Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

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About

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is an action video game in the Metal Gear series. franchise, in which the player assumes control of Raiden, a katana-wielding cyborg fighting against the terrorist group Desperado Enforcement LLC. The game gained a substantial following online, inspiring the creation of several Internet memes.

Story

The story follows the cyborg operative Raiden, who is attacked by the terrorist group Desperado while he's protecting an African prime minister. Raiden gets severely injured in a fight against Samuel Rodrigues, one of Desperado's members, and is forced to recuperate while the prime minister is swiftly assassinated. Once ready for action, Raiden is suited up with a new state-of-the-art cyborg body and seeks justice against the terrorist group.

Gameplay

Unlike other installments in the Metal Gear franchise, Metal Gear Rising focuses on melee combat and sword-fighting rather than stealth and tactical espionage. The game features a "Blade Mode," a unique game mechanic that produces a special targeting mode in which the player can repeatedly slice an enemy or object in slow motion. Alongside this is "Ripper Mode," which grants increased damage and lengthened combos to put a quick end to enemy combat at the cost of the energy used in "Blade Mode."

History

Development of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance began immediately after the release of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. The game was officially announced at Microsoft's E3 2009 conference under the name Metal Gear Solid: Rising, showcasing dynamic cutting motion and more close-combat oriented gameplay compared to previous Metal Gear games. In early 2011, the project was moved to Platinum Studios, focusing the game on combat and discarding the stealth element. The first trailer was released on E3 2012. The game was released on February 19th, 2013 in Japan, and two days in Europe and North America.^[1]

Online Presence

On March 20th, 2012, a Facebook^[2] page titled "Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance" was launched, gathering upwards of 18,000 likes in the next three years. On November 15th, an article for the game was created on TV Tropes.^[3] On March 14th, 2013, YouTuber RocketJump uploaded a Metal Gear Rising parody video in which Raiden's PTSD is triggered when using a blender (shown below). Within two years, the video gained over 5.2 million views and 19,700 comments. The game has a notable presence on websites such as 4chan^[4] and Tumblr^[5]. Memes related to the game surged in popularity in late 2021.^[6]

Fanart and Cosplay

As of May 2015, there are over 8,300 results for the keywords "metal gear rising" on DeviantArt.^[7]

Reception

The game received a score of 8.5/10 from IGN^[8] and an 8/10 from Gamespot.^[9] As of May 2015, Metal Gear Rising has Metacritic^[10] scores in the low 80s for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game.

Senator Armstrong

Senator Armstrong, the main antagonist of the game, has gained a substantial online following for his memorable quote Nanomachines, Son,, which is often used as a non sequitur response to an unrelated question online (shown below, left). Additionally, a screen capture of the character in the style of Tony Kornheiser's 'Why' with the caption 200% Mad is often used as a reaction image online (shown below, right).

Rules of Nature

'Rules of Nature' is the battle theme for Metal Gear RAY, the first boss encountered in the game. The song has been combined with footage of over-the-top action sequences, in similar vein to Guile's and Groose's themes.

Monsoon

Monsoon is another antagonist in the game who gained a following online for his nihilistic in-game monologue about memes as units of culturally transmitted information that control humanity.

Sundowner

Sundowner is the leader of the terrorist group Desperado Enforcement LLC. Online, Sundowner is widely used as a reaction image for his memorable facial expressions. He is also associated with the catchphrases "I'm F---ing Invincible" and "The Good Old Days Right After 9/11".