..Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance..

(Continuation)

In terms of gameplay, there is a ninja run that is reminiscent of Assassin's Creed and helps Raiden navigate obstacles, though rather than buildings, he'll be dashing through the level at top speed. There are parries, and it's very cool seeing him deflect bullets with his sword.

Blade mode, essentially a first-person sword mode, causes maximum damage with strong and light attacks wreaking havoc on everything in your path. Enemy A.I. is complex enough to pose serious challenges, particularly at the higher difficulty levels. Boss battles are grand events that are multi-tiered, involving a complexity that is notches above previous fights. They are climactic exclamation marks to exhilarating levels.

Beating the bosses also unlocks additional weapon upgrades that increase the versatility of the combat. After defeating the IF Prototype LQ-84i, it becomes your partner as Bladewolf, making for an interesting companion throughout your adventures.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is short and sweet. I was surprised that the story was straightforward in its execution. Some may consider that a good thing, but I missed the crazy, convoluted machinations full of conspiracy theories that became a hallmark of the Solid games. The enemies this time around are a terrorist group called the Desperadoes, and while they're not quite as memorable as, say the Foxhound enemies of MGS1 or even the Beauty and the Beast Unit of MGS4, they make for a colorful gallery of villains.

"I'm just the reaper," Raiden says, and flashes of his violent past as Jack the Ripper emerge, making for an interesting conflict of identity. As usual, you have a team at Maverick Security to back you up and provide intel. Kevin and Courtney, however, aren't anywhere near as interesting as Otacon, Naomi, and the Colonel. There's a lot of recorded dialogue when you communicate via Codec with your companions. In Solid, I loved the exchanges. This time around, I ended up skipping most of them. At the least, I was grateful we didn't have Rose continually asking Raiden during the middle of his mortal fight to the death if he knew what day April 30th was.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is an adrenaline-pumping romp through the world of Metal Gear where action takes precedence over stealth. It makes mincemeat of most of its competition, and it looks effortlessly cool doing it.