Samuel Rodrigues, also known as Jetstream Sam, was one of the coolest characters in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. His smug attitude and impressive sword skills made him worth caring about despite his allegiance to the wrong side. That's why it was pretty exciting to learn that Raiden's villainous rival was getting his own piece of DLC. Unfortunately, while it does have some really cool moments, the story-based Jetstream content isn't all that great, and at $10, you're being asked to put down a steep amount of cash for something you can get through in under two hours.
This DLC tells the story of Sam prior to his involvement with the Desperado group. While he certainly displays the cocky demeanor we all became familiar with in Revengeance, the swordsman appears to be waging a war on World Marshal. It's an interesting back story for the character, and it comes to a close in a somewhat decent manner. Still, once you've gotten through Jetstream, you're likely to feel that this whole precursory story could've been so much more.
At first it may appear that Sam controls a lot like Raiden, and that's not entirely untrue. That said, while there are some undeniable similarities (like how they gain health from the sweet, juicy core of their enemies), the fact remains that you've got access to some cool new moves this time around. Specifically, Sam can dodge roll and air dodge, and he can also perform a double jump. The dodge moves are especially awesome because they're a departure from Raiden's parry, which means you're forced to employ different strategies while engaging in combat. The double jump, however, is a neat idea that isn't utilized all that brilliantly. Sam can also perform a taunt that enrages his foes but causes them to become reckless.
A lot of the same issues encountered in the main game pop up in Jetstream. Difficulty spikes occur a few times, and the bout with Blade Wolf is easily the most annoying part of the DLC. The camera issues that plagued Revengeance also return, and they create some truly frustrating moments. I'm almost 100 percent certain that the Blade Wolf encounter would've been a lot less troublesome if I could actually see that damn robot dog, but alas, some foul camera problems led to my demise all too often.
The biggest problem with Jetstream is that it revisits areas that already appeared in the main Revengeance campaign. This wouldn't be a problem if there were some new stages thrown in for good measure, but throughout the entirety of this DLC, you're guiding Sam through places you've already battled plenty in with Raiden. There's no doubt that the sewers, helipad, and industrial elevator were cool locales, but there's really no need to see them all again.
Jetstream includes a handful of collectibles and some VR missions. These side jobs are hardly worth spending time on, and if you didn't dig the VR missions in the main game, there's no reason to get excited about these. Four of them are pretty generic, tasking you with killing all of the enemies in a designated area. The other VR mission is a 2.5D platforming side quest that's actually kind of cool. It's really a shame that there weren't more of these.
Another reason to sink a bit more time into this add-on is the inclusion of higher difficulties. There's also the high score aspect which is sure to entice a few players to keep coming back. If you're not into playing games on multiple difficulties or hunting those high scores, however, the replayability of this expansion is practically nonexistent.
It took me 95 minutes to get through the Jetstream DLC. This is a completely linear affair, and there's hardly any reason to return to it once you've completed it the first time, unless you really care about those extra difficulties and high scores. Ultimately, you get a nice little side story that's kind of intriguing, if not largely underwhelming. For $10, it could be a lot worse or a lot better. If you really need more Revengeance, this may be a worthwhile purchase. If, however, you had your fill the first time around, don't bother with Jetsream. It really sucks that one of the coolest characters in the main game, if not the absolute coolest, didn't get a more fleshed-out expansion.
Want to talk about indie games, Kirby, or cheap pizza? Follow me on Twitter @dr_davidsanchez.
