MGS4 Talk time, Spoilers after the first post. Options

[AC9breaker]

A topic where we can discuss the game. There will eventually be many spoilers in this thread after this post so I caution anyone who reads this sentence. First though I will post my first impessions of the game after playing it for 3 hours straight. My first impression is spoiler free so feel free to read it, but assume spoilers to be read after every post following this.

Okay so my room is getting real hot from playing for 3 hours straight. Decided I'd wait and get some eats/drinks then come back and go for a marathon session with the AC on.

First off, I got the limited Edition. It comes with 3 Discs the game, a Blu-ray DVD making of MGS4 and the Soundtrack for the game. Music is pretty cool, not exactly something you can bump in a car or club but still pretty poignant. Ambiance stuff you know? Anyway, there are two cases. One for the game and one with the Soundtrack/B-DvD. They where thoughtful enough to include a spoiler warning with the dvd. So I'm not planning on watching it until I beat the game. The cover art for the LE is awesome, old Snake and Liquid Ocelot.

Now onto the game. Looks fucking awesome! especially on an HDTV.
They've taken everything that was awesome with MGS3 an expanded on it.
Interactive cutscenes. Just like MGS3 where there would be que's during cutscenes to view it from an alternate angle ie: Snakes POV. Definitely makes for a much more immersible approach to the games cut scenes. Some also include your input to progress the scene, think the ending sequence in MGS3 with Snake and the Boss. The game maintains its awesome cinematic introduction style where credits scroll while you make your way to the starting point of the game. Also there are real life cut scenes at the beginning of the game. Starts out with one of the ads for the Private Military Corporations and what appears would be a clip from a cooking show in this nihilistic future in which the game takes place in. I thought it was totally funny and awesome at the same time.

Now gameplay, holy shit I forgot how complicated these games are to play. I easily spent the first hour and a half of the game dying trying to remember how to play/ figuring out the nuances of the game and such forth, didn't help that I started the game on the Hard difficulty mode (Big Boss Mode) as they call it. Once you figure things out the new changes are an awesome addition to the universe. Especially awesome is the stress/mental health gauge. Your aim becomes much more shaky as your stress levels increase and you take more damage. Forces you to focus a lot more on stealth where as in previous games you could Rambo things without too much care.
Cardboard box makes a return, Oil Drum is fucking awesome. An equipable Ipod item, appearantly you can download music to it too. :O I think its suppose to help in decreasing your stress levels too. The weight of the items you carry in your inventory also have an impact on your stress gauge too. Weapon customization is fucking awesome. I was really impressed by Call of Duty 4's custom perk system, but this one blows it out of the water. I can only imagine how awesome it will be once I play MGO. Although there aren't as many weapon types in MGO as there are in COD4, the many modifications you can make to the weapons are sweet as hell to mess around with. In total I think I've only really playe 20 minutes worth of the game, but its been an awesome 20 minutes. Final thoughts after I beat the game.

[Crushinator]

Awesome impressions, mang. I also got the LE package, picked it up on the way to work today. Still 5 hours till I'm home to play it though Can you use the ipod to play music from your PS3 hard drive, or is it just in-game tracks you unlock/downlaod?

[AC9breaker]

Don't know I never bothered ripping any music on it. I assuming you can though.

[Wiryu]

The game is separated into acts, and i'm pretty sure i'm no on act 2. I did not choose big boss mode, I figure i'll reserve that for when I beat the game. I will say that one of the most impressive things so far is how well they really managed to reinvent sneaking once again. This game is riddled with suspense, you'll literally find yourself tensing up for the first 2 hours of the game. Like AC said, very beautiful game, from character design to landscape, it's just beautifully done, and there's ALWAYS bullets flying. For a sneaking mission i'm having a really hard time not feeling like I should be killing everyone, haha. So after act 1 i'm at about 33 kills or so.

Another impressive piece so far is how well the game blends cut scene to real play and vice versa. I feel more like this is a movie to some extent really, like i'm not seeing, "Real play. Now a cut scene. Back to game play." It's very fluid and smooth in that aspect. Very movie esque. The solid eye is awesome, it's helps differentiate the good guys from the bad guys in battle. Without it, I would likely be lost no doubt. I would continue on about it, but I have to get ready for work, and come home for more MGS4!

Lastly, about the music, I can't say for sure because I havn't ripped anything, but it looks like it's strictly what you find in game, which appears to be old metal gear sounds. Totally awesome so far. Might I reccomend when we bring up spoilers we bring up the act it's in so we can kinda see where we're at? You know, safely continue conversing without looking ahead. ;)

EDIT: If you're using the rumble controller, it's never going to stop rumbling.

[Vitamin D]

I got the bundle late last night at a Walmart (good lookin' out Crush ) and have played it a lot since. I think I'm nearing the second act, though I'm not entirely sure. All I know is, this game is SO fun haha. It gives me that feeling I had when I played Resident Evil 4 for the first time. Everything just seems to work well. I'm not awesome enough to start on Big Boss Mode, but I did settle for the one just above that, Solid Normal I think it is. In any case, I need to get some more play time in, but already, I'm having a blast playing this game.

[AC9breaker]

As of writing this now I have just beaten the first boss, what an experience. Total intense Mind Fuck. But before that I want to share my thoughts on some things.



Act 1.

Awesome, the firefight in the 3 story building was sweet as hell. Akiba is seriously fucking awesome comic relief. Shitting his pants in the middle of a gunfight, it was so tough to focus on the Frog chicks gunning me with P90's. Also its seems entirely possible to complete that mission without having to kill anybody. I wonder if there is a reward for such a feat. Also, Roy Campbell is a pimp.


Act 2.
Wtf, Roy Campbell that faggot! He took Raidens girl! I can't believe that bitch shacked up with him too. A useful tip in managing your stress, Shade. South America weather apperantly is fucking hot. Seems like they're in Bolivia or Colombia or some where around that area. So when you need to relax get some shade. Trees, rocks, caves whatever you can find. Also when you see the Guerilla troops taking on the PMC's know that PMC spawns are endless. So just incapacitate enough to get you by so that you don't waste ammo or attract unnecessary attention. Finally, wtf at Raiden giving Snake advice. Bullshit.

Boss Fight #1
Laughing Octopus
AKA Laughing Beauty
Holy shit she's hot. Her fight was something else, I don't think I've ever felt as tense as I do now from playing a game. You REALLY gotta pay attention to your surroundings. Once you've taken care of her Shell form you are confronted with her real form. Shes so hot. I couldn't bring myself to kill her so I used the Tranquilizer gun. Compared to her shell fight it was much easier, but the adrenaline and anxiety in my body really made me tense in handling her. Also add in the incredible sound effects and things that started happening and before I knew it I was panicking. before long shes was finally put down. Afterwards Drebin calls you and tells you her back story, so poetically tragic it really is something. I really did feel bad for the girl.

Current activity

I immediately came to type up my sentiments on the events I had just experienced. Even now I still feel a little jittery after that Boss fight. I'm still in chapter 2, it seems like the chapter will end once you've secured Naomi. I'm currently tracking her down as she was moved to another location abruptly before the boss fight.


Finally Misc stuff.
Something I wanted to try out. There is a Cutscene with Naomi and Snake. Naomi sits on the bed and Snake drops his cigarette. I notice as he bends down to pick it up his head turns slightly towards to Naomi. I'm hypothesizing you can press the L1 button there and get a panty shot of Naomi. Even though the L1 que doesn't show up. Something I'll try on my next play through.

Also MGS in game Podcast. Listen to this after you beat the game. Seems as if it will divulge a few spoilers.
Finally people I don't trust.
Drebin
Roy Campbell.

[Crushinator]

I'm not gonna read any of the posts cuz I know I'm not as far as you guys... but damn this game is so amazing! I was honestly a little prepared to be underwhelmed, didn't think it could live up to the hype train. Everything feels so intense, this is a REAL war game. Other stuff like COD4 or Battlefield WISH they could elicit this feeling.

Metal Gear Solid 4 does for MGS what Resident Evil 4 did for RE. Everything is new, jacked up to 11, and renders its predecessors completely primitive by comparison.

[Wiryu]

Holy fucking Act 3

Man, what an intense chapter, I don't even know where to begin, and I think i'll just be brief to save time. This answered so many question, but raised another. Who is Johnny, and why does he look like snake?! That is all for now

[AC9breaker]

Just finished beating game. I'm gonna post a more in depth response later, probably tomorrow since I started playing as soon as I got home from work and stopped just stopped just a few mins ago. But I just wanna say these few things first.

Act 4
I cried, seriously. Tears came to my eyes.

Act 5
Hideo's Tour de motherfucking force.

Ending. wow.

My play time 26 hours.
Rank: Eagle.

[Wiryu]

End time: 19 hours
Rank: Eagle
Other titles: Hyena, Inch Worm, Panther

AC pretty much said it right, the ending is just.... wow.

Time to play through without getting seen now! :D

[Crushinator]

Just finished after a 14 hour nonstop marathon today... damn I'm beat. But shit what a ride!

I also got eagle rank, 22 hours completion time. Also got frog, hyena, puma, pig, inchworm, and crocodile.

I have to say Act 4 was the climax of the game for me. Its pretty much the perfect love letter to all fans of MGS. The flashback to MGS1 actual gameplay in the helipad; "The Best is Yet to Come" playing as you enter the helipad for real; Revisiting all the old shadow moses areas, THE FUCKING REX BATTLE. I swear I must have been grinning ear to ear the whole time I played that chapter.

Did you guys have trouble with the final battle? I had no real trouble with the MGS1 and MGS2 battles, but when it came to the MGS3 CQC fight, it seemed like everything was just random. I'd hold R1 to do a CQC, and it was just a crapshoot whether i punch him in the back of the head, throw him the ground, smash him into a pole, or he reverses me and does some bullshit. Also I had a lot of trouble even getting the CQC to activate, it seemed like most of the time the button wouldn't even respond properly and Snake would just throw out stupid punches and then get headbutted by Liquid. I had to continue on that part about 15 times before I finished it

It was interesting to see how Kojima tied every loose end up. Linking everything across all 6 previous games and making it all come to a head in MGS4 in a somewhat coherent manner is commendable. The man still needs to learn about pacing and writing though, goddamn there are way too many cutscenes! At least there are a lot fewer codecs now, though. I was glad that Raiden and Meryl both got a happy ending. I was sure Raiden was going to bite the big one in the game, haha.

Also, Sunny is too cute! And Drebin and the monkey are the shit, as is Akiba. It was awesome that he finally got a big part.

I am in full agreement with AC that Laughing Beauty is incredibly hot. Proof in the form of her real life model, Lyndall Jarvis:







The only thing I don't quite understand in the story is why did Ocelot turn himself into Liquid? What purpose did that have in his and Eva's plan to destroy the patriots? Was it all part of some super elaborate setup to get Snake to bend to their will or something? :???

[Wiryu]

why did Ocelot turn himself into Liquid? What purpose did that have in his and Eva's plan to destroy the patriots?

As far as I can tell it was some a means of fooling patriot AI? Honestly I couldn't figure it out myself, I tried to find something online, but not much is up yet.

[Ether]

For those without a PS3 (like me) some crazy guy uploaded THE ENTIRE GAME in videos to Youtube. Its about 9 hours long. I wonder how long this guys account will last.

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?p=r&...ud13&page=3

Start towards the bottom of page 3 then work your way up towards his more recent videos. The making of MGS4 is also there on page 1, which is another 50 minutes of video.

[Vitamin D]

End time: 19 hours
Rank: Eagle
Other titles: Hyena, Pig (lol), Panther

Still reeling from it all. What a fantastic conclusion that was. I'll add more later, I need to rest up haha.

[AC9breaker]

My final impressions of the game. Spoiler free.

I have to say, Hideo is a genius. With that said I will say that MGS:3 Subsistence is still my favorite Metal Gear game in the Solid series. I've read a bit of reviews out there and one thing I've noticed is that they say, "even newcomers to series can pick up on things." This is totally untrue. MGS4 is for the fans that have been with the series since MGS1 on the PS1. Only the most astute of gamers will pick up on the throwbacks to previous games and even then there will still be things that they won't get. Everything in this game reaffirm these notions of my, from the controls, to the long winded cut scenes and dialogue, even down to the hidden undertones and subplots.

Gameplay:
First off lets start with this, if you've never been able to really get the hang of the controls for an MGS game or had a hard time picking them up then this one is gonna be even harder or impossible for some of you guys. Quite a few small but significant changes where made in order to keep the game balanced. In MGS3 CQC was over powering and too strong and could be executed with most weapons. Now certain actions can only be performs with only certain weapons, but you can do a lot more once in a grabbed position which can make for confusing times. Also FPS Knife mode has been done with, this was an extremely cheap way of killing players online. Knock them down with a roll, then stand close to them and wait in FPS mode to gouge their balls out which was an instant kill. Actually I was messing around a bit online and its still possible do that but thanks to the ability to roll on the ground, and move while on your back, its harder to get ball knife kills in that manner now. Octocamo is sweet and when used right makes you damn near invisible. Even fooling infrared sensors. Gunplay, freaking awesome. Gunplay has been improved so much that its really hard to play the game like its a sneaking mission. Especially when you can customize so many of your weapons, its hard not to want to test them out. You could even play the game like a straight up action game and be very satisfied thanks to all the new changes. Switching from third person view to first person is great fun as well as being able to shoulder you weapon on either side. Of course the real meat of this game is sneaking and if you can successfully sneak in this game without going rambo you'll find it that much more rewarding. I also feel that this is really the best way to get the optimal MGS4 experience since the game has huge amounts of intense scripted action sequences where you do have to play rambo the sneaking balances that. Assuming of course you sneak. No act in this game proves this better then Act 3 where the First half is totally stealth gameplay while the second half is balls to the wall action. Plus there are plenty of scripted events in the game that will keep you on your toes. You gain better appreciation of these events though if you do sneak. Of course its only thanks to the complex controls of this game that you're able to enjoy your actions. Even now I still find myself trying to figure out how to do certain actions I want. After I've already beaten the game on Hard mode.

Story:
What an epic tale. The game has a real foreboding melancholy feeling as Snake is on his last legs. He's aged at an alarming rate and his end is coming. Of course Hideo manages to balance this out with his humor at the right times. Johnny/aka Akiba is such an awesome comic relief character. As well as the running gags of Snake being a senior citizen and various other stuff. Just about every character who's made an appearance in the MGS universe literally comes back almost as if to send snake off. All loose ends are tied and the game has an incredibly satisfying ending. However this comes at the price of extremely long, tempo breaking, exposition. However at the same time they're done so well, so seamless that you forget that you yourself are playing the game and you really do get drawn into the experience. Still though I'm sure these sequences are sure to turn off many but they're a necessary element. As this is the final chapter of Snake, the Solid time line is quite a complex thing and it is necessary that all questions be laid to rest for the sake of the fans as well as the sake of Hideo. Your journey as Snake will take you across the world and as well as take fans from this franchise to their youth. Like I said before though, there is no doubt that this is the last mission for snake, but it doesn't mean its the last Metal Gear game for Hideo, although personally I think it is. However what I think is greater is that he's managed to put an end to this saga while still leaving plenty of room for a future for this franchise that can begin a new saga.

Retrospect:
Like I've said before this is really a game for the fans. The things that I've found most enjoyable about this game where the references to the old games. The game plays heavily on nostalgia but it doesn't rely on it. Just that these nostalgic moments are incorporated at such key times that newcomers may not really understand their significance. Then there are the intelligent sub tones of the game. An article on] Kotaku discusses some of these theme and the one I immediately pick up on was the games critique on the gaming industry and on us, the gamers. How we gamers have facilitated in the propagation of an industry that has capitalized on the success on samey shooters and little imagination. Which was made quite evident to me in Act 3 in the dialogue between Big Mama and Snake. Of course even a fan of the series may not pick these up as they're very subtle. Its something I myself have always enjoyed about the MGS games and still do. Crusinator and myself discussed this before and have come to agreement, people think MGS4 is the game that will save the PS3. But its not, its a game for the MGS fans. So while MGS3: Subsistence is my favorite in the series, this game certainly comes in at a close second.

[Vitamin D]

So then here's my "I'll add more later". AC summed up my general thoughts on the game, so I'll just talk about some of my favorite moments of the game.

-The boss fights were F'ing awesome as always. I especially loved Laughing Octopus and Screaming Mantis. The Octopus fight was badass because it literally played tricks on my eyes. One of the cooler ones is when she hides in this box, and you see a tentacle hang out of it. It looks so natural that I passed it several times haha. She also has one where she hides to blend in with a portrait on the wall. Also of course, the trippy stuff that happens towards the end. A giant Mk II, a Frog corpse, her posing as Naomi. It's just awesome. The Mantis fight is awesome because Kojiam took a page out of Eternal Darkness, which is always welcome haha. It took me a few minutes to think to use the syringe, before that though I was wondering why I couldn't hit her, only to discover strings attached to me. It's awesome because when in first person, this fucks with your aim. Also LOL at Psycho Mantis afterward. I also loved the last-no bullshit-throwdown between Ocelot and Snake. I had the same problems crush did too, but I got through it ok haha.

-Shadow. Fucking. Moses. I feel sorry for the people who didn't play the original MGS before this. Act IV is COMPLETELY lost on them. I loved how at the beginning of the act you play in Snake's dream, PS1 graphics and gameplay intact. Made even better with MGS1 face camo (which I wore through most of the act haha). Add in nostalgic codec convos that triggered when snake went to certain places, and it was a total nostalgic rush of awesome. Not to mention an EPIC METAL GEAR BATTLE between Rex and Ray, and Raiden manning up to conclude the chapter. Kojima also tugged the hell out of my heart strings in this chapter. I think it was mostly due to the music and the outstanding voice work (I'm referring to when Naomi died of course). Truly made exclusively for the fans, I loved it.

-Last thing I'll praise (though this certainly isn't all of it) is the last several cutscenes of the final act. Simply outstanding they were. Especially when Snake hobbles down the mircrowave heavy hallway. The music is perfect and I love how they have a split screen to show what was happening to the other characters. You could feel Snake's determination to make it, even on his absolute last leg. He eventually crawls to make it to GW. This was made even more intense by Otacon only able to give voice support, and not able to physically help him through. It gave me goosebumps, and will certainly stick out as one of my favorite moments.

And like Crush, I got confused on one thing as well... what the hell are the Frogs, and why are they all women? All I remember the game saying is they're Liquid's personal guard or something, and not much more than that. I ask "what" because they do that weird "burn in blue flame" thing when they die. If anyone can help me out with that, it'd sure help haha.


With all that said, I started my second play through on Big Boss Hard. My plan is to not kill anyone. I think this gets you the bandana haha. We should also get down on some MGO. What's teabagging indeed!

[Crushinator]

-Last thing I'll praise (though this certainly isn't all of it) is the last several cutscenes of the final act. Simply outstanding they were. Especially when Snake hobbles down the mircrowave heavy hallway. The music is perfect and I love how they have a split screen to show what was happening to the other characters. You could feel Snake's determination to make it, even on his absolute last leg. He eventually crawls to make it to GW. This was made even more intense by Otacon only able to give voice support, and not able to physically help him through. It gave me goosebumps, and will certainly stick out as one of my favorite moments.

And like Crush, I got confused on one thing as well... what the hell are the Frogs, and why are they all women? All I remember the game saying is they're Liquid's personal guard or something, and not much more than that. I ask "what" because they do that weird "burn in blue flame" thing when they die. If anyone can help me out with that, it'd sure help haha.


With all that said, I started my second play through on Big Boss Hard. My plan is to not kill anyone. I think this gets you the bandana haha. We should also get down on some MGO. What's teabagging indeed!

Hell yeah, the microwave hallway part was easily the most intense of the game, even though all you're really doing is jamming the Triangle button. I was literally on the edge of the couch like "go Snake, GO!" Like the kid Neverending Story or something, hahaha.

As far as the FROGs, they're all women because Liquid Ocelot is a pimp? I think they are the technological evolution of the Arsenal Tengus from the last section of MGS2. Gene-therapy, nano-enchanced, cyborgs. They blue flames are probably the energy from the cybernetics getting discharged when they cease functioning.

If you're going for the no kills thing, make sure you also tranq the first form of all the BB corps bosses, that way you get their statues. Collect all 5 and you get the Solar Gun from Boktai. If you fully charge the gun, apparently you get get an instant (nonlethal) KO on the target, AND he drops all 4 of his items as if you had held him up. Also, buy the non-lethal rounds for the shotgun so you can use that during the chase scene in act 3 with Big Mama.

[AC9breaker]

So I've been going on my second play through and found some goodies. First off I found this on my 1st playthrough but didn't mention it. In the 2nd act when your tracking down Naomi after the boss fight. There is a part where you must cross a river. to the left, on the same bank where you entered the river there is a a patch of grass. When you get there you will notice a certain of the grass has been stepped on into a peculiar pattern. seeing this with trigger a flashback from MGS2 and you might possibly be spooked. Also, in the briefing after the first act you can take control of the Metal Gear MK II during the cutscenes and explore the area. There is a battery pack item which will essentially give your electronic equipment that rely on batteries double energy life. You can also shock people with MK's wire but they wont react however, you get special items for this. For example, shocking Sunny nets you Raidens octo camo face mask with the visor closed.

Finally in the cutscene with Snake and Naomi in South America, my original theory was right. When Snake drops his cigarette you can press the L1 button and check out Naomi's legs. But also, there is another scene. Snake is sitting on some table after being told about Foxdie's mutation. In the scene Naomi kneels down in front of him giving him a perfect angle at Naomi's cleavage. This again is not shown when you have to press L1. You have to just do it yourself. IN watching these, your psyche gauge is replenished. lol Thats all I've discovered for now. I'm trying to go for the Assassin emblem now on normal. I'm hoping to get the Assassin's creed costume from the Kojimas April foosl thing.


Also hels yeah we need to get some MGO sessions going. I believe Crush, D, Wiryu and I are the ones with game. We can start a PMC group, I'm getting close to 20 hours so I can start i up for us. Looks like you can even design the logo! So far I'm level 2 online and I'm close to getting my CQC to 2. I would suggest when selecting your skills online you stick with the first ones you select as they level really slow.
My rank online is Bee.

[Crushinator]

I found a cool secret thing too, when you do the L1 scene while the BB Corps first attacks in the middle east, if you move stick to the left of Screaming Mantis, you see the ghost of Psycho Mantis floating there! :O

You can press Square to switch to the control of the Mk. II during any of the mission briefings. If you press the select button it shows you all the controls for the camera, changing screens, etc.

Assassin's emblem is less than 25 alerts, 50 assassin kills with the knife, and what else? I'm not 100% on all these crazy reward requirements, haha.

[AC9breaker]

50 CQC holds. Its one of the less demanding ones. Thats why I'm doing it on normal too.

Also Gametrailers has posted some HUGE easter eggs if you have a digital camera. If you don't wanna spoil it for yourself avoid gametrailers. But make sure to find the digital camera and when you close to betaing the Band B's shell form make sure you have it equipped.

[Crushinator]

Fuck, I just got owned on my "no kills" game. During the fight with Laughing Octopus, be careful when you detonate here homing ball-bomb things. The explosion killed some of the FROGs I had tranqed/CQC'd before the fight, and I ended the chapter with 6 kills.

Also, how the hell do you get the statue of Octopus after you KO her? I used nonlethal shotgun rounds for the main battle, and the Mk. 22 to finish her off, but there was no statue to pick up! :(

[AC9breaker]

What. The. Fuck. Man.

So I'm giving it a shot on getting the Big Boss emblem. Gotta beat the game on highest difficulty, have 0 kills, 0 alerts, 0 continues and under 6 hours I think. I failed the Assassins Creed Emblem by getting 1 too many alerts. So I figured I'd just go for the hardest one instead. Funny thing though, on The Boss mode I think its called, you can't buy any ammo for you tranq gun or Tranq Sniper. Oh yeah and weapons that could use stunning bullets can't on the highest difficulty. Also, whatever amount of tranqs you had left when you finished an act, will be the amount you start with when you start the next act. Fucking bullspit. Anyway, I managed to get the FROGS statue and beat the first act successfully with 0 alerts 0 kills 0 continues. But it took me an 1 hour and 15 minutes. =/

[Crushinator]

How many chaffs do you have saved up? You'll need as many as possible (and there's only 3 in the game each run) to get past those scarabs in acts 4 and 5.

[AC9breaker]

Actually in my last run I did some experimenting and can sneak past the scarabs easy. The only part I would need a chaff is the part where there are 2 gekkos on a conveyor belt and one hanging upside down from the ceiling oh and the room after that which is the last room that leads to the Metal Gear hanger/elevator. Everything else is cake and I can sneak past in a reasonable amount of time. The part I KNOW will be a bitch is the crying wolf fight. Don't know if I mentioned this but all your enemies senses are super high on Extreme difficulty. That said the FROG bitches on the Crying wolf fight will give me alot of problems since ammo is scarce. :(

I tell you waht though, makes the game that much more interesting.

[Wiryu]

I picked up the game again for the first time in a few days, no i'm through acts 1-4 without any alerts, and i've got a pretty good feeling about act 5. (Granted i'm still on solid snake difficulty.) Act 4 might seem like it'll be a bitch, but a few pointers; for those dumbass machines? smack em however you will, as long as you have a safe place to hide, after caution is gone, the numbers decrease substantially. It'll make it easier to sneak through when they're gone. This trick works specifically well with the ones that hover over doors and look for you.

protip number 2! When dealing with gekkos, rail gun rail gun rail gun! Keep in mind that it charges up three levels, once that's set, one shot the bitches in the dome. Save your chaff grenades, i'm pretty sure the only time you'll need it is when snake is on his way to the microwave hallways.

Protip number 3! Act IV boss. Again with the rail gun. stay hidden, use night vision only when you think wolf is near, charge up, and fuck her up. If the railgun is charged up fully, it should only take 3 shots to kill her. I pretty much stood near the entrance the entire time with the wall at my back so no one could sneak up on me, I reccomend you do the same! That's all i've got for act 4. I finished it off in about an hour, so you guys shouldn't have any trouble.

Last thing, crush and I talked about the gekko on the floor with the mk III and how he can't be killed. That might only apply to certain difficulties, on solid snake you can still one shot him if your railgun is charged. To see if the rail gun is charged, enter first person mode, and watch the rectangles around the center, they'll fill up, and you'll see some numbers.

[Crushinator]

OK, here's a question: Does killing the BB corps Beast (armored) form with lethal weapons count towards your kill count?

Also a ProTip I read about but haven't tried yet. On the part in Shadow Moses outside Hal's lab where the Gekko busts in, you can activate the generator Snake blew up with the Nikita missile by using the MG Mk. II. When the Gekko steps on the electrified floor, it fries itself!

[Wiryu]

I don't know about the bb corps thing yet, i'm going for the no kills after i get the stealth, figure it will make it easier, but it is something i'll be sure to check. I'm assuming it does not count for your kills however. I'm pretty much assuming destroying all machines don't count as kills?

That thing about the electrified floor is true. Basically, before you even enter the same hall as the gekko, stop in the little area, and when the gekko goes down the hall, use the mark III to run directly across the hall under the busted shit blocking the doorway, and send him through the lab, into the area almost right next to the elevator. hit triangle when prompter, and bam, you have a fried gekko.

[Crushinator]

I don't know about the bb corps thing yet, i'm going for the no kills after i get the stealth, figure it will make it easier, but it is something i'll be sure to check. I'm assuming it does not count for your kills however. I'm pretty much assuming destroying all machines don't count as kills?

That thing about the electrified floor is true. Basically, before you even enter the same hall as the gekko, stop in the little area, and when the gekko goes down the hall, use the mark III to run directly across the hall under the busted shit blocking the doorway, and send him through the lab, into the area almost right next to the elevator. hit triangle when prompter, and bam, you have a fried gekko.

Yeah, any unmanned machine doesn't count, so the Scarabs, Gekkos, and the raven flying drone things are free to kill. Helos, tanks, powered armor, and hummers have drivers though, so don't shoot em!

[AC9breaker]

I don't know about the bb corps thing yet, i'm going for the no kills after i get the stealth, figure it will make it easier, but it is something i'll be sure to check. I'm assuming it does not count for your kills however. I'm pretty much assuming destroying all machines don't count as kills?

That thing about the electrified floor is true. Basically, before you even enter the same hall as the gekko, stop in the little area, and when the gekko goes down the hall, use the mark III to run directly across the hall under the busted shit blocking the doorway, and send him through the lab, into the area almost right next to the elevator. hit triangle when prompter, and bam, you have a fried gekko.

Yeah, any unmanned machine doesn't count, so the Scarabs, Gekkos, and the raven flying drone things are free to kill. Helos, tanks, powered armor, and hummers have drivers though, so don't shoot em!

Thats weird because I'm pretty sure in the middle east part when you see the first big battle between the Rebels and the Mantis PMC group, I destryoed the APC that rolls in with an RPG and it didn't count as a kill.

Also I too can confirm the one shot kill thing for the Gekkos in Act 4 with the rail gun. But thats was on Solid Snake mode when I did it. On Big Boss mode, I used a Light Machine Gun, M60 and pretty much unloaded on the bitch to no avail. Also another question, does hiding in the barrel work in avoiding a caution laser scan from any robots in act 4? Like, you know when you shoot a gun they all converge on the position from where you fired and do a scan? If you stay close by by hide in a barrel, will they still find you?


Also Wiryu, don't think that the enemies senses in Solid Snake mode compare to the enemies senses in The Boss mode (Extreme) I'm pretty sure they'll be able to hear my infrared even from the starting position. trust me, the doods on Extreme are ricockulously sharp.

[donkeybeatz]

Yeah Big Boss Extreme is Extreme. I noticed there's more enemies placed in certain areas.

I manage to finish the game in roughly 2 days after I got the PS3 (normal difficulty). I thought the xbox was huge but damn, PS3 takes the cake. Anyway, everything I wanted to say was already mentioned in previous posts. Awesome game.

BONUS:

[Wiryu]

for those going for that big boss emblem, might I recommend a lot of smoke and stun grenades. They make stuff easy, specially in act 5 which i'm pretty much flying through. Still solid snake mode, but I imagine the smoke stuff still does good things. ;)

[AC9breaker]

Woot, finally made it to Act 3 on The Boss (Extreme) Mode. 0 Kills, 0 Continues, 0 Health Items used, 0 alerts.
But my Playtime is now at 3 hours. =( I'm doubtful I'll be able to beat the game in under 5. Managed to get the doll for Octopus too. :D Not sure I'm gonna be able to get Raging Ravens doll. But I'm ready to get it a shot. I'm sure the Motorcycle chase sequence is going to be the hardest thing for me there. Good thing for Auto Aim though. Oh yeah, It seems you can tranquilize gekkos in the legs and it will disable them. Takes about 6 or 7 shots though.

[Crushinator]

Can you use stun grenades on the bike chase part? If so... *points to headband* infinite ammo.

[AC9breaker]

Finally beat the game on Expert. Solar Gun get, Stealth Camo get and Bandanna get! Flash Grenades are nice but I prefer using smoke for the Bike Chase. Also during the chase sequences you automatically get infinte ammo for whatever weapon your using. Auto Targeting helped a lot in getting me past it, but I definetly couldn't rely on it. I would switch between manual and Auto good thing all you have to do is press square to activate it. Its all about knowing which shots Auto Aim can help you make and which one you need to manual aim for target priority. Raging Raven was surprisingly easy. As was mantis and Wolf. However Wolfs fight has to be the 2nd hardest since trying to do it without triggering any alerts was tricky enough. I stuck mostly to the left and unloaded on her with the Grenade Launcher when she got close. I'm sure if I would have been using Rail gun it would have been done faster though. Octopus still seems to be the hardest because the bullets do so little to her and the time where you can hit her is limited/risky.

Also AC9Breaker PROtip for Vamp. Fill you're Pallette with Submachine guns. Go into the middle of the open area and lie down on the floor. I would lie belly up. Then just unload on Vamp untill you kill him. Make sure you're close to him before you kill him though so you can grab and inject him. Doing the fight this way is incredibly easy. You don't have to tranq him to get him to count as a non kill since you never really do kill him.

My Final completion time was 8 hours. I'm sure with the Solar gun it'll be much easier now, and I can do it faster. But I'll try getting the Big Boss emblem another time. For now I feel very satisfied with just the Solar gun Stealth Camo and Bandanna. Gotta beat Disgaea 2 now in preparation for part 3.