Metal Gear

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

TheSeraphim17 (a YouTube gamer that I follow) is currently doing an S-Rank walkthrough of this game, and I've seen bits and pieces with his commentary. He likes the game, clearly, but feels that it's not as perfect as a lot of other fans make it out to be (he's a huge MGS fan, himself) and seems to still prefer MGS3 as his favorite game of the franchise.

That said, he can be very particular about stuff, and even I don't always agree with him, but he's also pretty reasonable and pretty straightforward about his opinions on stuff. I mostly just watch his character action game walkthroughs, though, since like me he's a massive fan of the genre, especially Platinum Games, but unlike certain other hardcore gamers he's not elitist about any of them at all. For example, he likes God of War as well, and feels that a lot of the hate that it gets from hardcore action gamers is pretty silly and unwarranted (and he regularly plays these sorts of games at a high level, at that).

[Foggle]

I don't think anyone really considers the game perfect outside of a few reviewers. Most MGS fans are actually putting it on blast due to its lack of feature length cutscenes.

I'm torn between two opinions on MGS5. The core mechanics are sublime, and 5-6 missions so far have provided me with some of the most fun I've ever had with a video game. But at the same time, there's a lot of filler, and outside of Ground Zeroes, the level design just straight up isn't as good as MGS3 and MG2, or the better entries from the Hitman, Thief, Splinter Cell, and Deus Ex franchises. So is it the best stealth game ever or just a really good one that crumbles under the weight of its own lofty aspirations? I'm still trying to decide, and I don't think I'll know until I finally finish it.

[talonmalon333]

Up until MGSV came out, was MGS3 one of the most agreed on "best in the series" games anywhere? I mean, with other franchises, you'll get some debate. Even with something like Mega Man, despite the fact that 2 is the favorite by far, you'll still see some arguments for one or two other games. But with Metal Gear, I've rarely ever encountered a fan who picked a favorite other than 3. You know what I mean?

[Foggle]

A lot of people actually prefer 1 and 2 over 3 from what I've seen.

[gunswordfist]

I think I kind of assumed 1 is the favorite. I'm not sure what the consensus really is

[talonmalon333]

A lot of people actually prefer 1 and 2 over 3 from what I've seen.

Everyone loves 1, but I feel like I always see 3 topping lists, with 1 typically occupying the #2 spot.

As for MGS2, I feel like I rarely see that high up on lists. Don't a lot of people hate that game?

[Spark Of Spirit]

I haven't met very many people who like 2 more than 3.

But I figured 5 would have tons of filler. You can't make a game that big without it.

[talonmalon333]

On a scale of 1 to 10, what do you rate each of the games you played, Spark?

[Spark Of Spirit]

It's been too long. I'd have to replay them.

[talonmalon333]

To be honest, I was mostly just interested in seeing how much less you think of MGS2 than the rest.

[Foggle]

But I figured 5 would have tons of filler. You can't make a game that big without it.

Most of the filler is only there because they never actually got to finish the game, though. Konami pulled the plug on KojiPro a year or two early because of their desire to leave the AAA console market. You can also skip the majority of it, though I love the core gameplay so much that I tend not to... which might actually be making the game worse for me.

But yeah, any big game is going to have at least some filler. Except the Yakuza series.

[talonmalon333]

Konami pulled the plug on KojiPro a year or two early because of their desire to leave the AAA console market.

Wait, didn't they stay together until just recently? I thought Konami allowed Kojima and his team to stay until the completion of MGSV?

[Foggle]

The game is pretty clearly unfinished. It's missing key features and moments that have been advertised since its announcement (such as the Return to Camp Omega level and full base customization), Chapter 2 veers into Wind Waker Triforce Hunt territory by recycling Chapter 1 missions with hard modifiers (skippable, thankfully), and all that exists of Chapter 3 is a short video of incomplete cutscene footage on the Collector's Edition bonus disc. All in all, 13 of the proposed 50 (51 counting the Prologue) story missions do not actually exist.

Do not let this deter you from playing the game; it's still incredibly long and indescribably fun. But, make no mistake, Konami did not let them finish it.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So it's basically like the Ninja Gaiden II of the MGS franchise?

*For those who don't know, Itagaki himself admitted that the game was rushed and unfinished because of his departure date from Tecmo.

[Foggle]

Exactly like that, yeah. It's shocking how good both of them still managed to be.