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.

[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.