Metal Gear in the time I grew up was always seen as a stealth game, or as plainly put on the cover art of the box: tactical espionage action.

My first game was Metal Gear Solid on the Playstation, that dates me a little bit. I've played nearly every game except for the portable titles. The announcement of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (originally Metal Gear Solid: Rising) was interesting and I was expecting another foray into sneaking past enemies and lengthy cutscenes.

But what I got was some of the most fun I've gotten this week.

Metal Gear Rising takes place 4 years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 4 and you assume control of Raiden, the main protagonist of Metal Gear Solid 2 who now has a cyborg enhanced body.

Raiden works as part of a PMC called Maverick Securities. While working, a security detail of the prime minister of an unnamed African country, N'Mani, Raiden and his team are ambushed by a rogue PMC that is involved in terrorism, Desperado. They manage to kidnap and execute N'Mani and Raiden fights Jetstream Sam, who nearly kills Raiden, but he survives and receives a new cyborg body.

He returns 3 weeks later to take down Desperado and exact revenge.

What's really fun about this game is definitely the combat. Platinum Games are masters of crafting a fun and rewarding combat system and making each enemy encounter feel epic on its own.

My favorite thing to do is to parry enemy attacks which can completely block an attack or reduce damage, depending on your timing. Then you can counterattack, which is pronounced with a very satisfying hit stop and an opportunity to go into Blade Mode.

Blade Mode is a really great ability that you can use to cut enemies and objects into pieces in any direction you can think of. Nearly every object in the game can be cut, including doors, boxes and enemies. It feels great to leave a helicopter in tiny pieces on the ground.

The absolute killer part of the game is the soundtrack and boss fights.

There's nothing I love more than fighting while listening to a song that helps add to the moment and heightens the fierceness of which I'm fighting. One of the first boss fights after Raiden gets his new body is against LQ-84i, a doglike robot with a chainsaw for a tail. The song that plays is "I'm My Own Master Now," and it's a perfect battle tune that keeps the blood pumping.

There are more throughout the game and it culminates in an explosive finale that's beyond words and still holds up as one of my favorite boss fights ever.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a fun romp that offers a different take on the Metal Gear franchise that still keeps its roots intact with a focus on story while devolving into a action game.

My only gripe is that the camera can get a little wonky sometimes and you'll lose sight of yourself and enemies onscreen and the game is just too short for my liking. I wanted more of the hype moments and boss fights by the time I was finished.

Definitely pick this up on a Steam sale or a bargain price whenever you can.