[The E]

Played it for a couple hours today. It's the most Hideo Kojima game Hideo Kojima has ever Kojima'd, and it is amazing.

[rubixcube]

Konami still sucks

[0rph3u5]

It's the most Hideo Kojima game Hideo Kojima has ever Kojima'd

Meaning?

[The E]

Meaning that unless you are already invested into the Metal Gear mythos and accustomed to the kind of quirks Kojima brings to the table as a game and narrative designer, this is not the game for you.

If you are, however, it's a must-play.

[StarSlayer]

Its been getting excellent reviews and the game play and sandbox looks stellar.

If I've never Metal Gear'd before would I be able to pick up and play with this one or am I not going to have a clue what is going on?

[The E]

Its been getting excellent reviews and the game play and sandbox looks stellar.

If I've never Metal Gear'd before would I be able to pick up and play with this one or am I not going to have a clue what is going on?

You're very likely to not have a clue whatsoever. The game is probably still going to be fun (because the gameplay is excellent), but the story will probably end up being very frustrating indeed. The game assumes, at the very least, a working knowledge of the events of MGS3 and MGS: Peace Walker (which are the games preceding it in the MGS chronology); if you do not have that, you will have absolutely no clue who all the people you're interacting with are or why you should care about them or what it is they're trying to accomplish.

I don't think it's necessary to have played these games (Peace Walker in particular is a very long game in its own right), but I think you do want to read up on what happened or watch the cutscenes on youtube. If you do decide to play them, be warned that you'll definitely need a console, as neither MGS3 nor PW have been released on PC. Personally, I would recommend the MGS HD Collection for PS3 and 360, as you'll be getting all of the relevant titles there (and you'll get the absolute mind**** that is MGS2 thrown in on top).

[General Battuta]

I say just jump in. You'll be able to delight in how insanely bat**** everything is.

[Mongoose]

I got about half an hour into the original MGS once before the archaic mechanics and what-the-hell-is-this general atmosphere turned me off.  Someday I need to take another crack at it.

[NGTM-1R]

I say just jump in. You'll be able to delight in how insanely bat**** everything is.

That'll work for storyline, but not as long for side missions.

Though sheep rising into the sky on balloons is funny a few times.

[StarSlayer]

Okay, I've been checking up some of the gameplay footage and I'm very tempted to pull the trigger on this experience, does it play well on PC?

[General Battuta]

Yeah, it's a very good port.

[StarSlayer]

Awesome.

One last question, since this is a console prime I assume there isn't going to be some game of the year package right round the corner?  I'd like to avoid a situation like Human Revolution where the Director's Cut blows the original out of the water.

[The E]

It's possible. There are strong indications that a significant part of the ending was cut at the last minute; it's entirely plausible that Konami will pretty that stuff up and release it as DLC.

[General Battuta]

I wouldn't count on it. Isn't the studio pretty much gone?

Konami has been rapacious about monetizing this game (selling the demo for $40!), but I have a hard time believing they still have budget or manpower to finish the cut content...

[The E]

Last I heard was that Kojima was still under contract with Konami until December.

[Phantom Hoover]

i'm fairly sure that they're not going to call him back to make dlc at this point

[NGTM-1R]

Last I heard was that Kojima was still under contract with Konami until December.

If they think they can get enough for DLC out of him in that time, they're crazier than the purple worm in flapjaw space.

[StarSlayer]

Slayer's never Metal Gear'd before first impressions!

Snake Plissken in Escape from the Hospital!  Plus Big Trouble in Little Afghanistan!

This is a really beautiful game, granted I haven't been keeping up with the bleeding edge of the AAA curve for a while but it hits a lot of the same visually impressive open world notes I felt from Red Dead Redemption.  Haven't dug real deep into it yet but I'm starting to wonder if scary floaty ginger and Johnny Storm were not simply a result of people injecting me with stimulants and the foreign bodies jutting from my brain case.  The do it your own way gameplay is very rewarding and being able to plan and execute the means to the objective quite satisfying.  While some of the menu navigation is a little unwieldy the development options seem pretty impressive.  There appears to be a lot of depth neath the very pretty trappings.

I will update as I progress.

[Spoon]

To echo jim sterling: **** konami

I've only seen bits and pieces of this game on youtube, and everything I've seen of it have been crazy in a good way.

[Snarks]

So I've played it and beaten it. I have to say it's a very technically proficient game with excellent gameplay. However, the narrative is very unlike any of the other MGS or MG games. Parts of this is due to story reasons or perhaps a lack of polish on the script before a forced release. To put it shortly, it's a very good game but a very poor MGS game.