Egotastic
Far be it from me to tell a video game company how to design their heroes. If Konami wants Raiden to be that dude who attaches a sword to his boot and then waves his foot at enemies like Chun Li from Street Fighter as an offensive attack, then fine. Just make it look cool, is all I ask. The core combat of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance looks cool as hell.
Check out this clip of Raiden slicing enemies with precision using full analog control. I can't think of anything I do with such control and accuracy as Raiden in these clips.
Metal Gear Rising Revengeance Looks Positively Slashing in Latest Combat Gameplay (VIDEO)
The thing with Metal Gear Rising Revengeance is this game is way tougher than it seems at first glance. Everybody will hack and slash with full confidence through the early part of the game, no doubt. But to succeed, to take down dangerous enemies as quickly as possible, you'll need to be a master of all the combat moves Raiden is offering. You'll need to be efficient.
In the gameplay clip above, you'll get a dose of what I'm talking about as Raiden takes out a handful of foot soldiers (the dangerous kind that carry RPGs) and a pair of Metal RAYs. These Rays are some of the easier ones in the game, but if you think you can hack-and-slash your way through these suckers, you'll be one dead cyborg ninja. The Zandatsu maneuver has Raiden snatching the "blue spine" out of an enemy once they've been weakened enough to be sliced open. It takes precise slices while you're in Blade Mode (slow motion with absolute control over the plane and direction of your sword slashes) to get that thing out and, of course, you'll have to have enough energy to even go in to Blade Mode to begin with. If you pull off the slicing and timed button presses accurately, you'll snatch that spine out and replenish your health and energy in a dramatic mini scene that looks like something out of a classic anime clip. Watch and see.