I had some twat on YouTube arguing with me earlier today that enjoyment of a game is directly proportional to the number of cutscenes it has (God Hand "only" has 8 or so cutscenes so it's rubbish apparently). So by the logic of these fucking idiots MGS4 is most likely going to be the best game ever...

The 3D nature of the new Metal Gear games is what I don't get on with at all. I was fine when it played as a top-down 2D game but by the time the 3rd "Solid" hit I couldn't play it at all. This looks even more 3D than any of the others, that with the hours and hours of cutscenes you have to sit through has put me off completely.

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- "Your hair looks like shit."

I was intrigued in the beginning and thought MGS2's tanker chapter was out of this world. But at some point you realise the amount of cutscenes and time spent playing is out of proportion, These games typically unfold in a linear fashion to accommodate the story, making gameplay a mere afterthought when it should be the centre of the experience.

I'm pretty sure the "90 minutes" comment has been completely debunked - by veloS on rllmuk for a start.

Has anybody else got this?

I played for a few hours last night. I find this game incredibly difficult to play because I have serious problems finding the "game" itself. How you do know when you're not in an enemy's field of vision? There's no top-down radar or anything which clearly lets you know the position of the enemies around you so you can devise a plan. The full 3D nature of the environment and camera fucks up everything I enjoyed about Metal Gear originally.

I'll be the first to admit I'm utterly useless without some sort of guidance and structure, this doesn't seem to have any of this whatsoever - so I end up not being able to work out the path to take to the next cutscene or how to use any of Snake's abilities (which arent individually introduced). You're dumped in a war zone and the only instruction you are given is how to crouch and crawl. Like when you get that barrel after another cutscene, what are you meant to do with it? You get no cue or guidance as to how you are meant to tackle the area ahead using this item.

At the moment it's ZERO fun, utterly depressing - but I want to learn how to play the fucking game before I say anything else >_<
I checked the forums etc and all these people are going on about are the graphics, I don't give a shit, just tell me what I'm supposed to do with all this stuff!

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- "Your hair looks like shit."

I agree about the barrel bit, I figured that I was meant to knock it over and roll over fools but what actually happened was I knocked it over and then rolled erratically around in the middle of the battlefield getting shot at until it disappeared. Maybe if they had introduced it in a alleyway with a row of guards lined up in front of me...

Also are you meant to use the MKII to watch the guards to learn their patterns as there is no useful radar, hiding killed guards is tough when you don't know where the alive ones are gonna be walking.

Anyways, I've resigned myself to this being a CGI Anime TV Show that I have to walk from A to B in order to see the next scene. I'm enjoying the surreal storyline (having very little knowledge of the series) if not the actual 'gameplay' so far - having an iPod makes these little journeys a bit more bearable, I'm sure I'm not playing it the way its meant to be played tho - its a stealth game right? Thankfully there seems to be little punishment for just run&gunning the shit out of everything...so far at least...

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When's 'Wii Carlton' coming out?

Nice one! OK using the MKII to scout around makes perfect sense, but they don't tell you this - infact the first time I used the MKII I got shot to shit because it doesn't let you know what the machine's functions are. So I start wheeling it around in order to see what the buttons do and BAM! Full alert and it's being riddled with shots. Also the guards seem to simply wander rather than follow a set path, plus you have points where they spawn indefinetly - this is too much to be dumped into completely in the dark.

In MGS2 they introduced the mechanics of holding up guards for items, you can shoot their radios to stop them calling for help. This was a clear-cut feature as it was easy to see the radio, you knew exactly the right time you could pull this stuff off as you had a radar etc. This time I'm just baffled as to what I can do and when; like can you shoot the guard's radios anymore? I tried but it didn't work/couldn't clearly see the radio anyway.

Exactly. The game itself doesn't seem to give a shit. More times than not I'm totally lost as to what I'm supposed to be doing regarding getting from A to B undetected. After dying loads I just think "fuck it!" and simply run forwards soaking up bullets/blasting my way through to the glowing point on the map to startup the next cutscene. I'm determined to get good at this now - it just really does my head in the way the game leaves you completely in the dark about just about everything, and as soon as you try to experiment it goes into full alert.

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- "Your hair looks like shit."

All games should have a lab.

I know in this day and age you shouldn't have to but I think there is some info in the manual, not read it yet but was planning on it tonight before attempting Act 3 tomorrow on my day off. I do want to do more than I've actually been doing so far...its been a very passive experience on the whole.

LOL, I bought a PS3 just for this game!!!!

So you can imagine the hurt I was feeling when I was running around not really knowing what to do, getting caught by enemies which would appear out of nowhere and having some trouble with the controls.

BUT, after a bit of time and reading about, I figured some nifty things out. Getting caught by both the PMCs and the Militia, what you had to do was turn the tide of the battle, and to do this you had to kill the PMCs or the Militia infront of the eyes of the other. When they see you do this, they trust you and they don't fire back.

Cue some awesome scenes where you are running through the town with your new gang (All the while, in gravel Ocotocamo!)

Act 2 is deffo the level they should have started the game off from, or in a similar fashion as I didn't even know about "Turning the tide in battle" mechanic. From the opening few seconds you can see it's what you are supposed to do. Make grief for one side who was on top, and sneak past them all while they are busy. (Although, I have not been able to get the PMCs to trust me yet)

Oh yeah, also check out this CQC video: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/35160.html

Crouch to bone maneuver!

Oh yeah, and using the MK2 you can go into stealth mode by hitting X and run about without getting noticed. Then hit L1 to arm your whip and then press R1 to electrocute their ass! They on the ground, you run past them. (I'm paranoid, so as I run past them I slug them one in the back of their head as they are sleepin. ;\/ )

There was loads of little things which would be confusing. Such as the game not telling you to select to swap in and out items and weapons you've just picked up from the Start Menu. Was wondering where the hell all of these weapons and items were when I was picking them up for a while.

I was really regretting buying a PS3 when I started playing this, as all it turned out to be was a game of trial and error. If I couldn't sneak past one area I would run and gun or vice versa.

I'm a big fan of all the previous modern day Metal Gear games but I was really having some difficulty playing this because of the lack of direction or even the hint of direction. Can't imagine how hard it would be for somene to play this thing if it's their first Metal Gear.

The worst one is how it's not really explaining all of the gadgets you come across, had to figure things about some of those on my own. Such as the Solid Eye. To get the "proper" radar up, you need to select it from the L1 menu and press Circle. This highlights the battlefield with information and highlights enemies, weapons and items in close proximity, which otherwise you would probably miss. Hitting Infared to find the snipers in that section of the first level is somthing I knew about anyway from previous other games.

Really enjoying it now, Act 2 was all kinds of awesome. Plenty of different gameplay elements coming into play from stealth, run and gun, tracking, turret and close quarters. The boss on this was quite interesting too, nothing major but it was a bit clever.

Great looking level though, stunning. From the early morning darkness outside a farm, you slowly made your way through rocky hills, forest and grasslands, a Mansion, dusty roads, mountain side, through streams and a small lake, all to the sound of ricocheting gun fire and the sounds of a chopper.

Then to top it all off, they throw in THE cutscene, one that I havn't tired of watching numerous times after it had been shown and I was still giggling when I watched it again...Live.

Things started off being a bit overwhelming even for a MGS fan, but things are looking up now.

...

LOL PS3! (It's so silent!!!!! and doesn't act like a fan heater! I got I am Legend of Blue Ray too, Gamestation wouldn't even trade it back in! lol)

The trick with all of these games really is for there to be a defined path, but make it sufficiently fuzzy that the player feels as though they are in control (when infact they're being skillfully directed down a predetermined path). To my mind the one game that gets it bob on is Resi4. Prime example of how not to do it Splinter Cell.

From the descriptions here MGS4 sounds like it might be pitched about right. I've not got a PS3, but at all of you for not reading the manual. FFS this is MGS!!! You had to get the codec frequency off of the bloody box in the first game. Disorientating the player is possibly intentional, or it's just bad design.

From my only experience of metal gear solid on the cube..(tiny bit ps1). The madness was usually in context, or strategic.

From what I've read here, unless the guy has just woken up from a coma mid warfare, it sounds slightly mismanaged in its introduction. Being reliant on a players enthiasm for the game instead of leading them in, like watching last episode of 24 and expecting people to get it.

Worth buying a ps3 for? I'm waiting for initial d to make my very rubbish mind up on that one.

It's definitely not for newcomers as the plot draws on the story of all 6 previous canonical games. Still, story aside there's some cracking action sequences and some truly inspired gameplay twists. Though the stealth has been made a little less hardcore for some reason, possibly to appease Generation 360.

Overall I loved almost the entire thing but then I am a bit of an MGS nutter.... wish I could tell you all more but it's definitely one of those games you don't want to spoil: full of lovely little surprises.

Definitely worth buying a PS3 for.

I still cannot stand this. Even after I've got the controls down completely and understand the radar/enemy behaviour. Nothing fits, there isn't a single move or ability you have which actually gels with what it's supposed to be used for.

It's a movie pretending to be a game, it's a ride. If you're happy semi-playing small minigames which serve only to join one cutscene to the next then you'll love it.

I think the bike chase section sums it up perfectly; if you leave the controller alone it's an incredible sequence, if you saw something like this in the cinema it would blow your mind. As soon as you take control of the camera and start shooting things it ruins the way the sequence is "shot" and the effect is lost. I've been really trying to get into this, I've been making sure than in the brief sections you do actually get to play that I use as many of the abilities/decoys/tricks as I can but I don't find it engaging due to the sneak game which defined Metal Gear is now so insanely difficult to read and seperate out from all the fluff.

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- "Your hair looks like shit."

This is MGS4 in a nutshell, thankfully (and I'm amazed that I'm typing this as I thought I would be completely lost) the movie has suckered me in. I'm very near the end now and I'm desperate to see what happens (while hammering triangle now and then >_<)

I am looking forward to re-playing the first couple of Acts using just CQC (thanks Singho for the heads up on that stuff), this 'play' through is all about the movie tho. That Raiden brer is SICK!!!1IWANTFIGURE!!1
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When's 'Wii Carlton' coming out?

I know what you mean about that motorbike section Saur, I died once and on the next time round I just used rations to give Snake a top up and not really worry about missles and FROGS. (AWESOME THEY ARE!)

I've also been experimenting against the bosses, as it's an MGS game that the 2nd stage of the fights so far, you must be able to do somthing more then tranqs and bullets.

But, like Spag, the movie aspect of this game has sucked me in too. It's been YEARS since I've been waiting for some answers regarding certain plot points...and I cannot express in words how much of a BOMBSHELL of a reveal certain things were to my eyes and ears. One after another, my brain was exploding. Had to pause the cutscene and shout...."WHATWHATWHAT!?"

The entire cutscene length of Act 3 was easily triple the gameplay in length, but I enjoyed it as it finally revealed certain aspects of the MGS storyline that I've been cursing ever since it first started in MGS2. God, MIND BLOWN...lol

I've just started Act 4, didn't think I'd be going there. I hope there are more Acts which were combat and sneak heavy like Act 2, best one so far for gameplay.

Oh, this is only worth buying a PS3 for if you actually like Metal Gear in the first place. New comers will hate it, gauranteed, because most of the things talked about and referenced will only make sense if you've played the previous games. MGS1 and 2 atleast.

(3 is still my favourite at the moment)

Not so, I've played a bit of the first one and some of the PSP one and the story is making perfect sense. I would buy a PS3 for this game and then continue to use it as a blu-ray player...
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When's 'Wii Carlton' coming out?

I'm totally done with this now, never want anything to do with it ever again. There was a brief part of the game which did blow me away though, the return to Shadow Moses was pure magic T_T

Then they go and do it again!

You've got Raiden who's SO sick it's almost offensive kicking off against Vamp. All I wanted to do was watch them brawl, but no - my job is to play a Gecko shooting minigame while half the screen is filled with a kickoff I can't even sit back and watch. It's the whole film/game argument in full force across your screen - and it's not fair!

The Metal Gear section was TOO MUCH! I loved all 2 minutes of it...sandwiched between what feels like feature length cutscenes that bit was an absolute joy (even though it was braindead simple and very short).

The game just teases you with ponies from start to finish, as soon as you see something awsum you want to be part of it screams NOT YOURS!!!1!!

Then Raiden sits there laughing at you (and being awsum) cos he's got ALL the ponies!!! >_<

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- "Your hair looks like shit."

Posted some shit here about this game with tags in place for those that don't want it spoiled. http://www.greenhillzone.co.uk/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=11075&view=findpost&p=216065

Well, I finished it and I actually feel fucking stupid for getting caught up in the series PLOT and fapping off to tiny bits of news, videos and screens on this game for the past 2 years.

"Stupid" isn't the right word, "insulted" is probably more is, or even better, "bummed in the gob"

Just to put it into context, I started playing Act 5 at 11.45 last night. I must have played for exactly 45 minutes not including 20 minutes of time probably spent on retries when I died. It finished at 4 am, the rest of the time was CUTSCENES.

Cutscenes explaining the mess of a fucking plot which they had to go back and disregard, slapping everyone in the face who even took a mere interest in it. Just a horrible ratio in terms of gameplay and cutscenes.

It's not a game, its just a load of cutscenes and bullshit with a few cool, funny and some interactive bits thrown in. Not nearly ENOUGH of the latter to add a counter balance to the absolute bollocks of a plot, with things you thought were FACT were infact not.

They should've just released this as a series of episodes and been done with it.

Things started off a bit slow in Act 1, things got progressivly better in Act 2 and apart from the revelation in Act 3, the rest of the game was shit. Even Act 4, yes, because there was hardly any danger to dodge or sneak past anyway, not that it was vital to do so.

I've got a vein throbbing in my head as I type, fuck this game. Off to play Mario Galaxy and perhaps go into town tommorow and see if I can find somthing else to play on this fucking machine.

I feel your pain man - I feel gutted that I'm down £40 after forcing myself through the sheer boredom, but you went and bought a machine for it! >_<

With the gaming audience being as braindead and eye-candy obsessed as it is I very much doubt people will even notice that the "game" itself, if you remove all the cutscenes, is around 2 hours long (probably less with a Jedi speedrunning it).

It does feel damn good playing a proper game again after this bollox, I'm all over Gradius Gaiden, I must be the worst Gradius player on the planet and I want this to change!

It's funny you mention you're looking for stuff to play on the machine, mine is used primarily for the upscaling of PS1/2 games, the only "PS3" game I've proper been obsessed with (and believe me it destroyed my life) is Oblivion. I must have spent around 3 months on that playing almost round the clock!

Get hold of the Japanese version of Initial D when that's released on the 7th July man, you can't go wrong with that - and unlike most of the bullshit we have to put up with these days it's a proper videogame.

Plus I can play against you and show you some PROPER drifting. You too Jibber, don't be shy.

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- "Your hair looks like shit."

7th of July... £250 bonus in June paypacket... How much is a PS3 these days? Seriously though there's no way I can affort it even though I NEED that game.

I got it wrong, it's the 3rd July for the Japanese version

Trying to see if I can get someone to send me one over, if not it'll have to be yesasia or something.

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- "Your hair looks like shit."

Not at all surprised to her about MGS4. I really enjoyed the "first" game on the PS1, but lost all interest in the series after MGS2, a game I a stopped playing altogether after about an hour because of the horrible controls and over zealous FMV. When I play a game, I don't expect my flow to be interrupted by 15 - 20 minute long cut scenes at every possible juncture - and that is what put me off ever playing a Metal Gear game again.

The fact that MGS4 has even ::more:: of this really doesn't bear thinking about. Kpjima is a very talented and inventive games developer, and I'd like to see his skills applied to something original or interesting again instead of all this self-indulgent, wannabe film director rubbish.

i actually started playing mgs2 substance again last week, thinking that i must be missing something, must be letting bad first impressions spoil what is obviously a great series of video games. i just cant be arsed, it just feels so crappy to play, the game mechanics and interface just seem clunky and the cutscenes and codex things so dull. meh. if this is videogaming at its best, i'm a fucking philistine, i'll stick to trying to beat my wiifit snowboard record.