I know this is an old game, but I have been thinking about my experience with it for a week now and I must share my thoughts.
I read TONS of rave reviews of this game. I will agree that the idea is fabulous. Indeed, the gameplay was fabulous. But the thing that I couldnt STAND about that game was the fact that for every 5 minutes of play time, you would sit through 7 minutes of dialouge.
Dont get me wrong, the story was great too. But man, as soon as I would start getting into the action, the system would go on auto-pilot for 10 minutes. I got bored.
If I wanted to watch a movie I woulda rented Commando . I wanted to play a kick ass game though, cause I loved the ones on NES.
I feel as though I am the only person in the world that had anything negative to say about this old game.
Never played the game but thought I’d give you a bump anyway. I’ve heard that complaint before, though, along with the criticism that you can beat the game in a ridiculously short time.
I had much the same problem with Xenogears. Great game–but waaaay too much exposition.
Speaking as a big fan, I’ll just say that the problem sounds like you’re focused on the destination more than the journey. Blowing through the entire game in 1.5 hours (or whatever) is missing the point. Yeah, the cinemas are long, but they’re the rewards you get for solving the action sequences.
I actively didn’t like the game. I prefer first- and third-person shooters, if I’m going to play that sort of thing- and the camera system they used in MG:S just pissed me off. I can’t STAND not being able to see more than ten feet or so in front of my character. Thanks to that, I couldn’t play the game at all.
Yeah, it is actually a pretty short game, without the movies. I remember one review telling me openly that if I rushed it I’d wreck it. Apparently the Japanese like their games short and sweet.
As it turned out I never could get my PS1 to load the second disc, so I’m still waiting to play it. My PC wouldn’t even run the demo. Does it often happen that demos don’t work but the full game does? I don’t want to buy it and regret it. I know I could return it but it’d be a waste of calories.
Oh, btw, loved it. LOVED it. Best game since Gran Turismo.
I guess I did like the game for what it was worth. And the cinemas would have been great if there would have been more action to even it out. that is all I am saying. It was unbalanced
Like Phlip, I saw all the reviews praising this game.
I bought it.
Liked the action, but as in the OP, I was severely annoyed by the long interruptions of watching the characters talk to each other.
Actually, I was hoping that this game would be kind of like Thief: The Dark Project, a great first-person sneaker for the computer game. After all, the main character in Metal Gear Solid is not supposed to be spotted by the enemy, right? Alas, the “sneaking around” aspect of this game wasn’t handled nearly as well.
Haven’t played it since I finished the entire storyline.
I loved the music that played during the closing credits. I’ve gone back to the last save spot before the game’s end and played from there just to hear that music again.
My two biggest complaints about the game were this: too short, and that %&%&^&%%#^% TORTURE SCENE! I only ever did that once. Any other time I used my saved games to get past it or just got the bad ending.
But anyway, I loved the game and am about to pre-order number 2. I bought Zone of the Enders just for the demo. It’s going to be amazing and not just because of the graphics. There’s so many plot twists to be resolved, and there’s already quite a debate about it based on the 2 official trailers. But I really hope that Meryl is in fact in the game again, although I personally think she isn’t. She was my favorite character in the first game.
If you are a serious gamer, check out gamefaqs.com or usenet, because there’s WAY too many plot theories and facts for me to go over here. Hideo Kojima is quite a story teller (even if he copped out by ending Zone of the Enders the way he did–much too soon and with nothing really resolved).
I was a longtime fan of the old NES game. So I nearly peed my pants ten year later when I read all the awesome verdicts from the critics who previewed MGS.
I am a big fan of Metal Gear Solid–but yes, I do understand, and don’t blame anyone who’s upset with all the lengthly cinema.
I still love it. But ‘action’? No…I wouldn’t call it an action game. I would call it an ‘interactive movie’. I feel that this label gives it a closer definition to what it really is.
As far as the story goes, yes its a great game. More of a movie than a game, but still pretty fun. My favorite thing about it actually was some funny ‘outtakes’ somebody wrote and posted someplace in my destroyed bookmarks (argh!)…
paraphrasing some of them:
<warning! spoilers!>
<Scene where Solid Snake confronts that girl, whose name I forget. He’s making fun of her I think…>
Solid Snake: You don’t even have your finger on the trigger, rookie.
Girl: I’m not a wookie! Rookie! Ah, dang…
<the tank fight scene>
Intercon thing: Ok, Snake, grenade the hatch of the tank!
Snake: Got it
<Snake runs out and is instantly blown away by the tank’s gun>
Intercom: Oops, chaff grenades first. My bad.
Vulcan Raven: (opens tank hatch): Is he supposed to be lying there bleeding like that?
<tank scene, take 2>
Intercom: Ok, chaff grenades first, then take out the hatch!
Snake: Er, got it.
<Snake tosses chaff grenades to disable radar, then dashes out…only to get run over by the tank’s treads>
Intercom: Argh! Chaff and take out the treads!! I’ll get it right next time, I swear!
Vulcan Raven: Ew. I’m not cleaning this up
And, my personal favorite, the torture scene!
<Revolver Ocelot, after gleefully showing off the torture mechanisms to the shackled Solid Snake, pulls The Switch. Nothing happens.>
Revolver Ocelot: …the hell??
<Ocelot begins to kick the machine>
Solid Snake: <somewhat lamely> Ow. Ow.
Revolver Ocelot: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS STUPID PIECE OF MONKEY CRA-oh, dopey me, forgot to plug it in!
Solid Snake: Ow…YEEEEAAAAAARRRRGHGH!!
I liked MGS ok, but it wasn’t my favorite of that type. My absolute favorites were Syphon Filter I and II. Neither ever got as much press as MGS, but, in my opinion, for actual game play, either of those beat the pants off MGS.
I enjoyed Metal Gear Solid in spite of the fact that I hated all the dialogue and cut scenes. It might not have been so bad had the script not been so horrible. I have a real hard time listening to characters wax philosophically about nuclear war while Snake has been breaking necks throughout the whole game.
And I especially got annoyed at the end when I had to fight that guy 3-4 times. Hand to hand, while he’s in the mech, and then again while he’s chasing you in a jeep. Did I miss one?
But it was a pretty darn good game when you got to play it. Hopefully the next version will have a better script and more game play.
Well, technically nitpicking, but it’s impossible to go through the game without being spotted at several times. Sneaking about and being spotted infrequently is just one of the measures of skill at the game – you can also get recognized for killing a lot of enemies, or completing it quickly, for instance. The code names given at the end are given out according to your performance, IIRC.
You know you can order the soundtrack, right? That tune is called “The Best Is Yet To Come,” and it’s definitely a winner.
. I wanted to play a kick ass game though, cause I loved the ones on NES.