Metal Gear Solid 4 post:#1067

[patsu]

Just thought I'd drop in to say, that regardless how "disappointing" MGS4 ends up being for most/some, it's still my most hyped game this generation simply for the genious that Kojima is in regards to whole package: art-direction, attention to detail, story telling, characters, depth, A.I., humour and entertainment. Metal Gear Solid has always been one of those controversial games - and that's probably due to the creators fixating on more than just textures and polygons.

It's one of the games that truly delivers. Fixating on graphics alone just doesn't do any of the Metal Gear games any justice - they are so much more than just that! As with the previous games: the most stunning moments weren't the ones shown in screenshots, but moments of the game where just everything came together beautifully. It may not float every ones boat, but I for one, am extremely looking forward when the saga finally continues.

The MGO Midtown level exuded a very real and lived-in feel when we were beta-testing it. While some players look for technical specs like 60fps, 1080p, etc.; I think many will be drawn/sucked in to the MGS world. The battlefield looks very much alive, the weapons are varied and customizable, the enemies are *so* special, the gameplay is long, the "Director" knows what he's doing, and the online gameplay is deep and free. I can't ask for more in good conscience.

 

[Rockster]

I am interested enough to give this series another go. Played MGS2 on the original XBox and it just felt weak compared to Splinter Cell, at least on that platform. Honestly, I thought the whole thing was kind of strange, with the skateboarding, box hiding, floating emoticons, and weird vr missions. MGS4 looks to be more substantial, without many of those goofy elements. So as long as the core gameplay elements hold up, and it's not too slow, I'm ready to hop back in.

 

[djskribbles]

i have never been the biggest MGS fan, but i do enjoy the games. the last couple of trailers have got me hyped for this game again, definitely picking it up.

 

[deepbrown]

I am interested enough to give this series another go. Played MGS2 on the original XBox and it just felt weak compared to Splinter Cell, at least on that platform. Honestly, I thought the whole thing was kind of strange, with the skateboarding, box hiding, floating emoticons, and weird vr missions. MGS4 looks to be more substantial, without many of those goofy elements. So as long as the core gameplay elements hold up, and it's not too slow, I'm ready to hop back in.

The "goofy" is great...but my version didnt have skateboarding.

 

[kyleb]

Yeah, the skateboarding is only in the PS2 version, not the Xbox or PC ports.

 

[Rockster]

The "goofy" is great...but my version didnt have skateboarding.

To each his own I guess. Didn't even know mine didn't include the skateboarding. I got suckered into buying it when it was being shown to me at a friends house, and that was one of the things I saw. My understanding was that the XBox version was better. Obviously not.

 

[deepbrown]

To each his own I guess. Didn't even know mine didn't include the skateboarding. I got suckered into buying it when it was being shown to me at a friends house, and that was one of the things I saw. My understanding was that the XBox version was better. Obviously not.

Xbox version was the worser. Every MGS has been gimped on non-Playstation platforms.

 

[Nesh]

To each his own I guess. Didn't even know mine didn't include the skateboarding. I got suckered into buying it when it was being shown to me at a friends house, and that was one of the things I saw. My understanding was that the XBox version was better. Obviously not.

The section you saw with the skateboarding and the weird stuff I think were extra and entertaining missions that had nothing to do with the main game that were only included in the rereleased MGS2 version called MGS2: Substance

 

[RenegadeRocks]

Just downloaded MGS 1 Tried my ps3 controller on PC, works great !!!! My first Snake encounter with my PS3 controller ( I missed the beta)!!!! He He! Just having fun! Somehow I felt nostalgic playing MGS1, after having played MGS3 (currently playing MGS2) Seeing Snake and Shadow Moses :smile:

 

[el_rika]

Tried my ps3 controller on PC, works great !!!!:

how do you do that ?

oh, and hi everybody

 

[djskribbles]

for you Canadians here who have not shopped at amazon.ca before... they have MGS4 for 49.99, and theres a $10 off coupon (for orders over $40) with free shipping.

mine came to 41.99 shipped.

coupon code is: MAPNEWNCSAVE

must be a new account.

can't wait! never been the biggest MGS fan, mainly because i don't like stealth type games. but there are other gameplay elements i like, and the story is what really draws me to the game.

 

[dabomb665m]

Looks like there are some new bullshots out. Looks great. I don't know if I'm allowed to link but it's on kotaku as far as I know.

http://kotaku.com/photogallery/mgs4may/

 

[Scott_Arm]

Well, now we know what's filling up the disc ...
http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2008/05/23/mgs4-will-have-several-90-minute-cut-scenes

Multiple 90 minute cutscenes? NO THANKS. I can tolerate B-grade film-making for a laugh, but not when it's interrupting my gameplay.

This isn't a game, it's a movie ... actually it's probably three or four movies with some gameplay sprinkled in. And for the people that say, "Just skip the movies," I think most people would like to know what is going on in the game as they're playing, but have no interest in watching over three hours of cutscenes.

Admittedly, I've never been a big Metal Gear fan, but I would have given this one a shot on my brother's PS3. This has somewhat dropped my enthusiasm in trying it. They've taken one of my main issues with Metal Gear and made it far far worse.

 

[patsu]

The original article hinted at 90 minute cutscenes, which may also mean several of them adding up to 90 minutes.

Anyway, it's debunked here:
http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=187049

Trouble is, it's not entirely accurate. Will MSG4 have lengthy cutscenes, like the 45-minute one in MGS2? Yes, says GamePro's own Sid Shuman, but nowhere near 90 minutes.

"I've beat the game twice, and am the author of the forthcoming [GamePro] review," Shuman said. "Ninety-minute-long cinemas in MGS4 sounds like an exaggeration. Like the other MGS games, MGS4 definitely has a cinematic quality. And yes, some of the cut-scenes in the game are elaborate and occasionally lengthy. But not a one, to my recollection, even approaches 90 minutes.

"I think it's safe to say that the '90 minutes cinemas' claim is a pretty big exaggeration," he told GamePro News.

The cutscenes are skippable too. Remember, people have rated the gameplay to be 20+ hours (Longest I have heard is 29 hours).

 

[Ben-Nice]

This isn't a game, it's a movie ... actually it's probably three or four movies with some gameplay sprinkled in. And for the people that say, "Just skip the movies," I think most people would like to know what is going on in the game as they're playing, but have no interest in watching over three hours of cutscenes.

.

It has 20+ hours of gameplay so it's safe to say the gameplay isn't sprinkled in

 

[deepbrown]

Well, now we know what's filling up the disc ...
http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2008/05/23/mgs4-will-have-several-90-minute-cut-scenes

Multiple 90 minute cutscenes? NO THANKS. I can tolerate B-grade film-making for a laugh, but not when it's interrupting my gameplay.

This isn't a game, it's a movie ... actually it's probably three or four movies with some gameplay sprinkled in. And for the people that say, "Just skip the movies," I think most people would like to know what is going on in the game as they're playing, but have no interest in watching over three hours of cutscenes.

Admittedly, I've never been a big Metal Gear fan, but I would have given this one a shot on my brother's PS3. This has somewhat dropped my enthusiasm in trying it. They've taken one of my main issues with Metal Gear and made it far far worse.

Metal Gear has done so well in the past because of it's unique, incredibly polished gameplay. It's varied and lengthy. The cutscenes are the icing on the cake. With 20 hours gameplay to 10 hours cutscenes, I'll be a happy chappy.

 

[kyleb]

Well, now we know what's filling up the disc ...
http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2008/05/23/mgs4-will-have-several-90-minute-cut-scenes

Real time cutscenes don't take much disk space.

 

[Scott_Arm]

The original article hinted at 90 minute cutscenes, which may also mean several of them adding up to 90 minutes.

Anyway, it's debunked here:
http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=187049



The cutscenes are skippable too. Remember, people have rated the gameplay to be 20+ hours (Longest I have heard is 29 hours).

I'm glad the 90 minutes is debunked. That would be the worst decision in gaming history.

Skippable is the worst excuse for overly long cutscenes. The people who don't want to sit and watch hours of cinematics don't necessarily want to skip the story. These game guys need to find ways to integrate the story into the game, and be concise in the way the story is delivered. Cinematics are contrary to everything that gaming is supposed to be about - interactivity.

 

[Scott_Arm]

Real time cutscenes don't take much disk space.

I had thought all of the cutscenes were created using the game engine, but were video captured and not run in real-time.

 

[patsu]

Skippable is the worst excuse for overly long cutscenes. The people who don't want to sit and watch hours of cinematics don't necessarily want to skip the story. These game guys need to find ways to integrate the story into the game, and be concise in the way the story is delivered. Cinematics are contrary to everything that gaming is supposed to be about - interactivity.

Skippable cutscenes are great for replays and retries.

If the cutscenes are done nicely to intensify the game, then I don't think it's a bad decision as part of the gameplay. Usually your current mission will appear in some sort of status/log screen anyway if you skipped the story telling aspects. These days, the player can go to the "Unlocked Goodies" screen or YouTube to view skipped videos -- if for some reason, they wanted to rewatch it.

Conversely, having extra time for gameplay does not automatically make a good game. It's up to the designer to make a memorable title. I heard MGS3 has a "climb the staircase for 5 minutes" gameplay segment. Surprisingly, people seem to appreciate the monotonous gameplay "timeout" to reflect on their earlier boss fight. Some probably hated the long and meaningless run (You can't skip it like a cutscene !).

In all cases, we will have to trust the designers to experiment. The cutscenes or gameplays are there exactly where they need to be.

I had thought all of the cutscenes were created using the game engine, but were video captured and not run in real-time.

Not if you can pause the screen and play with the camera.