Metal Gear Solid: Rising stands out from other titles in the MGS franchise in a number of ways, the most obvious being its protagonist. And if the game's producer has his way, Rising will be the first of many MGS games to come staring sword-wielding acrobat Raiden.

According to Japanese gaming mag Famitsu (translated by Andriasang), Kojima Production's Shigenobu Matsuyama already has plans for Metal Gear Solid: Rising 2.

"MGS Rising is not a side story," Matsuyama said. "We're aiming for two Metal Gear Solids, making a series out of another standard."


Famitsu also asked why publisher Konami decided on Raiden for its newest MGS title, a decision met with disappointment by some fans of the franchise hoping Snake would be making his debut on the Xbox 360.

Before Konami decided on the overall storyline of MGS: Rising, the development team knew it wanted to incorporate innovative swordplay, making Raiden the perfect choice, Matsuyama said. And if Rising turns out to be a success, Matsuyama added that the tentative plan is to go back and forth with Snake and Raiden releases, much like Activision set itself up for successive Call of Duty games from Treyarch and Modern Warfare titles from Infinity Ward.

Metal Gear Solid: Rising is currently in development for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows PCs. No release dates have been announced.



Sharkey says: This is one of the games we saw at E3 that got my gaming jones going. I love Snake, but if Kojima Productions can do a solid job establishing Raiden and the swordplay mechanic, Metal Gear fans could be in for a real treat. One thing: please do something about Raiden's anime-inspired look. It's difficult to think a character is badass when he(she?) is asexual.