Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (メタルギア ライジング リベンジェンス Metaru Gia Raijingu: Ribenjensu?) is an upcoming action video game under development by Platinum Games and produced by Kojima Productions as part of the Metal Gear series, for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was originally announced and developed by Kojima Productions as Metal Gear Solid: Rising (メタルギアソリッドライジング Metaru Gia Soriddo Raijingu?), an action game set between the events of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, before being reannounced as Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance under the development of Platinum Games. The game is now set to take place several years after Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and is a spinoff, that is "not part of the Metal Gear Solid series".

Players assume control of cyborg ninja Raiden, the katana-wielding ally of series mainstay Solid Snake. Unlike previous titles in the Metal Gear series, Rising is strictly an action game, focusing on swordfighting and a sophisticated cutting system. The game's cutting system allows players to engage in third person melee combat, as well as precisely slash enemies and objects "at will" along a geometrical plane using a "free slicing" 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 gameplay. The free slicing mode is similar to other aiming modes in previous Metal Gear Solid titles, but 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.

Although Raiden's main weapon will be his high-frequency blade, he will also have "sub-weapons", Kimura revealed; gameplay footage has briefly shown Raiden wielding a dagger in his left hand. In the debut trailer for the rebooted titled, Raiden was also seen grappling and throwing large robotic enemies, and dramatically increasing his running speed for short bursts.

A key gameplay feature initially announced for game was titled zan-datsu (斬奪 lit. "cut and take"?), and would have involved "cutting" through enemies and "taking" parts, energy, ammunition, items, and information from the bodies of dismembered cyborgs and robots. For example, in the E3 2010 trailer, Raiden tears a battery — in the form of a glowing mechanical spine — from a dismembered cyborg enemy, which he then crushes after absorbing energy from it to heal himself. This gameplay element will not remain as the focus of the game, but will still be optional as of the move to Platinum Games, dialogue in the most recent trailer discusses such extracting of fluids from enemy cyborgs in order to obtain electrolytes.

The game's original director, Mineshi Kimura, stated that Rising would carry on the series tradition of encouraging players to progress through the game without killing, noting that there is a moral difference between attacking cyborgs or robots and attacking human beings, and that there's a "certain virtue to simply disabling your enemies instead of killing them." While it was considered important to give the players freedom to do what they want, the game's original producer Shigenobu Matsuyama, indicated that players would never be rewarded for killing human opponents, and that the game will be designed so that players are never forced to do so.

Despite having thought out stories and scenarios for the game, Kojima Productions were finding it difficult to design the game around the cutting concept. The project was quietly cancelled in late 2010, and whilst Kojima had considered moving the project to developers abroad, he felt that a Japanese developer would be more suited to produce a ninja action game. In early 2011, Kojima approached Tatsuya Minami, president & CEO of Platinum Games, about restarting the cancelled project with them. Platinum Games accepted the project and took over development with Atsushi Inaba as producer, reworking the game from scratch using their own engine, whilst Kojima Productions handling cutscenes and story elements, revising the story to now take place after Metal Gear Solid 4 to reflect the new development style. This new version, now titled Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, was first revealed via a trailer shown at the Spike Video Game Awards on December 10, 2011.

The trailer also confirmed that Raiden will once again be voiced by Quinton Flynn, who had previously stated that Konami had not contacted him regarding the game. While Platinum Games is confirmed to be part of the project, Bayonetta director Hideki Kamiya, initially thought to be involved, has confirmed he isn’t part of the games development. The game's title was changed to Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance to reflect that it isn't part of the main Metal Gear Solid series, but is instead a spinoff that takes place after Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Kojima also confirmed Rising will run at 60 frames per second, a requirement he personally requested to Platinum Games. Inaba took to his Twitter feed to address fans' concerns over the project. He has acknowledged the mixed reaction to the unveiling of Rising, but hopes gamers will spot "a glimpse of the future" in the trailer. Inaba promises its "love and respect will shine through." The negative reactions came from fans noticing the genre switching to a "hack and slash" game.