Metal Gear Series

oldschool wrote:

masofdas wrote:

The one on X-Box is MGS2 Substance version which is the best Metal Gear game ever and is nothing like a Tom Clancy Splinter Cell game there completely different.

Splinter Cell:
I am going to use the word, ‘bored’ a lot in this review, because I was so bored with this game, even more than I was bored with another stealth game, Metal Gear Solid.  Absolutely everything bored me, no exceptions.   There you go, I have that out of my system now.  Don’t get me wrong. Splinter Cell looked okay, the mechanics of the stealth were more than fine - it did exactly what it was supposed to do, but I just didn’t care for it.

Splinter is a pure stealth game and that is the biggest problem I have with it.  You spend all your time doing everything slowly and methodically.  I could not get any sense of satisfaction from sneaking up on someone, or avoiding the camera.   I never completed the training and have no desire to ever do so.   It wasn’t that I couldn’t do it, I actually did most of it, and it is just that I didn’t want to continue.   All I could think of the whole time I played it was doing something, anything else.  I just can’t imagine ever liking it.   Still, it was better than Ghost Recon, but that isn’t saying much.

Score: Disliked

Desire to play more? - Definitely not.  Just what is the appeal with these games?

It's funny you mention this, as I love the Splinter Cell games but just can't for the life of me, enjoy a Metal Gear Solid game. The fact that there are definite levels in Splinter Cell, gives them a Hitman-style playground feel, where you can go about your business in various ways. The reason I love them so much though is the online co-op, which brings teamwork in to play. Beating Conviction on Realistic difficulty with a friend is one of my favourite memories from the last gen.

In terms of gameplay, it feels a lot tighter than MGS too. I think the most I played was the first disc of Twin Snakes - I couldn't get in to the second or third. I'd really like to play MGS4 as from what I've seen of it, it looks like it handles and feels more Splinter Cell than the previous games. I could be wrong though.

Muss wrote:

I appreciate what 3 tried to do, but because it still uses a top down view and forgoes a radar it can be a bit awkward having to switch between views.

Depends which version you play. Subsistence and subsequently the HD release have free camera control. Personally I think both styles work great (you can switch back to fixed camera in the later releases if you so desire), but the free camera control is preferable.

MGS3 is one of the greatest games ever made, it just does everything perfectly. Even going back to it today I find new little things and tricks I never knew about, it just has so much thought put into everything. As a standalone game, taken outside of the series, MGS3 is definitely the best.

MGS2 on the other hand is one of the most interesting and significant games in videogame history. It's post-modern stylings and plot-line are complete genius, and all of that ties directly back into the gameplay. I could easily write a whole essay on it's brilliance. So, artistically speaking, MGS2 is the best in the series. From a pure gameplay perspective, as a classically-styled action game, MGS3 has it beat.

I could now go on to argue why Peace Walker is also the best in the series (vast content, action-orientated gameplay, multiplayer, mission structure), or why Ground Zeroes is the best in the series (the most refined, expanded and streamlined gameplay-wise, the open-world structure with multiple approaches to and outcomes from missions, and speed-running) and from that argument I could probably suggest MGSV will probably be the best in the series. There is also an argument for MGS4 being the best in the series if taken in the context of the entire series together, as it is essentially a celebration of all the previous games while still being a great game in it's own right.

And let's not forget MGS1, which has had perhaps the greatest impact culturally and is another landmark videogame for plenty of good reasons. Twin Snakes is a great remake too which fixes a few issues from MGS1 to make it nicer to play and includes MGS2-style gameplay enhancements (just be accepting of it being a retelling of the game events in-universe).

Portable ops(+) doesn't match up to the main series, but they are both still great games.

tl;dr, MGS, all of it <3

I hear Peace Walker is excellent lots of times that I should find away to play it.

I've only just noticed, but the poll at the top of this thread uses Snake's Revenge, the non-canon, Kojimaless NES sequel, rather than Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, the official second game. Nobody's voted for the MSX games anyway but that kinda bothers me.

It also has a non-existent game in the poll too so what can ye do?

Which game is non-existent, Jas
and really it should have both Number 2's in the poll as Snakes Revenge could be someone's fav Metal Gear!

And OR, do a retrospective or something if you wish and we can stick it up on Gintendo.

Started playing Metal Gear Solid tonight for the first time, although I didn't get very far whatsoever as I spent a lot of time faffing about watching the briefing videos and doing some of the training missions, as well as reading the in-game summaries of the MSX Metal Gears. I'm actually enjoying what I've experienced of the story so far, as it seems like a really mental Bond film. The voice acting really is on point here too - Snake seems like a loveable asshole thus far.

As for the actual game, I got caught so often in the opening few areas. I don't know if that's down to the somewhat fiddly controls or down to my ineptitude. I'd forgotten how utterly atrocious I am at stealth games.

Played some more of this! I'm really enjoying it - some the puzzles have been really clever (the cigarette smoke puzzle for one) and the boss fights have been top notch too. I've just rescued Otacon and eager to play more!

Yay! Oh, man, you're in for such a journey
One question: are you using analogue sticks? The game plays infinitely better with a DPad.

Nah, playing with a d-pad and it's not too bad to control. Using weapon is fiddly though, but thankfully there's not been much of that thus far.

That's alright then. I started out with a dual shock and it took me a while to realise the game wasn't designed for analogue control and steers better with buttons.

Yeah, I didn't even bother trying the analogue sticks and moving Snake about is fine. Combat is still really fiddly though - had a nightmare of a time taking down Psycho Mantis (although his boss premise was really cool, chuckled at "HIDEO" popping up) and Sniper Wolf (although once again, really cool concept for the fight and surprisingly tense).

I'm noticing that MGS is a lot like a puzzle game at times too, and I'm enjoying that aspect of the game.

I would love to play MGS again through your eyes Jay with those classic battles being new.

I don't know if you have seen but Phantom Pain has started to leak.

Yeah, I was chatting to my flatmate about the battles in this game today (he's been sitting in whilst I've been playing) and we both reckon that the concept of the bosses in MGS are really clever but the execution is somewhat cumbersome, just because it's a bit of an old game.

As for my progress, I've survived the torture with Ocelot, escaped from prison, ran up the comms tower being chased by 500 guards and rappelled down a building whilst being shot at by Liquid.

I've not played for a while but your at the end of Disc 1 /start of Disc 2 if you were playing it on PS1 and Disc 2 is quite short, you've gone through the game quite quickly.

Do you plan to pick up Phantom Pain (PS4 please and play on your house mates, that I can invade your mother base) if you can get all the main ones done in the next 2 weeks which is likely at that pace.

On HTLB it take 67hrs to beat MGS2, 3, 4, Peace Walker and Ground Zeroes main stories.

I don't know if anyone has thought about it but Drunka would be great doing a MGS themed music week for the build up for the Phantom Pain in the not-Nintendo music thread.

I've been thinking of doing the Metal Gear tunes anyway, so maybe that would be the time to do it.

masofdas wrote:

I've not played for a while but your at the end of Disc 1 /start of Disc 2 if you were playing it on PS1 and Disc 2 is quite short, you've gone through the game quite quickly.

Do you plan to pick up Phantom Pain (PS4 please and play on your house mates, that I can invade your mother base) if you can get all the main ones done in the next 2 weeks which is likely at that pace.

I do plan to pick up the Phantom Pain, but I'm moving at the end of the month, so it might have to wait until I get a PS4 of my own. And I don't think I'd manage to get through the other Metal Gears that quickly.

Drunkalilly wrote:

I've been thinking of doing the Metal Gear tunes anyway, so maybe that would be the time to do it.

I was planning on doing MGS1 once I've wrapped it up, so maybe I could do a MGS1-centric week and then you could pick and choose from the other Metal Gears?

Quick question lads - any tips for beating Vulcan Raven? I'm struggling to take him out and I've not got many rations left. I've tried guiding the Nikita Missiles about to shoot him but he just blows them up and using C4 is way too fiddly. Can you use the Stinger on him?

I'm trying to remember how I beat him... do you have any mines?
I think it was the Nikita I used for the most part.

No mines, no, but plenty of C4. I'll try the Nikita some more next time I have a bash at it.

Phantom Pain is also on PS3, okay we can't play together but we can talking about it.

I'm actually hoping to have a PS4 before the year is out, so I'll probably end up picking it up on that for the best experience.

Yeah unless your PC can run it as I think that's even 4k as Kojima even want to push the PS4 past 1080p but didn't due to consumers.

Doubt it mate. My PC's starting to struggle with recent releases - GTA V is even a bit much for it.

Hype

On Raven get close and planet C4's on him as it does more damage then the Nikita missile.

GT's Huber explains Metal Gear in 12 Minutes

I guess you guys have seen reviews etc for MGSV: TPP, dam it sounds good but the few reviews I have seen even with 9+ scores can't agree about the story, some have said it's not great for a MGS and is the most disappointing thing about the game. Then some have said that there still thinking about the story events now after playing it and if you haven't played some MGS in the past you might miss out of some things.