Kojima Productions has shed light as to why developer Platinum Games isn’t cobbling together a PlayStation Vita version of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.
The upcoming stab-‘em-up spin-off is due out in February 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, though won’t be hitting Sony’s new handheld console due to the fact it can’t handle one of the game’s key mechanics.
Specifically, PS Vita can’t quite manage the free cutting system featured in Rising, which sees protagonist Raiden slicing up foes as players see fit.
“As of now, we aren’t considering a Vita version,” said producer Yuji Korekado, during a chinwag with Eurogamer. “The reason is one of the main appeals of Metal Gear Rising is the option of the free cut. That requires a lot of hardware power, which is only possible with the power of a PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.”
“So as of now, we haven’t contemplated bringing it to handheld consoles.”
On the gameplay front, Korekado revealed that the team has implemented a variety of challenges for players to tackle, some of which actually encourage you to dispatch your enemies as cleanly as possible.
"We know some previous Metal Gear titles there have been some challenges, like having no kills, complete stealth," he said. "We are putting challenges in the game. For example, there is one challenge where you have to go through the game just by defeating the enemies dealing the least amount of damage possible, perhaps by cutting just one limb."
Metal Gear Rising was originally unveiled at E3 2009 and was then in development by Kojima Productions. However, after a lengthy hiatus, it was confirmed late last year that the game had been snapped up by Platinum Games.
Originally Rising was supposed to take place in between Metal Gear Solid 2 and 4, though it’s now confirmed to be set almost a decade after 4. Furthermore, the title has lost much of its stealth-based antics in favour of an all-out action affair.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is due out on February 19, 2013.