Can Metal Gear Solid: Rising rise over Guns of the Patriots?

Metal Gear Solid, a franchise which has spanned over two decades (24 years to be precise) is one of the most respected series around in the video games industry. The series has always been heavily convoluted with thick plot lines and played with complex terms likes gene, meme and information technology. Guns of the Patriots was a fitting end to one of the most badass characters in video games: Solid Snake. Not only that, the game was remarkably successful at tying up all the loose ends that left players baffled at the end of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Hideo Kojima, the mastermind behind the Metal Gear Solid games has said on countless occasions that Guns of the Patriots will be his last MGS game and the next games in the series will be handled by his “younger” team.

Hideo Kojima or rather Konami have always preferred Sony platforms for MGS games, but at E3 2009, Kojima surprised many people around the gaming community that the next console version of the series will be also be available on Xbox 360 and PC.  Traditionally Kojima would attend Sony’s press conference at E3, but for the last two years Kojima has attended Microsoft’s. This again emphasizes the point that most game developers/publishers will be ditching exclusivity to one platform and will look at maximizing profits for their own company.  It’s a well known fact that games on Xbox 360 seem to have a faster pace about them and are less convoluted with story lines contrary to what we have with games on the PlayStation 3. Will the PC version be also as good as the console counterparts? How Konami and Kojima Productions will cater to three different kinds of audiences remains to be seen.

Coming back to Rising, everyone absolutely hated Raiden in MGS2. I will admit it that I found him to be too girlish and he paled in comparison with Solid Snake. However Kojima made him a fan favorite in Guns of the Patriots with all the new cyber ninja look. So what can we expect from the game? Let’s take a look.

Expect Solid Snake to return:

Now hold your horses. I am not saying that Solid Snake will return as a playable character. Hideo Kojima has confirmed on several occasions that he would not let anyone other than him to handle Snake’s character.  The game’s producer Shigenobu Matsuyama has confirmed that Rising will take place between Sons of Liberty and Guns of Patriots. Now, do you guys remember the ending of Sons of Liberty? If not, take a look at the video below. (Jump to around 2:20 secs)

So Solid Snake has put a transmitter on the Ray and also has a disk which has all the information about the Patriot’s Identity. What I am assuming here is that at the beginning of the game, a cut scene will be played out which will actually show what was Solid Snake up to all these years between Sons of Liberty and Guns of the Patriots. In fact I also suppose that those cut scenes will be divided throughout the game reflecting on how Solid Snake first got to know that he’s suffering from Werner’s syndrome.  It only makes sense that they include Snake in some form or the another cause he is the guy who actually made Raiden in to what he was in Guns of the Patriots i.e.BAD ASS!

You still don’t think that Snake is back? Then check this image out. (Click the image to see it in full screen)

As you can see I have marked a section on an image from Rising. Apparently the face on that section resembles with that of Snake. It also resembles to one of the wallpapers of Peace Walker. So who knows who that guy is? It also has “Metal Gear Solid” written below it. Fingers crossed on this one.

Characters: Old and New

• Crying Wolf

Ok, I am pretty much sure that Crying Wolf will be in the game. Raiden is sitting on her back which actually means that they are helping each other  in the game. Nothing is known at the moment except the image below:

• Sunny

The game is going to heavily focus on how Raiden saves Sunny from the Patriots. It’s a well known fact that Sunny was kidnapped by the Patriots and either Snake or Raiden were supposed to rescue her.

• Dr. Madnar

A world renowned cybernetics expert, this guy was mentioned in Guns of the Patriots when Raiden is injured by Vamp in MGS4. And my bet is this is the guy who actually makes Raiden a super ninja in the game.

• Big Mama

In Guns of the Patriots, Big Mama confirms that she helped Raiden find Sunny. But Raiden had to find something in return: The Corpse of Big Boss. At the end of the game we learn that the corpse was actually of Solidus Snake.

• Vamp

When Vamp and Raiden face off each other in MGS4, Vamp says: “Yet our paths cross again”. Now the question to be asked: Is Vamp referring to the battle he had with Raiden in MGS2 or did these guys fought again sometime after the events of Big Shell. I am damn sure Raiden will be facing off against Vamp, again in Rising.

• A Shaman from Alaska

Raiden learned his scouting techniques from an elderly shaman in Alaska. Again this was confirmed during a codec-call between Snake and Raiden in MGS4. This automatically means that some of the gaming sections will also take place in Alaska.

• Rose and Campbell

This one is a no brainer.  Raiden left Rose after MGS2 and Campbell got in to give her support

• The Patriots

Aww! They are back! Well they had to since they were still active after the Big Shell incident and Sunny is being held captive by them. Again they will form an important element of the plot.

Weapons

• Katana

Raiden’s primary weapon gifted to him by Olga Gurlokovich at the end of MGS2. This is the same blade that Raiden uses to chop off the Gekkos in MGS4 and this will be the same blade that he is going to use in Rising.

• Dagger

Raiden will also be able to use daggers. He used them in Guns of the Patriots and his suit in Rising has daggers placed in to it.

• Rail Gun

The Rail Gun is confirmed to be in the game and Raiden is actually carrying this weapon in his back.

I have also observed that guns will work differently in Rising. If you observe that the Rail Gun is actually attached to Raiden’s body. That means that Raiden does not have to hold the weapon in his hand to use it. Again this is a guess, but it seems that way.

Two Discs for the Xbox 360 and PC version?

I just can’t help myself but think that Rising will ship on two or more discs for the Xbox 360 and PC due to  the fact that Guns of the Patriots was the first ever PlayStation 3 game that actually was developed on a dual layer (50GB) Blu-Ray disc.

It really depends on what Kojima Productions are aiming at. Rising will have shorter cut scenes and will be a fast paced game so that essentially means that this might be the shortest Metal Gear Solid game ever. Normally the games in the series have clocked in at 18-30 hours, Rising might change that.

The Million Dollar question: Can it rise over Guns of the Patriots?

Guns of the Patriots was a deeply personal game, one that was made for the fans. In Metal Gear Saga Part 1, Kojima had confirmed that MGS4 was for the fans and for his team.  I am not sure whether the new team at Kojima Productions will be able to reach those heights. We all have to remember that Kojima is not producing/directing this game, so I am damn sure that the “Midas Touch” will be missed.

The game is also missing its icon: Solid Snake. There is no denying it will have some impact on how people will view Metal Gear Solid games once Rising is released. I am not saying that Rising will do badly, it will do well and I am really interested to see how “Zan-Datsu” will work. But the whole idea of changing the series protagonist is kind of bugging me. But hey, you never know…Hideo Kojima is involved in the project some way or the other. Am I hearing someone ‘sssssssssssssssss….ing.’

Metal Gear Solid: Rising will be available on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Release dates are not yet announced. Stay tuned with GamingBolt for more news and updates.

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