[jett]

Manual slicing is imprecise with either stick, frankly it becomes an annoyance. Aim and mash square/triangle and hope for the best.

[george_us]

Parrying just clicked for me.

I'm a sword wielding GOD

[moolhy]

PS3 Gallery - http://minus.com/mejTVCj4Dt0u8 X360 Gallery - http://minus.com/mYobVWlRzk6ug Tried to match most frames up. Game looks pretty identical.

I know the contrast is always more pronounced on 360 titles but some shadows and textures look flat out different.

Notice the shot of Raiden overlooking the street while talking to Boris, the darkest part of the shadow of the bus is on a different side on each shot, and the texture of the damaged floor right beside Raiden's head (same screenshot) has better definition on the 360. Same thing with the white hole on the street, by the bus.

Wasn't this demo supposed to have corrected some bugs present in the previous build? Raiden's hair still disappears in the middle of a QTE. WTF @ this.

[Carbonox_Ratchet]

I will wait for the EU store to update....which is whenever today D:

[MTMBStudios]

Manual slicing is imprecise with either stick, frankly it becomes an annoyance. Aim and mash square/triangle and hope for the best.

So jett, do tell me how they would make the manual slicing more precise? Is the line telling you exactly 1:1 where your slice will go not enough visual information? What form of input should they use for the 360 degree aiming instead of analog sticks?

[Spring-Loaded]

Manual slicing is imprecise with either stick, frankly it becomes an annoyance. Aim and mash square/triangle and hope for the best.

I didn't quite get the hang of it yesterday but that's more to do with me than the controls for aiming the sword themselves.

People will definitely be able to master this; the aiming isn't random/imprecise at all.

[evil_ash_xero]

I feel like this is kind of like Ni no Kuni's demo. A lot of people were let down and disappointed because it just threw you into the battles without a lot of explanation.

You have to play it more to get the hang of it, thus enjoy it. Of course, that's a failure on Platinum's part. The mechanics should have been explained more.

[moolhy]

Manual slicing is imprecise with either stick, frankly it becomes an annoyance. Aim and mash square/triangle and hope for the best.

Absolutely. Pulling/pushing the stick in the opposite direction of where the slash is supposed to go isn't intuitive, and frankly it's infuriating to get it right in the middle of lining up the camera and watching the enemy animation carry on and the red square go out of range.

[SammiiDoogles]

When I played this at Eurogamer Expo I absolutely hated the parry system...

Playing it again today I still hate it.
It can work well at times, but a dedicated button for it would be much better to just hit at the right time a la God of War.
Also the camera can be pretty wonky...

[jammer]

EU store if finally updated, grab it while its hot.

[call_kotaku]

How to be a BADASS in Rising Demo http://youtu.be/xYGIRVeVY24?t=1m7s <---MGSR TUTORIAL on Moveset (In Japanese, but you can figure out which buttons represent the moves) http://youtu.be/IabHyQJA9-w <- Konami tutorial

To help everyone out who's still going throught the demo, here's some PS3 info on attacks that can help out. Most of the Special move info is from the video FlashBlade has been mentioning (thanks for keeping that up). It's worth watching it just to see how these are supposed to practically work too. (Posting a lot of this from memory and a little research, call out something if you think it's wrong) Special Moves (unofficial names made on the fly; at least they look cool) Fwd + Square = Parry (also in the air) Fwd Fwd + Square = Launch Fwd Fwd + Triangle = Dashing strike 360 Rotation + Triangle = Spinning Slash X + Square = Evasion (optional direction) Bk + Fwd + Square = Palm Strike Bk + Fwd + Triangle = Blade Sweep Ninja Run + Square = Quick Slash Ninja Run + Triangle = Slide Ninja Run + Triangle + Square/Triangle (Slide + Ground slam) Jump + Triangle = Dive Kick Some Combos (from GameFAQs) unconfirmed for right now, will give all a try and update soon. Square (repeatedly) = unlimited light attacks Triangle (repeatedly) = unlimited heavy attacks Triangle (delay) + Square + Triange = Sweep 'n' Strike Triangle + Triangle + Square + Triangle Triangle + Triangle + Triangle + Square + Triangle Square + Triangle (delay) + Square + Triangle Triangle + Square + Triangle (there's one or two, or more jump combos off of launcher, I'll post those later when I can confirm them again) Tips -Don't forget that with blade mode, you have the option of using square(horizontal)/triangle(vertical) strikes instead of the analog stick. Although, I get the feeling that correct aiming with the analog will really come in handy later in the game. -Unless you're looking to get S ranking in everything, you might try experimenting with Blade Mode. Sadistic as it is, cutting off limbs and leaving the torso to walk or crawl in agony is pretty cool. -The most opportune time to use Blade mode is when you've got a stunned opponent. Once the attack slows down and the guy glows orange, start cutting. -Triangle + Circle gives you a stylish finishing attempt on an enemy once he/it's stunned. -Stealth-killing is mostly getting above or behind a cyborg or gekko and hitting the button prompt.

Some more demonstrations of what you can do in the demo, would be nice to maybe include these on every page so people aren't constantly confused by the mechanics and feel underwhelmed due to a lack of explanation. Combo video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOxP7Twb5vA Edit: 1:27 of that video seems pretty gif-worthy The most abusive way to beat the demo with S-ranks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXTOYOkhOGs The most elegant way to beat the demo with S-ranks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsMLNHB0w1I

Quoting for new page

[VanillaCakeIsBurning]

I actually love the -> square parry.

It works just like any other parry, time it right and you'll get it, time it wrong and you'll take damage.

If you parry at the right moments you can even get special kill moves by pressing triangle+circle.

[jett]

So jett, do tell me how they would make the manual slicing more precise? Is the line telling you exactly 1:1 where your slice will go not enough visual information? What form of input should they use for the 360 degree aiming instead of analog sticks?

Seems you're obnoxious in every thread you infect with your presence. Slicing is imprecise because even of you align the "slice line" perfectly with the big ass pink square in the screen and slice away, a lot of the time you will still fail to get the prompt to get grab the spines.

And it just feels like crap. Mashing face buttons is easier and speedier and sadly you have an equal chance of getting the spine prompt.

[MTMBStudios]

Seems you're obnoxious in every thread you infect with your presence. Slicing is imprecise because even of you align the "slice line" perfectly with the big ass pink square in the screen and slice away, a lot of the time you will still fail to get the prompt to get grab the spines. And it just feels like crap. Mashing face buttons is easier and speedier and sadly you have an equal chance of getting the spine prompt.

It seems to have worked for me everytime. Sounds like user error. Also the first horizontal slash with the square button in blade mode is dead center horizontal on the screen every time (so you could just aim with the camera up or down until the horizontal line is on the box and hit square).

[Dandalf]

I admit, when I first started playing this it didn't click with me.

It felt loose, I had no idea what the combo system was, and I was slightly worried I'd be disappointed with it overall.

After about a half an hour the parrying system sunk in, and as others have said, the combat worries I had dissolved. The combat may not be first nature to me (as something like DmC makes more sense), but once the -> + X timing clicked it got real fun, real fast.

The only concern I have is the targeting system. I understand RB changes the guy you're locked on to, but I can't seem to find a way to cycle through the three enemies and choose which one I attack.

The feel I get is that it automatically chooses someone with the orange circle, and when you press RB it unlocks from that target.

What I'd like is to hit RB and have it cycle through the enemies in front of you, not unlock the the current enemy - has anyone been able to do this?

[Mit-]

Stick for precision slice aiming, Triangle and Square during blade mode for generic quick sideways and topways slashes.

Whoah I didn't know this.

I'll be switching blade mode camera aiming back to the left stick so I can aim and hit square/triangle. There were many times that I would line up a slice to grab the spine, only to swing the analog stick slightly differently and miss the opportunity. The whole thing just feels imprecise.

About the camera, there's no cycling through enemies unfortunately (they should make R3 do this or something). You can lock-on to an auto-aim target, and disable lock-on from that target. Then get the auto-aim on someone else and lock-on to them.

[jett]

It seems to have worked for me everytime. Sounds like user error. Also the first horizontal slash with the square button in blade mode is dead center horizontal on the screen every time (so you could just aim with the camera up or down until the horizontal line is on the box and hit square).

Uh, dude, that's exactly what I'm saying people should do.

[MTMBStudios]

Uh, dude, that's exactly what I'm saying people should do.

I don't think "mash the face buttons and pray you hit the box" and "move the camera a little bit and press square and hit it with 100% success" are the same thing.

[That Dude John]

Is it intentional that some of the prompts during QTE's and blade mode don't show up or is that a Glitch(in the PS3 version)? I've been trying to compare the two.

Also, why is the PS3 version nearly a GB and a half bigger than the 360 demo?

[McNum]

I suck at this game, but in a good way. I need to find out how to properly... refuel... from my enemies. This is such an odd question, but... What do I do to get them to drop their spine? And what was that all about with left hands? Do I go into Blade Mode and shop their hands off? That's a rather specific attack to do in the heat of battle.

Also that dog boss just mauled me a lot. How do you even avoid that attack where it runs around and suddenly grabs a Raiden snack? I'll admit, asking for help on that particular attack amuses me considering what the dog taunts you with when it starts.

I'm glad i watched that video showing off some special moves. I wouldn't have been able to beat the dog without knowing the Towards, Towards, Triangle dash attack move. Also at the end of the fight when the dog is just spinning in the air and there's a huge Japanese symbol on screen... should I have done something there?

Well, going to replay it again later, but the tutorial really wasn't that good. Lock-on? Oh, it's on R2. Tell you about it? Pfft. Nah.

Game could be pretty fun when I learn not to die, though. And I already have it preordered.

[Miizy F Baby]

Game finally clicked on the second time through.

My first time though, honestly, I didn't like it much at all. Felt sloppy, and blade mode is awesome on paper, and a bit in practice, but actually using aiming with the stick is just annoying--and to add insult, the detection of the red square seems to be off, as I'd slash through it and still not get the prompts at times. The framerate isn't a solid 60, with odd, occasional stutters during those incredibly annoying slow walk codec conversations and blade mode (PS3).

Then the second time came, after I read through the thread and learned that I could mash the face buttons during blade mode. I slowed on the ninja run during confrontations, got the hang of parrying, and mashed the face buttons during blade mode (actually getting on the mark much more often,) and came away impressed. I'm seeing that the boss battles is where this game is going to shine, as the fight against the AF AI Wolf, when I had gotten the hang of the mechanics, was fun as hell.

Which kinda brings me to the point of: This game is annoying as hell when facing waves of enemies. It's not bad~, but annoying, and definitely not as tight as it could be. When facing the boss, it was one on one for the majority of it, and you can see what they focused the system around. It was just FUN. But the waves of fodder enemies; they're stupid, and Raiden doesn't have much in the way of crowd control to deal with their dumb asses, aside from the combo of slide/sweep/blade mode, which just gets repetitive after a quick while.

[IHaveIce]

Ok no demo on xbl Germany? :(

[The Lamp]

I don't understand the combat... I'm just mashing square and triangle to win... Is there a way to block? I can never tell if I'm parrying correctly.

[The One Who Knocks]

The demo finished downloading for me last night (the XBL version) and since then I've played it repeatedly and this is the strangest action game I've ever played (that's not a bad thing). The combat feels completely different to any other action game and for my first two run throughs of the demo I was ompletely perplexed as to what exactly I should be doing combat wise (I was still getting through the demo via pressing every button randomly but it felt as clunky doing so as one would expect). However after about my third playthrough the combat finally clicked and I'm enjoy it far more than I had been previously as the extent of the combat became clear through vast experimentation and now I'm desperate for more (slicing rockets though, I must admit, isn't as easy as removing incendinary shurikens were in "Ninja Gaiden 2"!). My biggest problem with the demo (with the exception of the human enemies' susceptibility to the blade mode) is definitely the camera; a complaint that I am surprised by since it's never really been much of a problem in other action games (even the already mentioned "Ninja Gaiden 2", a game which was criticised by many for its camera, never bothered me). I'm still unsure how I feel by the lack of a dodge and the placement of the parry button but I'm more excited for this game than I was before the demo, certainly not an easy feat to accomplish.

I do think the lack of any form of combat tutorial (it doesn't need to show everything of course, but some basic combos or a list of all available combos [even if they were hidden until the user performed it]) would go a long way in highlighting just how deep the combat system is. One more thing I am not particularly fond of is the huge colour notification that an enemy's about to attack; personally I feel that it makes countering in time far too easy but hopefully this will be removed on Hard mode.

EDIT: Also, graphically I don't have a problem with the game. Everything is pretty simple but I'm always in favour of a high framerate (although admittedly if you slice items far too many times you completely obliterate the framerate) with a clean appearance as opposed to a variety of special effects and a lower framerate when that ages far worse (or so I feel anyway, Nnja Gaiden 2 is the example I'd use [once again, I really do enjoy that game if it wasn't obvious enough already]). Also, I'll be downloading the PS3 version too now that it's out, I'm very interested in seeing how they compare.

[Risette]

Excuse me while my eyes roll out of my sockets. Nah, it's pretty much crap. Dat Ninja Gaiden influence, I guess. :P

Ninja Gaiden's camera is way better than this

[Space A Cobra]

I was really down on this demo until I realized I needed to be pressing the analog stick toward the attacker to properly parry. After that the demo was awesome.

[dan2026]

You can defiantly feel the very slight frame rate advantage on the 360.
At the added cost of screen tearing of course.

Think I will wait for the full game impressions before I make my choice.

[FlashbladeGAF]

Game finally clicked on the second time through. My first time though, honestly, I didn't like it much at all. Felt sloppy, and blade mode is awesome on paper, and a bit in practice, but actually using aiming with the stick is just annoying--and to add insult, the detection of the red square seems to be off, as I'd slash through it and still not get the prompts at times. The framerate isn't a solid 60, with odd, occasional stutters during those incredibly annoying slow walk codec conversations and blade mode (PS3). Then the second time came, after I read through the thread and learned that I could mash the face buttons during blade mode. I slowed on the ninja run during confrontations, got the hang of parrying, and mashed the face buttons during blade mode (actually getting on the mark much more often,) and came away impressed. I'm seeing that the boss battles is where this game is going to shine, as the fight against the AF AI Wolf, when I had gotten the hang of the mechanics, was fun as hell. Which kinda brings me to the point of: This game is annoying as hell when facing waves of enemies. It's not bad~, but annoying, and definitely not as tight as it could be. When facing the boss, it was one on one for the majority of it, and you can see what they focused the system around. It was just FUN. But the waves of fodder enemies; they're stupid, and Raiden doesn't have much in the way of crowd control to deal with their dumb asses, aside from the combo of slide/sweep/blade mode, which just gets repetitive after a quick while.

grenades, ninja run into slide, breakdance special move, sidestep slash... The moves to take on multiple enemies is all there. The game just doesnt tell you about them.

[OSHAN]

Also, why is the PS3 version nearly a GB and a half bigger than the 360 demo?

Cutscenes.

[Kinyou]

Cutscenes.

So they're pre-rendered in the game's engine? Damn, really fooled me.

[InsanerBrainer]

Also that dog boss just mauled me a lot. How do you even avoid that attack where it runs around and suddenly grabs a Raiden snack? I'll admit, asking for help on that particular attack amuses me considering what the dog taunts you with when it starts. I'm glad i watched that video showing off some special moves. I wouldn't have been able to beat the dog without knowing the Towards, Towards, Triangle dash attack move. Also at the end of the fight when the dog is just spinning in the air and there's a huge Japanese symbol on screen... should I have done something there?

I try to evade to the side right before it lunges at me but it still manages to get me sometimes. When the dog is spinning in the air that's when you use blade mode and chop him up into little pieces. I think it's so you can get extra points to boost your combat rank.

Whenever I was fighting and the combat went in slow motion for a few seconds I thought it was just for dramatic effect lol. But then I realized "oh yeah I have blade mode. I should use that."

[SkylineRKR]

Game finally clicked on the second time through. My first time though, honestly, I didn't like it much at all. Felt sloppy, and blade mode is awesome on paper, and a bit in practice, but actually using aiming with the stick is just annoying--and to add insult, the detection of the red square seems to be off, as I'd slash through it and still not get the prompts at times. The framerate isn't a solid 60, with odd, occasional stutters during those incredibly annoying slow walk codec conversations and blade mode (PS3). Then the second time came, after I read through the thread and learned that I could mash the face buttons during blade mode. I slowed on the ninja run during confrontations, got the hang of parrying, and mashed the face buttons during blade mode (actually getting on the mark much more often,) and came away impressed. I'm seeing that the boss battles is where this game is going to shine, as the fight against the AF AI Wolf, when I had gotten the hang of the mechanics, was fun as hell. Which kinda brings me to the point of: This game is annoying as hell when facing waves of enemies. It's not bad~, but annoying, and definitely not as tight as it could be. When facing the boss, it was one on one for the majority of it, and you can see what they focused the system around. It was just FUN. But the waves of fodder enemies; they're stupid, and Raiden doesn't have much in the way of crowd control to deal with their dumb asses, aside from the combo of slide/sweep/blade mode, which just gets repetitive after a quick while.

Yeah I played the demo via ZoE way back but I felt the combat engine and/or camera wasn't really ideal for taking on multiple foes at the same time.

But the more recent footage shows a better camera view and moves that deal with backstabbers etc so I wonder what the final build will turn out to be.

Ninja Gaiden's camera is way better than this

A slightly fine tuned and performance upgraded version of OG Ninja Gaiden 2 would be the best action game ever for me, I think. That build should get an HD treatment for the next-gen, oh yes.

[dark_prinny]

Is me or PS3 demo looks better than 360?

Toughts?

[rvy]

Is me or PS3 demo looks better than 360? Toughts?

Probably. But it's negligible, nobody is getting fucked over fortunately.

[Miizy F Baby]

Probably. But it's negligible, nobody is getting fucked over fortunately.

The PS3's actually missing effects, iirc. Doesn't matter to me, though; the DS3 is the controller for this genre.

[jett]

I don't think "mash the face buttons and pray you hit the box" and "move the camera a little bit and press square and hit it with 100% success" are the same thing.

Manual slicing is imprecise with either stick, frankly it becomes an annoyance. Aim and mash square/triangle and hope for the best.

sigh.

This is definitely the last time I ever address one of your posts.

[deim0s]

I suck at this game, but in a good way. I need to find out how to properly... refuel... from my enemies. This is such an odd question, but... What do I do to get them to drop their spine? And what was that all about with left hands? Do I go into Blade Mode and shop their hands off? That's a rather specific attack to do in the heat of battle. Also that dog boss just mauled me a lot. How do you even avoid that attack where it runs around and suddenly grabs a Raiden snack? I'll admit, asking for help on that particular attack amuses me considering what the dog taunts you with when it starts.

Left hands are upgrade currency in the full game.

Drop their spine(?) or that repair paste item, seems a random drop when you miss the spine when in blade mode but sliced 'em good.

The dog runs and jumps three times before lunging at you - then parry. He telegraphs his attacks a lot saying "multiple strikes" etc.

[rvy]

The PS3's actually missing effects, iirc.

But the cutscenes are higher-res, so it balances itself out. This isn't the final build anyway, so we'll see what the final version ends up being like.

[jett]

Has anyone tried cutting off right arms in a consistent basis? That's how you get upgrade points, apparently. Seems like a pain in the ass to me.

[BiggStankDogg]

My God, I've downloaded this damn demo like 5 times and every time I go to install, it peters out at like 15% and gives me an error, then tells me to re-download. I'M DYING HERE...

[Mognet]

I've played the demo so many times and it just keeps getting better but it's made me wish that action games like these should have a separate demo where's it has a couple waves of enemies to show off the combat and/or give a more in-depth tutorial.

In the end I just wish there was a lot more enemies to fight against before the boss.

[Mit-]

So they're pre-rendered in the game's engine? Damn, really fooled me.

Some of the cutscenes are in-engine I think. The one that's obviously not is the entire opening sequence where he travels to the island. I'm sure it's far less compressed on the PS3 than the 360.

[george_us]

Ninja Gaiden's camera is way better than this

Fuck no it isn't. MGR's camera isn't ideal but it's far from being a total piece of shit like Ninja Gaiden's camera was.

[jett]

Some of the cutscenes are in-engine I think. The one that's obviously not is the entire opening sequence where he travels to the island. I'm sure it's far less compressed on the PS3 than the 360.

Yep. Video quality is really outstanding on the PS3 demo.

[blackmamba707]

lovin it but one thing annoys me, is it possible to dodge last boss attack when he starts zigzaging and attacks you with a chainsaw?

[McNum]

Left hands are upgrade currency in the full game. Drop their spine(?) or that repair paste item, seems a random drop when you miss the spine when in blade mode but sliced 'em good. The dog runs and jumps three times before lunging at you - then parry. He telegraphs his attacks a lot saying "multiple strikes" etc.

I cut one of them horizontally just below the shoulders and that repair item is most definitely his spine. As in it was dangling out of the top of his torso. Then he fell over and exploded, leaving it behind. Kind of grim. The blade mode is pretty gruesome really.

I get the feeling that when I become good at the game, then generic enemies will begin to look like health packs and currency. As in cut one way to get health, another to get their hand.

[BeautifulMemory]

lovin it but one thing annoys me, is it possible to dodge last boss attack when he starts zigzaging and attacks you with a chainsaw?

You can parry it like a cyborg ninja

[Kinyou]

Some of the cutscenes are in-engine I think. The one that's obviously not is the entire opening sequence where he travels to the island. I'm sure it's far less compressed on the PS3 than the 360.

What's a little disappointing about this is that it means we wont see Raiden wearing any of the bonus costumes during the longer cutscenes.

[Mit-]

You can parry it like a cyborg ninja

Does that mean take it to the chest? Because I'm pretty sure the move he's talking about is a grab. I just ninja ran around and jumped to avoid it.

Also I'm interested in how other people fight Gekkos. I just kind of jumped at them and slash in the air for a short while before retreating. Or I got lucky and they did the jump attack, and then I did the special followup move. Otherwise I just stand there and parry and they're too far after the parry to do anything.

[call_kotaku]

Does that mean take it to the chest? Because I'm pretty sure the move he's talking about is a grab. I just ninja ran around and jumped to avoid it. Also I'm interested in how other people fight Gekkos. I just kind of jumped at them and slash in the air for a short while before retreating. Or I got lucky and they did the jump attack, and then I did the special followup move. Otherwise I just stand their and parry and they're too far after the parry to do anything.

Everything the dog does is parryable, including the zig zag chainsaw grab. I suspect the other bosses in the game might have unparryable attacks, but the blade wolf doesn't.

After you parry a leg swing, jump and do the divekick. It'll keep you airborne on gekkos and lets you follow up with air attacks.