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GAF Votes: Metal Gear Solid series rankings (Voting ends Feb. 20)

rvy

Banned
My mind is puzzled as to how people are able to put MGS 4 and MGS 2 in the same top 3. Do you completely disregard that MGS 4 shits on MGS 2's story and characters or is it something else?
 

ultron87

Member
My mind is puzzled as to how people are able to put MGS 4 and MGS 2 in the same top 3. Do you completely disregard that MGS 4 shits on MGS 2's story and characters or is it something else?

I think a vote with both those in the top 3 is a vote for "batshit insanity" in general.
 

Frost_Ace

Member
My mind is puzzled as to how people are able to put MGS 4 and MGS 2 in the same top 3. Do you completely disregard that MGS 4 shits on MGS 2's story and characters or is it something else?

Well it shits on paramedic, zero and sigint too :p
 

hateradio

The Most Dangerous Yes Man
  1. MGS1: I played this game hundreds of times and listened to every dialogue I could find. It was the love of my life as a teenager.
  2. MGS3: This game feels like an MGS1 revision. It has similar structure to the first, but has a very different style at the same time.
  3. MGS2: I hated this game at first. Damn you Raiden!
 

black_13

Banned
ah fuck, i just started playing HD and only half way through MGS2 so far. Wish I'd seen this earlier so I could finish them all again and properly vote since its been a couple years since I played any.
But going by my favorites in the past...

1.MGS3
2.MGS2
3.MGS4
 

Danny-Boy

Member
1.MGS3
2.MGS1
3.MGS2
4.MGS4
5.MGS:pW


Portable Ops is crap. Kojima had nothing to do with it and it shows. Love the fact he ignored it when writing/directing peace walker.
 

ScOULaris

Member
I guess this is a good a time as any to submit my votes. ;)

1. MGS1; I have played every game in the series countless times, but the first one continues to impress me the most to this day. The impact that this game had upon release can't be understated, and I still feel that it's the best in the series. The writing and voice acting arguably peaked with MGS1, with its tightly paced plot of espionage, action sequences, and some of the most memorable boss fights in gaming. The soundtrack is also something that I think sets MGS1 apart. The music in every Metal Gear game is fantastic, but the soundtrack in the first game so perfectly matched the decidedly dark, gritty atmosphere that Shadow Moses conveyed. MGS1 was the product of Kojima at his best: working within the perfect amount of constraints.


2. MGS3; While this game fell short in a number of areas (anime-inspired bosses with little character, fumbling through menu screens, awkward original camera system... etc.), credit has to be given where it's due. MGS3 was yet another bold move for Kojima and Co. after the bait-and-switch that was MGS2, going back in time for an origin story rather than attempting to follow up MGS2's confusing plot-line. We ended up being treated to zany Bond/Rambo tribute with countless memorable moments, one incredible boss fight (The End), truly remarkable environments (both jungle and military compounds), and just an overall great sense of pace and variety. In the end, this was an origin story that mattered. We got to live out the mission that made Big Boss who he was, disillusionment with the government and all.


3. MGS4; I know the game gets a ton of hate around here (some of it deserved), but I'd be lying if I said I didn't really enjoy the series' swan song. Sure, some of the plot holes and retcons are egregiously bad, but I can't help but love the total package. I loved seeing all of these classic characters brought into the HD era with remarkable fidelity (wtf @ you people saying it had bad graphics?). The voice acting inched closer to the standard that MGS1 set than any other entry in the series, the first two chapters were brilliant from a stealth gameplay perspective, and there were some genuinely emotional moments (microwave hallway, security camera falling and breaking in Chapter 4, "Snake had a hard life...") sprinkled throughout the game's bombastic, globetrotting adventure. MGS4 is flawed but still very much a worthy send-off to an amazing series.


With regard to MGS2, I like what Kojima was trying to do with the story and its ideas, but the execution was too lacking IMO for it to place in my Top 3. Too many long, drawn-out codec conversations for exposition purposes, some of the weakest voice acting in the series, Raiden was pretty unlikable, and the Big Shell was nowhere near as well realized as the Tanker chapter that kicked things off. I still love the game and have played it dozens of times, but its problems were enough to keep it from cracking my Top 3.
 
Portable Ops is crap. Kojima had nothing to do with it and it shows. Love the fact he ignored it when writing/directing peace walker.

Yet PO is referenced multiple times in MGS4

My mind is puzzled as to how people are able to put MGS 4 and MGS 2 in the same top 3. Do you completely disregard that MGS 4 shits on MGS 2's story and characters or is it something else?

MGS2 is when the story went to shit in the first place, and MGS2 shit on everything first.
 

SoulClap

Member
1. MGS3 - Love the jungle environment. So many memorable moments.
2. MGS1 - Best bosses in the series
3. MGS2 - In there for the tanker mission alone
 

kswiston

Member
The original is still the high point for me, but I loved the first three games in the series. Metal Gear Solid 4 was not a bad game, but was disappointing to me.

1) Metal Gear Solid
2) Metal Gear Solid 3
3) Metal Gear Solid 2
 
I guess this is a good a time as any to submit my votes. ;)

1. MGS1; I have played every game in the series countless times, but the first one continues to impress me the most to this day. The impact that this game had upon release can't be understated, and I still feel that it's the best in the series. The writing and voice acting arguably peaked with MGS1, with its tightly paced plot of espionage, action sequences, and some of the most memorable boss fights in gaming. The soundtrack is also something that I think sets MGS1 apart. The music in every Metal Gear game is fantastic, but the soundtrack in the first game so perfectly matched the decidedly dark, gritty atmosphere that Shadow Moses conveyed. MGS1 was the product of Kojima at his best: working within the perfect amount of constraints.


2. MGS3; While this game fell short in a number of areas (anime-inspired bosses with little character, fumbling through menu screens, awkward original camera system... etc.), credit has to be given where it's due. MGS3 was yet another bold move for Kojima and Co. after the bait-and-switch that was MGS2, going back in time for an origin story rather than attempting to follow up MGS2's confusing plot-line. We ended up being treated to zany Bond/Rambo tribute with countless memorable moments, one incredible boss fight (The End), truly remarkable environments (both jungle and military compounds), and just an overall great sense of pace and variety. In the end, this was an origin story that mattered. We got to live out the mission that made Big Boss who he was, disillusionment with the government and all.


3. MGS4; I know the game gets a ton of hate around here (some of it deserved), but I'd be lying if I said I didn't really enjoy the series' swan song. Sure, some of the plot holes and retcons are egregiously bad, but I can't help but love the total package. I loved seeing all of these classic characters brought into the HD era with remarkable fidelity (wtf @ you people saying it had bad graphics?). The voice acting inched closer to the standard that MGS1 set than any other entry in the series, the first two chapters were brilliant from a stealth gameplay perspective, and there were some genuinely emotional moments (microwave hallway, security camera falling and breaking in Chapter 4, "Snake had a hard life...") sprinkled throughout the game's bombastic, globetrotting adventure. MGS4 is flawed but still very much a worthy send-off to an amazing series.


With regard to MGS2, I like what Kojima was trying to do with the story and its ideas, but the execution was too lacking IMO for it to place in my Top 3. Too many long, drawn-out codec conversations for exposition purposes, some of the weakest voice acting in the series, Raiden was pretty unlikable, and the Big Shell was nowhere near as well realized as the Tanker chapter that kicked things off. I still love the game and have played it dozens of times, but its problems were enough to keep it from cracking my Top 3.
My man.
 

RDreamer

Member
1. MGS2
2. MGS4
3. MGS1

__

4. MGS: PW
5. MGS3
6. MGS: PO


It's hard to really rank they top 3. They're all very close for differing reasons. 4 has the best gameplay. 2 has a great story and theme that I think has and will likely never be attempted in gaming again. 1 still holds up really well and just feels like an absolute classic. The reason I can't put 3 in my top games, despite liking the story and setting is that the gameplay pisses me off beyond belief. I can't aim with the left stick at all. Aiming wasn't a bother in MGS2 because they were tight corridors, so you really didn't have to aim all around or anything. Your enemies were right in front of you. MGS3 just falls apart for me. And I really dislike the slow camo system.
 
1. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty/Substance (MGS2)
2. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater/Subsistence (MGS3)
3. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (MGS:pO)
4. Metal Gear Solid (MGS1)
5. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (MGS4)
 

ScOULaris

Member
I'm processing the votes in chunks of 100, so after post 600 I'll get to see if the #1 and #2 spots held firm from where they were after the first 500.

Hopefully the voting continues all the way until the 27th so that we'll have a really large sample. This will be the definitive GAF rankings for the MGS series to settle all future arguments. ;)
 

Konosuke

Member
1. MGS 3
2. MGS 1
3. MGS 2

It's very hard to pick a Top 3, but MGS3 is the best hands down. The last 3 hours were amazing and I couldn't go to bed without finishing it first. And after the story was done we had MGO. I miss it so much.
 
1. MGS1
2. MGS3
3. MGS2

My mind literally boggles as to how anyone can put anything other than MGS1 first, and I'm a man who loves his MGS3. The first game has a darkness to it, an urgency and sense of escalating danger that's unmatched even today, perfectly represented by listening to any excerpt from it's soundtrack:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZPyhK0XlsU
 
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