Question for those buying this on the Interweb: As Monday 31st August is a bank holiday, the game will likely arrive on the 1st and not sooner, correct?
With any luck it'll be delivered on or before 29th.
Witcher 3 was out on a Tuesday, with no bank holiday, and I remember it being delivered on the Saturday.
I'm currently playing through MGS2 and MGS3 on the HD collection, and will top it off with a playthrough of the original (the true masterpiece and my favourite) just before TPP comes out.
Still hasn't quite sunk in that this will be the last MGS game, or rather it marks the end of the series as we know it before Konami either goes on to milk it to death without Kojima or confines it to the desolation of pachinko halls with its other franchises.
What is everyone's favourite game in the series, favourite moments and characters, etc? Gameplay wise I love MGS3 the most (though TPP is sure to top it), but with regards to story, characters and presentation it has to be MGS1.
I love MGS1 and 4. I also really liked Revengeance and had hoped for a sequel. We may still get one but unfortunately without Kojima's input. I haven't got round to playing Peacewalker yet but I will do that before I play TPP.
As for the characters I like Solid Snake (more than Naked Snake), Vamp, Drebin 893, Raiden (he became a badass at the end of MGS2) and Ocelot (in his various carnations) and I think Sunny turned out to be a fairly interesting character in Revengeance. I can't forget about Johnny Sasaki's comic relief either.
Looking back now, MGS2, it took the gameplay from MGS1 (and Metal Gear 2) and bested it, and even thought I originally disliked the story, playing it again years later thanks to the HD Collection versions, made me notice just how scary accurate that game was about modern society and the future of the internet, made me appreciate Solidus a lot more, and I just love the music in that game, something about that smooth New York Jazz Fusion style and later mixed in Drum N Bass which just made replaying the game such a bliss to listen to in audio alone.
Plus the Harrier battle is one of my all time faves from the series.
I never played Revengeance. I guess because it's not considered part of the canon, but I also didn't like the direction they went with Raiden. I preferred him as the wet behind the ears rookie in MGS2, rather than the brooding emo ninja he became in MGS4. Revengeance's gameplay looks fun though, from what I've seen of it.
MGS2 is a game that grew on me over repeated playthroughs and I appreciate the story and the underlying message of the game a lot more now, but compared to the experience of the original I still found it underwhelming. I found the jazz music quite immersion breaking myself, the characters were not as interesting because so many of them were surplus to requirements and only served as plot exposition, and the boss battles were a mixed bag. Solidus and the Harrier were fun, but Vamp and the RAYs were a huge let down.
For me the best is the original MGS on Playstation 1.
I remember playing a demo a month or so before its release & just been blown away by how good the gameplay was & how interesting the story seemed like it was going to be. I rented it not long after launch & played through it & just fell in love with it so later brought it & played through it a few more times.
My 2nd favorite game is probably MGS3.
Interestingly when I 1st played it...Well a demo of it I hated it. I hated the camouflage stuff & having to eat & all that lot so I never actually played the full game until the HD collection came out. I decided to play through it & ended up really getting into it & especially the story & the things I hated before ended up just not bothering me.
Next up is Peace Walker. I played that on the HD collection & just really liked what they did with the missions & side missions etc... & much like MGS3 I really got into the story. Part of why I'm so looking forward to MGSv is that people are calling it a much bigger peace walker.
I'd put MGS4 next. Its not the best MGS game but as I've said before it did what I wanted it to in terms of tying up the solid snake story arc & explaining parts of the overall MGS story that hadn't really been explained before. I also liked the gameplay & overall just enjoyed playing through it.
My least favorite is MGS2. Its still a great game & its not that I dislike it as such, Its just that I don't feel its as good as the rest. The gameplay is a step up from the original in many ways & the story isn't bad but for some reason its the game I just never really clicked with me as much as the rest.
Something else I wanted to bring up was Twin snakes, the gamecube remake of the original MGS. While its true to say that some of the new features they added (1st person view for instance) broke aspects of the game (The Ocelot & gray fox boss battles been examples) & while some of the overly dramatic/hollywood inspired cut scenes were over the top... Overall its still a great game which managed to keep much of what made the PS1 original so good & it still has the same great story.
I played revengeance (Although never completed it) & think its OK, But its just not what I want from an MGS game & I don't think it's gameplay mechanics are as good as other, similar action hack and slash games (Such as DMC). I got it free on PS+ so maybe i'll go back & play though it at some point.
Twin Snakes should never be brought up, it's just such a bad taste compared to the original, which is always fighting for the top spot of my fave MGS games. The worst thing I felt about Twin Snakes was the music direction, every other game has a score that suits the setting, Twin Snakes was replaced with bland ambience/generic action movie stuff. I was SOO happy with MGS4 where they actually decided to get the rights back to the original music from the PS1 version and do remasters for those instead, I mean just compare: MGS1 - Rex's Lair Twin Snakes - Rex's Lair MGS4 - Rex's Lair
Combined with The Matrix style cutscenes, turning Snake into a Ninja, making flamboyant characters even MORE over the top, etc, Twin Snakes feels like a wasted oppurtunity, but at least we got Act 4 of MGS4 to show how Kojima would do parts of it at least.
Note: Also some of the characters voice acting felt very blergh here, like they were bored to be back, only Hayter and Clarke (Solid and Liquid) seemed to be really into it, others felt annoyed to be doing the same work again (which oddly enough, might have been down to direction, because majority of the cast are back for the Digital Graphic Novel, and the performances there are much better).
The Phantom Pain is the kind of game I thought would never exist - one where every minute gameplay detail has true purpose. Its lack of story focus is sure to be divisive for the Metal Gear faithful, but the resulting emphasis on my story, my tales of Espionage Action, easily make it my favorite in the series. There have certainly been sandbox action games that have given me a bigger world to roam, or more little icons to chase on my minimap, but none have pushed me to plan, adapt, and improvise the way this one does. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain doesn’t just respect my intelligence as a player, it expects it of me, putting it in league that few others occupy.
There has never been a game in the series with such depth to its gameplay, or so much volume in content. The best elements from the past games are here, and the new open-world gameplay adds more to love on top. When it comes to storytelling, there has never been a Metal Gear game that's so consistent in tone, daring in subject matter, and so captivating in presentation. The Phantom Pain may be a contender for one of the best action games ever made, but is undoubtedly the best Metal Gear game there is.
First time I've ordered from them, was told that there good for getting games a day or two early and as its bank holiday on Monday I gathered I would i have it by Saturday at the latest. Not sure whether other online retailers are doing the same.
Comments
With any luck it'll be delivered on or before 29th.
Witcher 3 was out on a Tuesday, with no bank holiday, and I remember it being delivered on the Saturday.
Fingers crossed.
Hobby Consolas (Spanish gaming magazine) gave it 97/100.
http://gamingbolt.com/metal-gear-solid-5-the-phantom-pain-review-hobby-consolas-awards-it-97100-best-stealth-game-yet
Still hasn't quite sunk in that this will be the last MGS game, or rather it marks the end of the series as we know it before Konami either goes on to milk it to death without Kojima or confines it to the desolation of pachinko halls with its other franchises.
What is everyone's favourite game in the series, favourite moments and characters, etc? Gameplay wise I love MGS3 the most (though TPP is sure to top it), but with regards to story, characters and presentation it has to be MGS1.
As for the characters I like Solid Snake (more than Naked Snake), Vamp, Drebin 893, Raiden (he became a badass at the end of MGS2) and Ocelot (in his various carnations) and I think Sunny turned out to be a fairly interesting character in Revengeance. I can't forget about Johnny Sasaki's comic relief either.
Plus the Harrier battle is one of my all time faves from the series.
MGS2 is a game that grew on me over repeated playthroughs and I appreciate the story and the underlying message of the game a lot more now, but compared to the experience of the original I still found it underwhelming. I found the jazz music quite immersion breaking myself, the characters were not as interesting because so many of them were surplus to requirements and only served as plot exposition, and the boss battles were a mixed bag. Solidus and the Harrier were fun, but Vamp and the RAYs were a huge let down.
I remember playing a demo a month or so before its release & just been blown away by how good the gameplay was & how interesting the story seemed like it was going to be. I rented it not long after launch & played through it & just fell in love with it so later brought it & played through it a few more times.
My 2nd favorite game is probably MGS3.
Interestingly when I 1st played it...Well a demo of it I hated it. I hated the camouflage stuff & having to eat & all that lot so I never actually played the full game until the HD collection came out. I decided to play through it & ended up really getting into it & especially the story & the things I hated before ended up just not bothering me.
Next up is Peace Walker. I played that on the HD collection & just really liked what they did with the missions & side missions etc... & much like MGS3 I really got into the story. Part of why I'm so looking forward to MGSv is that people are calling it a much bigger peace walker.
I'd put MGS4 next. Its not the best MGS game but as I've said before it did what I wanted it to in terms of tying up the solid snake story arc & explaining parts of the overall MGS story that hadn't really been explained before. I also liked the gameplay & overall just enjoyed playing through it.
My least favorite is MGS2. Its still a great game & its not that I dislike it as such, Its just that I don't feel its as good as the rest. The gameplay is a step up from the original in many ways & the story isn't bad but for some reason its the game I just never really clicked with me as much as the rest.
Something else I wanted to bring up was Twin snakes, the gamecube remake of the original MGS. While its true to say that some of the new features they added (1st person view for instance) broke aspects of the game (The Ocelot & gray fox boss battles been examples) & while some of the overly dramatic/hollywood inspired cut scenes were over the top... Overall its still a great game which managed to keep much of what made the PS1 original so good & it still has the same great story.
I played revengeance (Although never completed it) & think its OK, But its just not what I want from an MGS game & I don't think it's gameplay mechanics are as good as other, similar action hack and slash games (Such as DMC). I got it free on PS+ so maybe i'll go back & play though it at some point.
MGS1 - Rex's Lair
Twin Snakes - Rex's Lair
MGS4 - Rex's Lair
Not to mention this track which was completely absent in Twin Snakes:
MGS1 - Enclosure
MGS4 - Enclosure
Combined with The Matrix style cutscenes, turning Snake into a Ninja, making flamboyant characters even MORE over the top, etc, Twin Snakes feels like a wasted oppurtunity, but at least we got Act 4 of MGS4 to show how Kojima would do parts of it at least.
Note: Also some of the characters voice acting felt very blergh here, like they were bored to be back, only Hayter and Clarke (Solid and Liquid) seemed to be really into it, others felt annoyed to be doing the same work again (which oddly enough, might have been down to direction, because majority of the cast are back for the Digital Graphic Novel, and the performances there are much better).
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2015/08/24/metal-gear-solid-5-the-phantom-pain-review
Kinda Funny Games/Greg Miller Spoiler Free Review/Opinion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m73PTDBrSM
And an hour of Gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICTWChlNSCk
EGM - 9.5/10
Game Informer - 9.25/10
Game Trailers - 9.3/10
Seems the plot is divisive, but the general consensus is that the gameplay is the best in any MGS game yet.
Still not my cup of tea. Hope you guys enjoy it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJnjYSSS5bA
Says its directed & edited by Hideo Kojima so its probably the last MGS related thing he'll will ever be involved with.
Gta 5 was cheap considering what we got.
I'm hoping that was one of Big Boss's hallucinations.