Dragon Puncher
Member
They'll get the "good" ending and Drew will cringe when Snake puts the final moves on Meryl.
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Giant Bomb #9 | More Dan Meets The Eye
- Thread starter Hot Coldman
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the one true podcast
Well, it's not one or the other. Kojima was genuinely trying to tell a compelling story, and to do something unique at the time with characterization (in my mind, he succeeded). But lines like, "Trust your instincts as a soldier; trust your instincts as a gamer," along with things like having a soldier take a piss as part of his patrol route, clearly show the game doesn't try to be overly serious all the time. Humor adds a lot of soul to a story/world.
Got to episode 6 of Metal Gear Scanlon last night, and man, I'm adoring these videos. I haven't played the original MGS since going through the games in preparation for 4 all those years ago, and watching Drew flail through it puts butterflies in my stomach. I'm going through The Last of Us right now, actually, and I'm finding myself very eager to go back to MGS and play around with that brand of stealth again.
I think Drew is having a problem where he has to relearn the basic mechanics every session, but at the same time, the need for constant forward momentum means he never goes in-depth with them. He underutilizes almost all the stealth mechanics: no looking around corners, no crawling, no manipulating enemy patrol routes. When he makes a mistake and is caught, he could either take the stealth route and go and hide somewhere, or just exit to a new screen altogether; instead, he stands there and kills people until the alert phase has passed. In general, he doesn't move around confidently, whether it comes to stealth, melee, or shooting. Everything is basically foreign to him again every time he goes back to it, and the small nuances he should know instinctively by now continue to evade him. This is definitely a game that really thrives when you're confident enough to experiment with different approaches to situations.
I hope that instead of playing less the more frustrated he comes, they step up the pace as they get closer to the end, so Drew has more space to "sync" with the game. I would actually love to see a more confident Drew replay it completely someday, as this is a series that is infinitely replayable in my eyes, but I know that will never happen.
Moving on to 2 ASAP is probably for the best. Either way, even with Drew's struggles, these videos have been amazing. He and Dan have done a great job with this one.
randomlyrossy
Member
Anyone having issues with the site just now? It isn't loading properly for me, just partially loading pages. I want to watch Metal Gear Scanlon dammit
Anyone having issues with the site just now? It isn't loading properly for me, just partially loading pages. I want to watch Metal Gear Scanlon dammit
Seems to be working fine for me.
EmCeeGramr
Member
Don't do the podcast thing anymore. It's rude as h*ck and mean as nails!
Man, I could really do with an early Bombcast today. C'mon Brad!
Nah, the secret video was recorded long before that. Also, it's potentially loosely Mario Kart-related? Mysterious!
Nah, the secret video was recorded long before that. Also, it's potentially loosely Mario Kart-related? Mysterious!
randomlyrossy
Member
Nah, the video they were referring to was something involving a lot of editing/production.
skLaFarebear
Member
"OH YEAH ANIME PARTY!"
Oh god this giant bombcast from last week is killing me. Can't believe its only my first time listening to these guys.
Oh god this giant bombcast from last week is killing me. Can't believe its only my first time listening to these guys.
You have arrived at a strange time, my friend.
ShockingAlberto
Member
I think the simplest interpretation is correct: sometimes it's bad writing, sometimes it's intentional, sometimes it's trying to be intentional but still just bad writing.
Kojima's had bad writing when he's trying to be funny (the president grabbing Raiden's junk), he's had entertaining writing when trying to be serious, and he's had godawful writing when trying to be taken seriously (Ground Zeroes).
Kojima's had bad writing when he's trying to be funny (the president grabbing Raiden's junk), he's had entertaining writing when trying to be serious, and he's had godawful writing when trying to be taken seriously (Ground Zeroes).
randomlyrossy
Member
Not sure what's going on. Still can't load the site properly but I managed to download the high quality version of MGS in five mins, weird.
Okay. As a way to say sorry, I'm gonna post the best Brad Shoemaker picture ever:
Under 3 hours. Unsubscribed.
Get your hot, buttered Bombcast. Get it while it's hot. Get it while it's buttered.
http://www.giantbomb.com/podcasts/giant-bombcast-09-16-2014/1600-1006/
http://www.giantbomb.com/podcasts/giant-bombcast-09-16-2014/1600-1006/
skLaFarebear
Member
Classes started and I have 3 hour gaps throughout the week. Music can only last so long so I needed a new podcast and I heard good things about this one.
AuthenticM
Member
MrTroubleMaker
Gold Member
no bombcast thread?
Kojima's best writing came in MGS3 when he stopped all of his pretentious bullshit and just made a good game to please the fans. The characters were better written, the camp was better utilized, and he did a great job of lampshading and subverting a lot of 60's spy movie tropes, especially in regards to gender roles. Both The Boss and Eva were tremendously written female characters whose genders weren't a crutch or an excuse, but a valid and integral part of their characters.
Y'all need to watch this video by SuperBunnyhop, and you'll gain a new appreciation for MGS3 and Kojima's talent as a writer. At least when he's not given complete free reign.
I really hope Dan and Drew keep playing all the way through the series.
Y'all need to watch this video by SuperBunnyhop, and you'll gain a new appreciation for MGS3 and Kojima's talent as a writer. At least when he's not given complete free reign.
I really hope Dan and Drew keep playing all the way through the series.
Okay. As a way to say sorry, I'm gonna post the best Brad Shoemaker picture ever:
Oh my.
funkystudent
Member
Did Brad Kirby Patrick?
ShockingAlberto
Member
I think part of it isn't that Kojima wrote MGS3 specifically with old spy movie tropes in mind, I think he wrote what he knew and it just happened to work out really well with MGS3. So when he tried to move some of those things to other eras and apply what he thought was modern thinking to games like MGS4 and Ground Zeroes, it all sort of fell apart.
JPBrowncoat
Member
Best Dan reaction. From last Unprofessional Friday.
Incandenza
Banned
The return of the Carmack Tweet of the Week!
stump sock
Member
Yes!
Infinite Justice
Member
Dan's dad showing how its done lol
Chip off the block
Chip off the block
This is generalized enough, though, that it makes Kojima sound like...well, most writers.
But as to the "entertaining writing when trying to be serious" thing, that is something I've loved experiencing again through Metal Gear Scanlon. I burst out laughing at the cheesier lines, or when Drew is given a lecture about something like nuclear weapons out of nowhere, right along with them; at the same time, though, I find that stuff charming and think it adds a lot to the overall atmosphere/tone of the game. It's a great combination.
Best feature of the podcast.
Put one headphone in your ear connected to your phone? It's how I frequently listen to podcasts while playing something else.PS4 still doesn't play MP3s does it? I don't suppose audio from the browser would still play while a game is running? I just want to listen to the podcast and play destiny at the same time
tryagainlater
Member
Wut? Eva is a terribly written character who has to have her boobs out at every second. I would argue that The Boss is barely character and is just a plot device to make the story as tragic as possible. It's a good plot device though. I love Metal Gear Solid but I'll never understand the obsession with 3 and the rejection of 4. Snake Eater is the stupidest game in the series because of the Cobras.
C-C-C-C-CARMACK TWEET OF THE WEEK
Seriously, is the only response to someone calling Eva a good character going to be "her bra is showing"? I'm sure it's possible to come up with a more fully thought out criticism of her character than that.
The Mass Effect series comes to mind. There are a lot of people out there who stopped loving the series past 1, a comparable amount who think 1 is archaic and boring, and then another comparable set of people who loved both games.
I will ignore the face but you have GOT to close those cabinets.
People who enjoy the franchise tend to like it for vastly different reasons, and the various MGS games tend to deliver well on different fronts. Dan and Jeff have different opinions about the best parts of the series because Dan took it seriously and Jeff doesn't.
But even for just MGS1, a 12 year-old Dan was able to enjoy it taking the entire story seriously, whereas adult Dan is able to laugh at half of the line deliveries.
If you met a soldier girl who intentionally kept opening her shirt for no conceivable reason, you'd probably primarily wonder what is wrong with her. That part of her character serves the audience, not the story.
I don't understand why drew is still having such a rough time with this game. I think he's convinced himself that the game is harder than it is, and that itself is actually making it harder for him in a way.
SteveWinwood
Member
yeah i think a lot of this 'old school', 'obtuse', 'crazy', whatever talk about it really got him overthinking about way too much stuff
the story is nuts but the gameplay is pretty straightforward once you know its rules
cr_blah_blah
Member
Missed the Bombcast thread.
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