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.