Out of all the games the Rocket Chainsaw reps played at E3, the latest entry into the Metal Gear series was easily one of the most enjoyable to cover, and with good reason. Made by Platinum Games, Revengance is a bit of a departure for the series. Instead of being based around stealth espionage, Revengance is brimming wall-to-wall with unadulterated action. We’ve always wondered what it would be like to run wild for an entire game as a cyborg ninja, and our taste of Revengance gave us a great idea of it. In the end, the enjoyment came down to the pointy end – Raiden’s sword.

The demo began with us playing as Raiden, going on a VR mission. The very first thing we tried out was an introduction to ‘blade mode’, which involved holding down the trigger button. This slowed down time and allowed us to cut through anything we deemed in need of slicing and dicing. And he can literally slice through anything in this mode – as part of our playthrough, we cut through a large Ferris wheel. And, sure enough, it toppled over, crushing the hapless enemies who were unfortunate enough to be in the vicinity at the time.

As well as being able to slice and dice, Raiden has a ninja dash move, enabling easy sprinting and free running to cut down the next enemy who happens to be in his way.

Towards the end of the demo, Raiden decided to do something any sane person would do in the course of their everyday lives: take on a helicopter. He did so with his secondary weapon, a homing missile launcher – it’s quite possible that it is meant to be the classic Stinger missile launcher of Metal Gear games past. After almost destroying the flying contraption, the helicopter began to fire missiles at us wildly. Raiden was able to ninja dash upwards, jumping on top of each missile in mid-air, before jumping behind the helicopter and entering blade mode to destroy it.

The very end of the demo contained a massive tease, with the prospect of Raiden taking on a Metal Gear in combat dangling right before us.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengance is due for release in early 2013. Rest assured, Rocket Chainsaw will definitely be quivering with anticipation and giving you more news on this slashing adventure as it becomes known.