Metal Gear Solid 4 review from a first-time MGS player

[nomore]

First of all I never played any of the MGS games before.
However I bought this game few weeks ago because of all the reviews on the gaming sites and because of the comments here.
and I wanted to know whether this is one of those titles that delivers on the hype.

I watched all of the cutscenes and everything, and it took me 23 hours total to finish the game.

The game starts really slow at the beginning, and I felt like I was playing splinter cell at first.
I didn't mind hiding from enemies or moving slowly, but the action doesn't really start until you enter the Militia Safe house.

There are parts where you can play like "Rambo" in the game, but there are parts where you have to be very careful or you will get killed right away.
Like I killed a militamen by accident once and then everyone was trying to kill me all of a sudden which makes the game a lot tougher.

Even though I liked Militia Safe house mission, the game shines at larger environments like in the streets because you have more freedom.

The part where you meet with Rat Patrol and then start fighting with FROGs is very exciting and non-stop action, this is where I used every kinds of gun I have and so on.
and to be quite honest if I fought against FROGs in the whole game, that would have been enough.

During Act 2, there is even more action against PMC soldiers and it goes on for a long time.
This is why I loved Metal Gear Solid 4, pretty much just like Farcry/Crysis, you need to strategize before you attack especially during the facility mission.
and if you are not successful, you need to find different approaches and so on.

Therefore as a pc gamer, I am pretty much in love with this game and this is the first time I thought the controls for a console shooter game was done quite well.

There are also other things that I liked such as "Boss" fights even though some of them are tough, they are quite good.
I also enjoyed the Vehicle mission in act two, and the fighting against Gekko is quite intense.
but you can't destroy them until you get the rail gun towards the end of the game.

you also need to do little bit of tracking in act 2 and in act 3 you need to follow a resistance member without being spotted which was really cool.

But the best part of Act 3 was the Motorcycle chase mission, I felt like I was part of an action movie. priceless moment.

At the beginning of Act 4, I was like WHAT THE **** happened to the graphics? then I realized I was playing MGS1 and not MGS4.
Act 4 can get little bit tough, but REX escape was a great moment. I felt like I was playing Riddick for a second.
and the fight against two huge machines Rex and Ray was quite chaotic since there was a lot of explosion and so on.

Act 5 = the final act was intense, sad and dramatic. but the action never stops. the story telling is way too long here at the end and I didn't get everything.

But I really can't find anything negative about this game.
If you don't like having a story in the game, then skip all of the cut scenes.
Sometimes there are funny comments in the cutscenes like you don't need to change the disc since you have bluray now.

I see myself playing this game few more times, not the whole thing but there are amazing missions with lots of action that you really want to try each weapon you have in this game.
you would be surprised with the number of items and weapons in this game.
it is quite mind blowing.

I was surprised that it took me 23 hours total to finish the game though, since here and in some of the user reviews people mentioned going over 30 hours quite easily.

anyway, at the end I felt like this game is worth more than $45 I paid for it.
I guess I will try the multiplayer soon.

[kyleb]

Originally Posted by nomore

Therefore as a pc gamer, I am pretty much in love with this game and this is the first time I thought the controls for a console shooter game was done quite well.

Huh, I can't think of a shooter with worse controls.

Originally Posted by nomore

Sometimes there are funny comments in the cutscenes like you don't need to change the disc since you have bluray now.

Even funny becuase I can't imagine anyone would not rather just quickly swap disks to change chapters rather than having to wait minutes for each chapter to instal every time you chose to play a different one.

Regardless, the game is still a masterpiece, as are the previous games in the series.

[sittal]

Konami did that to keep the install to under 5GB.

[kyleb]

Originally Posted by sittal

Konami did that to keep the install to under 5GB.

Sure, but my point is that the supposed benfit of Blu-ray there is a bit of a farce, as it was more convient back when we just swaped the disks and didn't have to wait for any instal at all.

And yeah, Konami also could have given us the option to instal the whole game at once, but I doubt Sony would have liked MGS4 showing off how small the PS3's HDDs really are.

[nomore]

Originally Posted by kyleb

Huh, I can't think of a shooter with worse controls.

huh?
the controls made a console shooter game playable for the first time.

it was better than Gears of war because you didn't have to or was forced to use the "cover system".
maybe because you are are not a hardcore PC gamer, you don't feel like I do.

Originally Posted by kyleb

Even funny becuase I can't imagine anyone would not rather just quickly swap disks to change chapters rather than having to wait minutes for each chapter to instal every time you chose to play a different one.

Regardless, the game is still a masterpiece, as are the previous games in the series.

that was odd, but it didn't bother me since I was checking my e-mails in the meantime.

[Akumajo]

Originally Posted by kyleb

Sure, but my point is that the supposed benfit of Blu-ray there is a bit of a farce, as it was more convient back when we just swaped the disks and didn't have to wait for any instal at all.

Thats because back you had to swap discs you were using CD-Rom media as MGS 2 and 3 were each one DVD.

And yeah, Konami also could have given us the option to instal the whole game at once, but I doubt Sony would have liked MGS4 showing off how small the PS3's HDDs really are.

Well if you think installing the entire MGS4 game is a great idea its doubtfull anyone is actually going to go out and to it unless they got a larger optional HDD however just like Microsoft is waiting until after they release their 60GB 360 consoles to enable their install the entire game option on certain games it would not be such a great idea for someone still having a 20GB drive.

[kyleb]

I don't follow. You don't need to use the cover system in MGS4 because it's cover system is clunky and slow, making it pretty much useless. How is that anything but a strike against the controls?

And I don't see how you came up with the idea that I am anything but a hardcore PC gamer. While I am a hardcore GTA4 Cops & Crooks gamer at the moment, but I spent far more game time on PCs rather than consoles over my years, and will happly trade in my 360 version of GTA4 toward the PC version whenever it might appear.

[nomore]

Originally Posted by kyleb

I don't follow. You don't need to use the cover system in MGS4 because it's cover system is clunky and slow, making it pretty much useless. How is that anything but a strike against the controls?

now I am confused.
you don't need the cover system in MGS4 since the controls are designed better for a shooter game.

but at the same time if you need to use cover, you can do it quite easily. I used it mostly for enemies that are not that close. (and you can still be in cover without sticking to a wall or an object by moving little bit and by changing the hand you hold the gun with or when you lay on the floor as well)
you don't really need to use the cover when the enemies are close to you, because of CQC and because the aiming is flawless and you don't need to zoom in short range.

Originally Posted by kyleb

And I don't see how you came up with the idea that I am anything but a hardcore PC gamer. While I am a hardcore GTA4 Cops & Crooks gamer at the moment, but I spent far more game time on PCs rather than consoles over my years, and will happly trade in my 360 version of GTA4 toward the PC version whenever it might appear.

If you are a PC gamer, I don't quite understand how you found the controls worse then.
I got a lot of headshots and aiming was better, feeling and the control of the guns are quite amazing as well.
switching between guns,items and then going CQC is also excellent.
I did everything very smoothly. I was quite impressed with that.
the way they assigned buttons also impressed me. it was quite user friendly and made everything quite smooth.

I don't want to give a lot of credit to proning even a lot of shooter games don't have that functionality. but it really made a lot of difference, maybe that is why I felt more comfortable.

[Hannibal Lecter]

Was a decent, low budget movie. As a game, I could have used more.....game.

[nomore]

Originally Posted by Hannibal Lecter

Was a decent, low budget movie. As a game, I could have used more.....game.

I don't agree with that.
story telling was done differently compared to other games, but it is still a game and there is more than enough.

I will quote myself and state this again:

Originally Posted by nomore

If you don't like having a story in the game, then skip all of the cut scenes.

[Oui]

I liked MGS 4 on a whole but the convoluted way the plot unfolded just annoyed me.

MGS 1 and MGS 3 both were superior to me. The plot in these games didn't get in the way or end up as confusing. I also prefered how these games were one long stealth mission compared to MGS4's 5 acts.

Personally I wish MGS4 was "just another"... but as the last, its overly keen on jamming in revelations and plot at the expense of (IMO) a more balanced experience.

[mabran]

Originally Posted by nomore

I don't agree with that.
story telling was done differently compared to other games, but it is still a game and there is more than enough.

I will quote myself and state this again:

I actually had a chance to finally play this game and I will say it is very well done (the actual gameplay), but to me a game should not have more cutscenes than gameplay. People can say "well you don't know the francise" and I say to them if I want to to watch a movie I will but I don't like my game ruined by extreme amounts of cutscenes and that is what made me walk away from this.

Cutscenes are meant to drive the story along not bring the gameplay to a grinding halt while one watches lengthy movie shorts.

I wanted more gameplay from this and I gave it a shot and was disappointed with the lack of gameplay.

As for the controls you are one of the few I have heard say the PS controller being good at a FPS. I was a die hard Mouse and Keyboard guy and the first Halo made me appreciate the controller for a FPS but the XBOX and 360 controllers are designed for that type of game and the PS controllers are not. I can sit for hours on a FPS with the XBOX but after 20 minutes or so on a PS controller I am cramped and in excruciating pain. I'm sure it works for some but one seldom reads The words PS controller and FPS in favorable comment.

What gameplay I experienced was very well done so I'm not upset about that as it was very good but I am disappointed with the cutscenes disrupting the gameplay for long periods of time.

[Oui]

Originally Posted by mabran

What gameplay I experienced was very well done so I'm not upset about that as it was very good but I am disappointed with the cutscenes disrupting the gameplay for long periods of time.

Even as a MGS fan I concur. In other MGS the cutscenes were also more relevent to the mission and as such flowed with the gameplay a lot better.

[nomore]

Originally Posted by mabran

I actually had a chance to finally play this game and I will say it is very well done (the actual gameplay), but to me a game should not have more cutscenes than gameplay. People can say "well you don't know the francise" and I say to them if I want to to watch a movie I will but I don't like my game ruined by extreme amounts of cutscenes and that is what made me walk away from this.

Cutscenes are meant to drive the story along not bring the gameplay to a grinding halt while one watches lengthy movie shorts.

I wanted more gameplay from this and I gave it a shot and was disappointed with the lack of gameplay.

I was eating something during the cutscenes so it was a nice break for me.
but if I was going to play the game non-stop that would have bothered the hell out of me probably.

btw, did you finish the game?
just asking because get ready for a lot more cutscenes at the end.

I am wondering whether they will sell an expansion pack for MGS4 or something to get more gameplay out of it and to earn more profit.

Originally Posted by mabran

As for the controls you are one of the few I have heard say the PS controller being good at a FPS. I was a die hard Mouse and Keyboard guy and the first Halo made me appreciate the controller for a FPS but the XBOX and 360 controllers are designed for that type of game and the PS controllers are not. I can sit for hours on a FPS with the XBOX but after 20 minutes or so on a PS controller I am cramped and in excruciating pain. I'm sure it works for some but one seldom reads The words PS controller and FPS in favorable comment.

What gameplay I experienced was very well done so I'm not upset about that as it was very good but I am disappointed with the cutscenes disrupting the gameplay for long periods of time.

I tried FPS on gamecube and xbox 360 before buying a PS3.
I felt that during most of the console FPS, they force you to use the auto-aim(that depends on the game itself or the camera view in certain games or FOV)

since I didn't own a xbox 360, I tried out FPS games in stores or when with friends. and they just didn't feel natural to me, I didn't feel comfortable at all.
I was like give me my mouse/keyboard, all of these games suck.

all of those things apply to "007 everything or nothing" on the gamecube as well, even though I loved that game a lot.

MGS4 is the first console FPS game I felt like I was actually playing a PC game or at least the experience was close to it.
Even when I was a sniper, the controller didn't bother me. I managed to aim fast and effecient still.
The proning and few other things may have helped me feel comfortable as well since it annoys me to hell when a shooter game doesn't allow you to prone.

I hope I am not the only person in the world that thought PS is good for FPS because I loved the controls during Ratchet and Clank with the aiming and so on.

[Hannibal Lecter]

A 10 minute marriage proposal scene is ridiculous. About as lame as having to hear Otacon cry so much.

I normally do not mind cutscenes and love a good story. This movie just did not do it for me.

[mabran]

Originally Posted by nomore

I was eating something during the cutscenes so it was a nice break for me.
but if I was going to play the game non-stop that would have bothered the hell out of me probably.

btw, did you finish the game?
just asking because get ready for a lot more cutscenes at the end.

I am wondering whether they will sell an expansion pack for MGS4 or something to get more gameplay out of it and to earn more profit.


I tried FPS on gamecube and xbox 360 before buying a PS3.
I felt that during most of the console FPS, they force you to use the auto-aim(that depends on the game itself or the camera view in certain games or FOV)

since I didn't own a xbox 360, I tried out FPS games in stores or when with friends. and they just didn't feel natural to me, I didn't feel comfortable at all.
I was like give me my mouse/keyboard, all of these games suck.

all of those things apply to "007 everything or nothing" on the gamecube as well, even though I loved that game a lot.

MGS4 is the first console FPS game I felt like I was actually playing a PC game or at least the experience was close to it.
Even when I was a sniper, the controller didn't bother me. I managed to aim fast and effecient still.
The proning and few other things may have helped me feel comfortable as well since it annoys me to hell when a shooter game doesn't allow you to prone.

I hope I am not the only person in the world that thought PS is good for FPS because I loved the controls during Ratchet and Clank with the aiming and so on.

I got about 12 hours or so time logged with the game so no I didn't finish it but Like I said what gameplay I experienced was very good. If it's worse toward the end with the cutscenes than I'm glad I didn't go any further because I probably would have thrown the controller threw the TV in frustration.

I'm all for short sutscenes to move the story along but damn this game was frustrating as just as I would get into it , BAM there is another frickin cutscene to totally take me out of my zone.

As for the controller it's personal preference. I'm sure you're not the only one who has good experiences with the PS controller but the most common complaint I hear is the placement of the analog sticks being the biggest problem which makes the controller fit not so natural in the hands and causing cramps(for many of us with big hands it's torture).

[wc326]

BEST Game ever made ON console period

[nomore]

Originally Posted by mabran

I got about 12 hours or so time logged with the game so no I didn't finish it but Like I said what gameplay I experienced was very good. If it's worse toward the end with the cutscenes than I'm glad I didn't go any further because I probably would have thrown the controller threw the TV in frustration.

I'm all for short sutscenes to move the story along but damn this game was frustrating as just as I would get into it , BAM there is another frickin cutscene to totally take me out of my zone.

where did you stop? or what Act did you stop?
I am just asking because after act 3, there are a lot of non-stop action with very short cutscenes.

I don't know whether you experienced the "Split-screen" action but that is another thing that might bother you.

grab your lunch, your desert and popcorn, then continue with the game. and you may not have any problems.

Originally Posted by mabran

As for the controller it's personal preference. I'm sure you're not the only one who has good experiences with the PS controller but the most common complaint I hear is the placement of the analog sticks being the biggest problem which makes the controller fit not so natural in the hands and causing cramps(for many of us with big hands it's torture).

I think my hands are normal size as far as I can tell.
both of my thumbs align perfectly on the top of the analog sticks.
and I didn't get any cramps so far. I thought this is one of the most comfortable controllers I used.
both sides of the controller stays inside of my palms and I don't feel any pressure or any discomfort there as well.

[nomore]

Originally Posted by Hannibal Lecter

A 10 minute marriage proposal scene is ridiculous. About as lame as having to hear Otacon cry so much.

I thought that was very lame as well.

did you watch all of the credits? and then wait for the conversation at the end?

edit: I got the order of things confused he said that he is going to quit smoking, I was surprised the story didn't just end.

[FX-Overclocking]

Any plans to release it in 360 or PC? I have no intentions of paying up for a PS3 for just this game. Too bad.

[Hannibal Lecter]

Originally Posted by nomore

I thought that was very lame as well.

did you watch all of the credits? and then wait for the conversation at the end?

edit: I got the order of things confused he said that he is going to quit smoking, I was surprised the story didn't just end.

Yeah, I watched every part of it. I did not want to miss anything. I thought there were a lot of unnecessary cut scenes. Then they try to cram all the important stuff into an hour movie at the end.

I probably would not give the game such a hard time if it weren't for the people claiming it the best game ever. The game play was fun, but it needed more and the movies were too long and sometimes corny. I only play games in short increments and having to sit through the long movies took all my play time up.

Every MG game I played, before this one, I loved(all the way back to Nintendo). MGS4 just made me want to play so I could finish it and trade it away.

[ukHazard]

Originally Posted by Hannibal Lecter

Every MG game I played, before this one, I loved(all the way back to Nintendo). MGS4 just made me want to play so I could finish it and trade it away.

Tried the MSX ones? They're canon as opposed to the NES iterations.

I finished MGS1 and loved it, and I have 2 / Substance for both the PC and Xbox, neither of which are compatible with my Vista setup or 360 Kinda hit a brick wall personally.

[Hannibal Lecter]

Originally Posted by ukHazard

Tried the MSX ones? They're canon as opposed to the NES iterations.

I finished MGS1 and loved it, and I have 2 / Substance for both the PC and Xbox, neither of which are compatible with my Vista setup or 360 Kinda hit a brick wall personally.

I have not. What are the differences?

[Ristogod]

Originally Posted by nomore

and the fighting against Gekko is quite intense.
but you can't destroy them until you get the rail gun towards the end of the game.

You can take them out with the M4 and the shotgun attachment. Rail gun not required.

[Akumajo]

Originally Posted by FX-Overclocking

Any plans to release it in 360 or PC? I have no intentions of paying up for a PS3 for just this game. Too bad.

Then let me be the first person to reccomend that you purchase a Sony Playstation 3 MGS4 bundle console as it actually includes the game and later in November you can pick up Resistance 2 and Killzone 2 as they both are PS3 exclusive first person shooters that boast 8 player online coop, 60 player MP and for KZ2 32 player MP.

Then you will have three big budget games that have had alot of work put into them to ensure their best possible quality.

Other than that I guess MGS4 can be beaten as it is but there are also harder difficulties and the fact that the player needs to force himself to play stealth mode (as its left up to you) for most of the game and it can be a very different game.

[FX-Overclocking]

Is the online play free or pay like the 360's?

[Hannibal Lecter]

free

[kyleb]

Originally Posted by nomore

now I am confused.
you don't need the cover system in MGS4 since the controls are designed better for a shooter game.

Nah, you don't need to use cover because, at least on normal difficulty most of the game, it takes around half a minute for the enemies to kill you even if you just stand still in the wide open and let them shoot at you without defending youself at all.

Originally Posted by nomore

but at the same time if you need to use cover, you can do it quite easily.

Try it online were people are actually shooting to kill and the absurd time it takes to fire from cover will more often than not get you killed before you even fire a shot.

As for other controls, there is the antiquated scrolling weapon and item selection which is far less efficient that the radial menus used in most modern console games with large inventories. Granted, the fact in single player the game pauses while you scroll makes it functional, but it is a mess online when you want to bring out a weapon or item that isn't in a quickswitch slot.

And sure, I get mad headshots in MGS4 too, but not because aiming at head is any easier, but rather because a single headshot from any weapon kills instantly while a hit anywhere else generally does very llittle damage. So you spray twoards the head and a single bullet kills.

Seems to me you aprecation isn't really for the controls of MGS4 themself, but rather how forgiving the game is in letting you fumble with those controls.

[The_KELRaTH]

So what makes MSG4 much better using a gamepad compared to other FPS games?

I purchased Resistance and Cod4 and found them quite frustrating and wished I'd played Cod4 on the PC. Since then I've not purchased another console FPS game and stuck to mostly motorsports titles, a few arcade and strategy games from the Sony store, Warhawk, Assassins Creed (which I thought worked better on the PS3 than PC) and Eye of Judgement.

[nomore]

Originally Posted by Hannibal Lecter

Yeah, I watched every part of it. I did not want to miss anything. I thought there were a lot of unnecessary cut scenes. Then they try to cram all the important stuff into an hour movie at the end.

I probably would not give the game such a hard time if it weren't for the people claiming it the best game ever. The game play was fun, but it needed more and the movies were too long and sometimes corny. I only play games in short increments and having to sit through the long movies took all my play time up.

Every MG game I played, before this one, I loved(all the way back to Nintendo). MGS4 just made me want to play so I could finish it and trade it away.

the conversation with "Big Mama" was just too long.
Thank god I was doing other things at the same time and the motorcycle chase mission was afterwards.

Originally Posted by Ristogod

You can take them out with the M4 and the shotgun attachment. Rail gun not required.

you can only hurt them in the legs with M4, machine gun.. etc. and they fall down but they can get up.
I shot 5 rockets at a Gekko and nothing really kills them other than the Railgun.
Am I missing something????