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I have 1 month to play all of Metal Gear Solid.
- Thread starter Roussow
- Start date
Well lads, I've now finished MGS1, MGS2, and MGS3.
Boy, that ending to 3, huh? That's probably the best genuinely emotionally effecting scene the series has ever done, that salute was just perfect.
Now onto Peace Walker -- I know 4 was released before it, but I've played 4 before, so I'll leave it to last.
Played the first few missions, and a few extra ops. I'll tell you, I'm quite overwhelmed by all the systems and micro-management stuff, it's really interesting though conceptually, and an interesting new take on the MGS formula, divided missions up like this rather than a seamless linear campaign.
Seems to play pretty well, third person shooting was in 4, but after coming off 3 the ease of taking out soldiers silently and on the move is a godsend -- the new CQC stuff seems neat, too -- hopefully it gets a bit more advanced though, combos, or something, given the way they're treating progression in this game.
Story premise is concerning, I hope they don't backtrack all the good of The Boss's character. But seeing Big Boss in this weird place, being his own man, a leader without a Government is a fucking great jumping off point. By the way -- am I supposed to know specifically why BB has the Boss's scar on his chest?
Is there stuff in this Portable Ops game I keep hearing about I should know of? I normally don't like summarizing games via Youtube videos, but in this case it might be essential, I don't really want to fit any more games into my schedule, it seems a touch unnecessary right now, there was quite a lot introduced in that intro of PW, not sure whether I was to digest that all there -- or was there something I missed.
Anyhow, thanks for all the comments and discussion in the thread, and some really helpful information going into this wonderful series -- and I'm glad to see others doing the same in preparation for 5.
Boy, that ending to 3, huh? That's probably the best genuinely emotionally effecting scene the series has ever done, that salute was just perfect.
Now onto Peace Walker -- I know 4 was released before it, but I've played 4 before, so I'll leave it to last.
Played the first few missions, and a few extra ops. I'll tell you, I'm quite overwhelmed by all the systems and micro-management stuff, it's really interesting though conceptually, and an interesting new take on the MGS formula, divided missions up like this rather than a seamless linear campaign.
Seems to play pretty well, third person shooting was in 4, but after coming off 3 the ease of taking out soldiers silently and on the move is a godsend -- the new CQC stuff seems neat, too -- hopefully it gets a bit more advanced though, combos, or something, given the way they're treating progression in this game.
Story premise is concerning, I hope they don't backtrack all the good of The Boss's character. But seeing Big Boss in this weird place, being his own man, a leader without a Government is a fucking great jumping off point. By the way -- am I supposed to know specifically why BB has the Boss's scar on his chest?
Is there stuff in this Portable Ops game I keep hearing about I should know of? I normally don't like summarizing games via Youtube videos, but in this case it might be essential, I don't really want to fit any more games into my schedule, it seems a touch unnecessary right now, there was quite a lot introduced in that intro of PW, not sure whether I was to digest that all there -- or was there something I missed.
Anyhow, thanks for all the comments and discussion in the thread, and some really helpful information going into this wonderful series -- and I'm glad to see others doing the same in preparation for 5.
I'm pretty sure nearly everything important from Portable Ops is covered in dialogue and tapes in PW and as for the scar,
the implication is he did that to himself. A character you meet later will comment on it.
matrix-cat
Member
Portable Ops' story does more harm than good, in my opinion. The main points are:
- It introduces Frank Jaeger/Gray Fox as a ninja named Null, with a very retcon-y, very dumb story. It reveals that he's called Frank Jaeger because he was a child soldier who used to *hunt* people, and he'd trick them into thinking he was harmless because of his very *frank*, honest face. Frank Jaeger, the frank hunter. It's the worst.
- The villain is a dude named Gene, who has super speed like The Flash for some reason, and who wanted to create a world for soldiers called Army's Heaven. Basically, they imply that Big Boss just stole the whole Outer Heaven idea from this loser.
- It sets up Major Zero as the guy who gets his hands on the Philosopher's Legacy before the full reveal in MGS4. Nothing more than that, though. IIRC, it was a post-credits Ocelot speech revelation. Ocelot says the money is in the hands of "the man with the same code name as Null", i.e. Zero, and that's that.
- The villain is a dude named Gene, who has super speed like The Flash for some reason, and who wanted to create a world for soldiers called Army's Heaven. Basically, they imply that Big Boss just stole the whole Outer Heaven idea from this loser.
- It sets up Major Zero as the guy who gets his hands on the Philosopher's Legacy before the full reveal in MGS4. Nothing more than that, though. IIRC, it was a post-credits Ocelot speech revelation. Ocelot says the money is in the hands of "the man with the same code name as Null", i.e. Zero, and that's that.
Peace Walker had the right idea with the "Thank God we've left all that San Hieronymo crap behind" line early on (San Hieronymo being where Portable Ops took place).
ffejeromdiks
Banned
It gets explained, it's kind of neat.
Probably 1/3 of the way.
X
Xpike
Unconfirmed Member
Like 1/4th of the way in, still a long way to go.
Charlouie Jonesman
Banned
That's like 1/3 of the game done.
Nightengale
Member
Before MGSV.
Give it 2-3 hours of your own opinion of PW before writing it off. If monetary investment is a concern, watch an extended look of the core gameplay and see if you're okay with it.
NoctisVsStar
Member
you can either play it, watch a good recap on youtube or read the wiki.
CMojicaAce
Member
Back in 2011 I decided to try out MGS 4 to see what all the hype for this series was about and I finished confused and frustrated. But that was, admittedly, my own fault for starting with #4.
I borrowed the HD collection last year because I wanted to give the series another chance. I played MGS 2 but couldn't really get into it (Still beat it). Unfortunately I had to return the collection because, at the time, I had little time to play.
A couple of months ago, my friend convinced me to try out Ground Zeroes (SharePlay). I cautiously agreed, and I ended up REALLY liking the game.
Now with MGS V on the horizon, the hype once again started to get to me. What better time to go back and give the series one last try than now when it's a month away from the launch of The Phantom Pain and when I'm on summer break? So I bought the collection.
....
I LOVE IT!
I started 3 and simply could not put it down. The story was great and I found the gameplay to be great fun. The ending actually almost brought a tear to my eye, and now I know what that salute gif is all about
I'm currently playing through Peace Walker with my friend and I'm enjoying it. Although, I'm not sure how I feel about having a hub like Mother Base, along with its mechanics.
I'm glad I gave this series another chance and I can't wait for V to drop! So far, 3 is my favorite. I think I'll go back and replay 4 in the near future as I think my opinion of it will change for the better. I also want to play the first one some day. (lol at the order I'm playing these games in)
I borrowed the HD collection last year because I wanted to give the series another chance. I played MGS 2 but couldn't really get into it (Still beat it). Unfortunately I had to return the collection because, at the time, I had little time to play.
A couple of months ago, my friend convinced me to try out Ground Zeroes (SharePlay). I cautiously agreed, and I ended up REALLY liking the game.
Now with MGS V on the horizon, the hype once again started to get to me. What better time to go back and give the series one last try than now when it's a month away from the launch of The Phantom Pain and when I'm on summer break? So I bought the collection.
....
I LOVE IT!
I started 3 and simply could not put it down. The story was great and I found the gameplay to be great fun. The ending actually almost brought a tear to my eye, and now I know what that salute gif is all about
I'm currently playing through Peace Walker with my friend and I'm enjoying it. Although, I'm not sure how I feel about having a hub like Mother Base, along with its mechanics.
I'm glad I gave this series another chance and I can't wait for V to drop! So far, 3 is my favorite. I think I'll go back and replay 4 in the near future as I think my opinion of it will change for the better. I also want to play the first one some day. (lol at the order I'm playing these games in)
Fuck The Fury fight tho
ffejeromdiks
Banned
Back in 2011 I decided to try out MGS 4 to see what all the hype for this series was about and I finished confused and frustrated. But that was, admittedly, my own fault for starting with #4.
I borrowed the HD collection last year because I wanted to give the series another chance. I played MGS 2 but couldn't really get into it (Still beat it). Unfortunately I had to return the collection because, at the time, I had little time to play.
A couple of months ago, my friend convinced me to try out Ground Zeroes (SharePlay). I cautiously agreed, and I ended up REALLY liking the game.
Now with MGS V on the horizon, the hype once again started to get to me. What better time to go back and give the series one last try than now when it's a month away from the launch of The Phantom Pain and when I'm on summer break? So I bought the collection.
....
I LOVE IT!
I started 3 and simply could not put it down. The story was great and I found the gameplay to be great fun. The ending actually almost brought a tear to my eye, and now I know what that salute gif is all about
I'm currently playing through Peace Walker with my friend and I'm enjoying it. Although, I'm not sure how I feel about having a hub like Mother Base, along with its mechanics.
I'm glad I gave this series another chance and I can't wait for V to drop! So far, 3 is my favorite. I think I'll go back and replay 4 in the near future as I think my opinion of it will change for the better. I also want to play the first one some day. (lol at the order I'm playing these games in)
Fuck The Fury fight tho
Seeing these kind of posts always brings a smile to my face, Metal gear isn't the most inviting series to newcomers, but if you give it a chance and let it in there's nothing else like it.
Welcome to the club brother
That was in regards to AI weapons. Chrysalis, Cocoon, Peace Walker, all of these take forever while you run around dodging same attacks over and over again and calling supply drops.
Bl@de
Member
So many people already at 3 or Peace Walker and I just started MGS1 (for the first time^^). Amazing game, still holds up today. Don't know why many people said the controls are bad. They're perfectly fine. Only annoying thing is the camera sometimes. And boy, the bosses in this game are hard but at the same time amazing. I love that. Will be a fun ride playing through the Legacy Collection^^ Btw. I'm at the
right now and my thumb hurts
torture scene
Screaming Meat
Unconfirmed Member
I’m not sure that’s what “barebones” means. The number of options on how to approach each area is pretty much the same as every other entry in the series. We are also given a huge amount of equipment and gadgets to play with, and Co-Op. Not sure that fits the definition of "barebones".
“Tiny” Levels are a knock on effect of both the PSPs hardware limitations, the ‘on-the-move’ design philosophy (wherein the game is designed to be played in short bursts), and the series pedigree (from MG to MGS2 all areas were generally small and segmented like PW). This obviously affects the range at which guards can see you. Given the size of the screen and the size of the levels, guards with too high sensitivity could make the game unreasonably difficult, something that would run counter to the ‘on-the-move’ design philosophy I mentioned earlier.
Silent footsteps have been in the game (by name, at least) since MGS, whilst noisy footsteps, barring any changes in the environment, were introduced in MGS3. So, while I agree that MGS3 was a bit trickier with the hold-ups, that was only until you got the Spirit Camo. Even then, you could roll into guards to knock them over and hold them up straight away.
Players complained that the M9 was overpowered (MGS2, MGS:TS), that CQC was overpowered (MGS3), that Fulton was overpowered (PW), that hold-ups were game-breaking (GZ)… these kind of complaints ring a little hollow given the myriad of options players are given to approach a level. There is more than enough scope and range for players not to play in one style that they find boring.
You can jog about holding people up through most of MGS 2 and 3 (with Spirit Camo) too. Hell, every game in the series can be cheesed in some way, that doesn’t make them “bad”. As I recall, you could run between areas in MGS2 to reduce the Alert Phase.
I know I’m harping on about it (;P), but I don’t think that the way the game was designed ever figures into your thinking: Shorter bursts of play, prominent social aspects, making the most of the hardware limitations (smaller screen, smaller processor, smaller controls). If you approach it from that angle, you might see why people such as myself think this game deserves the praise it gets.
I agree with this. You're putting it more eloquently than I could have.
uncleslappy
nethack is my favorite dark souls clone
Get this.
Then play in order of release.
Not essential. The story is explained in the other games. But they are included as part of MGS3 if you want to.
I'm doing exactly this. However, does this disc not include MGS1? I can't seem to figure out how to play it if it is included?
Purchase the "PSone classic" version of the game on the PS3's store. It's the original game, no changes.
Edit: Actually, I think the legacy version comes with a download code for this version of the first game -- the HD collection doesn't.
uncleslappy
nethack is my favorite dark souls clone
Bought it used. I'll have to check my inserts.
Sheriff_Battlesnake
Banned
Few sentences can derail a conversation faster!
While not every gameplay aspect will peachy keen these days, the narrative has aged like fine wine. Even rewatching 4 gives me a great appreciation for it that I didn't quite have in '09. Go into the game expecting a different "tone" from every games. MGS1 is a solid action hero movie trope machine, MGS2 is heavily philosophical and treats itself the most like art, MGS3 goes hard in the Bond camp and brings the satire to a higher level while striking that balance in a way that resonates, and MGS4 goes FULL CORNBALL while tying together all the loose end and becoming it's own action movie itself. You can't go into any subsequent game expecting quite the same feeling. 4s corniness was so offputting to me when I was expecting something more self serious when I was younger (I don't think I realized how campy 3 was back then... I didn't have the frame of reference.)
Just keep an open mind and hopefully you have a great palate for playing with tropes... because that's this whole series. Think Gurren Lagann. You take the trope to it's natural extreme and see what you can do with that.
I love PW and id love for you to play it but you have to really grind in order to get the true ending and the final phone call which no doubt will lead to some major events in Phantom Pain. If it's too grindy watch a recap of it on YouTube.
Screaming Meat
Unconfirmed Member
As people have already mentioned, Metal Gear 1 and 2 are not at all important to the story, and you won't be confused about anything if you skip them. But their gameplay is pretty fun, if you feel curious they might be worth a shot, along with the GameBoy non-canon game. If you do try them out, play the MSX version, not the terrible NES port.
The Legacy Collection comes with a download code for MGS from the PSN store. You can play it on a PS3 or Vita, and you can download it in any language. The older HD collection does not have that code.
TheHumanoid
Neo Member
Before GZ, the only Metal Gear I've only played in my life was Peace Walker. (Terrible I know, I didn't have the means to play tons of games as a youngin). I'll love that game forever. I played GZ when it first came out and loved it. I so very badly wanted to know more about this story, this universe. I know that to understand TPP, I really just need to have played 3 -> PW -> GZ. I don't have the means or time to sit down and play 3, so I watched the YouTube movie version of it. Fucking amazing. I wanna call it one of my all time favs even tho I haven't technically played the damn thing. Now my dilemma: I really wish I played MGS 3, and even 1, 2 and 4 now. What the hell do I do? Is it okay to just WATCH the others and not play them? I feel guilt, make me feel better.
(sorry for the long post and seemingly pointless post, newbie here)
(sorry for the long post and seemingly pointless post, newbie here)
Lol. I actually find this kind of interesting.
ffejeromdiks
Banned
Hah, I've never heard the perspective of someone who played Peace Walker first!
If you must watch them on youtube do so, but once you've completed TPP return to the games eventually, they are all beyond worth playing.
Since you played Peace Walker first you might have the wrong idea at the length of the games, Peace Walker is by far the longest MG campaign, most of them take around 12 hours-15 first time through, whereas Peace Walker is something crazy like 30 hours (more if you do the extra ops)
KiefbladeMaster
Member
Just got my legacy collection in the mail, gonna get into it tonight.
The code will have been used then.
Mister Negative
Member
Well, it's kind of important to the story since there's a chance the end of TPP will lead into MG1.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
How MG1 and MG2 will tie in is a bit murky territory. I assume most modern fans are most familiar with the Solid series, but MG1/MG2 are still canon, and MGS4 aimed to bring close to those too.
The Big Boss arc was fine ending with MGS3, it all tied together, but Peace Walker muddied the waters a bit so there's confusion as to how Big Boss lands in the position he is at the start of MG1. Ideally Phantom Pain will bring those two together, if convoluted and reconned.
But yeah, I mean, Phantom Pain might be part of Big Boss's story arc, and so technically a prequel, but I'm sure like MGS3 it's written as Metal Gear Solid 5 (and it is advertised as such). So knowledge of what happens after is usually intended. Like when someone asks what order to play the games, just because MGS3 comes first does not mean it should be played first.
The Big Boss arc was fine ending with MGS3, it all tied together, but Peace Walker muddied the waters a bit so there's confusion as to how Big Boss lands in the position he is at the start of MG1. Ideally Phantom Pain will bring those two together, if convoluted and reconned.
But yeah, I mean, Phantom Pain might be part of Big Boss's story arc, and so technically a prequel, but I'm sure like MGS3 it's written as Metal Gear Solid 5 (and it is advertised as such). So knowledge of what happens after is usually intended. Like when someone asks what order to play the games, just because MGS3 comes first does not mean it should be played first.
Finished Peace Walker last night and played Ground Zeroes today.
Really enjoyed the first mission, TPP will be amazing given the small demo I played. Guards are way too good this time around.Their patrols and awareness is a plus. I actually have to put more effort in covering my tracks now.
Really enjoyed the first mission, TPP will be amazing given the small demo I played. Guards are way too good this time around.Their patrols and awareness is a plus. I actually have to put more effort in covering my tracks now.
NoctisVsStar
Member
Did you hear the secret kaz tape?
Nightengale
Member
You mean MGS4, right?
The whole
Big Boss was a Patriot, but got mad at Zero, left him to found a merc group, but later return to US while secretly building Outer Heaven
The murky part is, well how Big Boss was able to become the leader of FOXHOUND,
given the bad blood with Patriots/Zero.
darkjedi187
Member
Get this.
Then play in order of release.
Not essential. The story is explained in the other games. But they are included as part of MGS3 if you want to.
Picked it up yesterday. Confession time I never finished 3. Guess I should fix that.
Question about the legacy version of MGS4. Do my original MGS4 version saves work with it or do I have to start fresh? Also, I still have whatever the original MGS4 version installed on my PS3. Does that need to be removed to be able to completely install the new version of MGS4?
Charlouie Jonesman
Banned
MGS4 on the Legacy Collection is the same as the old stand-alone release, just with the Trophy/Install patch already on the disc. I'd be very surprised if your saves don't work.
AgentOtaku
Member
Just finished MGS4 for the first time. That last boss fight was so epic, one of the best fights in all of MGS.
Now all I gotta do is watch a recap of PW from youtube and replay GZ. Bring it on TPP!
Sure it wasn't hard or challenging, but Snake and Liquid/Ocelot trading blows on top of a submarine while the music from MGS1-3 was playing. So good.