I just finished playing the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance demo. My initial impressions? Honestly, I'm very disappointed and bit worried about how good this game will be when it comes out. Most people won't be very quick to write a game off because of its demo, but I think its issues stem from the overall design, not menial things like lag or glitching.
I first thing I noticed from the moment I moved Raiden was that it feels very old-school, and that's not in a good way. The movement feels clunky and limited, like a PS2-era Capcom game (Devil May Cry). I expect more fluidity from a game coming out at the end of a console generation. Jumping up obstacles was a complete mess, and this was further hindered by a frustrating camera. None of the controls seemed to work like the designers imagined.
Thankfully, I got excited by this game for the flashy Platinum Games-style combat. Unfortunately, its a bit lackluster and hack-n-slash. Normally, I love hack-n-slash games and I feel that it can be very exhilarating when done right (DmC). In the demo, the combat was easy and one-dimensional. Any semblance of a challenge was overshadowed by an over-emphasis on flashiness. I'm not distracted by flashy visuals anymore, I want gameplay.
There wasn't too much to set this game apart from any third-party action game. Blade mode is interesting, but I found that it was just frustrating and put a dead stop to the combat. The demo didn't do a very good job of showing us why this mode is interesting, or even necessary.
In the back of my mind, I was thinking that if the gameplay failed, I would look forward to the legendary story-telling of Kojima and the Metal Gear series. To my utter disappointment, that was nowhere to be found either. Again, everything felt third-rate and lackluster. Raiden's one-liners were cringe-worthy, and the overall presentation was cheesy at best. I feel that there isn't much for Metal Gear fans to be excited about.
Hopefully, the final product will be a little better. The thing is, most of its issues are things that are basically set in stone. None of the criticisms that I mentioned will be addressed to a great degree. Don't let my ranting bring you down though, try the demo out and tell me what you think about it.
I don't think Kojima wants to do any more Metal Gear but is chained to the franchise by his publisher. I heard he wanted to pursue new projects was was shot down.
ReplyDeleteTrue, I mean he cancelled this game before Platinum decided to pick it up.
DeleteNice read and a beautiful blog, just stumbled upon it and I really enjoy reading these blog posts. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am currently playing MGR:R and it is crazy fun, yet it has its flaws.
Thank you, I really appreciate it!
DeleteAnd to be totally honest with you, I got to playing the full game too, and I've got to say, it IS quite fun despite its nagging flaws. I love Platinum's games, and I only recently discovered that this game pretty much follows suit with the style of being completely reckless, yet insanely fun.
My first impression of the game through its demo was indeed disappointing, but I think one has to play the full game to learn how to appreciate it properly.
I fully understand how you feel. The demo was decent but the game itself actually gets better after the first one. I felt that, while the dialog between characters was hardly interesting, there were a couple of memorable quotes, but the gameplay is just so intense and fun that some flaws can be forgiven. I feel like the game has a lot of promise, I would like to see a sequel with a more polished and a well written stories, much like the Metal Gear Solid series.
DeleteThere are many flaws with the game, I agree with that, I had many issues with the Ninja run actually, with it glitching sometimes and there are many invisible walls, like in the middle of a regular road and so on and so forth.
It's official! Kojima loves Pacific Rim!
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