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]

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? :???