Metal Gear Rising (developed by Platinum Games)

[Strider77]

Grabbed the PS3 LE of ZOE HD today and gave the Rising demo a try. What a clusterfuck. Offensive combat is just fine, but there's some serious lacking in your defensive options. Namely that you have one and that's a parry initiated by timing a weak attack. No block, no dodge, in fact no easy way of moving around the battlefield at all. The entire experience feels painfully stiff compared to something like Ninja Gaiden. Having no means of defence other then the parry makes learning timings critical, but that's next to impossible to do in a hurry when you're being raped to shit by a boss that is jumping all over the arena and you're moving like a retarded snail. My kingdom for a fucking dodge button.

Oh and stuns last about a second too long.

I could not disagree more... are you serious about moving around on the battle field. Wish I had a way to make a gameplay vid.

Metal Gear Rising... you are playing it wrong. I wasn't parrying on my fist 30 min on NG. Hell you don't even need to really. My 1st play through I didn't bother. I do now though.

I love what I have played so far. I can sneak around and assassinate, swing geko's around, slide and dice things apart. Love it.... it's so fast and the lightning run makes you VERY mobile on the battle field. Don't even have to jump half the time it leaps ect on his own.

How much time have you spent with it? I parry alot on the robot dog fight. I can own him now actually, didn't on my first try. Games like this are like fighting games... you are not a master of it in an hour. Play with it more... give it more of a shot. I'm going to have alot of fun with this one. Love that constant 60 FPS.

Side note.... what do u tthink of that HD Zone of the Enders 1 and 2 port?

[njiska]

I could not disagree more... are you serious about moving around on the battle field. Wish I had a way to make a gameplay vid.

Metal Gear Rising... you are playing it wrong. I wasn't parrying on my fist 30 min on NG. Hell you don't even need to really. My 1st play through I didn't bother. I do now though.

I love what I have played so far. I can sneak around and assassinate, swing geko's around, slide and dice things apart. Love it.... it's so fast and the lightning run makes you VERY mobile on the battle field. Don't even have to jump half the time it leaps ect on his own.

How much time have you spent with it? I parry alot on the robot dog fight. I can own him now actually, didn't on my first try. Games like this are like fighting games... you are not a master of it in an hour. Play with it more... give it more of a shot. I'm going to have alot of fun with this one. Love that constant 60 FPS.

Side note.... what do u tthink of that HD Zone of the Enders 1 and 2 port?

I have no problem with how the system is setup for normal combat. I can own soldiers and Gekkos without any difficulty and usually get a combat S rank, but I'm still quite annoyed at the lack of a dodge when it comes to fighting that fucking cat. Even with lightning run movement feels very stiff and not fluid when it comes to moving around the cat. Timing for parrying the cat is difficult to learn with how fast he moves, how much damage is dealt and how long stun from his hits last. Plus half the time I find it really hard to know if I parried successfully or if he was just far enough to the side to miss my swing. The bottom line is, it's cool that you like it, but I am seriously annoyed by the lack of a dodge and feel the combat would feel 1000x more fun with it.

I have only put in around an hour of play time, but A: that should be more than enough to learn what's needed for a short demo and a first stage boss; and B: I'd have played more, but the demo keeps locking up my system as seems to be common for the PS3 version.

As for ZOE, I've only really put in a bit of time with the original and it's a pretty dam good port. The lower framerate is not really noticable. Gameplay still feels the same.

EDIT: Just put in another half hour with the cat (Apparently It's a wolf but moves like a panther?) and you know what? Fuck it, I'm done for now. I am not having fun with this fight and it's entirely because I do not feel i am in control of Raiden as well as I would like to be. I want a dodge or I want the parry/block to be it's own damn button so I know it's being executed. As It stands I'm extremely disappointed.

[Strider77]

Use your air kick more and also your slide kick. I don't feel the need to dodge with the run. I do "drive by slashing" one him also. I find him easy now.

The lower framerate is not really noticable. Gameplay still feels the same.

Wait till u play the second one. I am dissapointed even though I really don't want to be.

[njiska]

The lower framerate is not really noticable. Gameplay still feels the same.

Wait till u play the second one. I am dissapointed even though I really don't want to be.

It's been ages since I've played 2nd Runner. I'll have to bust out my PS2 copy for comparisons sake.

[Strider77]

The frame rate suffers.... let me know how it compares frame rate wise on PS2 vs PS3.

[BulletMagnet]

The frame rate suffers.... let me know how it compares frame rate wise on PS2 vs PS3.

Supposedly the 360 version runs a little better than the PS3 one does...this article has a link near the bottom to a comparison video or two. I'm holding off on picking up my copy for the moment, to see if there are any plans to patch it.

[BIL]

Ugh. I was under the impression Bluepoint Games were handling the ZOE HDC. Hope it's patchable, whatever ails it. Not too bothered, still got Anubis Special on PS2 - goes without saying to never part with existing copies until new ports are thoroughly vetted. LMAO + MANLY TEARS @ poor saps who sold off their PS2 Silent Hill 2 & 3 for the defaced, bug-ridden, beta code-using HDC Konami is, nevertheless, delighted to take your money for.

[njiska]

Spent some more time with the demo again today after taking a breather. I have a better understanding of the parry system now. Both why it is used and why it annoys me. I understand that the lack of dodge is because they want you to be using parry to not just block, but stun your enemies to leave an opening for a quick kill. When it works this is incredibly fulfilling, especially against blade wolf, however, I am finding that the game is very finicky when determining whether to throw a parry or a light sword swing. This appears to be what's been annoying me most, not just Blade Wolf's timing. If the parry was it's own discrete button I feel it would be far less of an issue. Because it's so finicky and heavy use is going to be required my most players when fighting Blade Wolf, I can see this being a major wall for new players that may be a huge turn off. I'm cautiously optimistic.

[Strider77]

I didn't find that fight that hard though... you can just run around and dodge his attacks. He telegraphs his attacks by glowing yellow. When he is not yellow run in with a heavy atack then hack up with whatever you want. Then he calls in goons and that give you a chance to completely restore health.

[njiska]

I didn't find that fight that hard though... you can just run around and dodge his attacks. He telegraphs his attacks by glowing yellow. When he is not yellow run in with a heavy atack then hack up with whatever you want. Then he calls in goons and that give you a chance to completely restore health.

No offense Strider, but I wouldn't exactly call you the average player either. You've got a lot more experience with this kind of game then most people who will pick it up the first time. If you look around the net there have been a lot of people finding blade wolf to be quite the challenge. I still can't beat him after well over an hour of fighting him and knowing the intricacies of his fight. And yes, he does telegraph, but that has nothing to do with the parry command not actually working 100% of the time. I still get caught by some of his moves when trying to dodge with the run.

[Strider77]

Just found out there is a dodge actaully.

[njiska]

Really?

[njiska]

Well, I can more or less own Blade Wolf now. And it is really fun. However, parrying is still very hit or miss and that is annoying. You're right about the dodge; Square + Cross and a direction will sometimes do a circle strafe, though like the parry it's inconsistant.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

Gosh, I was waiting for the ZoE collection to support the new ZoE game. But I is disappoint and went ahead and bought myself a ps2 copy of ZoE2. Fuck Konami.

[mesh control]

Boss trailer

[Blade]

My concerns about this game:

--Will "cut at will" precision cutting control still be in this? I can't picture using the analog stick that fast. Will it work with Move/Kinect?
--I hope they don't abuse mashing like Bayonetta, my thumbs can't take that much abuse!
--QTEs...um...please don't use them that much, I like controlling my movements, nothing overly surprising or complicated, thanks!
--NO MORE EARNING HALOS PLEASE, I HATE GRINDING FOR HALOS!

My (semi-unrealistic) hopes for this game:

--Raiden needs to have alternate outfits like Grey Fox's Cyborg Ninja and Null outfit, even if it's only a small thing.
--Blood and gore should splatter on his body like Berserk for PS2! None of that magical vanishing slop from Resident Evil games.
--Movelist should include sword-thrust (like MGS2) and dashing strike (like the Ninja Missions in MGS: VR Missions).
--Raiden needs to use Stealth Camo at least a couple times in this game. I know they said it's not going to be Stealth-based, but there should be a few missions you can use it in. He won't be a Ninja otherwise. If Batman: Arkham City can balance action and stealth, so can this game.
--Raiden needs a jump button, and possible top-down camera angle, like the MGS games...if only to throw people a bone when he jumps from rooftop to rooftop or jumping on top of Gekko heads!
--Raiden needs to fight Orbital Frames like Zone of Enders stuff! On a related note, Raiden needs Zero Shift!!
--Where's the B&B Unit!?
--Raiden should be able to run along walls and ceilings and cut things like Strider Hiryu!/Moondiver Seyfert!
--Raiden should be able to cut projectiles/bullets to be sure! Or do stuff like Megaman Zero/Haku=men at least!

Retroactively quoting myself is FUN!!

--Blade Mode is IN!
--Mashing is reasonable...even Stealth Kills don't force you to mash!
--These aren't QTEs since you have a lot of control over how you fight the enemies! You don't even have to finish them off, you can just let them fall!
--BP seems expensive, but more fun to earn than Halos!
--Gray Fox/MGS4 Raiden Outfit (CHECK!)
--Blood is gooey (CHECK!) (Hope there's an option for White Blood though). I'm worried about Jack the Ripper...is Raiden throwing his job with Maverick away!?!?
--He has Dante's STINGER!!!
--I think Stealth Camo might be an expensive upgrade, but there's always THE BOX.
--Jump/Jump Attacks/Jump Combos (CHECK!!)
--Controllable Camera (CHECK!)
--Metal Gear Ray + Awesome Mecha Enemies (CHECK!)
--Bullets get blocked During Ninja Run...dunno about wall run yet, hope it's in though.

[DragonInstall]

Probably one of the worst demos I've played for an action game.

Run slash slash... sword mode spam the two slash buttons, grab power cell... boom full meter.

The stealth felt retardedly tacked on. I love how I can stealth kill a mech with huge explosions and metal cutting, also yelling while doing it. Then a guard 10 feet away doesn't notice it.

Game feels like a mess, not knowing what they really wanted to create. No where near NG or DMC series quality.

[Zaarock]

It's a bit too easy and doesn't tell you nearly enough about the mechanics at least. (the tutorial just shows blade mode lol). At least telling you the dodge input (jump+attack) and some of the attacks ("stinger", launcher) would've been nice. Parrying it does tell about and it seems like maybe the most important mechanic in the game which is interesting. At first I was trying to dodge attacks like most games but it feels like the defence here is all about timing parries or counters.

I appreciate how different the mechanics are from DMC/NG, have to see how it plays out in the full game.

[Obiwanshinobi]

At first I was trying to dodge attacks like most games but it feels like the defence here is all about timing parries or counters.

A thing God of War did rather well.

[CMoon]

Yeah, I actually feel like Platinum are acknowledging how tired some of these other mechanics are. Raiden is a glass cannon--the more I mess with the demo the more I find that nothing has a chance even with extremely basic combos. I assume the game will be much harder, and that you're gonna be playing levels over and over for higher score. Honestly I find the special moves (stinger, launcer, 'spinning bird kick') to be useless with such weak enemies, but perhaps in the real game they'll take a huge beating before you can insta-kill them. The flip-side is that it is very easy to get hit. You can't parry unless you are facing an enemy, so it seems like you are going to spend a lot of time in ninja-run to avoid getting shot and setting up your attacks. Against the boss sometimes I slaughter him, but if I get my timing off I'm mincemeat, so the ease seems balanced with your own frailty.

Finally realized (stupid me) that you can go into blade mode during a stealth kill. Only reason this isn't going to be a first day purchase for me is because I just dropped a load of cash on car maintenance. That said, waiting for reviews is never a bad thing.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

They gotta throw God Hard difficulty there. Vanquish was no pushover on God Hard.

[Zaarock]

Yeah, I'm guessing the Revengeance difficulty is similar. God Hard was cool to play through (esp. last bosses) but IMO it isn't as fun as speedrunning or playing normal/hard for score because it limits the mechanics and forces you to play cover shooter more

[spadgy]

I got a copy of this Friday for review purposes, and have now put about three or four hours in. But I'm not allowed to say a word about my opinions or the game's contents until the embargo lifts on Feb 19th. But, holy hell, I want to say a lot! Grrr. I swear, sometimes I'd rather not play a game early and instead play it with everyone else so you can share in the experience.

[evil_ash_xero]

Spadgy, that's unfair man!

I want to pester you now.

[Skykid]

Spadgy, that's unfair man!

I want to pester you now.

Everyone hit the PM button!

[spadgy]

It's interactive and presented largely through the mediums of light and sound. I'll say that much.

[Skykid]

It's interactive

Well that's already a step up from regular Metal Gear. What a scoop!

[spadgy]

It's interactive

Well that's already a step up from regular Metal Gear. What a scoop!

Ha ha! Very good...

[Ed Oscuro]

Is it...CD-Interactive?

Sheesh, I should have realized it - Philips has re-entered the console game with a third Zelda game! (or maybe a second "Link" one)

[spadgy]

Man, you are good at reading between the lines.