Players assume control of Raiden, a katana-wielding cyborg. He is initially playable in his "Standard Body" form, which resembles the body used by Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 4, but with a more natural looking face. The player can alter Raiden's appearance through alternative skins. Unlike previous titles in the Metal Gear series, where players try not to be noticed by enemies, Rising is action oriented, focusing on sword fighting and a sophisticated cutting system to fight and defeat enemies. Although Raiden's main weapon is his high-frequency blade, Raiden can wield weapons such as a dagger or a rocket launcher. Other subweapons can only be obtained after defeating the game's bosses.
The game's cutting system allows players to engage in melee combat, as well as to precisely slash enemies and objects at will along a geometrical plane using the "free slicing" Blade Mode. Virtually any object in the game can be cut, including vehicles and enemies, though elements of the environment were intentionally limited to structures such as pillars and walls to better facilitate the game. Entering Blade Mode produces a special targeting reticule in the form of a transparent blue plane which can be rotated and moved, tracing orange lines across the surfaces of objects to indicate exactly where they will be cut; it can also be used to enter a bullet time state, giving players the opportunity to precisely slash targets during moments of action, such as slicing through a falling target from multiple angles before it hits the ground. These features can be employed strategically, for example disabling opponents, finding weak points and gaps in armor, severing support columns to collapse ceilings or walls onto enemies, deflecting enemy fire, or cutting through objects to remove enemy cover. However, entering into Blade Mode reduces Raiden's energy to the point that if dropped to a certain level, it cannot be used. Throughout the story the player obtains the Ripper Mode, a state which enhances Raiden's power for a limited time facilitating the use of Blade Mode.
Raiden has the ability to parry attacks even when his back is turned, allowing him to counterattack enemies and perform multiple combos. The player also has access to a stealth mode called "Ninja Run" which drastically increases Raiden's speed and allows him to climb certain areas. This allows him to strategically ambush an enemy rather than fighting head to head. Another key feature is called Zandatsu (斬奪, lit. "cut and take"), and involves "cutting" through enemies and "taking" parts, energy, ammunition, items, and information from the bodies of dismembered cyborgs and robots. This maneuver can be employed when attacking an enemy during Blade Mode and helps Raiden gain energy. When completing a mission, the player will be rewarded with a specific number of points depending on his or her performance and will receive a grade, with the highest being "S". These points allow them to buy upgrades for Raiden's equipment.
The player can carry out reconnaissance using a visor. Through this, the player can verify the areas and proceed to the objective avoiding contact with enemies. Hiding in a cardboard box makes sneaking easier for Raiden. Being spotted by an enemy triggers the "Alert Mode", in which Raiden is assaulted by multiple enemies for a determined time. The player also gains assistance from Bladewolf, a dog-like machine that gathers map information for Raiden.
Synopsis
Setting and characters
The events of Metal Gear Rising are set in the year 2018, four years after the events of Guns of the Patriots. The Patriots, a powerful shadow organization running the world's war economy, have been destroyed and Private Military Companies (PMC) have splintered into numerous factions. With the elimination of the Patriot-controlled nanomachine technology used to regulate soldiers' abilities, PMCs turn to advanced cyborg technology, creating durable superhuman soldiers. The player controls Raiden, a former child soldier turned into a cyborg that now works for the PMC Maverick Security Consulting, Inc. Raiden is supported by his Maverick colleagues, Russian pointman Boris Popov, military advisor Kevin Washington, computer specialist Courtney Collins, and cybernetics expert Wilhelm "Doktor" Voight. Returning from Metal Gear Solid 4 is Sunny Emmerich, a child prodigy and friend of Raiden working at Solis Space & Aeronautics.
Rival PMC Desperado Enforcement LLC. serve as the game's antagonists; Desperado wants to destabilize peaceful nations and preserve conflict, allowing them to reap the financial rewards and technological advancements of the war economy. Desperado operative Samuel Rodrigues, also known as Jetstream Sam, serves as Raiden's rival with a conversation between the two in the beginning influencing Raiden. Sam is a member of a team of Desperado cyborg assassins named the "Winds of Destruction": Sundowner, Desperado's de facto leader, who wields "Bloodlust", machetes that combine in a large pincer, and who also has a set of reactive armor shields connected to his body; Mistral, the team's only female member, whose frame can support multiple additional arms, allowing her to wield her "L'Etranger" staff that she can use as a whip or halberd; and Monsoon, who uses dual sai called "Dystopia", can manipulate metal objects with magnetism, and can break apart his body into individual components while retaining control over each part through magnetism. LQ-84i, or Bladewolf, is a state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence (AI) housed within a quadruped robot who serves initially as Raiden's Desperado-controlled enemy, but is later reprogrammed to aid Raiden and Maverick. Additionally, a Colorado senator and potential Presidential candidate, Steven Armstrong, is involved in Desperado's activities. An additional member of the Winds of Destruction, Khamsin, appears as part of the Bladewolf DLC campaign. The game is a spin-off that is "not part of the Metal Gear Solid series", although series creator Hideo Kojima said it is a parallel continuation.
Plot
While providing security detail in an unnamed African country for its prime minister, N'Mani, Raiden and his team are attacked by rogue PMC Desperado. While Raiden fends off their forces, their leader Sundowner manages to kidnap N'Mani. Raiden attempts to pursue them, battling a Metal Gear RAY, but arrives too late to save N'Mani from being executed by Sundowner. Sundowner's comrade, Jetstream Sam, fights and defeats Raiden in a duel, with Raiden losing his left eye and left arm in the process. Sam nearly executes Raiden, but Boris's timely arrival saves him. Raiden collapses from his wounds but survives, and Doktor later gives him a new black cyborg armor which grants him much more power.
Three weeks later, Raiden infiltrates the breakaway nation of Abkhazia after learning that Desperado is leading a military coup there. He plans to capture Andrey Dolzaev, an extremist leading the Abkhazian forces, to force Desperado into standing down. Desperado anticipates the move and assigns a prototype AI designated LQ-84i to stop him. Raiden defeats LQ-84i in combat, and later has it rebuilt as an ally, naming it Bladewolf. He faces further opposition from Mistral, the commander of Desperado's forces in Abkhazia. After Raiden kills Mistral in combat, Dolzaev commits suicide by blowing up an oil tank he is standing on. Maverick assigns Raiden and Bladewolf to investigate a research facility in Guadalajara, Mexico. There, Raiden meets an orphan named George, who was brought to the facility to have his brain—along with the brains of several other orphans—surgically removed and shipped to the United States. He learns that Sundowner inspected the facility in the company of Senator Steven Armstrong, creating an alliance between Desperado and World Marshal, another PMC. They plan to condition the children's brains to become killers through VR training and place them inside cybernetic bodies to create new soldiers, similar to Raiden. Raiden rescues George and the unharvested orphans, and takes them to Doktor.
Raiden promptly resigns and with Bladewolf at his side, launches a one-man assault on World Marshal's headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Though no longer employed by them, Maverick unofficially provides discreet support throughout. As he fights his way through the city's privatized police force and Desperado soldiers, Raiden becomes conflicted over those he has killed. He begins regressing towards his aggressive child soldier persona, "Jack the Ripper", before finally embracing it when he encounters Sam and another operative named Monsoon. He kills Monsoon and infiltrates World Marshal's headquarters before locating and killing Sundowner. There, he learns that Armstrong brought World Marshal and Desperado together to exploit Raiden's desire to avenge N'Mani's death. Armstrong used Desperado to distract Raiden while he carries out "Operation Tecumseh": a plan to assassinate the President of the United States during peace negotiations with Pakistan to ensure another War on Terror.
