Metal Gear Solid 4 Story Discussion Thread

[venkman]

Last chance to turn back if you don't want the game spoiled!!

















So, after three long. amazing, and eventful nights I have completed the story mode of MGS4. Kojimo was true to his word, pretty much all of the questions you have ever wondered about the MG/MGS series were answered in this game. The whole "Patriot is actually a rouge AI/SkyNet sort of thing" bugged me. It certainly was unexpected considering how MGS2 ended. I think the game did kind of cheap out at the end by not killing off Snake. They had this whole build up to how he was going to turn into a walking WMD and needed to kill himself for the good of humanity then all of a sudden said, "oops, not gonna happen."

What do you guys think we will get in the next Metal Gear game? Heck, what do you want to see in the inevitable re-release of MGS4?

Sorry for the poorly organized thoughts, it is 7 am and I have been playing MGS4 for the last 9 hours.

 

[JPB]

There was an article not too long ago, that stated that Metal Gear Solid 5 will have a newcomer, and therefore not feature Snake.

 

[Modeps]

Wait, they don't kill Snake? Why... because its too predictable?

 

[Calculator83]

Originally posted by: Modeps
Wait, they don't kill Snake? Why... because its too predictable?

NO?? It's cuz he Can't be killed. Hooray Respawn

 

[Modeps]

Originally posted by: Calculator83

Originally posted by: Modeps
Wait, they don't kill Snake? Why... because its too predictable?

NO?? It's cuz he Can't be killed. Hooray Respawn

If I recall correctly, Snake has never ever respawned... unless they've changed something in MGS4.

 

[Calculator83]

Originally posted by: Modeps

Originally posted by: Calculator83

Originally posted by: Modeps
Wait, they don't kill Snake? Why... because its too predictable?

NO?? It's cuz he Can't be killed. Hooray Respawn

If I recall correctly, Snake has never ever respawned... unless they've changed something in MGS4.

I didn't mean respawn, I ment that in essence, but U should know what a mean.

 

[Modeps]

Originally posted by: Calculator83

Originally posted by: Modeps

Originally posted by: Calculator83

Originally posted by: Modeps
Wait, they don't kill Snake? Why... because its too predictable?

NO?? It's cuz he Can't be killed. Hooray Respawn

If I recall correctly, Snake has never ever respawned... unless they've changed something in MGS4.

I didn't mean respawn, I ment that in essence, but U should know what a mean.

I have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[DjUnternull]

i believe he means another clone like big boss

 

[warcrow]

Yay! I can join this discussion thread now!

Ok, so here is a repost of my impression of the game now that I've completed it:

That's it. It's done! After clocking in 26 hours of game time I've completed the game. I'm almost sad that it's all over too. Anyway, here is my spoiler free final impression of the game.

This is easily one of the best games I've played in years. It's right up there with HL2, BioShock and GTAIV. There are so many "Oh my god!" and "Wow!" moments in this game that it should be a crime--especially if you're a fan of the series. Everything gets wrapped up quite nicely for us fans leaveing little to question. It's rock-solid confidents is apparent from the outset. It's completely done in style, with class, and is an instant classic with Kojima at his best.

Each Act is varied with it's own personality and style, moving the story along trying to explain everything while keeping the player entertained--it's brilliant! The acts continued to get better and better at an almost impossible rate. The final few hours of gameplay will have you on the edge of your seat waiting for those cutscenes to reveal a little more.

Visually speaking, there is nothing comperable anywehere. When I first began playing the game, I remember thinking to myself "Ok, Uncharted is right up there with this game". Once I worked my way through the game (somewhere around Act 2) it dawned on me that the extremely varied environments, quality of animation, cinematography of the cutscenes, voice acting, texture detail, characters, boss battles--everything--had moved the game beyond anything any other console game attempted to do. I would even argue that over all, it's visually more impressive than Crysis as well.

There are some gripes that I had with the game--several of them in fact--but they're so minor in the grand scheme of things that I dont even feel it's worth bringing up. But I will say that the newly revisted control scheme is a god send and probably the most significant revistion to the game.

If you are even slightly a MGS fan you need to play this game. It's an meaingful, classy end for an amazing series, a protagonist and very talented creator. As cheesy as it may sound, this is one for the ages.

Also, a buddy of mine was in Act 3 of his 2nd play through and lost track of the resistance guy that you're suppose to track. He switched over to Night Vision mode to find him and noticed him crossing the road. Suddenly he noticed movement in the doorway from where he came--another figure was peeking around the corner. He said he couldn't make it out initially but then noticed a hat. It turned out to be the three min-bots (black orbs with bombs) in a longcoat and top hat that appear in the later cutscene stalking the resistance guy!

Here is a cap:
http://i29.tinypic.com/210d6jp.jpg

 

[venkman]

Thats awesome! My favorite part had to be the microwave scene at the very end. I don't think i've ever mashed a button harder in my life!

 

[biggestmuff]

For me the best level was Shadow Moses Island. It was awesome to be back there and to see the environment with better graphics and with more freedom of movement and sight. Did anyone else run across the downed Hind from MGS. That was so cool. Also, in the snowfield being able to look up at the towers that Snake fought to the top of and recalling that great Hind battle from MGS.

What about SIGINT and Para-Medic being part of the Patriots. And SIGINT being the DARPA chief from MGS? Cool.

I just wish there was more actual gameplay. This MGS had to have the least amount of gameplay and the most cutscenes out of the entire series. Take the final level for example. Aren't there only 5 playable portions?

-Sneak from one end to the other of the ship
cutscenes
-boss fight
cutscenes
-walk through four large rooms
cutscens
-walk through two large rooms
cutscenes
-walk, hands-and-knees, crawl through long corridor
cutscenes
-final fight
shitload of cutscenes

 

[Modeps]

Originally posted by: biggestmuff
For me the best level was Shadow Moses Island. It was awesome to be back there and to see the environment with better graphics and with more freedom of movement and sight. Did anyone else run across the downed Hind from MGS. That was so cool. Also, in the snowfield being able to look up at the towers that Snake fought to the top of and recalling that great Hind battle from MGS.

What about SIGINT and Para-Medic being part of the Patriots. And SIGINT being the DARPA chief from MGS? Cool.

I just wish there was more actual gameplay. This MGS had to have the least amount of gameplay and the most cutscenes out of the entire series. Take the final level for example. Aren't there only 5 playable portions?

-Sneak from one end to the other of the ship
cutscenes
-walk through four large rooms
cutscens
-walk through two large rooms
cutscenes
-walk, hands-and-knees, crawl through long corridor
cutscenes
-final fight
shitload of cutscenes

WTF?!

I believe I heard someone mention that basically the last cutscene lasts 3 hours, with minimal gameplay in between things, sound right or no?

 

[biggestmuff]

Originally posted by: Modeps

Originally posted by: biggestmuff
For me the best level was Shadow Moses Island. It was awesome to be back there and to see the environment with better graphics and with more freedom of movement and sight. Did anyone else run across the downed Hind from MGS. That was so cool. Also, in the snowfield being able to look up at the towers that Snake fought to the top of and recalling that great Hind battle from MGS.

What about SIGINT and Para-Medic being part of the Patriots. And SIGINT being the DARPA chief from MGS? Cool.

I just wish there was more actual gameplay. This MGS had to have the least amount of gameplay and the most cutscenes out of the entire series. Take the final level for example. Aren't there only 5 playable portions?

-Sneak from one end to the other of the ship
cutscenes
-walk through four large rooms
cutscens
-walk through two large rooms
cutscenes
-walk, hands-and-knees, crawl through long corridor
cutscenes
-final fight
shitload of cutscenes

WTF?!

I believe I heard someone mention that basically the last cutscene lasts 3 hours, with minimal gameplay in between things, sound right or no?

I editted my post. I forgot the last B&B boss fight.

Yeah, that's about right. I think the final level plus the Epilogue is around 4 hours. I remember having 20 hours plus a few minutes when I finished the Shadow Moses Island level and at the very end of the game the stat screen said I had just over 24 hours of gameplay. Ridiculous.

 

[venkman]

Well there was that great bit of gameplay when you controlled Snake's "dream".

 

[biggestmuff]

Originally posted by: venkman
Well there was that great bit of gameplay when you controlled Snake's "dream".

That was great, too. The shoulder buttons worked as did the 'start' button which paused the game just like the PSX version.

 

[warcrow]

Originally posted by: venkman
Thats awesome! My favorite part had to be the microwave scene at the very end. I don't think i've ever mashed a button harder in my life!

Haha--I know right? :laugh:

 

[Akiba]

one thing i didn't understand is when you get to Act 4...there's no power in the place at all. however, otacon shows a footage from a security camera with vamp and naomi on it. how the heck were the cameras working before snake turned the power on? weerd.

 

[ShawnD1]

Originally posted by: warcrow

Originally posted by: venkman
Thats awesome! My favorite part had to be the microwave scene at the very end. I don't think i've ever mashed a button harder in my life!

Haha--I know right? :laugh:

That part of the game seriously pissed me off. When one of the characters said something about the room filled with microwaves, I thought I would just equip the barrel and it would be fine. Iron absorbs microwaves, so it should offer a fair amount of shielding, although the barrel itself would get incredibly hot. Nope, scrap that idea, let's run through it like a fucking idiot and see what happens.

 

[Shadow Conception]

It was to show Snake's struggle. Putting the barrel in would make sense logically... but the story is of a higher priority here, considering it's Kojima.

 

[biggestmuff]

Originally posted by: Akiba
one thing i didn't understand is when you get to Act 4...there's no power in the place at all. however, otacon shows a footage from a security camera with vamp and naomi on it. how the heck were the cameras working before snake turned the power on? weerd.

The baddies might have turned on some of the Island's systems when they went in to take the railgun.

 

[Kev]

Originally posted by: ShawnD1

Originally posted by: warcrow

Originally posted by: venkman
Thats awesome! My favorite part had to be the microwave scene at the very end. I don't think i've ever mashed a button harder in my life!

Haha--I know right? :laugh:

That part of the game seriously pissed me off. When one of the characters said something about the room filled with microwaves, I thought I would just equip the barrel and it would be fine. Iron absorbs microwaves, so it should offer a fair amount of shielding, although the barrel itself would get incredibly hot. Nope, scrap that idea, let's run through it like a fucking idiot and see what happens.

I never used the barrel once, because the idea of "equipping" a barrel just made the game too ridiculous & stupid.

 

[biggestmuff]

Originally posted by: Kev

Originally posted by: ShawnD1

Originally posted by: warcrow

Originally posted by: venkman
Thats awesome! My favorite part had to be the microwave scene at the very end. I don't think i've ever mashed a button harder in my life!

Haha--I know right? :laugh:

That part of the game seriously pissed me off. When one of the characters said something about the room filled with microwaves, I thought I would just equip the barrel and it would be fine. Iron absorbs microwaves, so it should offer a fair amount of shielding, although the barrel itself would get incredibly hot. Nope, scrap that idea, let's run through it like a fucking idiot and see what happens.

I never used the barrel once, because the idea of "equipping" a barrel just made the game too ridiculous & stupid.

Why did you even buy the game? Snake carries an entire arsenal of weapons and items in his back pocket. Pretty ridiculous.

 

[warcrow]

Last night I loaded up some of my old saves to refresh my memory of the little things for the Podcast. I took some notes and most of the stuff I noted cannot mention on there because I dont want to spoiler anything for anyone--but I can chat about it here with you guys!

Random thoughts in random order:

- In Act 2 (tailing the ressistance menber) in the final area, I ran around for an hour trying to find him. I finally realized that he had changed clothes in the beginning of the mission (for some reason it didnt register to me that he changed clothes when he ducked behind the wall--I thought it was just another guard the he dodged) after I tranqed him 5 times because he was the only guard with a weapon.

- I really enjoyed discovering the Hollywood hand-print easter egg that the team left. Lying on it and soaking up the textures for camo was fun.

- Shaking the SixAxis during Rosemary's scenes to watch her boobs jiggle is awesome.

- I played the game on Normal and I felt that that difficulty was perfect. Not too ease and not too hard. I never got frustrated at the game for unfairness.

- In Act 2, when helping the militia, there are points where you can clear out the PMCs and it's a clear victory and everyone cheers. But at a certain point (section before the mansion) the PMCs are clearly respawning along with their attack helicopter--even after I cleared out the main area. I could be wrong here (someone please correct me if you experienced otherwise) but there is some invisible trigger that just stops everything. It was unlike the other sections where you were no respawns and it felt cheap and a little out of place.

- During the "Mission Breifs" I loved the view options (full screen cutescenes or multi-view) to be able to explore the airship with the MK II. Finidng items that were actual beneficial later on and seeing what Sunny was up to.

- I really feel that the game should have ended after the first credits roll. Everything after that felt like it was an unnecessary "twist". I really love the game and the ending (pre-credit roll)--just not the last part.

- Playing the theme songs from all the MGS games during the final fight (and showing the songs name, game they played in and composer) was classy and clever.

- I was a little disappointed that Snake was nothing but a pawn throughout the entire series--same with Otacon. I know that this was a common theme throughout the series, but I was hoping that it would turn around by the end of MGS4.



Questions:
1) Big Boss wanted to make peace with Snake at the end, I get that, but I dont understand why he would want to do this in-person knowing that coming into direct contact with him would kill him.

2) Did Vamp know what was going on too?

3) Anyone else already feeling the urge to play through the game once more?

4) Did anyone get 50 CQC and 50 Knife stuns for the Altair costume (Assassin's Creed)?

 

[JAH]

I finished it last night on normal and doing a second play through on Big Boss Hard right now. I love this game - best that I've ever play. It's more than just a game, it's an entertainment experience that's worth every penny.

I find it interesting that in MGS2, people were bitching about the lack of playtime as Snake and Raiden weren't interesting, but now they made Raiden so badass and you can't play him! I think Kojima did that on purpose..."look what you have rejected!" ;P

I never had issue with Raiden though and I hope he or his son (in the far future) is the lead in the next generation of Metal Gear games. Afterall, Raiden was the lead in the best selling MGS game.

 

[imported_Imp]

Originally posted by: warcrow

Also, a buddy of mine was in Act 3 of his 2nd play through and lost track of the resistance guy that you're suppose to track. He switched over to Night Vision mode to find him and noticed him crossing the road. Suddenly he noticed movement in the doorway from where he came--another figure was peeking around the corner. He said he couldn't make it out initially but then noticed a hat. It turned out to be the three min-bots (black orbs with bombs) in a longcoat and top hat that appear in the later cutscene stalking the resistance guy!

Here is a cap:
http://i29.tinypic.com/210d6jp.jpg

I saw that guy after I 'lost' (read: shot and killed after he saw me) the resistance guy near the helicopter searchlight area. I thought he was my next "contact" so didn't bother to get up close. Wonder what would have happened if I wasted it.

I hated the button-mash in the microwave area corridor. Too much mashing. However, the split screen thing where they showed what was happening everywhere else simultaneously was simply amazing.

The barrel thing really made it a bit stupid. I could put up with the personal armoury hidden in one of Snake's pockets, but somehow the barrel just came off too retarded.

Favourite part had to be playing as the mech. Act 2 in Peru was also great.