Poll: MGS4 : Am I the only one who is worried?

[Sniper_Zegai]

Ok so I saw a new trailer for MGS4 and while some of it seemed cool, alot of other stuff seem kind of odd to say the least. Now I know MGS has never been rooted in realism but in the trailer there was a beer chugging monkey, an arms dealer who looks a little pimp-tastic, a familiar character who wants you to call her Big Momma, a soldier shitting in a can and a group of elite cyber ninjas called...ahem...FROGS.

Now Im a huge fan of MGS, played them all several times and the more I hear about MGS, the more worried I get.

Am I the only one who feels this way?

P.S. Just for balance I dont own a PS3, I do own a 360 and Wii but I am intending to buy a PS3 when MGS4 and FFXIII hit the shelves depending on how good they are.

 

[Uncle Comrade]

I have to say, I'm a bit worried myself. I love the MGS series, but I'm worried that 4 will just be a series of amusing but irrelevant references to the previous games and 'LOL SNAKE'S OLD' jokes.

On the one hand, MGS has never been short of ludicrous characters (a fat bombmaker on rollerskates, a burly man who somehow controls bees and a photosynthesising old guy are just three examples) but I don't want to see a whole game full of nonsense.

It was like the Twin Snakes remake of MGS1. Great fun, but I hated the random 'Snake backflips over a bullet/Liquid dances on some railings' scenes that they put in for no reason.

 

[sapient]

I think Metal Gear Solid is unique in the sense that it's ludicrous. A homosexual electricity controlling masochist colonel in the army is something you don't see every game, and MGS's idiosyncrasies are what makes it fun and exciting. If we were playing a 'straight' game, it would just be Jack Bauer sneaking into a CIA compound and disarming a bomb. This is MGS4, and it's different for the sake of originality. If the game's fun, it'll be great. If it's got more than that - ie, compelling storyline, great characterization and well-made backbone, it'll be epic.

 

[Sparkly-elf]

You could just do what I do and be happy with whatever they put infront of you.

I have a horrible habit of brining ou the good points in games you see. When you look at them like I do, everything looks so happy and shiny.

Aside from my optimism, I always liked MGS and will continue to because no game has ever quite been like it. It's so... different, so fresh, realistic and at the same time, completely out of any sense of the word realism. It's odd, and it really works.

 

[PurpleRain]

The closes I've ever gotten to playing a MGS game is watching the Metal Gear Awesome series. A friend showed me the clip to MGS4. He wet his pants and I didn't get it. It's one of those things I'd like to get into but no way am I going to buy a PS2 and 3 for it.

 

[Sniper_Zegai]

I think Metal Gear Solid is unique in the sense that it's ludicrous. A homosexual electricity controlling masochist colonel in the army is something you don't see every game, and MGS's idiosyncrasies are what makes it fun and exciting. If we were playing a 'straight' game, it would just be Jack Bauer sneaking into a CIA compound and disarming a bomb. This is MGS4, and it's different for the sake of originality. If the game's fun, it'll be great. If it's got more than that - ie, compelling storyline, great characterization and well-made backbone, it'll be epic.

Dont get me wrong, the weird and wacky characters that have come out of MGS are some of my top favourite video game characters of all time, but while on one hand the series has been over the top it, it never pushes to the point where you simply think "This is bullshit", the game has always kept me engaged with its realistic side but impressed with its clever use of fantasy.

A fatman on roller skates, weird yeah. But impossible? of course not. Even Metal Gear itself despite being a strange weapon does'nt stretch the line between fantasy and reality enough to prevent the player from engaging with the game. And even when that line is blurred it always manages to pull something out of the bag that makes up for it.

Psycho Mantis for example is clearly unreal but the manner of which he is defeated was so awesome it just pulls you in. The sniper battle with The End was so intense and satisying, you felt like you were in real combat and The sword fight with Solidus Snake was as cool as it was fun.

The line between fantasy and reality has always been blurred in MGS but has never leaned to far one way or another, but MGS4 looks like its taken a nosedive towards the unreal and I dont know if the final installment of this epic series will be better for it.

 

[The Reverend]

Well, as others have said the MGS series does have a touch of the extraordinary, with the enemies and even Snake himself being a bit.. fantastical? Vulcan Raven, Psycho Mantis (I CAN READ YOUR MIND!! Heh, drunken night + gasmask = many, many references to MGS) Hell, what about Gray fox? And as for Snake.. well, I'm all for a man going up against a tank, but hiding in boxes and eating just rations to heal (admittedly this problem is redressed in MGS3, but all I have to say is The Pain) Still, regardless of these minor infractions against reality, the MGS games were, and are, awesome. (2 is not.) If the game is good, Snake can ride into battle on a Unicorn for all I care, as long as its done well.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

Anyone else interested in the fact that the...henchman? Assistants?...of Liquid Ocelot are all female?

 

[Sniper_Zegai]

Snake can ride into battle on a Unicorn for all I care, as long as its done well.

I can imagine a programmer from Konami taking down notes.

"It can be a motorbike, with a spear on the front used to impale Snakes enemies! and instead of wheels it has legs....man this shit is gold!"

 

[WingedFortress]

How many Metal Gear titles does Kojima have to perfect before people just start trusting him? After MGS3, the man could do no wrong in my eyes anymore.

 

[Sniper_Zegai]

How many Metal Gear titles does Kojima have to perfect before people just start trusting him? After MGS3, the man could do no wrong in my eyes anymore.

Oh come on, surely when you realised you had to play through MGS2 as Raiden that something had gone terribly wrong in the MGS developers room.

When I realised I was stuck with him I was finding it hard not to yell "Snake, are you ok snake, answer me! SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAKEEEEE" *dum, dum, duh, dum, dum, dah, dah, dah*

 

[WingedFortress]

Oh come on, surely when you realised you had to play through MGS2 as Raiden that something had gone terribly wrong in the MGS developers room.

When I realised I was stuck with him I was finding it hard not to yell "Snake, are you ok snake, answer me! SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAKEEEEE" *dum, dum, duh, dum, dum, dah, dah, dah*

Kojima obviously had the entire series in mind when making that game. If MGS2 had everything in it that the fans wanted, nothing would be the same. And while I didn't enjoy playing as Raiden, I did like the fact that Snake was still obviously around, and kicking alot more ass than I was. It really re-inforced that he was just as much of a hero as ever, without the help of the player.
I'm also betting that MGS4 might play a role in swaying everyone away from the anti-raiden camp.

 

[Frybird]

I'm worried too.

Yes, the MGS Series was always wacky and over-the-top, and even more so from game to game.
(Then again, it is arguable if action-figure supervillians who yell out thier codenames are worse than a rollerskating, wine-sipping mad bomber)

But somehow, the characters were kinda cool, mostly.

However, in the MGS4 Trailers, for every cool character (Ninja-Raiden! more Badass-ish Meryl!) you get twice the amount of characters that are so much over the top...it's just too much.
And the arms dealer and "Big Momma" are not even the Tip of the Iceberg. Have you seen the Trailer with these cyberpunk "warbeasts"? Fighting against some sort of Cyber Jaguar and a floating puppeteer that looks like he's from Z.O.E.? Thats just too much for me.

That said, i think the core game will be as fun as ever, but in terms of story and bossfights, i am very, VERY worried

 

[Uncle Comrade]

And while I didn't enjoy playing as Raiden, I did like the fact that Snake was still obviously around, and kicking alot more ass than I was. It really re-inforced that he was just as much of a hero as ever, without the help of the player.

I read an interesting theory that whenever Raiden came across an especially challenging enemy or obstacle he fainted, and while unconcious he dreamed that he was overcoming the problem when in reality Snake just came along and did it all for him.

 

[Sniper_Zegai]

I read an interesting theory that whenever Raiden came across an especially challenging enemy or obstacle he fainted, and while unconcious he dreamed that he was overcoming the problem when in reality Snake just came along and did it all for him.

"Raiden, you OK. Wake up"

"I had a dream that a cardboard box shot down a harrier, come on lets go stop Fatman, tally ho!"

"uhh...."

It was so hard to take Raiden seriously with his weird hair as well.

 

[Marriot]

well the gameplay vid looked cool with the new features for movement and camouflage. But on the fact with Raiden, i might get made fun of for this but i didnt mind playing as him but the lengthy tanker scene kinda curbed my play as Snake appetite. But no game or movie with the same main character for a couple of sequels ever done well except for the Back to the Future movies. Can you imagine a Halo 4 but excuse me for saying Xbox fan boys the Halo series is over, its done, finished. I couldnt imagine what they would cook up for story i would probably be pretty bad like Devil will Cry 4. And 4 games with Solid Snake wouldnt make so much sense either another character would sorta be needed to bring some mix up to the series.

 

[Joeshie]

The Metal Gear series fell apart at MGS2 as far as I'm concerned.

God...that terribly contrived story filled with pseudo-philosophical babbling still gives me nightmares...

 

[GloatingSwine]

The Metal Gear series fell apart at MGS2 as far as I'm concerned.

God...that terribly contrived story filled with pseudo-philosophical babbling still gives me nightmares...

I would agree. MGS2 was rubbish, irrespective of it's main character.

However, MGS3 was spectacular. Just the right amount of self-aware camp to carry it as a Bond parody when it wanted to be, and significantly improved gameplay over the second game.

 

[Apone]

The Metal Gear series fell apart at MGS2 as far as I'm concerned.

God...that terribly contrived story filled with pseudo-philosophical babbling still gives me nightmares...

I would agree. MGS2 was rubbish, irrespective of it's main character.

However, MGS3 was spectacular. Just the right amount of self-aware camp to carry it as a Bond parody when it wanted to be, and significantly improved gameplay over the second game.

Indeed. MGS3 made me fall in love with the whole world of the games and game-play all over again after MGS did. 2 is a bad game really. It didn't feel right, just a bad knock off of MGS with some odd story progression. Then just to slap you in the face they go and say the reason it's just like MGS is because it's a simulation to train Raiden. Felt weak to me.

Then 3 was all 60's-70's references, Cold War and Camouflage and felt fantastic. The End is one of my favorite Boss battles of all time.

 

[Sniper_Zegai]

The Metal Gear series fell apart at MGS2 as far as I'm concerned.

God...that terribly contrived story filled with pseudo-philosophical babbling still gives me nightmares...

I would agree. MGS2 was rubbish, irrespective of it's main character.

However, MGS3 was spectacular. Just the right amount of self-aware camp to carry it as a Bond parody when it wanted to be, and significantly improved gameplay over the second game.

I agree. MGS2 was really the weakest of the series and for all the innovations and original concepts that were made in the first MGS it seemed MGS2 was nothing more than a watered down version of that, but with only a worse storyline and less memorable characters.

MGS3 turned that all around, adding twists and turns, a badass cast of bosses, allies and familiar faces as well as unforgettable fights and gameplay mechanics that had you constantly on gaurd and thinking about what to do next. But for everything MGS3 got right it seemed to be the least appreciated of the MGS series, which really is a shame.

My main concern regarding all of this is obviously that MGS4 will be another MGS2 and end the series on a shitty note.