MGS4 **Spoilers**

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rcorporon

So Old I'm Losing Radiation Signs
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Just finished up MGS4 last night, and I must say, as a fan of the franchise since MGS1 (it's probably one of my few "fanboy" obsessions) it was spectacular.

I loved the storytelling in it, and Kojima went out of his way to ensure that every question about the series was answered (loved how the support characters from Snakeeater became the Patriots... and Sig-Int was the DARPA chief!).

Graphically it was beautiful, and the environments were stunning. Aside from a few control issues, I'm quite happy with how MGS4 turned out.

Anybody else here a big fan?
 
I was actually slightly disappointed with MGS4. I've been following the series for years and years now, and it seems like Hideo just kinda threw in the towel and wrapped up the story in a half-assed fashion. The game was awesome, but his approach for me was alittle to conservative and less risque compared to 1 and 2. MGS3 was interesting, but seemed to me like a slight departure just to do something different, and The Boss was an awesome "Mother" of the series.

For one, the bosses of every MGS titles had their own characterization and backstory that was interesting, deep, and detailed. In MGS4, the Beast CORPS were kinda a stereotype thrown out of the MGS universe at the last minute. The series always had it's artwork and cheesey, but strangely erotic and fascinating art style and plot to drag it along with the way the game structure was laid out. This game felt more like a "Snake Action Title", rather than a "Stealth-based, Story driven abstract artistic mess" than the other titles.

But, I LOVED the abstract artistic mess, call me crazy.

But, you finnally get to pilot the fugging REX, which is good enough I guess.


*Edit*

And if anyone has studied the occult, mostly references to King Soloman and Masonry, be sure to catch them at the end of the game with Big Boss and Zero.


Everything starts at 0... heh...
 
I on the other hand am quite disappointed with the direction the games have taken.

It becomes more and more difficult to sympathize with any character as most of them change sides at whim or have such a ridiculous background either from the start or ret-con.

The Beauty and the Beast unit was pretty much a collection of generic boss characters thrown in for no other reason that providing some bosses.

As for the storyline, it has become to much of a convoluted mess to be taken serious anymore, going through all kinds of hoops and twists.

Especially the whole Big Boss idolizing by MGS fans has become irritating.
The guy wanted to create a world of perpetual warfare, he wasn't out to stick it to the Man/Patriots, that is what Kojima made of it.

Many people look down on the original MSX games but I prefer Metal Gear 2 Solid Snake over any of the later games.
 
The Dutch Ghost said:
Many people look down on the original MSX games but I prefer Metal Gear 2 Solid Snake over any of the later games.
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Yeah. MGS2 Snake had the best character as an "Independant agent working for the UN to disarm Metal Gears for "Philanthropy" ".

The whole story in MGS4 seemed to be an excuse to get old feuds and drama stirred up so heads could clash again. It was pretty cool through.

Also, the political agenda of Hideo Kojima used to be more convoluted and ambiguous. In MGS4, it's alittle more open, which is a double edged sword for it's less meaningful, because it lacks the artistic qualities over earlier games. "Feelings on cybernetic and genetic research, warfare". The whole "PMC and Globalization of the Military Industrial Complex" kinda fades into the background as if Michael Moore turned himself into a science fiction writer.

But..... The artwork.... is... fucking... bring tears to your eyes beautiful.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwI4ZJB7LTU[/youtube]


The different commercials at the beginning of the game are full of a romantic satire, slim and sexy which dulls the cheesy lines satire usually have.

It's an erotic, violence fetish of unhampered proportions.
 
I rather liked the B&B corps, as they mirrored the original enemies of MGS1:

Decoy Octopus = Laughing Octopus
Sniper Wolf = Crying Wolf
Vulcan Raven = Raging Raven
Psycho Mantis = Screaming Mantis

Also, having Snake fight Crying Wolf in the same place as he fought Sniper Wolf was a nice touch (as was the downed Hind D in that battlefield).

The attention to detail is what I enjoyed, although I preferred the story of Snakeeater more than part 4.
 
rcorporon said:
I must have missed that. What was the reference?
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After the fight, when Snake is hobbling after Liquid, whom then rides the winch onto Outer Haven.

Watch the last part of the bridge scene of Escape from NY again and compare the two.

Kojima loves his Easter eggs.
 
Dopemine Cleric said:
Yeah. MGS2 Snake had the best character as an "Independant agent working for the UN to disarm Metal Gears for "Philanthropy" ".
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You got me wrong, I didn't write Metal Gear Solid 2, I wrote Metal Gear 2 Solid Snake.
 
I still stand by the fact that the MGS2 characterization of Snake led to a large amount of room for character development, that never came in MGS4
 
I just finished the game and I'm still undecided. There were a lot of things I didn't like but I can't say that it was a bad game. MGS3, although far from perfect, still remains my favorite game in the series.

Some random things I didn't like that come to mind:

1. Cheese. Now, I know that the series are sort of known for it but they have always done it with a sense of humor. No matter how cheesy things got, they never failed to make me laugh; MGS4 on the other hand, made me cringe, constantly.

2. Cutscenes. This is sort of related. The cutscenes have mostly been entertaining in the series, while in MGS4 they drag on and on with pointless crap that the game could do without. Those Mission Briefings got unbearable on several occasions for me. I honestly fell asleep during one.

3. Characters. There are no cool characters here, especially compared to something like MGS3. Every old MGS character that's still alive makes an appearance and some of them are there just for the sake of being there. All the new characters are plain boring.

4. Enemies. The B&B's are ok and I get the reference to the old bosses but they're all lame versions of the old ones. On top of that, the old bosses usually participated in the story in some ways. In MGS4 they just pop up to give you a boss battle and then you get an extremely corny story that tries to create an excuse for them being there. It almost feels like they're an afterthought.

5. Codec. I'm really disappointed with this area. Kojima had fun with the codec, in previous games. Remember MGS2? It felt as if the NPC's knew what you were doing at all times and had minds of their own. Here, we get pretty much just one person to talk to (rosemary repeats the same useless crap over and over), and they never say anything interesting.

6. Gameplay. I'm not talking about controlls or anything, that area has never been better. It just doesn't feel like a stealth game anymore. I must have killed hundreds of people, without trying. It's like a freaking action game now. I can't imagine playing this without any kills.

The good:

1. Guns. I love how they handled the guns in the game. There is a crap load of them and they all feel awesome. Every pistol feels unique and lethal at the same time. It seems like that part was done by a real gun lover.

2. Finale. The ending was spectacular, as expected. The whole game got a lot better toward the end, now that I think about it.

3. Story. The story got too messy and confusing back in MGS2 but I do like that MGS4 left no loose ends. Too many sequels (both movies and games) choose to leave things unanswered, and raise new questions instead. I like that effort, although honestly the MGS2 - MGS4 story is out of control.

Overall, it's definitely not the best game in the series but it's still digesting so I don't know if it's the worst yet.
 
I finished the game a while ago and i have to say...

As much as i liked mgs3 and mgs1 i found 4 to be for some reason rather tedious.

As much as i am a fanboy of mgs series i just felt it was somewhat "tired" and as you maximaz so well put it, just too cheesy, without the usual self aware humour that previous titles had.

I too liked how weapons were implemented and the actual sneaking was pretty nice at times. It looked quite decent and controls were better than before.

It was not really a bad game but certainly not as good as it could have been.
 
Loved the game, the ending was just great, tied up the MGS story so nicely, kinda annoyed that they're gonna make some more though. :?

Anyhow, picked up the controls just fine having played the older MGS games, nice lil easter eggs and everything, the combat was nice and the guns and customization was done great.
 
Yes, "tired" was the word I was looking for. They obviously put an effort into this game but it felt like Kojima wasn't inspired to make it. Like he just wanted be done with the series.
 
I actually fell asleep during the ending, it was interesting, but it was too long and for whatever reason extended time staring at screens lulls me to sleep like nothing else.
 
maximaz said:
Yes, "tired" was the word I was looking for. They obviously put an effort into this game but it felt like Kojima wasn't inspired to make it. Like he just wanted be done with the series.
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Kojima has wanted to be done with the series since MGS1 :).
 
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