Metal Gear Solid PC and Steam

[JudgeDredd]

No. I haven't really touched Ground Zero except to have a look at the graphics. That was just before going to work on the day the game was released, so I jumped straight into the main game.

[jomni]

I think the crazy intro, the checkpoint save aspect and the ridiculous "sweet spot" thing for climbing knocked me a bit.

I'm pretty sure there will be more crazy stuff along the way in the form of "Fantasy Boss Battles".  This is a standard in Metal Gear.

[jomni]

[JudgeDredd]

I'll be honest - I've seen better graphics. They aren't bad - I've just seen better.

Ok - so I'm getting further in now and things are picking up slightly. I have performed my first side mission and grabbed an interpreter. That was really handy because now I can interrogate and find out about stashes around the area instead of running around willy-nilly.

I also like the research aspect having just upgraded my Fulton balloon extraction system so I can grab mortars and machine gun posts and I upgraded my scope so I can see enemy abilities. I've got s shed load of low skill people at base.

Jarhead...the one negative aspect I saw of using the Fulton for everything was - I ran out. That and the fact you have a lot of low skilled people at base. I don't know how much that affects research and your fighting force - I would suspect a fair bit.

Anyway - yeah...it's picking up.

So far though I would still put Ghost Recon Future Soldier ahead of this - but I did have the benefit of completing that game and I'm only 2% in here.

[bob48]

The picture on Steam.....the guy looks like Ginger Baker.

[Grim.Reaper]

I am not sure what to think of the game yet....the opening scene was very intense, but I had no idea this game would have super natural stuff.  Not usually a big fan of that.  Just starting my first real mission so hopefully more of the game turns out to be like the Ground Zero demo.  Of course, very early into the game so I am sure things will open up for me.

[JudgeDredd]

If I could just take this opportunity to point out some things I don't like (as nothing is really standing out as massively positive)...

• The checkpoint saves. There seem to be quite a few before you actually get in your mission area...and then they seem to dry up
• The climbing "sweet spot"
• The way your soldier goes crashing around. Even when crouched, walking into a room with furniture can be clumsy
• I saw a soldier taking a nap in a bed and I snuck up to him. I could not find the spot to press E to capture and interrogate...in the end he woke up (because of the point above...I crashed into a chair) and I had to shoot him. He fell back on the bed and what do you know...I could press R then to pick him up!
• Movement. Can be porked or perhaps I'm just not used to how "console" movement works. I lay down by some sand bags and I was facing left. A soldier was approaching from the other side of the sandbags, but from the right...could I get my character to turn to face the right? Nope. He just kept moving backwards, then facing me etc, etc...in the end I was spotted because I was just doing 180 degree turns!
• And the last thing - even when crouched and sneaking around, he swings the doors open like John Wayne looking for a bad guy in a saloon

So far, that's my list of dislikes. Not only that, I'd like to see the "sweet spot" issue fixed - it can be infuriating - and more importantly getting rid of the checkpoint saves. I know console players are probably used to those...but I'm of the mind it's a tactic from the developer to toughen the game up and more importantly can just make a mission infuriating...not challenging. I liked to choose when to save.

Things I do like...

• The Fulton Balloon system
• Research
• Interrogation
• Supply
• Sneaking around - I often prefer that to run and gun

[Jarhead0331]

I don't know how you compare MGS to GR Future Soldier. It's an entirely different kind of game.

Anyway, I'm really enjoying the game so far and think it has accomplished some really spectacular things for the genre. It sounds to me like JD just doesn't "get it", which happens. That being said, I think it's safe to say that JD is one of the few people on the planet who is struggling to find something positive to say about it.

If I may make an observation about your gaming habit, JD, you seem to rush into purchases a lot, believing hype, or expecting the game to provide you with one experience, when in actuality, it is going to provide you with another. If something doesn't go your way, you get frustrated rather quickly, and your posts are then pretty much all sour grapes.  I respect that, but for people who like the game, it can get annoying. It was like that with Elite. Clearly, one of the best space flight games ever made in the history of gaming, yet the source of significant negativity from you due to your inability to grasp how to play it. Sometimes it just seems as if you do not appreciate complexity, nuance and challenge, which is totally cool, but not the fault of the game.

Are your critiques valid? Hell yes, for the most part. However, for people familiar with the series, they are not even worth mentioning. For instance, controlling your character has improved leaps and bounds over the prior versions of the game, and the combat has been refined to the point that it is unrrecognizable. Thus, for fans of the series, MGSV actually plays like a dream.

Is MGSV the best game ever made? Hardly. Is it worth recommending to people who appreciate the genre. Yes, 100%, but to an objective reader who doesn't know you or anything about the game, reading your posts that wouldn't be readily apparent.

Anyway, for the sake of my enjoyment of the game, I'm just going to ditch this thread and let you boys have at it. See ya on the flip flop.

[jomni]

JD.  Do you play with a controller?   Maybe it's make more sense to do so.  I'm still using keyboard and mouse but I may go the controller route if I get frustrated.

[JudgeDredd]

I'm not gonna argue with you about rushing into buying games. Hell I bought it after posting a crap review about a different version and then thought "Sod it - I'll buy it". But that's me. But I take your point that perhaps I shouldn't be posting so negatively when it's my fault I've rushed into a game and not researched it.

It's nothing to do with hype though. In fact, I do very, very little research on games I buy. I am very much a point and click person. I seldom even read reviews. Sometimes I'll take on board what people say here - but generally, I take the view that peoples experiences of games are very, very different and as such I buy and try. I'll make a note though to take all that on the chin and not be so negative in future.

Having said that - you asked for my positive thoughts on the game and I gave what I could. The game imo isn't outstanding (at the moment) and I've "enjoyed" a lot better. It may well turn out to be a superb game.

As for not getting it - Elite, I do recall and I just couldn't make any money. I come on here - as a lot of people do - to air their frustrations and hope for some inspiration. So that gets tiresome for some people. I understand that and as I said above - I'll take it on the chin and try and be a bit less negative.

My "issues" with this game are minor - absolutely. But I don't think they're anything to do with complexity, nuance and challenge. Checkpoint saves are a cheat for difficulty. Not a huge problem, but I'd like a patch where I can save before I do something daft. The other issue (and by far the most frustrating) about checkpoint saves (and ill placed ones) is when the game does something daft (the "you can't climb there" thing, the soldier napping and no way to grab him until he wakes up etc)

These have been frustrations for me - but only on discovering them. Once I knew they were there, it's cool.

Have they ruined the game? No. Will I learn to take more care? Yes. So is the game porked? No. For example, the soldier napping thing - so what....I couldn't grab him and he woke up. Now I just don't go near soldiers napping in beds. But I thought it was worth mentioning because imo it's perfectly reasonable to expect you could go up to a sleeping soldier on a bed (careful here) and grab him for interrogation. But you can't....I still thought it was worth bringing up.

I don't even know why I'm posting this - I'm enjoying it - I've just played better.

oh - as for me mentioning the "negative" aspect of using the Fultron everytime - I have since worked out that you can resupply and so I can see why you were sending everyone back. I think that may be a case in point for your post.

I also have the upgrade to my binoculars now which allows me to see the specs of a soldier. This means I can be more selective about who I send back.

Thanks for at least acknowledging that my critiques were valid because they are - however I get your point about them being minor and not ruining the game - but I haven't said that. Actually, I think I've just been luke warm to it. I had absolutely no perceptions whatsoever on what to expect from this game. I had never EVER played any of the previous titles and so had zero information. So I had no "pre-built" expectations to go on.


Maybe I've been watching too much Angry Joe. I'll try and cheer up.  O0

To everyone...just so I'm clear...the game isn't broke, I am enjoying it and my gripes mentioned whilst valid are minor in the grand scheme of things

[JudgeDredd]

JD.  Do you play with a controller?   Maybe it's make more sense to do so.  I'm still using keyboard and mouse but I may go the controller route if I get frustrated.

No I don't Jomni

Don't listen to me. Movement is fine. I struggled in a couple of places but once I've found them, it's all good in the hood.  ;D

[glen55]

Never played an MGS game before, but I bought this one because of glowing reviews.

I sure hope it gets better.

The "prologue" really tested my patience.  An hour and a half of basically watching a movie with almost no input.  And, I'm sorry . . . it was not a good movie.  It was a very bad movie that made no sense and was packed full with stereotypes.  If it wasn't for the fact I had read all those good reviews - and I was already down 60 smackers - I would never have made it through the long bad movie at all.

Every now and then the game would let me enter some input for a few seconds, then it's back to a cut scene.  And there's no option for backing out into a menu to be found.  You're just stuck there.  The only time it let me "control" my guy for any period of time was when I had to hold down the W key for about 15 minutes while he laboriously crawled around.  But even then, W is all it was.  I couldn't even control which direction he crawled in.

Finally I am out of the prologue and it looks like yes, there really is fun stuff to do, but the controls are very kludgy.  Almost impossible to just ride your horse down the road.  I sound like a roadgrader destroying a fence when I'm "stealthing" up on some dude, but he doesn't hear me, doesn't put up any fight when I kill him.  Shooting is point and pray.

This is the only game I own that does not allow me to alt-tab to the desktop.  And that's important to me.  And this is probably the only game I've played since about 1990 that has no control over audio.  The only way to set volume is to set the volume on my system speakers.  Thank god, that at least I can get the control bar when I alt-tab.

No mouse support in menus?  Are you kidding me?  Bring up the key map and it shows me a game controller?

I hope I get past the stinky-turd parts into the fun parts, but I don't know if I ever will.  No alt-tab to desktop really sucks.

[JudgeDredd]

There is a way to ALT-TAB....select Full Screen instead of Borderless Full Screen and Windowed. I had it on Bordlerless Full Screen and I could not ALT-TAB - switched to Full Screen and I was good to go - and, as a bonus, the game is totally stable in ALT-TAB mode.  O0

[Grim.Reaper]

You can also skip the cut scenes....not sure the command on a keyboard but on my controller you hit the back arrow button.

[glen55]

There is a way to ALT-TAB....select Full Screen instead of Borderless Full Screen and Windowed. I had it on Bordlerless Full Screen and I could not ALT-TAB - switched to Full Screen and I was good to go - and, as a bonus, the game is totally stable in ALT-TAB mode.  O0

Thanks, that might keep me going.  The post-prologue part looks like it might be fun.