A fairly straightforward question here. After getting the excellent Dishonored and Deus Ex: Human Revolution for Christmas, I found I apparently have some deep, latent love of stealth games. I was waiting on the new Thief but, after hearing a tidal wave of bad things about, I decided that maybe I should wait and investigate some other options - like Metal Gear.
Except... there's no possible way I could play all the Metal Gear games that are out, much less afford to buy them. So, I was wondering, where should I start with this series? What game serves as a good starting point, what games are must-plays, and what games should be avoided? And what should a new-comer expect from Metal Gear?
I'd say either MGS3 or the first Metal Gear are probably the best. With the former being the first game chronologically in the Metal Gear timeline, and the latter being the first game in the series, they're better for newcomers as you don't need to understand everything that's gone on in other games in the series.
As for what games are must haves, I'd say most of them are, if you end up liking the first one you play. The only ones that you don't need are Metal Gear Acid 1 and 2, since they're on a different timeline to the rest.
It's where I started and it's the most down to earth game in the series, so the craziness won't immediately ***** slap you across the face. MGS3 might be the first chronologically, but a lot of the fun of these games is being in on the joke, which will only happen if you play them in release order.
MGS 1, 2 & 3 are all must plays. you should be able to find them really cheap, and all will work on a PS2, and 1 & 2 got PC releases too (not to mention you could potentially play 3 on a PC, although using less than legitimate means)
4 is good, but i never bothered finishing it because m PS3 data got wiped and i didn't have it in me to start again.
in terms of preparation, you can't play these games in short bursts, you never know when a cutscene will come around and they.... well, they're movies. oh and the boss battles are pretty amazing throughout, have fun
You'd probably be fine starting with any, with the possible exception of MGS 4 (which I haven't played). The 3rd game is the earliest chronologically, and also probably the best in terms of game mechanics. All of the games hold up perfectly well though, so you could start with the 1st game if you really want to be in on all of the references.
Does anyone know why Guns of The Patriot is still just a PS3 exclusive, by the way? I've been hoping for that game to release on anything else since the day it was announced, at this point I'm almost ready to give in and buy an entire console just to play it.
Get the HD or Legacy collections. The former contains MGS2, 3 and Peace Walker and the latter contains all of those plus MGS1 and 4. It should also be noted that the two MSX games, Metal Gear 1 and 2, are included with every version of MGS3 since Subsistence so the Legacy collection includes the entire canon franchise to date except Ground Zeroes.
As for where to begin, MGS3 has, in my opinion, the best overall gameplay in the series. The original PS2 version has a fixed camera, but the Subsistence release and the HD version both have a very good, controllable camera, so that's probably the best place to start. It's fairly different to the first two, though, so it shouldn't ruin the experience of either of those.
MGS3 is a lot slower, built on preparation and planning, like other stealth games and includes a really cool camoflauge feature where you need to try and blend into the environment because normal cover isn't that common. MGS1 and 2 are much faster paced, with the stealth basically boiling down to three things: don't leave footprints, don't run on grates and stay out of the line of sight. Unlike other stealth games, they allow you to sprint from cover to cover without being heard, and even let you sprint up behind the guards for an attack. You'll ever be heard if you run on grates or through puddles (or fire an unsilenced gun).
I actually started playing metal gear from portable ops. After that game my love on the franchise grew and I went straight to metal gear solid 4 from there. I wish I had jumped on metal gear solid 3 instead...
Does anyone know why Guns of The Patriot is still just a PS3 exclusive, by the way? I've been hoping for that game to release on anything else since the day it was announced, at this point I'm almost ready to give in and buy an entire console just to play it.
AFAIK it's because of its file size. It would have taken several DVDs for it to be ported to the 360 (one for each chapter, maybe, since that's how many installations it took at launch on PS3). Early on, Kojima was claiming that the 50GB dual-layer Blu-ray wasn't big enough but I think the final size was a little upwards of 30 GB.
As to why it's so big... I dunno. I can't imagine stuff couldn't be compressed, or used more efficiently but maybe they just can't be bothered with the work.
I started with Metal Gear. On the NES. It was one of the better 8-bit games of the day, and it was actually a fairly bad port from the original version. Then I moved on to the American release of Metal Gear 2. Eventually I did play the original versions (fan translated.) Why couldn't THOSE games have gotten a MGS-style update and re-release. Snake's hand to hand battle with Frank Jeager in the minefield in Zanzabar would be EPIC if re-rendered Twin Snakes style.
BTW, I'm not suggesting you go back that far to start with. MGS has a decent backstory log that gives you enough of the details from the 8-bit era. I gotta agree with start with twin-snakes on the gamecube. If you don't have one you can probably get a gamecube and MGS:tTS for little enough to be totally worth it. From then on the collection is fine.
Does anyone know why Guns of The Patriot is still just a PS3 exclusive, by the way? I've been hoping for that game to release on anything else since the day it was announced, at this point I'm almost ready to give in and buy an entire console just to play it.
AFAIK it's because of its file size. It would have taken several DVDs for it to be ported to the 360 (one for each chapter, maybe, since that's how many installations it took at launch on PS3). Early on, Kojima was claiming that the 50GB dual-layer Blu-ray wasn't big enough but I think the final size was a little upwards of 30 GB.
As to why it's so big... I dunno. I can't imagine stuff couldn't be compressed, or used more efficiently but maybe they just can't be bothered with the work.
If I remember right from what I was told, it is because MGS4 has uncompressed audio, why is why its so large and needs installing, but thats only what I have been told.
As for OP, I think starting with MGS1 is the way to go. Because the MGS games all feature different mechanics, with MGS being the most basic, I think it'd be best to start there instead of 3, then moving to 1 where half the features are missing that 3 had.
I personally went MGS3, MGS2, MGS4, Peace Walker. I've never actually played 1.
I think MGS3 is probably the best place to start. MGS1 gameplay is a bit antiquated. Not too much of the story relies on events in other series' and it contains a lot of the very best moments of the series. It will feel a bit different to Human Revolution though.
After that point, or even before it, I'd watch a Let's Play/read a brief plot summary of MGS1 (or I guess play it). The comedy abridged series might give you enough of a recap.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80xVAWxG1fQ
The important things are to know who Big Boss, Solid Snake, Liquid Snake, Otacon, Ocelot, and Meryl are. As well as what Outer Heaven is. The series is famous for retconning so it's actually really not important to fuss over the details. It's the broad strokes of the franchise that actually make sense.
I'll do a rough recap of those people and things here, although remember I've never actually played 1. I don't think you should read it now before you understand how awesome the lunacy of this franchise is.
Big Boss was one of the most famous and respected soldiers of his time. He was so good that Les Enfant Terribles was a project that aimed to clone him and recreate his abilities. Liquid Snake and Solid Snake are the offspring of this project.
However his relationships with the rest of the world soured and he felt betrayed. He tried to set-up an independent country for mercenaries called Outer Heaven, with it's own nuclear deterrents so that the ex-soldiers who joined him didn't need to fear being controlled by governments again.
Solid Snake was the operative of a covert secret service sent in to stop Big Boss' plans to create Outer Heaven. He's the protagonist of MGS1 and 4 and heavily involved in 2.
Otacon was working on designing Metal Gears, a mobile nuclear missile platform, without being aware of it's true purposes. Snake found him in MGS1 and since then they've worked together to take-down Metal Gears.
Liquid Snake is Solid Snakes twin-brother (Although they sound and look nothing like each other. It's Metal Gear, roll with it.) He followed in his father's footsteps trying to recreate some kind of Outer Heaven and Solid Snake took him down.
Ocelot is the worlds greatest revolver shooter, torturer and backstabber extraordinare. Every game in the franchise ends with and Ocelot was working with the other side all along! The dude is so treacherous that he succeeds because no-one else can follow the network of double, triple, quadruple, quintuple crosses he has running. His one constant is his adoration for the Big Boss. But no-one else can say what his plan truly is. His arm got chopped off in MGS1 and he appeared transplanted Liquid Snake's dead arm in it's place.
Meryl was Snake's love interest in MGS1
MGS1, Snake was sent in to stop Liquid from doing the Outer Heaven nuclear deterrent thing. Everyone betrayed him, Liquid died, the Metal Gear was destroyed but Snake went solo afterwards
Then play MGS2, then MGS4, then Peace Walker. Peace Walker is basically MGS5 and you could play it before 4 even, it's a direct sequel to 3.
The other tip is to understand that the franchise is designed by a madman and to roll with it. Don't let things bother you, understand this is a man who creates a person who can walk on water, drinks blood and is immortal but calls him Vamp because he's sexually promiscuous. And then he's worried the player might find this a bit ridiculous so he explains that 'nanomachines did it'.
And he is the worlds greatest hide and seek player because he hides things outside of the rules of the game. There's a boss where you need to switch controller ports, he hides an important radio frequency on the box of the game itself. There's a 'find the missing person mission' where the person is actually hiding in a completely different side mission. There's a boss where if you get to him and then don't play the game for a while he'll die of old age.
These are the games where you can trick a boss by wearing the mask of his lover and sucker punch him. The amount of easter eggs are ludicrous. And despite all this silliness it has some of the best straight out dramatic moments of any game to date.
Err, the chronological order of those four games is 3 -> 1 -> 2 -> 4.
To the OP I would recommend the first one first if you can because it is the least crazy story-wise. If you want a more modern game then play 3 first. MGS 2 and 4 will not make any sense without playing the previous games since they heavily reference them in the story. Personally, I feel that MGS 2's story is a mess and the weakest in the series but necessary to know in order to understand MGS 4.
Normally, I'd say just start with Metal Gear Solid 1 (You can completely ignore Metal Gear 1 and Metal Gear 2, they're not great and don't matter much plotwise), but if you specifically want a good stealth game? You're best starting with MGS3. Good stealth that requires you to watch your environment, pay attention to dudes.
MGS4 has very similar stealth, but it's a lot more combat oriented, so there's that I guess.
A fairly straightforward question here. After getting the excellent Dishonored and Deus Ex: Human Revolution for Christmas, I found I apparently have some deep, latent love of stealth games. I was waiting on the new Thief but, after hearing a tidal wave of bad things about, I decided that maybe I should wait and investigate some other options - like Metal Gear.
Except... there's no possible way I could play all the Metal Gear games that are out, much less afford to buy them. So, I was wondering, where should I start with this series? What game serves as a good starting point, what games are must-plays, and what games should be avoided? And what should a new-comer expect from Metal Gear?
The first game and then go with release order cuz each sequel gets better in terms of gameplay. If you go in chronological order, you might have trouble adjusting yourself.
I would have to say start with 3 first specifically any ports to the PS3 or Xbox 360 though if you are getting the PS2 copy then get Subsistance not Snake Eater the reason is that Subsistance lets you have control over the camera making. The story to both is the same but basically Subsistance was released when the rest of the development team wanted to have the player control the camera and Kojima didn't so once the game became successful a year later they did a re-release.
I know. I was saying either "play them in release order or play them in the order of 2 -> 1 -> 3 -> 4"
The latter order is just a creative one, I feel playing MGS2 first reveals more about Snake's character, which makes MGS1 easier to get into.
I feel that MGS 2's story is a mess and the weakest in the series but necessary to know in order to understand MGS 4.
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