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Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a tricky game. Most first timers play for a while before hitting a wall. This is a crucial moment: either you engage in the unusual flow of combat mechanics or you don’t. The good news is that the jump in weight isn’t nearly as drastic as it seems. You’ll only see this in retrospect, but hopefully this little primer will prepare you for what’s to come.
Strike, Strike, PARRY
There is no dedicated block button Metal Gear Rising. Instead you have a parry move that depends on good, but not necessarily perfect, timing. This is by far one of your most useful skills in the game, and it becomes very important when you start facing late game bosses. To parry, move the left stick quickly in the direction of the attacking enemy while performing a light attack. Do this early and you’ll actually see Raiden raise his sword as he prepares to block. Hopefully, however, you parry perfectly enough to initiate a counter, which often leaves your enemy helpless and vulnerable to a finishing move (shown when the button prompt appears on screen).
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Time-based matchmaking systems can be intimidating for those who don’t spend a lot of time playing combo-heavy fighting games, but the barrier to entry here is actually lower than you might expect. Parrying is not foolproof as you also face occasional unblockable attacks from your enemies, but mastering this skill is crucial to improving your survivability.
Blade mode and strategic slicing
Blade Mode and its use to chop off limbs or perform finishers is another initially awkward feature Metal Gear Rising. Just below Raiden’s health bar is a fuel cell gauge that glows blue when full. You can press and hold the left trigger at any time to activate Blade Mode, effectively turning the left analog stick into an analog control for directional swipes of your sword. The light/heavy attack commands also work in Blade mode when all you have to do is stand in one place and slash very quickly.
Activate Blade Mode when your fuel cell gauge is full and you’ll see the action slow down significantly (think bullet-time) as the gauge starts to drain. While in this state, called Zan-Datsu, a red-framed field appears at the vital locations of any nearby enemies that are weak enough to be vulnerable to the final attack. Using the left analog stick to adjust the plane of the sword notch (the right analog controls the camera), the idea is to go directly across the frame to hit. The easiest way to do this is to line up your shot and then simply release the club, allowing it to return to the center position.
Drag it correctly and a button prompt will appear on the screen. Press that and you’ll be rewarded with a short cutscene where Raiden rips off an enemy’s robo-spine and crushes it, absorbing its sweet, delicious bonus BP, which is Revengeupgrade currency. More importantly, crushing the robo-spine instantly refills Raiden’s health and fuel cell gauges. This allows you to quickly work your way through groups of weaker grunts, since you can often Zan-Datsu them without softening them up first. You can also fill up your fuel cell gauge with a regular attack, though it’s not nearly as fast as a successful Zan-Datsu.
All beautiful colors
Metal Gear Rising it is filled with visual cues that are very helpful in combat. When an enemy is about to attack you, a red glow flashes across the screen indicating that you best prepare with a parry or quickly move out of the way. Each enemy brings a different set of attack patterns, so it’s useful to slow down for each one so you can parry more effectively. Also watch out for the attacker who will be lit up with a yellow glow; if you see it, run away quickly because an unblockable attack is inevitable. This is less of a problem with standard grunts, but larger enemies (especially Mastiffs) often have unblockable attacks that can deplete your health quickly if you’re not paying attention.
As you wear down stronger enemies, you’ll notice that certain parts of their bodies glow blue after enough damage is taken. When the blue glow spreads to the torso, it means the enemy is weak enough for a Zan-Datsu finisher. If it’s just a limb that glows blue, that means you can cut off the limb and weaken the enemy even more. Your fuel cell recharges quickly enough that it’s often worth spending some of it to take an enemy limb off, especially when you’re dealing with one of the bigger threats.
Also watch out while playing for sudden slow motion moments that cover the screen with a blue filter. This is the signal to engage Blade Mode, provided your fuel cell gauge is full. You’ll usually see this happen at key moments of certain boss fights and when you successfully parry or initiate a finishing move. The Zan-Datsu attack works the same, although some enemies lack a vital cutting organ and simply need to be chopped to pieces.
Augmenting reality
At any time, you can press the D-pad to activate Raiden’s AR view. This ability is not metered, so you can use it freely. It even stays active if you start running around. A sword strike or holding the right trigger/R2 movement button using Ninja Dash will automatically deactivate it, but otherwise you’re free to explore while the AR view is open. In addition to highlighting enemies and other threats in the environment, the AR display is also useful for marking where collectibles, item boxes, and other pickup locations are located, even when they’re on the other side of a wall. Don’t be shy to use this. Whenever you enter a new location or polish off a bunch of enemies, switch to the AR view and wander around a bit to see if you’re missing anything.
Craft tools
As you continue Revenge, you’ll earn BP that you can spend to customize your Raiden in a variety of functional and cosmetic ways. Your best bet on the first pass is to devote your spending to increasing attack potential. Focus on improving Raiden’s sword and one other weapon, most likely the Pole Arm, since it’s the first secondary weapon you earned and because it’s quite powerful. You might also want to look at some of the combo skills, especially the mid-air parry that allows you to block in mid-air.
Also be sure to conserve your resources, especially secondary projectile weapons. Health refills and fuel cell refills are fairly common, but ammo for rocket launchers and grenades aren’t as common. Save them for your big challenges, like bosses and mini-bosses. Also make sure you always have your health replenishment (“Repair Nanopaste”) in your support item slot, as this will allow you to use it automatically when your health drops to zero (you can also use it yourself by pressing the D-pad).
Lastly, even though it’s not the main focus of the game, try to keep an eye out for stealth opportunities. Metal Gear Rising it’s not really meant for stealth play and you can actually earn bigger rewards when you mix it up in open combat, but certain parts of the game become much easier when you sneak and proceed cautiously. Stealth strikes (indicated by the button prompt) always end with a Zan-Datsu chance, so be sure to turn on Blade Mode when the screen turns blue, provided your fuel cell gauge is full of course.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn