I like how far Konami has come with Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. It was a laughable experiment upon announcement that not a lot of fans took seriously, but once Konami brought Platinum Games aboard to flesh out their initial ideas, it started to gain some groundswell and better acceptance. Now, the work they've pulled off has proven to be widely successful, but one lingering problem still remains.

Raiden. Yes, a decade is still a long time to be bitter about this loathsome jerk ruining Metal Gear Solid 2, but when you're the sole reason for derailing one of the most anticipated games of all time, you tend to carry that forever. It seems no matter how hard Kojima tries to make his love child cool and popular, he always falls short. He can slip him into tough-as-nails cyborg ninja gear and make his eyes flash red, but I still can't find it in me to accept him when Raiden and his overbearing girlfriend break into full sissy relationship mode at the end of Metal Gear Solid 4.

Has anybody found a way to completely redeem this guy yet? Seriously?

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance can snag Game of the Year awards, sell millions of copies, and even become the most widely popular game of all time, and I'd still have trouble giving the credit to him. The latest trailer doesn't prove he's moving too much in the right direction, either.

No offensive to the fine voice actor who brings his kindergarten dialogue to life, but he could smoke six black Cuban cigars a day on the most polluted corner in Beijing and still not have enough gruff in his voice to hide the fact that he was the guy I spent countless hours listening to whining over codec about his unborn kid and the injustice of American society. Seeing him in these trailers constantly reminds me of the gut feeling I couldn't shake in Metal Gear Solid 2 when all I used to think was "OK, when do I get to play as Snake now?"

At any rate, the action looks great, and I have a good feeling that, despite the unforgivable nature of its protagonist, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeace will be a huge hit and loved by just about everyone. Expect it to be released on February 19th. The same demo found in the Zone of the Enders HD Collection will be released on Xbox Live and PSN next Tuesday the 22nd of January.

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