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[MiamiWesker]

Reviews hailed MGS4 as a godsend / perfect end to the series and it's the most disappointing to me, both in game and story (though I might, as a whole, dislike Peace Walker more). I dunno. I wouldn't fixate too much on reviews for a game like this, especially if you're a long term fan.

Mostly because:

a) As a long time fan your attachment to the series will have a personal bias that will inherently not align with other people and their bias, even other long time fans. Metal Gear will have already imprinted certain qualities of its identity on your preferences and your draw to each entry will likely differ in some large and nuanced ways. I kind of look at it as an event horizon; whenever you're a big enough fan, for long enough, of a particular series, the personal reasons to keep playing subvert critical analysis (no matter how justified said analysis is) and subjective experiences from others. Each entry is going to mean a different thing to you and resonate in a unique way, and no review or other fan, no matter how big, can replicate or properly convey that to you.

b) Phantom Pain looks to drastically evolve the traditional Metal Gear formula from top to bottom while exploring ideas from Peace Walker too, which alone will splinter perspectives. Guarantee some will (justifiably, see point A) let down by the open world design, Mother Base RPG mechanics, quest types, pacing, narrative structure, and so on. Different is different, and that means a revaluation of perspective. One person's disappointment will be another person's blessing, and vice versa.

c) It's going to be a hard game to discuss without digging into the details and I suspect a lot of fans want as little as possible spoiled.

I say this as someone who reviews games, gets invited to preview events, and handles early review code; if you're already sold on the game, reading/analysing/debating/arguing reviews is totally redundant and a waste of energy, likely to do more harm to your expectations than good. Seriously. If you've already decided that no matter how it turns out, whether you love or hate it or anywhere in between, you're already sold on getting the game to at least try it for what it is, your experience will be objectively, significantly benefited by knowing as little as possible beyond this point for when you first get into the game. And I know it's hard; review pros and cons and stupid fucking scores will start floating around and they'll get you thinking. But I think most people, if they really think back, will find most of their best gaming experiences have come from playing games while knowing as little as possible. And when you already know you're going to play the damn game, there's no point tainting your perspective by seeking more information.

Good post but I love the pre release hype, I find it to be fun. I have a huge disconnect from pre hype to when I start the game, once I start the game it's me and the game and everything else gets thrown out. But I enjoy hype and reading and debating reviews as a fun way to wait for the game to come out.

Another thing to add, with this game we got to play it already. GZ is much larger than just a demo. I know this is the best stealth action gameplay I have ever played. All that I am waiting for is for that gamepkay to be expanded on in a massive game and we seem to be getting that. I of course also want amazing bosses, setpieces and an exciting story. But any fear about the gameplay is gone, it's already better than all past MGS games.

 

[EatChildren]

Reviews hailed MGS4 as a godsend / perfect end to the series and it's the most disappointing to me, both in game and story (though I might, as a whole, dislike Peace Walker more). I dunno. I wouldn't fixate too much on reviews for a game like this, especially if you're a long term fan.

Mostly because:

a) As a long time fan your attachment to the series will have a personal bias that will inherently not align with other people and their bias, even other long time fans. Metal Gear will have already imprinted certain qualities of its identity on your preferences and your draw to each entry will likely differ in some large and nuanced ways. I kind of look at it as an event horizon; whenever you're a big enough fan, for long enough, of a particular series, the personal reasons to keep playing subvert critical analysis (no matter how justified said analysis is) and subjective experiences from others. Each entry is going to mean a different thing to you and resonate in a unique way, and no review or other fan, no matter how big, can replicate or properly convey that to you.

b) Phantom Pain looks to drastically evolve the traditional Metal Gear formula from top to bottom while exploring ideas from Peace Walker too, which alone will splinter perspectives. Guarantee some will (justifiably, see point A) let down by the open world design, Mother Base RPG mechanics, quest types, pacing, narrative structure, and so on. Different is different, and that means a revaluation of perspective. One person's disappointment will be another person's blessing, and vice versa.

c) It's going to be a hard game to discuss without digging into the details and I suspect a lot of fans want as little as possible spoiled.

I say this as someone who reviews games, gets invited to preview events, and handles early review code; if you're already sold on the game, reading/analysing/debating/arguing reviews is totally redundant and a waste of energy, likely to do more harm to your expectations than good. Seriously. If you've already decided that no matter how it turns out, whether you love or hate it or anywhere in between, you're already sold on getting the game to at least try it for what it is, your experience will be objectively, significantly benefited by knowing as little as possible beyond this point for when you first get into the game. And I know it's hard; review pros and cons and stupid fucking scores will start floating around and they'll get you thinking. But I think most people, if they really think back, will find most of their best gaming experiences have come from playing games while knowing as little as possible. And when you already know you're going to play the damn game, there's no point tainting your perspective by seeking more information.

And as one last addition to this wall of text: if you're a rabid Metal Gear fan who adores the series in all its strengths and weaknesses, who is already 100% sold on The Phantom Pain, no matter how it turns out or what anybody else thinks you really owe it to yourself to go into this one as blind as possible. It's the last Hideo Kojima Metal Gear you will ever play. That's it. No more. The very last one. Even if the narrative is a total cockup and the open world falls apart as a useless, boring mess, every preview you read, review you consume, footage you watch, is a piece of that big puzzle you will never, ever get back. You're subtracting experiences from their natural environment, the game itself, that you already intend to play. The last of its kind, at that. "I love Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear series", then do yourself a favour and gift yourself an experience through the last one ever as clean and personal possible, devoid of the taint of reviews, previews, footage, opinions, scores, and all that shit. Because if you mess up your already sold and excited perspectives with arguments over scores and varying opinions of others that, at this point, don't really matter and aren't going anywhere once you're finished, you're never getting this experience again.

Good post but I love the pre release hype, I find it to be fun. I have a huge disconnect from pre hype to when I start the game, once I start the game it's me and the game and everything else gets thrown out. But I enjoy hype and reading and debating reviews as a fun way to wait for the game to come out.

That's the subjective part: some people love the hype wave, need it, enjoy it, and ride it until release. But I just know once reviews hit there's going to be a bunch of fucking bickering, obsession with scores, analysis of critical text and how valid it is based on a game people here haven't played, and bla bla bla.

I suppose I'm speaking mostly for me, but I've long been weening myself off pre-release media and material and written content when I'm already interested in and committed to buying a game. Same applies to all creative works. I already wanted Bayonetta 2 so I didn't need to read a hundred different previews, and limiting my exposure to media benefited my end experience when I played it for myself.

 

[MiamiWesker]

I know you hate MGS4 too much. Look deep within your heart though, because no matter how much you hate it, you can't deny how batshit crazy and memorable it is. Infact, it's so memorable that people's hate and love for that game is still strong today besides winning GAF GOTY twice, lol.

Spoiler

You know the truth is, PW.

He's a lost cause, one of the super loud vocal minority.

MGS4 is a masterpiece.

 

[THEaaron]

Damn I really hoped for good cutscenes and a dense packed narrative. Dampens my joy before the release a bit.

 

[iratA]

You're totally wrong.

It says fultonception.

lol HOLY SHIT just went back and read the Spoiler TAG... LOL Now I get the "You're pretty good" comment haha. Thought it was a game spoiler or something.

 

[Kenzodielocke]

There is no bad Metal Gear game, just different ones.

I love MGS4 for it's fanservice cut scenes, so good.

 

[Screaming Meat]

He's a lost cause, one of the super loud vocal minority.

MGS4 is a masterpiece.

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

Breaking news:

Damn. We ever getting any PUMA swag in the US?

 

[MiamiWesker]

Means one of the best games ever made. And it is.

At least better than MGS2.

 

[strafer]

no game is better than MGS2

 

[Kenzodielocke]

Means one of the best games ever made. And it is.

At least better than MGS2.

You're reaching here, nothing is better than MGS2.

Edit: Strafer, please.

 

[iratA]

There is no bad Metal Gear game, just different ones.

I love MGS4 for it's fanservice cut scenes, so good.

Honestly I loved MGS4 for its cinematic craziness but all I need out of TPP is more of the awesome gameplay I got out Ground Zeroes. It was so good I played that damn mission/setting/location over half a dozen times, never done that with a game before. Add Mother Base into the mix and this damn game is going to do me for a very, very long time.

 

[Fancy Clown]

I love MGS4 for Act 2. I mean, there are parts I like about all the acts, but Act 2 was the only one that really felt like it capitalized on the premise of "battlefield sneaking" that the game marketed itself as.

Which is partly why V looks so exciting, it's taking the best parts of Act 2 and blowing it up to an enormous scale for the whole game.

 

[MiamiWesker]

You're reaching here, nothing is better than MGS2.

Edit: Strafer, please.

I dId this in the other game, so don't want to do this here. I just don't get how this MGS2 is the best thing started when it has been known as the weird polarizing one for so long, the black sheep. Strange shift. MGS3 was far more generally loved at release and known as the return to form.

But hey they are all excellent games and that is why we are here, super excited for the final go.

 

[Lunar15]

Reviews hailed MGS4 as a godsend / perfect end to the series and it's the most disappointing to me, both in game and story (though I might, as a whole, dislike Peace Walker more). I dunno. I wouldn't fixate too much on reviews for a game like this, especially if you're a long term fan.

Thank you for summing up my feelings about almost all review threads in a thoughtful manner.

 

[Wagram]

Can't wait until the day developers move on from the open world fad.

 

[EatChildren]

MG: Bad graphics, old, bad gameplay.
MG2: Old, bad graphics, how do you play??? Too hard.
MGS: Ugly pixel graphics. Old gameplay. Ruined by Twin Snakes.
MGS2: RAIDEN SUCCCCKKKKKSSSSSSSSS
MGS3: Big boss is boring. Dumb story. Too stupid. Hayter voice stupid. Jungle isn't fun.
MGS4: Dumbest story. Old snake is butts. Stupid end.
PW: Wait no this is dumbest story. Bad gameplay. Mother Base griiiiiiiiiindddd buuuuu

There. They're all the shittiest.

 

[Screaming Meat]

I dId this in the other game, so don't want to do this here. I just don't get how this MGS2 is the best thing started when it has been known as the weird polarizing one for so long, the black sheep. Strange shift. MGS3 was far more generally loved at release and known as the return to form.

Great art should be challenging.

But hey they are all excellent games and that is why we are here, super excited for the final go.

This is true. As much as i rag on MGS4, I still played the fuck out of it.

 

[Kenzodielocke]

I dId this in the other game, so don't want to do this here. I just don't get how this MGS2 is the best thing started when it has been known as the weird polarizing one for so long, the black sheep. Strange shift. MGS3 was far more generally loved at release and known as the return to form.

But hey they are all excellent games and that is why we are here, super excited for the final go.

Well, it happens all the time with movies. Some movies were critized pretty hard when they came out, like Citizen Kane, Psycho, Fight Club or The Big Lebowski and now those are all masterpieces or at least classics. And there is the other side, where movies got hyped pretty hard but nowadays there are not received aswell.

 

[Snatch1414]

Can't wait until the day developers move on from the open world fad.

At least there's a basis for it here with having to rebuild the base per Ground Zeroes. I like open world games but I took probably at least a year off from them because I just don't always want to spend that much time on one game. Can't argue with the bang for your buck though.

 

[brandonh83]

And as one last addition to this wall of text: if you're a rabid Metal Gear fan who adores the series in all its strengths and weaknesses, who is already 100% sold on The Phantom Pain, no matter how it turns out or what anybody else thinks you really owe it to yourself to go into this one as blind as possible.

I agree, but I'm very concerned about the story and possible lack of, so I feel like if I do read stuff, I mean maybe not plot spoilers but it can prepare me either way. I'll likely keep the information divulgence at a minimum, but again my concerns will probably lead me to seeking out some level of knowledge so that I don't come out quite as disappointed as I'd be going in more aware of what I'm getting.

I'm still going to be very upset if this is story light and not full of the usual Kojimaisms. That's just the truth.

 

[matrix-cat]

I suppose I'm speaking mostly for me, but I've long been weening myself off pre-release media and material and written content when I'm already interested in and committed to buying a game. Same applies to all creative works. I already wanted Bayonetta 2 so I didn't need to read a hundred different previews, and limiting my exposure to media benefited my end experience when I played it for myself.

I've been trying to do the same thing for all forms of media, and I've found it extraordinarily beneficial when I can manage it. Walking into Inception without having seen a single trailer is still one of my most memorable movie experiences.

Unfortunately, I find it a lot harder to do with games, since I've been so thoroughly entranced by the trailer/preview/review machine for so long, but I never read reviews of games I know I'm going to buy before I play them. Partly because reviewers are so nonchalant about spoiling things these days (still can't believe those Arkham Knight reviews), but mostly because, as you said, what's the point? It's not going to do me any good, whatsoever.

 

[EatChildren]

Can't wait until the day developers move on from the open world fad.

Good luck with that. If anything it'll become more common, as the tools to create open worlds and fill them with assets have become more refined allowing for more efficient development pipelines, and hardware has reached a point where making detailed open worlds with complex game systems is feasible almost uniformly across the board rather than requiring a technical marvel. And I mean, that latter point we're still not where we need to be. Nevertheless, the incentive is greater than ever before. So it's not going anywhere.

 

[strafer]

I agree, but I'm very concerned about the story and possible lack of, so I feel like if I do read stuff, I mean maybe not plot spoilers but it can prepare me either way. I'll likely keep the information divulgence at a minimum, but again my concerns will probably lead me to seeking out some level of knowledge so that I don't come out quite as disappointed as I'd be going in more aware of what I'm getting.

I'm still going to be very upset if this is story light and not full of the usual Kojimaisms. That's just the truth.

It does look a lot darker than previous MGS's, but i'm sure there will be Kojimaisms in there.

 

[sonto340]

MG: Bad graphics, old, bad gameplay.
MG2: Old, bad graphics, how do you play??? Too hard.
MGS: Ugly pixel graphics. Old gameplay. Ruined by Twin Snakes.
MGS2: RAIDEN SUCCCCKKKKKSSSSSSSSS
MGS3: Big boss is boring. Dumb story. Too stupid. Hayter voice stupid. Jungle isn't fun.
MGS4: Dumbest story. Old snake is butts. Stupid end.
PW: Wait no this is dumbest story. Bad gameplay. Mother Base griiiiiiiiiindddd buuuuu

There. They're all the shittiest.

Good god you're right.
Pre order canceled. You're doing gods work.

 

[brandonh83]

It does look a lot darker than previous MGS's, but i'm sure there will be Kojimaisms in there.

Sure but by that I actually meant... like a big, crazy ass story. It sounds like there's barely a focus on narrative and that bothers the hell out of me. Also by big, crazy ass story I don't mean 10,000 hours of cutscenes. There can be a happy medium.

 

[matrix-cat]

Open world games that are actually open in the way MGSV is are still pretty uncommon. Most open world games are only open until you begin a mission, at which point everything locks down and you're driving to waypoints to crawl through corridors or have scripted, unwinnable car chases. The MGSV method of simply giving you a mission objective, then leaving it up to you to make your way there and work out every part of the approach and execution on your own, leaving the game's world and systems to do their thing rather than scripting events, you really don't see it that often.

 

[Wagram]

I'm curious if the plot has the same amount of storytelling as previous titles, but it seems quite different because there's a vast amount of content (both positive and negative) between the flag points for those cinematics.

I would be alright with that in the end, but if it's a drastically reduced overall experience in favor of a huge open world with tiresome repetitive ass missions; that would suck.

 

[Iceternal]

Sure but by that I actually meant... like a big, crazy ass story. It sounds like there's barely a focus on narrative and that bothers the hell out of me. Also by big, crazy ass story I don't mean 10,000 hours of cutscenes. There can be a happy medium.

Be careful here or fanboys are going to jump down your throat like they did mine for saying little story is a big issue...

 

[brandonh83]

Be careful here or fanboys are going to jump down your throat like they did mine for saying little story is a big issue...

Let them I guess. It's a legitimate concern especially if it's a big draw for you, and it is for me. That's like oh, stop complaining about Silent Hill not having an otherworld, no big deal. Franchises are defined by their staples. I have zero interest in an MGS game with little story but a big useless world to... sneak around in I guess? But we'll see. The jury's still out.

 

[MiamiWesker]

The dream of having the end be a recreation of MG1 seems to be fading. You would think those fench reviews would have said the ending was amazing of that were the case. Oh well, it was always a pipe dream.

 

[Moronwind]

Yes, better graphics review better, but I've played games in 30fps and 60fps, with Ground Zeroes and Last of Us being two prime examples.

And 60fps is simply far more enjoyable to me than 30fps, even if it's to the detriment of the graphics.

It was also one of the few things I hated about Witcher 3 on PS4, the framerate fluctuating.

None of us have any idea what would've had to be sacrificed in order to get those games running at 60fps on last generation hardware. It's very easy to make the argument that silky smooth framerate should trump everything but I kinda doubt that, say, The Last of Us would have been half the experience it was if not for it's cutting edge visuals, so I'm willing to believe that the people who make these games know what they're doing.

 

[Az]

MG: Bad graphics, old, bad gameplay.
MG2: Old, bad graphics, how do you play??? Too hard.
MGS: Ugly pixel graphics. Old gameplay. Ruined by Twin Snakes.
MGS2: RAIDEN SUCCCCKKKKKSSSSSSSSS
MGS3: Big boss is boring. Dumb story. Too stupid. Hayter voice stupid. Jungle isn't fun.
MGS4: Dumbest story. Old snake is butts. Stupid end.
PW: Wait no this is dumbest story. Bad gameplay. Mother Base griiiiiiiiiindddd buuuuu

There. They're all the shittiest.

I love it when you snap. Pre-ordered just so I can cancel.

 

[Wagram]

Be careful here or fanboys are going to jump down your throat like they did mine for saying little story is a big issue...

Little story is absolutely a huge concern for me as I care about that far more than I ever did about the gameplay. For example; Peacewalker was extremely boring to me in comparison to MGS4. Not that it was a bad game by any means, it just didn't have the same appeal.

 

[wild wild rice]

Good luck with that. If anything it'll become more common, as the tools to create open worlds and fill them with assets have become more refined allowing for more efficient development pipelines, and hardware has reached a point where making detailed open worlds with complex game systems is feasible almost uniformly across the board rather than requiring a technical marvel. And I mean, that latter point we're still not where we need to be. Nevertheless, the incentive is greater than ever before. So it's not going anywhere.

Or you coulda just said they sell better.

 

[brandonh83]

Little story is absolutely a huge concern for me as I care about that far more than I ever did about the gameplay. For example; Peacewalker was extremely boring to me in comparison to MGS4. Not that it was a bad game by any means, it just didn't have the same appeal.

I couldn't get through Peace Walker and I'm a huge fan. It takes a lot to completely turn me off and it did, unfortunately.

 

[Iceternal]

I couldn't get through Peace Walker and I'm a huge fan. It takes a lot to completely turn me off and it did, unfortunately.

Same here!

 

[Shredderi]

I'm really excited for the game because gameplay has always been top notch in the series but I too am worried about the volume of story here. From what I've seen it seems in this weird way that the actual story telling elements are kind of detached from the gameplay itself. Many have commented on how silent Big Boss is when playing. Then we see cutscenes where he is fully involved and talking. They seem like two very separate things. Like in gameplay big boss mostly just listens to other people and isn't that involved but in cutscenes acts like we've come to expect. I don't have a good way of describing what I feel but it has me a little concerned.

 

[cerulily]

Sure but by that I actually meant... like a big, crazy ass story. It sounds like there's barely a focus on narrative and that bothers the hell out of me. Also by big, crazy ass story I don't mean 10,000 hours of cutscenes. There can be a happy medium.

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that there is probably the exact same amount of narrative we've always been accustomed to, but it's diluted by the fact that there is so much more to do.

 

[Alienous]

I had a brain fart and entered the Spoiler Thread. Doesn't seem to be much going on there, actually, but this Reddit translation and detailing on one of the reviews is interesting. It reflects a lot of the concerns I had regarding the game.

I'll spoiler tag it just in case, but there really isn't anything spoiler-worthy in the review. It's typical review stuff, talking about impressions towards the plot (or lack-thereof) and gameplay. There aren't any real plot details, but it does talk about things like how much of the plot he thought the trailers gave away, for instance.

Spoiler

From reddit:

Summary:

-From his Intro, he sound like he played all the mgs.
-He consider TPP less "crazy" than the previous "or cryptic and elitist"
-He then say for the first hours he was completely into it. That it's rich and polished.
-But then he started to have feeling of weariness and repetition. He say it's linked to: the way this game is, the open world not really mastered and a "diluted" narrative.
-While you don't need to go to mother base, you absolutely need to take time to manage it.
-Non lethal weapons take a lot of time to unlock while lethal one come much faster but are useless (because you absolutely need to improve your base)
-You can get "stuck" in the main story because in multiple case you need to unlock a specific gadget. This can cause some annoying "leveling". He say in PW it wasn't a big issue but here repeating a mission take much longer because of the map size.
-The PW mission system in an open world isn't that good: It make missions much longer, and the map size is "underexploited" with just some plants and animals to fulton here and there.
-The game revolve around camps infiltration, it lack of variety. But of course you can vary your approach. He say Witcher 3 and Arkham Knight have more type of activities. He acknowledge MGS isn't supposed to be a jack of all trades but...
-but that MG game are built around their stories. And here after a magnificent start cut-scenes get sparse and the storyline is shady until the end. Even with the whole puzzle he had trouble getting what this was all about.
-He say maybe there is a true end to unlock that could explain stuff to hardcore fans. And that the storyline still progress after the end.
-You can unlock harder variations of existing missions with specifics challenges (no weapon, no alarm,...)
-He say that the game was "fascinating" (©Spock). Even with "only" infiltration it's fun, especially if you like to experiment and are curious.
-Gameplay time was: 55% of infiltration, 15% of rage against himself or the difficulty, 5% of cut-scenes and 25% of Mother Base menus.
-After 2h he finished the prologue, after 20h he got a bit stuck because he didn't develop MB enough. He saw the end around the 45h mark and played at least 50H.
-You can't use every abilities of your sidekicks from the start (linked to their trust), they become more useful with time.
-Game is constructed in "episode" (1 per mission) and seem to be made to be played slowly. Which he think is why they worked more on the "infinite gameplay" than on the plot.
-He think maybe Koijma is trolling us with the plot and only some select few will unlock the answers. Or maybe he just couldn't make it the last.
-He imply the trailers spoiled too much interesting stuff

-GAMEPLAY (4/5): He said it has the best manoeuvrability in any MGS, with a lot of possibilities but implies some are dispensable (so hum, 4/5 because it's a lot to learn ? It's true this could be an issue for average players)
-GRAPHICS (4/5): Game is clean but he think it suffered a bit from having to be released on previous gen (on a personal note I think they had to make choices because the new gen hardware isn't decent enough to allow clean 60fps without sacrifices).
-SOUND (4/5): He basically liked it. And there is a lot of 80s tracks.
-LIFESPAN (4/5): >40h but he repeated he felt weary after some time
-CONCLUSION: Rich gameplay, repetitive missions, story that promise an lot but doesn't deliver much. Good game but difficult to figure out. "Kojima's last enigma ?"

 

[strafer]

Whatever Kojima is planning regarding the end, be it a cliffhanger or a happy ending, once the credits roll, I'm done.

This will be my last Metal Gear game.

 

[brandonh83]

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that there is probably the exact same amount of narrative we've always been accustomed to, but it's diluted by the fact that there is so much more to do.

I hope you're right and I'm going to judge for myself still.

 

[Gaz_RB]

I had a brain fart and entered the Spoiler Thread. Doesn't seem to be much going on there, actually, but this Reddit translation and detailing on one of the reviews is interesting. It reflects a lot of the concerns I had regarding the game.

I'll spoiler tag it just in case, but there really isn't anything spoiler-worthy in the review. It's typical review stuff, talking about impressions towards the plot (or lack-thereof) and gameplay. There aren't any real plot details, but it does talk about things like how much of the plot he thought the trailers gave away, for instance.

He remarks on a lot of the stuff I was worried about. Guess I'll have to see for myself. It might be a different feel when you're not marathoning the game.

 

[cackhyena]

Means one of the best games ever made. And it is.

At least better than MGS2.

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh no.

 

[Muffdraul]

I say this as someone who reviews games, gets invited to preview events, and handles early review code; if you're already sold on the game, reading/analysing/debating/arguing reviews is totally redundant and a waste of energy, likely to do more harm to your expectations than good. Seriously. If you've already decided that no matter how it turns out, whether you love or hate it or anywhere in between, you're already sold on getting the game to at least try it for what it is, your experience will be objectively, significantly benefited by knowing as little as possible beyond this point for when you first get into the game. And I know it's hard; review pros and cons and stupid fucking scores will start floating around and they'll get you thinking. But I think most people, if they really think back, will find most of their best gaming experiences have come from playing games while knowing as little as possible. And when you already know you're going to play the damn game, there's no point tainting your perspective by seeking more information.

This is how I've operated for as long as I can remember. I learned the hard way a long time ago that even the most "professional" and articulate review is merely some asshole's opinion, and I'm just as likely to completely disagree with it as I am with any other opinion out in the world. I pay close attention to game previews, and if something looks good and catches my attention, then I generally make up my mind then and there to grab it as soon as it comes out. It's very very rare that I end up disappointed. I know what to expect from the previews I've been shown. If the finished product is significantly different from what was previewed, well that's on the developer for being disingenuous, or perhaps previewing their game far too early (which is indeed a pet peeve of mine.) In any case, I'm going to find that out for myself, not on the word of some critic.

And in the case of my favorite franchises, no shit I'm going to buy the next entry, previews and reviews be damned. I knew I was going to buy MGS5 before it was a gleam in Kojima's eye.

 

[MiamiWesker]

Thank you for that alienous.

Really with this game it seems to come down to what you want from it. I will be replaying missions TONS of times so any so called grinding probably won't exist for me cause I will have unlocked them naturally. Also he called mother base menus, I plan to visit and do things in charter. It never mentions the base invasion which I can find myself putting 20-30 hours into easy.

Lack of story sucks, lack of focus also sucks, it's what the series is known for but not why I primarily want to play this.

 

[wild wild rice]

I had a brain fart and entered the Spoiler Thread. Doesn't seem to be much going on there, actually, but this Reddit translation and detailing on one of the reviews is interesting. It reflects a lot of the concerns I had regarding the game.

I'll spoiler tag it just in case, but there really isn't anything spoiler-worthy in the review. It's typical review stuff, talking about impressions towards the plot (or lack-thereof) and gameplay. There aren't any real plot details, but it does talk about things like how much of the plot he thought the trailers gave away, for instance.

Oh boy. It's really starting to sound like something I won't care for at all.

 

[Crossing Eden]

I had a brain fart and entered the Spoiler Thread. Doesn't seem to be much going on there, actually, but this Reddit translation and detailing on one of the reviews is interesting. It reflects a lot of the concerns I had regarding the game.

I'll spoiler tag it just in case, but there really isn't anything spoiler-worthy in the review. It's typical review stuff, talking about impressions towards the plot (or lack-thereof) and gameplay. There aren't any real plot details, but it does talk about things like how much of the plot he thought the trailers gave away, for instance.

It would be cool if you could do stuff like play cards or drink with your members at mother base. Do we know how much interaction we have besides saluting and petting animals?

 

[MiamiWesker]

It would be cool if you could do stuff like play cards or drink with your members at mother base. Do we know how much interaction we have besides saluting and petting animals?

From the base video, so spoilers to those that refused to watch that

Spoiler

There are hidden training excersises throughout which you can play for rank. Seems like there will be some sort of fight club that you can probably take part in. It is confirmed that you will get to see different story segments depending on how much you go back to base. I am sure there is a ton of stuff in there.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

It would be cool if you could do stuff like play cards or drink with your members at mother base. Do we know how much interaction we have besides saluting and petting animals?

Petting...humans.