Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Gaming platform: PS3, Xbox 360
Developer: Konami
Rating out of 5: *****
Usually synonymous with stealth, the Metal Gear franchise takes both an unexpected and quite brilliant turn toward arcade action in Revengeance; a game as pleasingly fanciful as its nonsensical moniker might suggest.
By delivering its series into the hands of Platinum Games, and throwing Metal Gear Solid 2 hero Raiden - now a ninja cyborg - into the fray, Kojima Productions has done the equivalent of injecting its series with steroids.
Raiden's supreme swordsmanship and athleticism delivers multifaceted combat that's only really equalled by Platinum's own classic, Bayonetta.
While the ability to slow time in order to slice through your cyborg enemy's weak spots is a genuinely novel concept, and one sure to have you returning for repeat play-throughs.
A contender for game of the year already, and a title that even Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima may find difficult to follow when the series returns to its traditional tactical roots. - The Independent