I'm sorry but fuck this game.

For all those that like it that's absolutely fine, but for the life of me I couldn't get the combat to click and considering the rest is typical Metal Gear (nonsense dialogue, poorly written and even more poorly acted, up it's own arse with all the political and philosophical BS, sterile looking level design) there just isn't anything here to keep me playing. I've made it up to the Sundowner boss fight but I can't do it any more, I'm done.

I just don't get the combat system. There's no block and there's no dodge (unless you purchase it, and even then it's not great). I understand that there's a parry system, although I am no fan of how it's implemented. I like parrying in action games but I prefer the method of having to block as the enemy lands their attack. So I'm not gonna lie, I suck at parrying in this game, but that's not even my problem with it. Parrying is all well and good but then the bigger enemies start busting out attacks that can't be parried. So you're all up in the enemy's grill beating the shit out of them, and then they decide to unleash an unstoppable attack, but like I said there's no block and and there's no proper dodge, so just what in the fuck are you supposed to do in that situation?? You have to get close to attack, but then you can't get out of the way when they retaliate with an unblockable. Add to that constantly being stunned (which takes way too much stick waggling to recover from) and a wonky camera and all you get is one big ball of frustration.

There were times when I would get into something of a groove and the combat would start to feel better, and the unlockable weapons are pretty cool, but I never really felt like I was fully in control even though cool shit was happening on screen. The zandatsu mechanic is ok, but even that got way too finicky for my liking after a while.

I'm sure people will say try sucking less and that's fair enough, but the point is I don't want to spend time getting better at something that at times feels like the opposite of fun. I guess this game just isn't for me.

RAGE QUIT

The dodge is actually the best move in the game, when used properly. A lot of people don't realize it can be aimed- you can dodge to either side, straight backwards, or even forwards into an enemy attack, and you've got a period of temporary invincibility while you do. It's downright necessary for some enemies, like the Mastiffs with their constant grabbing, or for Sundowner if you don't feel like cutting through his shields precisely- you can kill him easily without ever triggering the second phase of his fight just by dodging behind him, slashing a few times, and dodging back out.

In all honesty, I think they should have had more of a tutorial or a focus on the dodging, because to me it ended up being far more useful than the Parry in a lot of situations. Use the dodge at the right times and nothing in the game will be able to touch you.

The combat is dead easy, as long as you figure out how to block. It's absolutely critical and if you can't understand it, you'll never beat the game. When an attack is unblockable, the enemy is usually glowing some obnoxious neon color, and you just need to ninja run away. Any other attack you can block by pushing the stick in the enemies direction and hitting the light attack button. I was getting absolutely frustrated at first like you (at that dog boss), but once I realized you can... lock on with R2, everything became much simpler.

There is a block button. Its parrying done to early.

There is a dodge button, it's just labeled "Ninja Run".

lol I guess that isn't too far from the truth, although to be fair I hit several points in the game (mostly boss battles) where I wanted to quit but decided to persevere.

At the end of the day though I'm not having fun, so I should just walk away (even though I hate not finishing games!)

this.

and you can also dodge, im guessing your on the ps3, so like pressing circle and x together and the analog stick in a direction, he does like a evade maneuver thats exceptionally useful when fighting bosses (especially the final boss)

like couple that with the fact that you can lock on (i really wished i knew that when i was playing), this game is easy imo.

I haven't played this game yet and I don't know if this will help you, but Kotaku posted an article a while back titled Some Tips For Playing Metal Gear Rising, Since It Does A Terrible Job Of Explaining Anything To You. It sounds like you are completely done and not interested in continuing at all, but I hear that the link is pretty useful.

Funnily enough if you take the time to listen to the side conversations between Raiden, the professor dude and the robot dog; they are probably the most indepth, savvy and interest provoking conversations on cybernetics, robotics and AI in ... well pretty much any game ever. Sure it's not quite Asimov but it's miles ahead of the funny little attempts on the topic of AI in games like Binary Domain. And it would give Deus Ex a run for it's money when it comes to how cybernetics are affecting humans.

It completely blindsided me as one of the smartest games i've played in a while. (if you bother to dig into that codex, beyond the surface pomp and nuttiness of the main plot)

And the combat is quite good imo. Very different from the controlling flow of the new DmC, but is at least for an action game layman like me fun to dig into and mess around with the mechanics. There is totally a block, it's just doing the parry without the timing, there is a manual dodge too that when applied properly can get you out of bad situations, and the fully charged Sai will not only interrupt the gold glowy unblockable attack but stun the enemy too, likewise that double scissor sword of Sundowners when charged goes through armored dudes like butter, as well as give you invincibility frames. Then there is an option of simply stopping your own attack and ninja running away a tiny bit. Or leaping into the air and doing a slow dive attack down with the arm stick or sundowners sword, that will keep you out of many nasty ground melee attacks. So yes you can both dodge and interrupt those unblockable moves.

Frankly the game on normal is a cakewalk. This is speaking as someone who's first action game experience started with the GoW collection when 3 came out. Then it was it's 2 "clones", new DmC, now this. I'm a total rookie in this genre and will never attempt the crazy cancels people do in DMC game or S ranking MGR on revengence. (only the final boss game me any trouble and that was because i failed to see his weak spot for a long long time)

Now if only my OCD did not compel me to try to finish VR missions 18 and 19. If only.

I definitely appreciate that I didn't have a proper handle on the mechanics and because of that I was finding it way harder than it needed to be. I think I just assumed that I would get it because I used to be all about these hack n slash character action games, but honestly I think my taste in games has changed somewhat over the past few years. I had similar feelings about the DmC reboot - not as strong as Rising but I still didn't really enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

Having said that I'm actually looking forward to God of War Ascension. I thought I was done with that series after 3 but the demo has managed to get me interested again.

Give me the copy?!

Go home and be a family man.

It's ok for you to not like a game. It's not all that great a game anyhow. More like an amusing diversion at best.

Go play something else. Life is too short.

You are actually pretty close to the end of the game. I agree that dodging is pretty lame until you actually understand how it works. Blocking is easily executed by simply mashing the stick towards the attacking enemy and hitting light attack (you don't need to time it or anything). I also agree that it is extremely frustrating when fighting an enemy with an unblockable move. In my first runthrough I found myself getting stuck in some combat animation and with no way to escape as the big enemy guys telegraph a hammer swing. And then I found out that you can cancel out of those animations by going into Blade Mode.

If you hate Sundowner, you'll fucking rage at the last fight. Fuck. That. Fight. Took me twenty tries.

@daneian said:

The only problem I had with it was how quickly you were required to get a perfect angle with Blade Mode. Ruined an otherwise good fight for me.

This is pretty much all user error.

User error created by a terrible tutorial system that barely explains itself.

Good call, no reason to keep playing since you seem to have a firm grasp on what's boring / frustrating you.

I think it's worth playing and dissecting, but not the biggest loss if you don't.

My same thoughts to with any other game that I get frustrated with .

Played college ball ya know.

Game is awesome.

Loved fighting steroided Dick Cheney as the final boss. Epic. Epic for the wiiiiin.

The parrying system is fundamental to this entire game. If you're not using that or Defensive Offensive in every minute of every fight, you're gonna have a hard time. To be fair though, even though the game teaches you in the tutorial, it doesn't really emphasize how important it is.

Oh fuck you.

That was one of my problems with the game. They poorly taught (or just did not even mention) some fundamental gameplay elements. This game also has one of the most obnoxious characters I have ever had the displeasure to witness.

Your first mistake is taking Metal Gear seriously. Because you should never take Metal Gear Seriously and this is coming from a dude who easily lists Metal Gear Solid 1 as a top 5 of all time for me.

I'm not even sure why you would be having trouble with Sundowner because honestly if you managed to beat Monsoon who is much harder you should be able to beat sundowner literally all you have to do is dodge around his shield to his back and hack and slash then dodge backwards when he goes for a hit. But hey, whatever.

I'm trying so hard to play this game. So very hard. But it's not fun. The camera is possibly one of the worst I've seen in a game in a long time. I'm in the sewer fighting those 3 robots and sometimes it's like I have no control over what I'm looking at at all. Bad camera + no dodge instead opting for a directional parry move (must press towards enemy) is just plain bad. And locking onto an enemy when you have 3 of them hitting you seems like a bad idea.

And I'm surprised I haven't seen someone mention this (and considering Jeff's thing about animation priority) but there is some horrible delay on button presses that is insufferable. Even simply hitting the select button to bring up your menu takes 2-3 seconds at times. The game just feels broken in parts.

Really, I feel like I'm missing some critical move that makes this game work better. But I don't reckon I am.

So I'm in the same boat as the OP. Might just say fuck this game.

@handlas: There is a dodge move. you can purchase it in the customization menu at the start of the game. Simply press X + SQUARE and a direction (or XBOX equivalent controls) and Raiden will dodge in the direction. Read previous comments for more information.

I have started MGR 2 days ago on Hard. I'm now at the start of R-02 or whatever it's called (the sewer). I'm in no way a pro but didn't think it was too hard. I only had some difficulties with the bladewolf (and a bit with the metal gear at the start) and those annoying moomoos. Once you practice and get more accustomed to the moves you'll become better and will be able to beat them. I beat Mistral in one go. I found out i could use those healing items. I kinda sucked in that battle and still beat it on hard on first try (thanks to items, i usually hate using items but ignored my habit of keeping all usable items). You can easily find items by using the AR display. Simply press UP arrow. Items will be highlighted (not the hidden terminals for unlocking VR missions).

Maybe there should have been a training room or something like in AR or during the loading screens like in bayonetta. And yes, also more and more in depth tutorials.

Also, a big hint that many people seem to forget. PLAY THIS WHEN YOU ARE NOTTIRED!!!
MGR is not a game you play to chill out and sit back and relax.(on easy maybe) This is a game you play when you're pumping with adrenaline and are itching to butcher some dudes. Play the right game at the right moment. Don't feel forced to play this game because you haven't finished it yet. pop in a chill game and resume some other time.
Your mood and current status (or whatever it's called in non-game terms; tired, sick, high, etc...) play a big role in your playstyle and your performance.

I love this game! It has become one of my favourites! I hope I won't change my opinion later on in the game. I'm patient and don't mind retrying 20+ times so i doubt I will. This game is freaking awesome!!!

OP is the the perfect example of what this generation of consoles has done to gamers.

Thuis game isnt even that hard. C'mon, son...

To all the people blaming the tutorial... when was the last time you actually studied a tutorial? What ever happened to going in and experimenting with controls and combat? You can't expect every single system in the game to be delicately explained to it's full extent in a tutorial. Tutorials are the worst. Let me explore the controls and stuff myself.

Exactly.

This exactly, it was a fun little game at times, but overall it was just boring. According to some people though, if I didn't have fun with it I didn't have the "mad skillz" necessary to play. Whatever though, at the end of the day, it's just a videogame and I'm not going to spend time learning something I don't enjoy.

I checked that Kotaku article, and while this post is not directed at you... man people are idiots. When you need the game to TELL YOU that you can lock on and use items, you should just quit gaming altogether. I hate to be insulted with tutorials that tell me '' hey, you can use an health item if you want ''. God dammit.

Back in my days, first think we kids did with a game was to press all of the button and register what you could do with the controller.

I'm with you. I couldn't get past the second chapter where you get faced with two "cows" and after killing them with 2% health not shitting you, I was faced up with chainsaw lassie and I get about 5% health in when I get fucked. To be far I panic and start mashing buttons so maybe it's me sucking, still giving it a try tomorrow after work if not ill send it back to gamefly

<p>I was just about to write this. I'm playing this game directly after finishing DMC, and god freaking damn is it clunky. DMC can be hard but it gives you this supreme sense of control that feels intuitive and fluid. The controls make me feel at the mercy of something beyond my control, constantly, and its really frustrating. I would be remiss if I didn't mention having to look up FAQs to learn how to play the game, since the game itself is useless.</p><p>This game has some fantastic parts, but its a shitty action game.</p>