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Metal Gear Solid 4 |OT| No Place to Hide, No Time for a Legend to FoxDie

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Dever

Banned
Ozorov said:
I picked up a PS3 today and MGS4. Wow. Incredible good game i have to say. The only thing that is kinda hard to understand is the story, since i never have played a MGS-game before :lol. Go Kojima!

This should be fun. Post your impressions of the ending once you get there. :lol
 

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
Dever said:
This should be fun. Post your impressions of the ending once you get there. :lol
Oooh, he hasn't beaten the game yet! Now that's much better, keep us updated sir :)
 

McBacon

SHOOTY McRAD DICK
Ozorov said:
I picked up a PS3 today and MGS4. Wow. Incredible good game i have to say. The only thing that is kinda hard to understand is the story, since i never have played a MGS-game before :lol. Go Kojima!

Really?

Kojima may be an auteur with his zany storylines and ludicrous plot holes, but it isn't exactly the most impregnable narrative ever conceived.

In fact, most of MGS4's main plot points are conceived during the game - ID tagging weapons, mind control on soliders. Heck, as long as you know that Liquid is Snake's BROTHER (I'TS BEEN TOO LONG) and Big Boss is your dad, then you're pretty much set, and can figure out the rest.
 

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
McBacon said:
Really?

Kojima may be an auteur with his zany storylines and ludicrous plot holes, but it isn't exactly the most impregnable narrative ever conceived.

In fact, most of MGS4's main plot points are conceived during the game - ID tagging weapons, mind control on soliders. Heck, as long as you know that Liquid is Snake's BROTHER (I'TS BEEN TOO LONG) and Big Boss is your dad, then you're pretty much set, and can figure out the rest.
Yes but clearly things will not be appreciated as much if you haven't beaten the previous games (especially Snake Eater).
 
McBacon said:
Really?

Kojima may be an auteur with his zany storylines and ludicrous plot holes, but it isn't exactly the most impregnable narrative ever conceived.

In fact, most of MGS4's main plot points are conceived during the game - ID tagging weapons, mind control on soliders. Heck, as long as you know that Liquid is Snake's BROTHER (I'TS BEEN TOO LONG) and Big Boss is your dad, then you're pretty much set, and can figure out the rest.
If you're not used to it though, it's pretty out there. I remember getting MGS 4 and playing it in front of a couple family members... safe to say they didn't know wtf was going on.
 

Manp

Member
Shalashaska said:
If you're not used to it though, it's pretty out there. I remember getting MGS 4 and playing it in front of a couple family members... safe to say they didn't know wtf was going on.

hell i played all the previous 3 games and still i didn't know wtf was going on... :lol

:)
 

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
Blu_LED said:
Capcom hates trophies. They have yet to patch any of their games, and they even promised some.
Well, from 2009 it's Sony law that trophies must be in :)
 

Truant

Member
As much as I dislike the game, I thought the story was pretty easy to follow in this one, compared to say MGS2. Some of the details were a bit hard to grasp the first time, put the general plot is pretty cool, and well presented.
 

Amon37

Member
Just finished ACT 1

Total Play time: 2 hours 24 minutes=2 hours of cutscenes and 24minutes of playtime is the whole game like this?
 
Got my
Solar Gun
and I'm ready to try a Big Boss Extreme emblem run. I think I'll leave it a while though as I'm sure it's going to be a little frustrating. :lol
 

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
Amon37 said:
Just finished ACT 1

Total Play time: 2 hours 24 minutes=2 hours of cutscenes and 24minutes of playtime is the whole game like this?
You're playing it fucking wrong.
 

Zen

Banned
Amon37 said:
Just finished ACT 1

Total Play time: 2 hours 24 minutes=2 hours of cutscenes and 24minutes of playtime is the whole game like this?

We're you playing it like a straight up Rambo? ANyway, MGS4has huge 'horizontal' depth, but it's scenarios are very linear, so you're not going to really appreciate the gameplay until you've played it through more than once (with new weapons, items, strategies, etc).

Act 2 is actually a big playground, but it's no so apparent at first.
 
Okay, I just finished the game and
am I the only one who thinks that the game would have been waaaay better if they just left out that last scene with Big Boss and Snake? Snake killing himself was going to be the perfect ending to the perfect story. It was SUPPOSED to be fucked up. Yeah, it's totally unfair that Snake has to die, but he HAS to die. It was sad. I almost cried when Otacon said "Snake had a hard life."

But it's like they had to completely undermine the entire point of the story and give it a happy ending. All the buildup they created throughout the series just kinda falls flat because, "Oh btw, the FOXDIE isn't going to kill you and all your friends after all. J/K SNAKE!"

Also, I really wanted that mangled corpse on life support to be Big Boss'. There was something really eerie about seeing the character I played as in MGS3 in that condition. And then he was tossed in a fire and it was a pretty cool death, really. But he really needed to just die. He's come back to life like 3 times now. :lol

I was 100% satisfied when the credits started rolling, but that last epilogue really ruined a lot of the story. I'm at the point where I think that it must have been something with the publisher pushing their influence on the developer because they don't want the ending to be sad or gruesome or anything. It sucks.

So I'm just gonna pretend that Snake DID in fact kill himself. If I ever beat the game again, I'm going to turn off the system before they show me that epilogue.
 

RPS37

Member
I just bought a ps3 with this the other day. I played for like 10 minutes.
I forgot that the controls are a little different...and then I started freaking out about the brightness of my tv and futzing with my display settings, and eventually just shut it all off.

Ugh.
 

Cartman86

Banned
autobzooty said:
Okay, I just finished the game and
am I the only one who thinks that the game would have been waaaay better if they just left out that last scene with Big Boss and Snake? Snake killing himself was going to be the perfect ending to the perfect story. It was SUPPOSED to be fucked up. Yeah, it's totally unfair that Snake has to die, but he HAS to die. It was sad. I almost cried when Otacon said "Snake had a hard life."

But it's like they had to completely undermine the entire point of the story and give it a happy ending. All the buildup they created throughout the series just kinda falls flat because, "Oh btw, the FOXDIE isn't going to kill you and all your friends after all. J/K SNAKE!"

Also, I really wanted that mangled corpse on life support to be Big Boss'. There was something really eerie about seeing the character I played as in MGS3 in that condition. And then he was tossed in a fire and it was a pretty cool death, really. But he really needed to just die. He's come back to life like 3 times now. :lol

I was 100% satisfied when the credits started rolling, but that last epilogue really ruined a lot of the story. I'm at the point where I think that it must have been something with the publisher pushing their influence on the developer because they don't want the ending to be sad or gruesome or anything. It sucks.

So I'm just gonna pretend that Snake DID in fact kill himself. If I ever beat the game again, I'm going to turn off the system before they show me that epilogue.

I remember hearing a story that Kojima wanted the ending to originally be
Snake and Otacon being put on trial and hung. But his team wanted something different. Anyways I can see where you are coming from, but with my love for MGS3 so high I found the ending to MGS4 to be the perfect "sequel" and "conclusion" to that story. Did it need one? Maybe not, but it was so emotional that I loved it.
A couple pages back Liabe Brave gave his opinion on the ending. I liked how he put it.


Liabe Brave said:
I have to disagree. First, on a matter of fact:
The FoxDIE was not a lie, just the "Solid will turn into a human WMD" is negated; the accelerated decrepitude isn't, and he still has only a few months to live at most.

Now, for interpretation:
Though Solid is noble in the face of inevitable death, that's not what the game is about. "Inevitable death" is a tautology, for we're all under that sentence; the game is about embracing life despite this. Solid is given many counterexamples: Naomi commits suicide rather than live with cancer; Vamp is desperately trying to die; Raiden has a deathwish just as strong; EVA regrets her mistakes unto death; and so on. Given these examples, Solid is about to commit suicide at the end.

This type of traumatic "hard-nosed" ending ("Because that happens. People die.") has capped many a melodramatic pulp narrative, to the point where it seems "natural" or even "necessary" to you. But the game rejects it outright, and not as some sort of eleventh-hour cowardice or thematic confusion, but as the entire damn point. Meryl and Johnny survive to get married; Drebin survives to get drunk; Jack finds peace and union; and finally, Solid, even though he's going to die soon anyway, chooses not to end it sooner. I think we're meant to see that this is a reaction to his meeting with his (bio)dad: a broken idealist who's tried multiple times to establish "survival of the fittest" as a moral code, and who does indeed murder an old man just for some sort of abstract "closure". All Big Boss' "tough-minded" coldness has done is destroy things around him.

In the end, Solid rejects all the suffering and idiocy the ideals of the Philosophers, Patriots, and Bosses created (no matter how well-intentioned). They all had believed in ultimate control--of money, country, and military, of the human will, and yes, even control over when you die. Solid chooses chance and the unknown instead, relinquishing control. I believe the game is arguing that this is true freedom, not the "freedom" of power all the antagonists pursue.

Kojima is a sloppy writer at times, and his goal to tie off absolutely everything in this one game resulted in some real dicontinuities and problems with the narrative. (For example,
Raiden's recovery, while well-tied to the game's theme, just doesn't seem physically possible.
) But the ultimate outcome isn't a mistake or a problem. I think it's one of the greatest strengths of the story.
 

Gigglepoo

Member
autobzooty said:
Okay, I just finished the game and...

This is my first Metal Gear game so feel free to ignore my opinion if it clashes with the previous three narratives. I loved the ending.

Our society embraces sacrifice. The idea of dying for a greater good has been represented in so many movies and books, it almost seems cliche at this point. But it's a powerful story device and a chilling way to end a compelling tale, so it keeps being used. MGS4 is all about sacrifice too, but the difference is, after Snake risks life and limb, he is still, somehow, alive. To go through that pain without being able to experience the joy afterward is cruel and unrealistic. "Snake had a tough life" but now he actually has a chance to live it. He's still going to die way sooner than most people--the Foxdie is killing him--but he's going to enjoy the fruits of his sacrifice for a short time. I think it's beautiful that he is finally able to find peace in his life.

With that said, I still think Kratos needs to die in God of War 3, but that's another post for another day.
 
Cartman86 said:
I remember hearing a story that Kojima wanted the ending to originally be
Snake and Otacon being put on trial and hung. But his team wanted something different. Anyways I can see where you are coming from, but with my love for MGS3 so high I found the ending to MGS4 to be the perfect "sequel" and "conclusion" to that story. Did it need one? Maybe not, but it was so emotional that I loved it.
A couple pages back Liabe Brave gave his opinion on the ending. I liked how he put it.

I kinda see what Liabe was saying, but
I think that it would be better if we could see everyone enjoying the fruits of Snake's efforts except for Snake. I feel like the MGS series is trying to drive home a point: war is a reality. It's also very unjust. Snake killing himself at that grave is the perfect way to illustrate that, but we can still allow the new relative peace that was achieved be shown through the people that are still alive and still have their youth. (By the way, that was The Boss' grave, right? With Liquid's right next to it? I didn't read the headstones fast enough :lol )

It also just seems like a futile plot point, to me, to keep Snake from killing himself. He's going to die in a few months anyways due to a cause that is also quite unfair, but him shooting himself in the mouth at a graveyard is much more compelling. The only purpose this ending served is to take away a lot of power and emotion, but still send virtually the same message (when it all boils down). And also bring Big Boss back AGAIN, which sort of undermines his previous and dramatic DEATH.

I'm probably just being bitchy, though. This is still one of the greatest games I've played in all my life and I'm still going to play it again and again. But if I was calling the shots......:lol
 

Blablurn

Member
Yeah, the first post of 2009.

21ke3hv.jpg


I'm currently replaying MGS4 - Just faced
Psycho Mantis
- Oh my god - This scene is soooo goood.

Let's go to the
microwave
!

EDIT:

just finished it <3 Hideo Kojima, you're god! what a great game.
 

SamuraiX-

Member
Cartman86 said:
Here is the GAF thread for that.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=345431

So far though it's only been 2.

NeoGAF
Gamespot

And so continues the absolute fail of gaming media. GTA IV with 10 GOTY awards? Over Fallout 3? Over Fable II? Over MGS4? Please, just GTFO. I loved GTA IV for what it was, but it in no way is deserving of so many GOTY awards, let alone the ridiculous number of perfect scores it received.
 

AKS

Member
I recently got frustrated that my PS3 had some weird bug that wasn't allowing me to erase or display pictures. The files were all screwed up. I finally got pissed and angrily reformatted the entire HDD. Perhaps I should have saved that file with my Big Boss Emblem first? :lol Oh well, I planned on starting over for a trophy run eventually anyway. I really DO hope we get trophies for MGS4 now because I erased everything. Gives me an excuse to play through it again either way, I guess, but I wish I did erase the file with all the weapons.
 

2real4tv

Member
RPS37 said:
I just bought a ps3 with this the other day. I played for like 10 minutes.
I forgot that the controls are a little different...and then I started freaking out about the brightness of my tv and futzing with my display settings, and eventually just shut it all off.

Ugh.

Check your RGB setting it might be set to full, I had the same issue going through my 2nd playthrough this weekend.
 
So I got this game for Christmas, but haven't started it yet, mainly because of some other backlog and because I'm about to go on vacation soon....has Konami or Kojima or anybody hinted at trophy support? Please say yes.
 
Just played through the first two acts on my second playthrough but this time on Big Boss Hard. Had a great time and it was fun having all my weapons from my previous game.

Now I'm on to Act 3. This level is so boring. So very very boring. Not only that the graphics in this level look terrible. Does anyone like this level?
 

MNC

Member
FINALLY. MAIL ARRIVED. I'm somewhere in act 1. Just left
Meryl
.

Oh my shitting fuck it's Johnny :lol This is awesome. Is he the same Johnny as the rest of the MGS games or is he some kind of relative of the others? Either, way, good stuff :D
 
Bearillusion said:
Now I'm on to Act 3. This level is so boring. So very very boring. Not only that the graphics in this level look terrible. Does anyone like this level?

*raises hand*

I really dug it because its the purest stealth portion of the entire game, and I loved the idea of playing Snake as a tracker. I played on Extreme my first run through and there were some amazingly tense moments where I had to quickly improvise to stay out of sight.

I can see why it doesn't have a lot of favor though. Its certainly more rigid than traditional MGS gameplay, but I liked the change of pace after the balls to the wall Act 2. I didn't think it was lacking visually at all, the noir atmosphere was spot on.
 

Cartman86

Banned
MNC said:
FINALLY. MAIL ARRIVED. I'm somewhere in act 1. Just left
Meryl
.

Oh my shitting fuck it's Johnny :lol This is awesome. Is he the same Johnny as the rest of the MGS games or is he some kind of relative of the others? Either, way, good stuff :D

Yes he is the same.
 

rexor0717

Member
Bearillusion said:
Just played through the first two acts on my second playthrough but this time on Big Boss Hard. Had a great time and it was fun having all my weapons from my previous game.

Now I'm on to Act 3. This level is so boring. So very very boring. Not only that the graphics in this level look terrible. Does anyone like this level?
Favorite level of the game.
It is soooo much fun messing with that guy. And the chase scene and boss are A+.
 
Bearillusion said:
Just played through the first two acts on my second playthrough but this time on Big Boss Hard. Had a great time and it was fun having all my weapons from my previous game.

Now I'm on to Act 3. This level is so boring. So very very boring. Not only that the graphics in this level look terrible. Does anyone like this level?

Loved Act 3. I liked the fact that it's definitely more stealth-based than any of the other levels in the first half but then it becomes one of the most awesome action-intense sequences in the second half. If anything though, I loved simply just walking around the city as the fog would roll in and out.

Plus, I really liked Snake's interaction with the resistance.
I really loved Big Mama/EVA's connection to Snake. I kinda figured beforehand that she was his mother. The part where Snake risks his life to save her from the fire (only to get burned himself) and then have her die in his arms a little later made me tear up a bit.
 

patsu

Member
Act 3 is superb. Finish it before you complain.

I like the espionage gameplay. The environment kinda reminded me of the first Mission Impossible movie.
 
STG said:
the new integral podcast should be online today (I think)
anyone checked it? any good?

They actually did another one?
*reads online* *jaw drops*

Took them long enough! Is it good?

Edit: Oh. I thought it had already started (Dec 18th) and the third one was this week.
Apparently not.
 
patsu said:
Act 3 is superb. Finish it before you complain.

I like the espionage gameplay. The environment kinda reminded me of the first Mission Impossible movie.

I haven't finished it before. I'm just playing it again on my Big Boss Hard run. I just don't get it I guess. Perhaps if someone could go into greater detail about why they like it maybe it will click with me.
 
Bearillusion said:
Just played through the first two acts on my second playthrough but this time on Big Boss Hard. Had a great time and it was fun having all my weapons from my previous game.

Now I'm on to Act 3. This level is so boring. So very very boring. Not only that the graphics in this level look terrible. Does anyone like this level?

I think it's the worst act in the game. The espionage is awkward and the idea that I have to take out the guards so that the guy can pass is silly. He knows who I am (the repeated 'Huh?' and suprised animation don't stick with him then calling me "The master of sneaking" {can't remember the exact line}).
It also had the least enjoyable (imo) boss battle.
Of course the on-rails segment is quite exciting the first time through and I did enjoy both it and the awesome end cutscenes for the Act.
But whenever I play though MGS4 (about 4 times now) that Act is the one I dread and hate.
 

~Kinggi~

Banned
Man Act 3 had the bike segment. I shit myself playing that.

They choreographed the interaction of the camera and the action, along with how you could interrupt it and aim seamlessly, so perfectly.
 

aku08

Member
~Kinggi~ said:
Man Act 3 had the bike segment. I shit myself playing that.

They choreographed the interaction of the camera and the action, along with how you could interrupt it and aim seamlessly, so perfectly.

man, i still have nightmares about the bike segment when i did the "no alarm no kill" playthrough on bigbosshard. man, i had a hard time with that.
 

industrian

will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
Auron_Kale said:
Loved Act 3. I liked the fact that it's definitely more stealth-based than any of the other levels in the first half but then it becomes one of the most awesome action-intense sequences in the second half. If anything though, I loved simply just walking around the city as the fog would roll in and out.

Plus, I really liked Snake's interaction with the resistance.
I really loved Big Mama/EVA's connection to Snake. I kinda figured beforehand that she was his mother. The part where Snake risks his life to save her from the fire (only to get burned himself) and then have her die in his arms a little later made me tear up a bit.

I teared up when
EVA refered to Snake by his name, and also the "EVA, I need you part".
The beginning of Act 3 could have been a whole lot better though, but the Act served it's purpose well in revealing the bigger picture.
 

jett

D-Member
Act 3 is completely terrible and misguided. It's like an escort mission...except you're being escorted. The chase is its saving grace. But then you factor in the goddamn endlessly boring cut-scenes of nothing but exposition after exposition. Truly the worst thing about the entire game.
 
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