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.

[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.