Metal Gear Solid Rising Review

METAL GEAR SOLID RISING: We speculate on what to expect from Raiden's new Metal Gear mission.

Only Kojima himself and the good people over at Konami know what's in store for Metal Gear fans with the upcoming release of Metal Gear Solid: Rising on Xbox 360 and PS3. But just because we have virtually no solid information on the game, doesn't mean we can't predict what Rising will be like. We scrape together all the bits and bobs of info related to Metal Gear Solid: Rising to come up with six educated guesses on what to expect from the game.

How will playing as Raiden effect gameplay?
If you've played Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, you may remember the blisteringly-intense fight between bloodsucking MGS baddie Vamp and Raiden. Without question, this is one of the most memorable cinematics in the whole game, mostly because Metal Gear's younger, blonder protagonist redeems his girlish image by showcasing some insane strength and acrobatics during the duel. Raiden is not only able to slice bullets right out of the air with his razor-sharp sword but his robo legs are mighty enough to swing multiple Metal Gears around in the air as he performs a break dancing spin on his back.

Raiden also has daggers affixed to his feet, which he stomps down into Vamp's hairy bare chest. So, there's a high likelyhood that Raiden will be able to pull off gravity-defying, killer break dancing moves in Metal Gear Solid: Rising too.

Crying Wolf and Colonel Campbell return in Metal Gear Solid: Rising
We're not going to spray you down with a bunch of B.S.--it's true we know next to nothing about the forthcoming Metal Gear Solid game. But there are a few kernels of hard info we do know that were hinted at in the trailer for Rising. We know that former Foxhound commander, Colonel Roy Campbell is in the game as you can hear him say "Raiden is back" in the trailer. What does this mean? Well, it probably means that he'll have a similar role as seen in past Metal Gear games, acting as Raiden's commanding officer rather than Snake's.

Another more interesting revelation from the MGS: Rising trailer is that Raiden is shown perched on top of The Beauty and the Beast Unit's sniper Crying Wolf, who was slain by none other than Solid Snake towards the end of MGS4. Does this mean she didn't really die? Or perhaps part of Rising's story will explain how she was resurrected. Either way, it's pretty clear Crying Wolf and her tremendously powerful rail gun are going to be appear in Rising in some form.

The Subtitle: "Lightning Bolt Action"
The original Metal Gear Solid's full title was Metal Gear Solid: Tactical Espionage Action. As revealed at Microsoft's E3 2009 conference, the next Metal Gear Solid game's subtitle is Lightning Bolt Action. And while it is possible that this name has absolutely no bearing on how the game will play, we're betting that it reflects how Rising will switch things up quite a bit, offering much faster-paced gameplay (as seen in the section of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty where you play as Raiden) and combat due to Raiden's nimble, lightning-quick abilities.

We're thinking the game could feel like a cross between Metal Gear Solid, as Konami will almost certainly not abandon all stealth aspects of previous MGS games (the trailer concludes with the words "Sneak In" after all), and God of War, in that you're ripping through giant armies of adversaries, rather than sneaking around the whole game.

Demonic Ogres "The Oni"
I'm no authority on Japanese art, or any art for that matter, or actually anything that's not related to horror movies, fast food, or heavy metal, but I'm pretty sure that's Oni, the Japanese demon, who pops up in the official trailer a couple of times. Is this hint at Rising's story meant to be taken literally or symbolically? It could mean absolutely nothing but why would they waste time showing this image twice in a thirty-six second long teaser trailer if it wasn't alluding to something important in Metal Gear Solid: Rising?

According to Japanese folklore (and Wikipedia), the Oni were demons that terrorized villagers and were driven out by people throwing soybeans at them. It's hard to imagine how this would play into a Metal Gear game, but there was also an old expression involving the Oni that translated to "a child that does not resemble its parents is the child of an oni." Well, we know from playing as Snake's daddy in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater that the Oni can't be Snake. So, do the images of the Oni have to do with who Raiden is?

Raiden was involved in a manly battle--just look at his face!
It doesn't take a detective to see that Raiden is sporting some gnarly new wounds. I'm tired of writing so I'll elaborate on this with my below average Photoshop skills. Check out Raiden's new look above, which suggests that he was in one hell of a fight after the events of Metal Gear Solid 4.

Does that mean Snake is gone for good?
Before Hideo Kojima, father of the Metal Gear series, unveiled Metal Gear Rising to the world last week at E3, he joked 'hey, I didn't say anything about Solid Snake.' No, it wasn't funny, but we can't fathom a new MGS game without the series' iconic raspy-voiced spy involved in some way. Metal Gear Solid: Rising may be branching out from the same old Metal Gear formula, but we can probably count on Snake making an appearance in the upcoming game at the very least, even if they have to bring him out in a wheelchair to give some expertise to Raiden.

Of course, I could be wrong about some, most, or all of these things. What secrets do you guys and girls think Metal Gear Solid: Rising will hold?