself really wanting to go back and re beat it on a higher difficulty I had beaten the game an knew how it ended there really wasn’t anything keeping me engaged after I had done all there was to do.

Another gripe I had was the fact that the game would time you and reward you the faster you finish a level. That idea to me was ludicrous you already have a short game why encourage players to not look at all the work you put into it but instead reward them for rushing through the game as quickly as possible. What DMC will need to do for a sequel is take a note from “Darksiders” and open up its world. The mission to mission linear game play style go old a while ago, now if after I beat the game there was still a whole world to explore and secrets to find like in “Darksiders” then its replay ability would have been high. However, there is not there is only mission to mission hopping with little exploration because the developer would rather you rush through their game so you can trade it in the next day. 

Greatest Reviews gives “Devil May Cry: DMC” (2013) 4 and half stars out of 5 for its excellent combat system, good story and voice acting I would have to say try and rent it if you can because once you beat it and are not a completionist like me then you will have nothing to occupy your time once the curtain goes down. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> By: Tyler Comp