I'm someone who has never been all that interested in the MGS series, but lately I've wanted to get into the series. However, the game that interests me the most is the 3rd game, because of the James Bond influences.
My question is this: Is MGS3 accessible enough for it to be the first game in the series that I play, or do I need to play MGS1 and 2 first in order to understand it?
You'll certainly miss a lot of references and nods to previous games, but 3 is actually a good place to start. Start with 3 and the rest suddenly make a lot more sense. After all, Snake Eater is the first game in the series' timeline. At least regarding the story.
Time line wise it is the first game, it's a game about the big boss. The other games are about ...relations to the big boss.
Still, trying to understand the MGS games is a challenge, even if you do play them in order of release (1, 2, 3, 4).
The plots to these games aren't as straight forward as Halo, gears of war, god of war, duke nukem etc where it basically just stop the aliens and this is why you and your team are the chosen ones.
These games have back stories that straight up confuse you!
There are nods to games that came before it, but for the most part, it's a stand alone title.
It's also my favourite, because it got the stealth element down brilliantly, the environments are gorgeous, and like you said, it's akin to James Bond.
Time line wise it is the first game, it's a game about the big boss. The other games are about ...relations to the big boss.
Still, trying to understand the MGS games is a challenge, even if you do play them in order of release (1, 2, 3, 4).
The plots to these games aren't as straight forward as Halo, gears of war, god of war, duke nukem etc where it basically just stop the aliens and this is why you and your team are the chosen ones.
These games have back stories that straight up confuse you!
I'm aware of that. I just figure that Snake Eater seems to be the most interesting game to me, and I can always replay it after playing the other 3 games in order to get more of the references.
Time line wise it is the first game, it's a game about the big boss. The other games are about ...relations to the big boss.
Still, trying to understand the MGS games is a challenge, even if you do play them in order of release (1, 2, 3, 4).
The plots to these games aren't as straight forward as Halo, gears of war, god of war, duke nukem etc where it basically just stop the aliens and this is why you and your team are the chosen ones.
These games have back stories that straight up confuse you!
I'm aware of that. I just figure that Snake Eater seems to be the most interesting game to me, and I can always replay it after playing the other 3 games in order to get more of the references.
Well seeing how it's the prequel and where it all starts and seeing how it's the best game in the series I'd say yes, you can play it. You should play it. Just be sure to get Subsistence version if you're playing on PS2.
omega 616 said:
All the games are pretty much the same, the only way this one is more like James Bond is the music.
You kiddin'? The entire game is wrapped in James Bond influence. Cold war setting, spy gadgets, spy themes, the music, strong woman love interest. It really feels like something that came out of Ian Fleming's mind. All other MGS games are more about being a soldier. MGS3 feels more like a real spy story than anything else.
Time line wise it is the first game, it's a game about the big boss. The other games are about ...relations to the big boss.
Still, trying to understand the MGS games is a challenge, even if you do play them in order of release (1, 2, 3, 4).
The plots to these games aren't as straight forward as Halo, gears of war, god of war, duke nukem etc where it basically just stop the aliens and this is why you and your team are the chosen ones.
These games have back stories that straight up confuse you!
I'm aware of that. I just figure that Snake Eater seems to be the most interesting game to me, and I can always replay it after playing the other 3 games in order to get more of the references.
I think that Omega might have been referring to the PSP games, Portable Ops & Peace Walker to be precise, which aren't so bad as they contiune off from Snake Eater timeline wise.
But yeah, definitely a good call on MGS3. I just started playing it myself this week (after a very long hiatus from the series after playing MGS2 ... ugh that one didn't sit well with me) and I'm definitely liking the jungle setting and game mechanics in general.
Well seeing how it's the prequel and where it all starts and seeing how it's the best game in the series I'd say yes, you can play it. You should play it. Just be sure to get Subsistence version if you're playing on PS2.
omega 616 said:
All the games are pretty much the same, the only way this one is more like James Bond is the music.
You kiddin'? The entire game is wrapped in James Bond influence. Cold war setting, spy gadgets, spy themes, the music, strong woman love interest. It really feels like something that came out of Ian Fleming's mind. All other MGS games are more about being a soldier. MGS3 feels more like a real spy story than anything else.
Didn't know James Bond was in the cold war era, there are like a million of them, how can they all be set in the same era?
Spy gadgets? Like what? It's no splinter cell with sticky camera's fired from a gun.
Spy themes? You are doing exactly the same stuff in MGS 1 as you are in 3 (except outside less in 1) and in 4 they at least force you to track 1 person and tail another.
Strong woman interest? I can kind of get behind but everything has that in now.
in 1 you sneak around a military base, kind of like the end of 3. You flip, roll and avoid guards.
In 2 you sneak around a ship and "oil base thing", in 3 you just sneak through grass, water and rocks but no real difference in terms of gameplay just harder to do.
In 4 you are a real spy, tailing somebody to Eva big momma and tracking Naomi through the forrest. This is off set by you being stuck in between the rebels and the PMC's, who are of course at war but you can always just be extra sneaky and just sneak past everybody ... which isn't hard, even sneaking right through rebel HQ is a piss easy move (even though the NPC's can smell you).
I would say in terms of being most like like a spy it goes 4, 1, 3, 2. 4 for the above reasons, 1 for being totally alone, 3 'cos 2 was just hard to be sneaky.
I'm not talking about movies as much as books. Older movies with Sean Connery and Roger Moore were set in cold war era though. And that's where MGS3 draws it's inspiration from. You have to be blind or not very familiar with Bond not to notice the heavy Bond influence. Have you seen Dr. No?
omega 616 said:
Spy gadgets? Like what? It's no splinter cell with sticky camera's fired from a gun.
I'm talking about cold war spy stuff like active sonar, anti-personnel sensor, directional mic, motion detector, binoculars, fake death pill, revival pill, crocodile cap, EZ gun, mine detector, dirty magazine (for guard distraction), fake cigarettes with sleeping gas, thermal goggles, NV goggles...
All of that helped a lot to immerse you into the time period and spy thematic.
omega 616 said:
Spy themes? You are doing exactly the same stuff in MGS 1 as you are in 3 (except outside less in 1) and in 4 they at least force you to track 1 person and tail another.
It's not about what you do it's how you do it and where you do it. Spy theme is present in all games, but it's so obviously influenced with James Bond in MGS3 and it's a dominant feature. In other MGS games, being a spy was just a word. But it always felt like you were just a stealthy soldier. I never felt like Solid Snake was a real spy.
omega 616 said:
Strong woman interest? I can kind of get behind but everything has that in now.
I dunno if I have seen Dr No, I have seen like 4 different bond films and they all seemed to be basically the same, so I stopped watching them.
by the same, I mean they always had certain scenes. Like there was always a car chase, the gadgets, the sneak in, the capture, the "your going to die but somehow escape", the re-sneak in, the shagging etc
The only other thing I know about James Bond is his favorite drink isn't a martini.
Besides the pills and cap, they are all from other MGS games as well ... not sure about the EZ gun though, I think there is an EZ gun at the start of 2 but obviously a different name.
I still don't get this point, he is exactly the same in every game. Armed to the knackers with guns but you can choose to slip by people. If I Sam Fisher my way round 1, 2 and 4 but Rambo my through 3 I am not a spy.
The only bit where I feel kind of like a spy in 3 is at the shagohod facility, where you dress up and hide the body
other than that it was pretty much the same affair.
To be honest I wouldn't even class James bond as a spy. Spies are meant to sneak in, do what they have to do then sneak out or double/triple cross people and be under cover. James Bond does the first bit then fluffs the mission, gets caught, escapes then from my recollection Rambo's the gaff and foils the plot.
I think we might have to agree to disagree on that one.
Maybe James bond started the whole love interest/femme fetal thing but that is in pretty much everything these days ... *looks at transformers, knight and day, XXX, fast and the furious and a billion others*
Yes MGS 3 is a great place to start as it is the start of the timeline and I also highly suggest if you do like the series to then go back and replay it after the other 2 beforehand. Just let you know there were MG games before the PS 1 game. Another thing, if you have the option always go for say MGS 2: Substance over the original release(MGS 2:Sons of Liberty) as it has more bonus modes.
I dunno if I have seen Dr No, I have seen like 4 different bond films and they all seemed to be basically the same, so I stopped watching them.
by the same, I mean they always had certain scenes. Like there was always a car chase, the gadgets, the sneak in, the capture, the "your going to die but somehow escape", the re-sneak in, the shagging etc
The only other thing I know about James Bond is his favorite drink isn't a martini.
Besides the pills and cap, they are all from other MGS games as well ... not sure about the EZ gun though, I think there is an EZ gun at the start of 2 but obviously a different name.
I still don't get this point, he is exactly the same in every game. Armed to the knackers with guns but you can choose to slip by people. If I Sam Fisher my way round 1, 2 and 4 but Rambo my through 3 I am not a spy.
The only bit where I feel kind of like a spy in 3 is at the shagohod facility, where you dress up and hide the body
other than that it was pretty much the same affair.
To be honest I wouldn't even class James bond as a spy. Spies are meant to sneak in, do what they have to do then sneak out or double/triple cross people and be under cover. James Bond does the first bit then fluffs the mission, gets caught, escapes then from my recollection Rambo's the gaff and foils the plot.
I think we might have to agree to disagree on that one.
Maybe James bond started the whole love interest/femme fetal thing but that is in pretty much everything these days ... *looks at transformers, knight and day, XXX, fast and the furious and a billion others*
If you think all Bond films are the same, then I recommend you watch the following movies if you haven't already:
From Russia with Love
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
The Spy Who Loved Me
Licence to Kill
Goldeneye
Casino Royale
Those six movies have each of the six different actors that have played James Bond over the years. If you think all the Bond films are the same, then watching at least the first three of these movies will convince you otherwise.
MGS 3 was my first MGS game and I never regret it. I actually went with the timeline and found it to be a very rewarding course. MGS 3 is my favorite of the series as well
I dunno if I have seen Dr No, I have seen like 4 different bond films and they all seemed to be basically the same, so I stopped watching them.
by the same, I mean they always had certain scenes. Like there was always a car chase, the gadgets, the sneak in, the capture, the "your going to die but somehow escape", the re-sneak in, the shagging etc
The only other thing I know about James Bond is his favorite drink isn't a martini.
Besides the pills and cap, they are all from other MGS games as well ... not sure about the EZ gun though, I think there is an EZ gun at the start of 2 but obviously a different name.
I still don't get this point, he is exactly the same in every game. Armed to the knackers with guns but you can choose to slip by people. If I Sam Fisher my way round 1, 2 and 4 but Rambo my through 3 I am not a spy.
The only bit where I feel kind of like a spy in 3 is at the shagohod facility, where you dress up and hide the body
other than that it was pretty much the same affair.
To be honest I wouldn't even class James bond as a spy. Spies are meant to sneak in, do what they have to do then sneak out or double/triple cross people and be under cover. James Bond does the first bit then fluffs the mission, gets caught, escapes then from my recollection Rambo's the gaff and foils the plot.
I think we might have to agree to disagree on that one.
Maybe James bond started the whole love interest/femme fetal thing but that is in pretty much everything these days ... *looks at transformers, knight and day, XXX, fast and the furious and a billion others*
If you think all Bond films are the same, then I recommend you watch the following movies if you haven't already:
From Russia with Love
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
The Spy Who Loved Me
Licence to Kill
Goldeneye
Casino Royale
Those six movies have each of the six different actors that have played James Bond over the years. If you think all the Bond films are the same, then watching at least the first three of these movies will convince you otherwise.
We are getting off topic here but unless the film doesn't have those scenes I will think it's the same, pretty sure I have seen the spy who loved me and goldeneye but I dunno.
I know I have seen one with a tiny little helicopter coming out of a volcano, one with a robot dragon thing that breathes fire, one with jaws and one with the the fat Kung Lao (the guy who throws his hat) but that is probably the same film.
MGS3 Was the second one I ever played, and the best of the series IMO. It's playable as standalone, and it's not too hard to understand unlike some others *Cough* MGS2 *Cough*
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