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Close Up: Metal Gear Rising Revengeance Collector’s Edition Guide

Released alongside the game, this 258 page collector’s guide was created by Piggyback as an alternative to the regular guide.

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This collector’s guide is very similar to the one for Metal Gear Solid 4. Both guides feature a hard cover and come with a numbered lithograph with an artwork by Yoji Shinkawa on it.

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Aside from that, the one for Metal Gear Rising has 16 additional pages containing a character cast art gallery with developer commentary. The rest of the contents are exactly the same as the normal guide.

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The cover of the guide looks really nice, it features a full, colorful print of Raiden in his two forms. The metal parts of his suit and his blade are made from a different layer of shiny material.

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A Japanese sign with fiery decorations behind it can be seen on the back.

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On the inside of the cover Japanese symbols are printed, with English translations underneath them.

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The guide is divided into several chapters, with, as expected, the walkthrough taking up most of it. On the far right, at the edge of each right page, you can see a reference to what chapter and what subject of that chapter you’re reading.

Here is a sort summary of each chapter and segment:

Foreword: A small introduction by the games producers: Yuji Korekado of Kojima Productions and Atsushi Inaba of Platinum Games.

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Contents: Simply the contents of the guide summed up, plus some questions one might have before starting the game, and answers to those questions.

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Quickstart: A short overview of what the game offers, and how each new play through can offer new goals.

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Cast: The characters that appear in the game, with some background information.

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Primer: An introduction to the basics of the game.

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Walkthrough: A step by step guide through the whole game, divided into the seven chapters the game consists of.

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Reference & Analysis: Here you can find information on different elements of the game. Breakdowns of every enemy, their weak spots, and attack patterns. Information on your weapons and other items, as well as the scoring system implemented in the game.

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Extras: The section covers the extras the game offers. Here you can find how to beat the VR Missions, where to find secrets and how to obtain the titles.

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One of the best parts of this chapter (and of the whole guide) is the section with artworks, complete with commentary by various developers, providing some insight into decisions that were made. For example, Shinkawa explains that it was his idea to have Raiden lose one of his eyes, so he would have a weakness to his character. This event was given context in the story afterwards.

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Index: A list pointing out on what page you can find what information.

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Credits: Simple as that, the people who’ve worked on the guide are credited here.

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In the days of internet walkthroughs, video guides and help sections, the usefulness of such a traditional book is questionable. The creators understand this, and have started to give their products and extra attraction as collector’s item. The presentation of the whole thing is very nice, with colorful artwork, a hard cover and a stylish looking limited lithograph.

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Of course you can use it purely as a guide as well, but considering you can look up a video for free, that is probably easier to understand than a description, it makes more sense to get this guide as a collector’s item, or at least partly for that reason.

Metal Gear Rising Revengeance The Complete Official Guide Collector’s Edition

Published by Piggyback Interactive Limited

ISBN 978-0-307-89715-2 

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