It's been at least 2-3 months since I have last touched Rising since I took a break to work on other games in my backlog, but fortunately, I noticed that Xbox Live Marketplace had both the Jetstream and Bladewolf DLCs at 50% off this past week. I have to admit I was pretty stoked to jump back into Rising again with this new content.
Plot: (FULL Spoilers)
At an unknown point, Sam learned about Senator Armstrong's involvement with World Marshal, and decided to kill him for "sacrificing soldiers from the comfort of his office." Unbeknownst to him, however, Steven Armstrong and Monsoon had arranged for his arrival at Denver to recruit him, in large part because of his taking out several drug cartels. He proceeded to infiltrate the compound via the sewer systems of Denver, although not before killing two DPD cyborg cops who caught him attempting to enter. While travelling through the sewers, he couldn't help but notice that the system looked familiar. He later encountered the LQ-84i prototype unmanned gear, who had orders to kill Sam, presumably from Armstrong. Sam proceeded to tell it that it should think for itself. The LQ-84i briefly considered his advice, but was unable to disobey his directives due to Desperado blackmailing it with a memorywipe. The LQ-84i was then defeated by Sam, with him mentioning that he fought of his own choosing as why he prevailed over the mech, although stated that the mech didn't do badly in its fight.Leaving the ruined mech behind, he then proceeded to enter the premises of World Marshal. Upon gaining entry, he then attempted to use the lifts, although his presence activated a lockdown on the lifts before he could reach his destination. Undeterred, Sam, upon defeating the reinforcements, managed to reach his destination by jumping up on the crates, and eventually entered a hangar area. He then encountered Monsoon, who questioned his motives regarding his slaughtering of a drug cartel and then leaving Brazil. However, Sam told Monsoon that he left Brazil since he had no need to stay anymore due to his exacting revenge (referring to his father's death at the hands of one of his pupils). However, Monsoon dropped a RP grenade down to his level and then summoned a Metal Gear RAY UMG unit to attack him.
Sam then encountered Armstrong on the rooftop after defeating a Hammerhead. Armstrong, as his "final interview", then powered up to his maximum form, the spectacle of which Sam even applauded when witnessing the transformation. After an intense battle, Sam seemingly was victorious over Armstrong. Armstrong then requested him to join so they could end war as a business. Sam considered the idea, but decided to just "take his hand." He managed to cut off Armstrong's right hand, but the latter's abilities turned the tide when the severed arm formed a spear and pierced Sam's right arm. Forced to concede defeat, Sam accepted the senator's offer.
Gameplay:
(from IGN)
(PlayStation 3) BLADE MOVES & COMBOS
| Cross Cut |  |
| Slide Swipe | |
| Front Kick | |
| Follow Up | |
| Quick Draw |  |
| Charging Slash | Hold |
| Reverse Cross | |
| Ring Gale | then hold |
| Wide Cut | |
| Blender | then hold |
| Tailwind | |
| Storm Front | then hold |
| Assault Rush |  (forward) (forward) + |
| Jaw Breaker | (forward) (back) + |
| Deadly Peak | (while jumping or airborne) |
| Avalanche | (while jumping or airborne) |
| Piercing Winds | (mid-dash) |
| Stiff Breeze | (mid-dash) |
| Backflip | +  |
| Taunt |  |
(Xbox 360) BLADE MOVES & COMBOS
| Cross Cut |  |
| Slide Swipe | |
| Front Kick | |
| Follow Up | |
| Quick Draw |  |
| Charging Slash | Hod |
| Reverse Cross | |
| Ring Gale | then hold |
| Wide Cut | |
| Blender | then hold |
| Tailwind | |
| Storm Front | then hold |
| Assault Rush |  (forward) (forward) + |
| Jaw Breaker | (back) (back) + |
| Deadly Peak | (while jumping or aiborne) |
| Avalanche | (while jumping or airborne) |
| Piercing Winds | (mid-dash) |
| Stiff Breeze | (mid-dash) |
| Backflip | + |
| Taunt |  |
Other thing to note is that Jetstream Sam is able to double jump and air dash. As a result, Sam is a much more formidable force with aerial attacks than Raiden. If Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance gets a sequel, I would love to see this ability carry over to Raiden as that's the main area in combat where Raiden suffers in the most in this game.
Sam's Taunt ability is a skill that was borrowed from the playbook of both Bayonetta and GodHand, where as a taunt triggers a rage state in your opponents (even some bosses) where their attacks do more damage to you as a result, but at the same time, they are more reckless in their offense.
One thing most players will notice is that Jetstream Sam's parry timing is slightly more stricter than Raiden's parry timing. To those of you using the Parry exploit in the retail version, you're out of luck as you have to know how to parry properly now.
 |
| Sam, there's nothing to be clapping about... |
The Verdict:
I'm not even going to sugarcoat this... This DLC was horrible.
You would think that Platinum Games and Konami would take the time to fix the camera issues that plague this DLC but nope. Some of the camera angle issues are worse than the retail version and I don't see how that could have passed play testing before releasing this. I died more times fighting against the camera than the enemies itself in this DLC.
I feel bad that I have to give this DLC a thumbs down as I really wanted to like what Jetstream Sam brings to the table as a playable character. His Quick Draw ability is interesting enough on its own but at the end of the day, Sam is still a carbon copy of Raiden, slicing his foes apart like a hot knife through butter in Blade Mode.
As for the narrative, Jetstream Sam's narrative is told in a single level, separated by three boss encounters. Sadly, these bosses are all recycled from the Story Mode of Rising as Sam faces Bladewolf (LQ-84i), Metal Gear RAY, and Senator Armstrong while traversing the exact same areas from the Story Mode of the original game. As a result, this DLC gives off a huge impression of the "been there, done that" mentality, offering players nothing really new in terms of enemies nor gameplay. Did I mention that you can finish this in a hour or less?
This DLC has no replay value other than searching for the few collectibles (5 data files along with a few health and energy buffs) and the VR Missions, which MUST be completed throughout the course of this DLC campaign. To add to more bad news, Jetstream Sam is limited to only being playable in this single DLC episode. He cannot be used in the main game's Story Mode nor the original VR Missions. I don't get why they would not allow players to use him in the main game. Instead, this DLC falls flat just like DmC (Devil May Cry)'s own Vergil's Downfall DLC.
Between the horrid camera angles, mediocre gameplay, and recycled elements from the main game, I have to give this DLC a 1.75 out of 5. It's playable but it's totally not worth your time nor money unless you really have cash to burn or bored with everything to do with Raiden. I would have been VERY pissed if I have purchased this at release at full price.
If you really want to find out about the backstory of Samuel Rodrigues then I humbly suggest watching a "Let's Play" session of this on YouTube. Save your hard-earned cash. There's too many awesome Steam and other sales for cheap-ass gamers to waste money on this.
If you really want to find out about the backstory of Samuel Rodrigues then I humbly suggest watching a "Let's Play" session of this on YouTube. Save your hard-earned cash. There's too many awesome Steam and other sales for cheap-ass gamers to waste money on this.
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