Metal Gear Rising VS DmC
- Thread starter Noel
- Start date
Hmm, they gave Raiden an eyepatch... and that's about it. Isn't it?
Gbraga
Well-known Member
I think he probably means what they did to him storywise after his MGS4 ending.
V
Oldschool DMC fan
I mean more the transition from original MGS2 revelations with upbeat ending to... this.
Ahh. Well, I understand that to build a sequal, a spin-off or whatever MGR is considered as, they need to expand on the story in one way or the other. Of course, the story writers cannot make a story that pleases everyone, and we all know that fans of a series have their own special view on how things should be like which means they are easy to disappoint.
chocolateghost79
First of the Dead
Okay so I played the Metal Gear Rising demo finally, and I must say it was pretty awesome! I had alot of fun playing it and I went pretty extensive with my playthrough. I'm gonna go ahead and apologize for the long post, because I go into great detail. So I'm sorry for this wall of text guys. Lol
I'll start off saying how it looks. When the game is in motion it looks great. Every one of Raiden's attacks looks sharp and crisp, even when he just running it looks good. Overall the environments and enemies are pretty bland but that's okay considering I was just fighting fodder enemies anyway. I did experience a good amount of glitching (which of course will come with just about any demo) but I also came about alot of framerate dips. As others have said the framerate usually drops if you use the blade mode too much. But besides that the framerate was consistent and beautifully fluid.
Now onto the gameplay! At first the gameplay did seem pretty generic. One button for light attacks and another button for heavy attacks. I was hoping the B button (Xbox 360) would have some type of unique attack, but unfortunately it didn't serve a purpose in my playthrough. In fact, I can't remember what the B button does at all (actually I remembered it did stealth actions but besides that I don't think it serves a purpose). But anywho, so Metal Gear Rising does take a more simple approach to combat using dial combos to create its depth. So I began mashing away to test out some combos. They looked great and were fun to pull off, but after killing a few enemies I decided to find out what does what. So I found that you have a certain amount of combos mixing light and heavy attacks, you have a limited amount of pause combos, and you have a little bit of aerial moves, oh and holding RT (Xbox 360) will also create different moves.
The player does have a big arsenal of dial combos, which is good if this is what the game is building its combat system on. The player could use all light attacks for combos, all heavy attacks, numerous ways to mix the two, and as I said pause combos are nice to make different combos.
Using the analogue stick will give the player a little more diversity as well, creating moves such as the breakdance and the palm fist which are both just awesome! The most difficult move I found to pull off in the game was the stinger attack, in which the player must press forward forward Y. I hope this move is fixed to where it is a little easier to pull off, because the only time I could do it would be by taking most of my hand off the controller to push the analogue stick forward.
The pause combos are great because they take precise timing and technique to pull of which I liked. I experimented with them for awhile to see how many pause combos I had, but I only discovered a few. Nonetheless they are great for combat and great for giving depth to the player.
One thing that I think should be improved is the aerial combat. Once the player is in the air there isn't that much they can do. There's a diving missle kick, and a couple of combos and that's about all (besides using blade mode, which I will get to momentarily). It was satisfying launching an enemy into the air, but after that I felt like my arsenal of combos greatly diminished. One thing I forgot to try was pause combos in-air, so maybe that was one reason for my lack of aerial combat. One big reason aerial combat was driving me crazy was because I couldn't find any type of juggling ability, enemy step, or jump canceling. I was expecting since this was from Platinum and they implemented jump canceling into Bayonetta they would certainly do it for this title, and to my disappointment they did not. Every time I was in the air I wanted to cancel out my attack frames and perform some crazy combos, but I could not. And I couldn't juggle enemies because the player is only given one melee weapon in this demo and since Raiden doesn't have any immediate secondary weapon like a pistol it is tough to pull off anything like a juggle (I realize there are rocket launchers and grenades, I will get to that as well).
As I mentioned earlier the player can hold RT (the ninja run button) to alternate combat too. When I held RT and pressed Y Raiden would sweep the enemy up giving me a chance to combo him, launch him higher, or slice him to pieces. Holding RT and pressing X will make Raiden do a drive by quick slash. You can combo this quick slash into multiple quick slashes, but sometimes it's difficult since Raiden runs so fast you might end up running away from the enemy. Another thing I like about the ninja run is it makes traversal pretty fun, and I especially like the parkour Raiden utilizes while using the ninja run.
Next, the blade mode. A big element in this game is utilizing the blade mode and learning techniques to use it. The blade mode is a fun mechanic and definitely makes the combat system unique when compared to other hack n slash games. At first I found it to be somewhat hard to use and even a little clunky. But it gets better over time (it's easier to use x to slash instead of manually doing it with analogue stick) unless you just want to take your time and precision cut something. At times the blade mode can break the flow of combat since it literally slows down time, but at other times it can really improve the combat in unique ways. For example it might break the fluidity of combat if the player tries to interrupt a combo with it, but an example of the blade mode enhancing the combat is if a player sweeps an enemy up into the air and slides under them chopping them into a million pieces. Pulling off the blade mode at the right time is one of the most satisfying things in the world, but as I mentioned if the player uses it at the wrong time it can really hinder gameplay.
The game uses a simple auto-lock which works pretty well. In fact I don't think it ever directed me to someone I didn't want to attack, and the player can switch it on and off by tapping RB.
One mechanic I find pretty useless is the stealth mechanic. Yes it does help cut down your enemies quickly and efficiently, but it just doesn't give me a satisfying feeling and when you do it, it does this weird slow down where you think you would be able to use your blade mode but you can't. It's just an awkward slow down. Lol But like I said it does serve a purpose, but it's just overall not fun to use And plus the incredible dumb AI made it feel like I was over-powered. Seriously, if you're behind an enemy you can run and jump behind them and they will not discover you.
Now on to sub-weapons. This is probably my biggest gripe about the game so far. The combat with Raiden's primary weapon is so quick, fluid, and fast! buuuuut if you try to continue that fluid pace with sub weapons, you can forget about it because that ain't happening. Lol When trying to quickly pull out a sub weapon during combat a menu pops up in which the player has to flip through options to choose what they want and it completely breaks the fast pace that this game is known for. Then once you have the sub weapon you want to use you still are not able to quickly use it (at least this is the case for the rocket launcher and grenades). Once you have chosen your sub weapon you have to hold LB to aim and RB to throw/shoot your weapon and this just doesn't work well when you are trying to create long flowing combos. Now I assume once the player gets melee weapons in the full game, this process will be a little less annoying and will help build fluidity back up, but the problem still stands that the player cannot quickly switch from one weapon to another. I hope in the final build there will be one button to switch from primary weapon to sub-weapon or else many hack n slash fans will be disappointed by the lack of quick weapon switching.
Next is the parry system. The parry system is also a big part of this game and something the player needs to learn immediately or you will die...alot. Performing parries are very simple inputs of forward and X, but they are hard to master. Just like the pause combos parrying is a skill in which timing and precision is key. Parrying enemies will also open up great opportunities for the player such as stunning enemies or momentarily staggering them. Once an enemy is parried it is easy to follow that up with a combo or the blade mode. The downside to the parry system is that it's just about the only way you can protect yourself. The parry is basically a block, which takes the place of an efficient evade/dodge system. There is a dodge in the game, but it took me awhile to find it and it just doesn't feel useful or efficient. You can do a little dash backwards or which ever way you aim by pressing A+X. I don't like this evade system, because not only does it feel like an awkward button combination to dodge, but it's also slow, and if you don't hit both buttons you might end up lunging forward with an attack or jumping into harm's way. So yeah I think the evade system could use some work as well.
Lastly, on to the boss fight. Now the boss fight was definitely a highlight of the game because it put everything you learned to the test, using appropriate combos, parrying, and taking advantage of the blade mode. Now this boss isn't the typical "attack this glowing yellow spot to damage it" it's just go at it and attack it head on. The boss is definitely difficult, which is a great thing to see in boss fights and it had a lot of great attacks. Though the boss looked like a generic ZOID it was still fun to fight. It would use it's chainsaw tail to persistently attack me, so I had to parry as much as I could. The boss fight was divided into sections to give it a nice cinematic quality. You would take down some of the boss's health it would retreat calling in fodder enemies for you to kill and recharge zandatsu meter and health. This actually made the boss fight alot easier however, because the player had opportunities to regain health. I personally would've liked to fight the cyborg wolf with no interruptions and no health increases.
So to sum everything up here are my Pros and Cons of the demo.
PROS:
- a large amount of dial combos
- pause combos and analogue inputs are great for diversifying combat
- movement in this game looks amazing
- combat is fast, fluid, and satisfying
- blade mode is quite fun to use
- the ninja run makes traversal fun as well as lending to combat
- the over the top factor in this game is off the charts
- cool music to suite combat
- difficulty is well-balanced, and if you're not careful even fodder enemies will kill you
- a fantastic boss fight
- ninja cat (enough said)
CONS:
- not much of an efficient evade or dodge system
- framerate drops will happen if you use blade mode too much
- AI is pretty dumb
- no jump cancelling
- sub-weapon switching is not fluid whatsoever
- dat lip-sync
- enemies and environments are bland
- no move list (super annoying)
- doing stealth kills aren't really fun or satisfying to pull off
- aerial combat is pretty limited
So yeah there's my impressions, I hope this has given an in depth look to people who are anticipating the game. Now I can't wait to play the DmC demo so I can more efficiently compare the two.
I'll start off saying how it looks. When the game is in motion it looks great. Every one of Raiden's attacks looks sharp and crisp, even when he just running it looks good. Overall the environments and enemies are pretty bland but that's okay considering I was just fighting fodder enemies anyway. I did experience a good amount of glitching (which of course will come with just about any demo) but I also came about alot of framerate dips. As others have said the framerate usually drops if you use the blade mode too much. But besides that the framerate was consistent and beautifully fluid.
Now onto the gameplay! At first the gameplay did seem pretty generic. One button for light attacks and another button for heavy attacks. I was hoping the B button (Xbox 360) would have some type of unique attack, but unfortunately it didn't serve a purpose in my playthrough. In fact, I can't remember what the B button does at all (actually I remembered it did stealth actions but besides that I don't think it serves a purpose). But anywho, so Metal Gear Rising does take a more simple approach to combat using dial combos to create its depth. So I began mashing away to test out some combos. They looked great and were fun to pull off, but after killing a few enemies I decided to find out what does what. So I found that you have a certain amount of combos mixing light and heavy attacks, you have a limited amount of pause combos, and you have a little bit of aerial moves, oh and holding RT (Xbox 360) will also create different moves.
The player does have a big arsenal of dial combos, which is good if this is what the game is building its combat system on. The player could use all light attacks for combos, all heavy attacks, numerous ways to mix the two, and as I said pause combos are nice to make different combos.
Using the analogue stick will give the player a little more diversity as well, creating moves such as the breakdance and the palm fist which are both just awesome! The most difficult move I found to pull off in the game was the stinger attack, in which the player must press forward forward Y. I hope this move is fixed to where it is a little easier to pull off, because the only time I could do it would be by taking most of my hand off the controller to push the analogue stick forward.
The pause combos are great because they take precise timing and technique to pull of which I liked. I experimented with them for awhile to see how many pause combos I had, but I only discovered a few. Nonetheless they are great for combat and great for giving depth to the player.
One thing that I think should be improved is the aerial combat. Once the player is in the air there isn't that much they can do. There's a diving missle kick, and a couple of combos and that's about all (besides using blade mode, which I will get to momentarily). It was satisfying launching an enemy into the air, but after that I felt like my arsenal of combos greatly diminished. One thing I forgot to try was pause combos in-air, so maybe that was one reason for my lack of aerial combat. One big reason aerial combat was driving me crazy was because I couldn't find any type of juggling ability, enemy step, or jump canceling. I was expecting since this was from Platinum and they implemented jump canceling into Bayonetta they would certainly do it for this title, and to my disappointment they did not. Every time I was in the air I wanted to cancel out my attack frames and perform some crazy combos, but I could not. And I couldn't juggle enemies because the player is only given one melee weapon in this demo and since Raiden doesn't have any immediate secondary weapon like a pistol it is tough to pull off anything like a juggle (I realize there are rocket launchers and grenades, I will get to that as well).
As I mentioned earlier the player can hold RT (the ninja run button) to alternate combat too. When I held RT and pressed Y Raiden would sweep the enemy up giving me a chance to combo him, launch him higher, or slice him to pieces. Holding RT and pressing X will make Raiden do a drive by quick slash. You can combo this quick slash into multiple quick slashes, but sometimes it's difficult since Raiden runs so fast you might end up running away from the enemy. Another thing I like about the ninja run is it makes traversal pretty fun, and I especially like the parkour Raiden utilizes while using the ninja run.
Next, the blade mode. A big element in this game is utilizing the blade mode and learning techniques to use it. The blade mode is a fun mechanic and definitely makes the combat system unique when compared to other hack n slash games. At first I found it to be somewhat hard to use and even a little clunky. But it gets better over time (it's easier to use x to slash instead of manually doing it with analogue stick) unless you just want to take your time and precision cut something. At times the blade mode can break the flow of combat since it literally slows down time, but at other times it can really improve the combat in unique ways. For example it might break the fluidity of combat if the player tries to interrupt a combo with it, but an example of the blade mode enhancing the combat is if a player sweeps an enemy up into the air and slides under them chopping them into a million pieces. Pulling off the blade mode at the right time is one of the most satisfying things in the world, but as I mentioned if the player uses it at the wrong time it can really hinder gameplay.
The game uses a simple auto-lock which works pretty well. In fact I don't think it ever directed me to someone I didn't want to attack, and the player can switch it on and off by tapping RB.
One mechanic I find pretty useless is the stealth mechanic. Yes it does help cut down your enemies quickly and efficiently, but it just doesn't give me a satisfying feeling and when you do it, it does this weird slow down where you think you would be able to use your blade mode but you can't. It's just an awkward slow down. Lol But like I said it does serve a purpose, but it's just overall not fun to use And plus the incredible dumb AI made it feel like I was over-powered. Seriously, if you're behind an enemy you can run and jump behind them and they will not discover you.
Now on to sub-weapons. This is probably my biggest gripe about the game so far. The combat with Raiden's primary weapon is so quick, fluid, and fast! buuuuut if you try to continue that fluid pace with sub weapons, you can forget about it because that ain't happening. Lol When trying to quickly pull out a sub weapon during combat a menu pops up in which the player has to flip through options to choose what they want and it completely breaks the fast pace that this game is known for. Then once you have the sub weapon you want to use you still are not able to quickly use it (at least this is the case for the rocket launcher and grenades). Once you have chosen your sub weapon you have to hold LB to aim and RB to throw/shoot your weapon and this just doesn't work well when you are trying to create long flowing combos. Now I assume once the player gets melee weapons in the full game, this process will be a little less annoying and will help build fluidity back up, but the problem still stands that the player cannot quickly switch from one weapon to another. I hope in the final build there will be one button to switch from primary weapon to sub-weapon or else many hack n slash fans will be disappointed by the lack of quick weapon switching.
Next is the parry system. The parry system is also a big part of this game and something the player needs to learn immediately or you will die...alot. Performing parries are very simple inputs of forward and X, but they are hard to master. Just like the pause combos parrying is a skill in which timing and precision is key. Parrying enemies will also open up great opportunities for the player such as stunning enemies or momentarily staggering them. Once an enemy is parried it is easy to follow that up with a combo or the blade mode. The downside to the parry system is that it's just about the only way you can protect yourself. The parry is basically a block, which takes the place of an efficient evade/dodge system. There is a dodge in the game, but it took me awhile to find it and it just doesn't feel useful or efficient. You can do a little dash backwards or which ever way you aim by pressing A+X. I don't like this evade system, because not only does it feel like an awkward button combination to dodge, but it's also slow, and if you don't hit both buttons you might end up lunging forward with an attack or jumping into harm's way. So yeah I think the evade system could use some work as well.
Lastly, on to the boss fight. Now the boss fight was definitely a highlight of the game because it put everything you learned to the test, using appropriate combos, parrying, and taking advantage of the blade mode. Now this boss isn't the typical "attack this glowing yellow spot to damage it" it's just go at it and attack it head on. The boss is definitely difficult, which is a great thing to see in boss fights and it had a lot of great attacks. Though the boss looked like a generic ZOID it was still fun to fight. It would use it's chainsaw tail to persistently attack me, so I had to parry as much as I could. The boss fight was divided into sections to give it a nice cinematic quality. You would take down some of the boss's health it would retreat calling in fodder enemies for you to kill and recharge zandatsu meter and health. This actually made the boss fight alot easier however, because the player had opportunities to regain health. I personally would've liked to fight the cyborg wolf with no interruptions and no health increases.
So to sum everything up here are my Pros and Cons of the demo.
PROS:
- a large amount of dial combos
- pause combos and analogue inputs are great for diversifying combat
- movement in this game looks amazing
- combat is fast, fluid, and satisfying
- blade mode is quite fun to use
- the ninja run makes traversal fun as well as lending to combat
- the over the top factor in this game is off the charts
- cool music to suite combat
- difficulty is well-balanced, and if you're not careful even fodder enemies will kill you
- a fantastic boss fight
- ninja cat (enough said)
CONS:
- not much of an efficient evade or dodge system
- framerate drops will happen if you use blade mode too much
- AI is pretty dumb
- no jump cancelling
- sub-weapon switching is not fluid whatsoever
- dat lip-sync
- enemies and environments are bland
- no move list (super annoying)
- doing stealth kills aren't really fun or satisfying to pull off
- aerial combat is pretty limited
So yeah there's my impressions, I hope this has given an in depth look to people who are anticipating the game. Now I can't wait to play the DmC demo so I can more efficiently compare the two.
Suzaku18XD
Truth lies before ruin
Dude I'm gonna kick so much ass I'm so glad we kinda figured out most of the moves yesterday
and the no movelist is very annoying.
Chimera Khaos
Hades Leading General Commander
Choco, why didn't you just make a new thread with the review then?lol...
But other than that, nice review!...:w00t:
But other than that, nice review!...:w00t:
Suzaku18XD
Truth lies before ruin
He didn't mention my badassery at this game just from playing the demo :/
chocolateghost79
First of the Dead
Well I thought it was appropriate to my impressions here at least until the DmC demo comes out. And thanks!
Haha I'm sorry. Lol
Gbraga
Well-known Member
Great text, I was kinda upset about the lack of enemy step as well, but it's a demo from the beginning of the game, maybe it's an unlockable ability...
EDIT: And it would also be kinda ok if it didn't have, since its focus seems to be on efficiency, not style, but yeah it would be a bummer.
EDIT: And it would also be kinda ok if it didn't have, since its focus seems to be on efficiency, not style, but yeah it would be a bummer.
chocolateghost79
First of the Dead
Yeah I was thinking perhaps it's an unlockable ability or another way to cancel out moves. But nonetheless if it doesn't have it in the full game it will be okay, because it's still a great action game!
Gbraga
Well-known Member
It would be even better in a way, because it would be very different from DmC, thus avoiding endless fanboy wars between them and making it worth having both for everyone (for people around here it would be worth it no matter how they turned out lol)
Can't wait for your walltext about the DmC demo!
TEN MORE DAYS!!!!! Can't wait!!!!!!!!
EDIT: What if you quickly go into blade mode and then leave it, could you get more air time with it? You can get infinite rocket launcher ammo doing this, fire a rocket, blade mode, quit blade mode, do it again (you need at least 2 rockets for it to work)
chocolateghost79
First of the Dead
Very true. If there is jump cancelling in MGR it might just create endless comparisons between it and DmC.
Well you still fall in blade mode just a little slower. It would be extremely difficult to stay airborne by using blade mode and the rocket launcher because it would take so much button pressing. You would probably fall before you could pull out the rocket launcher and use it to stay airborne.
Dominus
Well-known Member
I don't think they are developing the game to have a crazy aerial combat so I doubt enemy step will be in the game (or even as an upgrade). It would almost feel weird in this game to have it.
I was going to comment that there is a dodge but you said that in your review. I think they should make the dodge in the game an actual roll instead of jump and slash away. They could also make circle a dodge button (even though its the "action button") because all MGS games do have a roll button... The AI seems dumbest when you use stealth, but the combat AI if cranked up in the game might be decent. If they at least crank up the number of guys I'd be happy too.
In the end I'd say MGR are DmC are going to play very differently..
chocolateghost79
First of the Dead
Yeah I agree they will play very differently, but since this is a versus thread it will be fun to compare the two and see who likes what better.
Either way, these are probably going to be my favorite games next year.
chocolateghost79
First of the Dead
Yes, I'm a big MGS fan! And I don't know if the story will live up to the previous entries but gameplay definitely will. Yeah it's a completely different genre of game, but nonetheless it is fun and complex just like the past entries.
Blacknerd
Well-known Member
Lol Im barely on here but I had to post a reply to this.
At any rate! With MGR im sorry but it holds completely to the Hack n slash genre to its core with only one "mechanic" that makes it different but no one remembers Afro Samurai and its slicing mechanic(on enemies). After playing the demo I know for a fact that its not any different than any typical hack n slash. MGR uses the two bottom combo system. Heavy attacks are Y and triangle while the normal attacks are Square and X. Then focus slicing is done by holding L1/LB and you can either move with the right stick or the two attack buttons.
So initially the game throws you into the typical linear you go this way pathing. When attacked by enemies in scripted manner the walls block you off until all of them are dead. With a minor and boy do I mean minor stealth section. Meaning why choose stealth when you are a walking death machine? I guess to add that MGS feel? but because the ai doesnt work well with the stealth mechanics it isnt possible to have a good stealth section.
Anyway the demo gave me no movelist so I had to find it myself and it pretty much plays like anything else when it comes to comboing slicing blah blah. But The lasting appeal is where it gets boring, now when you rip out the first few spines its awesome and leaves you wanting to do it more. However once you realize that you cna do that to every last enemy and doing so gives you full health and slomo meter it takes away its cool factor and gets tedious. Then it takes from the challenge aspect because of your ability to do it to everything -the boss(ill cover that later) So with the combo you have a autolock system that works when it wants and makes you randomly attack nothing when you want to do the special moves(such as Forward Forward Y is a stinger type move ) when done it made me go flying to the wall and not the enemy I was directly facing. When you parry any enemy in the game it almost always guarantees you an insta kill button/slice promt. Triangle/Circle slice to get spine press Circle then enemy dies.
Cutting is the thing in this game and you can cut everything(well almost everything..Cars, Trees, Enemies, Lights, Boxes you can cut them all yet bridges crumble when you cut them rather than getting sliced. Also the game does run at 60 fps yes but there is so much blur in your moves the game slows down anyway. So I found out that when you cut TOO much the games fps takes a **** on itself. I even laughed when I crashed the demo when I cut a tree stump too much. So with the 60 fps thing it goes the same. Nice/Decent looking character models but very very bland environments, no real shadows and lighting, static environments, and of course limited number of pieces that stay visible when you cut them. After cutting something it disappears almost immediately to make the game stay in its 60-50fps area.
Enemies themselves have typical AI that is about 10-20% more aggressive than the AI in DmC but its not by much. From them attacking they each give a red glow and yell before they attack. Geckos glow goldish with each body part that is going to attack, and the boss does the same. So its easy to parry every attack you see. That is if the sluggish camera doesn't get stuck somewhere. In the stealth sections enemy ai is just dumb. I killed a gecko right next to a rocket trooper and the gekco blows up on the guys back and he still stands there. So yea idk the point in stealth when the ai just says heres my ass take it. The boss was the typical 3 part boss but not spiced up like DMC always had the bosses. It was literally just fight till he gets hurt summons drones. Kill them get hp back fight him again he summons gecko, then finally fight him button prompt slice him up the end. Also again with stleath issues, I cut a bridge a gecko was walking on and he just halls with the bridge and continues along a random path ignoring what just happened. Enemies seem really oblivious when it comes to these things and only pay attention when they see you.
Oh theres also a save the civilian section but its really odd. If you throw a nade and kill the two people on top of him the nade doesn't kill him and the other ai does think to kill him. Its the same too if you kill one of the guys near him. If it isn't the AI designated to kill him they wont shoot him. Only this one AI will.
Secondary weapons are pointless...they really break away from the action and make you standstill when you want to aim and use them. They really serve no point for now and are just there for the stealth sections.
Im a mgs and dmc fan so playing through mgrs demo I came out dissapointed. I practically play it everyday out of boredom and still cant find out what the big deal people are making about it. Typical hack n slash with predictable ai and boss ai. Fps that will crap out if you do too much cutting which is the games main focus. Crappily executed stealth sections with tacked on secondary weapons. So im hoping the final product is better but the demo assured me I dont want to buy the game. Lets see how things turn out with DmC with its demo.
Sorry for this long as hell post but Ive been waiting for a chance to speak about this game. I hold no baised against MGR nore do I try to compare it to DMC/DmC I came at it from an optimisitc gamers perspecitive. With some minor extra feelings as a Metal Gear Fan who has been following the game since it was first announced. So yea..
At any rate! With MGR im sorry but it holds completely to the Hack n slash genre to its core with only one "mechanic" that makes it different but no one remembers Afro Samurai and its slicing mechanic(on enemies). After playing the demo I know for a fact that its not any different than any typical hack n slash. MGR uses the two bottom combo system. Heavy attacks are Y and triangle while the normal attacks are Square and X. Then focus slicing is done by holding L1/LB and you can either move with the right stick or the two attack buttons.
So initially the game throws you into the typical linear you go this way pathing. When attacked by enemies in scripted manner the walls block you off until all of them are dead. With a minor and boy do I mean minor stealth section. Meaning why choose stealth when you are a walking death machine? I guess to add that MGS feel? but because the ai doesnt work well with the stealth mechanics it isnt possible to have a good stealth section.
Anyway the demo gave me no movelist so I had to find it myself and it pretty much plays like anything else when it comes to comboing slicing blah blah. But The lasting appeal is where it gets boring, now when you rip out the first few spines its awesome and leaves you wanting to do it more. However once you realize that you cna do that to every last enemy and doing so gives you full health and slomo meter it takes away its cool factor and gets tedious. Then it takes from the challenge aspect because of your ability to do it to everything -the boss(ill cover that later) So with the combo you have a autolock system that works when it wants and makes you randomly attack nothing when you want to do the special moves(such as Forward Forward Y is a stinger type move ) when done it made me go flying to the wall and not the enemy I was directly facing. When you parry any enemy in the game it almost always guarantees you an insta kill button/slice promt. Triangle/Circle slice to get spine press Circle then enemy dies.
Cutting is the thing in this game and you can cut everything(well almost everything..Cars, Trees, Enemies, Lights, Boxes you can cut them all yet bridges crumble when you cut them rather than getting sliced. Also the game does run at 60 fps yes but there is so much blur in your moves the game slows down anyway. So I found out that when you cut TOO much the games fps takes a **** on itself. I even laughed when I crashed the demo when I cut a tree stump too much. So with the 60 fps thing it goes the same. Nice/Decent looking character models but very very bland environments, no real shadows and lighting, static environments, and of course limited number of pieces that stay visible when you cut them. After cutting something it disappears almost immediately to make the game stay in its 60-50fps area.
Enemies themselves have typical AI that is about 10-20% more aggressive than the AI in DmC but its not by much. From them attacking they each give a red glow and yell before they attack. Geckos glow goldish with each body part that is going to attack, and the boss does the same. So its easy to parry every attack you see. That is if the sluggish camera doesn't get stuck somewhere. In the stealth sections enemy ai is just dumb. I killed a gecko right next to a rocket trooper and the gekco blows up on the guys back and he still stands there. So yea idk the point in stealth when the ai just says heres my ass take it. The boss was the typical 3 part boss but not spiced up like DMC always had the bosses. It was literally just fight till he gets hurt summons drones. Kill them get hp back fight him again he summons gecko, then finally fight him button prompt slice him up the end. Also again with stleath issues, I cut a bridge a gecko was walking on and he just halls with the bridge and continues along a random path ignoring what just happened. Enemies seem really oblivious when it comes to these things and only pay attention when they see you.
Oh theres also a save the civilian section but its really odd. If you throw a nade and kill the two people on top of him the nade doesn't kill him and the other ai does think to kill him. Its the same too if you kill one of the guys near him. If it isn't the AI designated to kill him they wont shoot him. Only this one AI will.
Secondary weapons are pointless...they really break away from the action and make you standstill when you want to aim and use them. They really serve no point for now and are just there for the stealth sections.
Im a mgs and dmc fan so playing through mgrs demo I came out dissapointed. I practically play it everyday out of boredom and still cant find out what the big deal people are making about it. Typical hack n slash with predictable ai and boss ai. Fps that will crap out if you do too much cutting which is the games main focus. Crappily executed stealth sections with tacked on secondary weapons. So im hoping the final product is better but the demo assured me I dont want to buy the game. Lets see how things turn out with DmC with its demo.
Sorry for this long as hell post but Ive been waiting for a chance to speak about this game. I hold no baised against MGR nore do I try to compare it to DMC/DmC I came at it from an optimisitc gamers perspecitive. With some minor extra feelings as a Metal Gear Fan who has been following the game since it was first announced. So yea..