I didn't actually like the combat. Say what you will about the Metal Gear Solid combat but, at the very least, it was about survival. Let me put it this way: while the boss fights of Metal Gear Solid games was about making an opportunity to attack or waiting for an opportunity to attack (please refer to Snake Eater's The Fury), Revengeance is mainly about wailing on the enemy until they attack, which is when you parry before doing it all again. Yes, parrying takes skill and I got smashed many times before figuring out how it works but, when I did, it's very simple to do.
Also, about the awakening of the Ripper: So Raiden is confronted by the fact that his opponents have, for the most part, been regular people just trying to scrape by for a living and he's been killing them viciously (I loved that part, by the way). Raiden, emotionally torn, is almost killed but comes out of his funk by... embracing his killer side and going wacko. He's been trying to fight off his bloodlust for ages and is still haunted by his past and, when he's confronted by his actions, he responds to it by essentially shouting "YES" and decapitating everything he can find like a psycho? Are you kidding me?