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dongle
Joined: 04 Dec 2006
Location: Berkeley, CA
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 Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2007 11:17 pm Post subject: [FKW'07]Metal Gear Portable Ops is bullshit |
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After all the KojiPro Report hype and the seal of approval to make it canonical, I finally got a PSP so I could play this game. I got about half way through the game and didn't feel like finishing it.
MGS traits that it shares:
- hiding in cardboard boxes
- sneaking
- a tranquilizer gun
- Snake
MGS traits it lacks:
- good dialogue (the codec is barely used, except for captures)
- a larger concept (meme, gene, scene... what's this game's theme?)
- refined controls
- epic cutscenes
- intricate setpieces
- trademark Kojima post-modernisms
I guess the general feeling that I got was that it... wasn't a real MGS game. It felt like some clone. In fact, it sort of was as I later realized that a rookie team produced MPO. This is the Portrait of Ruin of the series. With Kojima moving on to other series, is this the fate of the MGS franchise?
The two words that come to mind when I think of this game are unpolished and uninteresting.
Last edited by dongle on Wed Feb 14, 2007 11:21 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Rud31
forum ruler of Iraq
Joined: 05 Dec 2006
Location: SanAnTex
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mechanori
Joined: 04 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2007 11:23 pm |
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I totally agree. The comic book cutscenes are an awful replacement for the regular ones, every area is a large box filled with smaller boxes, and the game itself is pretty fucking boring. Oh, and the controls are terribly unintuitive.
Not a whole lot here to love!
EDIT: There you go, Rud13. |
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showka
Joined: 04 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2007 11:31 pm |
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Reasons_to_own_PSP --;
Yes, I know this is a lame joke. |
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EU03
Joined: 05 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2007 11:34 pm |
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I thought that this would FINALLY be the killer app to the PSP.
Well, not really. Controls are my biggest complaint. Fixed camera would have made this game a lot better, though then areas would seem more redundant to play through (not that they're not already were in the first place).
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Lurky
banned
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 1:11 am |
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| showka wrote: |
Reasons_to_own_PSP --;
Yes, I know this is a lame joke. |
Pursuit Fo-
oh wait, the sequel is coming to ps2. |
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Leau
Joined: 05 Dec 2006
Location: Metro City
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 2:53 am |
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Well were you expecting Metal Gear 4? Imperfections aside, I think it's pretty fucking impressive for a portable game.
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dongle
Joined: 04 Dec 2006
Location: Berkeley, CA
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 3:11 am |
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| Leau wrote: |
| Well were you expecting Metal Gear 4? Imperfections aside, I think it's pretty fucking impressive for a portable game. |
But that's the thing: it may be impressive with the qualification of "for a portable game". I generally don't use my portable systems on the go (I'd rather be looking at things or talking to people or whatever if I'm outside), but I find them worth owning since there are plenty of games that are good and happen to be portable. Examples include Loco Roco, Lumines, all the top DS games, etc.
Either way, the game is worse than MGS1, which the PSP is powerful enough to /emulate/. It's poor design, not limitations of portable devices that prevented this game from being decent. Hell, the AC!D titles are better than this.
I /was/ impressed with how much of MGS3 that KojiPro were able to cram onto the PSP. It just ended up not being too fun. |
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Leau
Joined: 05 Dec 2006
Location: Metro City
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 3:18 am |
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Hmmm. Well I don't really agree with you in terms of how good the game is. I just kind of feel oppositely about most of your points, so it's not something I can realitically argue. But the argument about not playing portable games on the go is a fair one. I definately know what you mean in that regard.
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dongle
Joined: 04 Dec 2006
Location: Berkeley, CA
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 3:44 am |
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| I can see people /enjoying/ the game, but a lot of us have built the MG series up to something more than fun games. |
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Westacular
Joined: 05 Dec 2006
Location: Waterloo-ish, ON, Canada
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 4:02 am Post subject: Re: Metal Gear Portable Ops is bullshit |
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| dongle wrote: |
MGS traits it lacks:
- good dialogue (the codec is barely used, except for captures) |
!
...
I think this kills any lingering thoughts I might have of ever getting a PSP.
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Last edited by Westacular on Thu Feb 15, 2007 4:07 am; edited 1 time in total |
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internisus
shafer sephiroth
Joined: 04 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 4:04 am |
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| dongle wrote: |
| I can see people /enjoying/ the game, but a lot of us have built the MG series up to something more than fun games. |
Yeah. It's almost a way of life for me. -_- |
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Mr Mustache
Mean Mr. Mustache
Joined: 04 Dec 2006
Location: Bushwick
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 6:05 am |
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So they aren't fun games?
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Deets
Joined: 05 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 6:18 am |
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| You sure do make a lot of one-liners, Mr. Mustache. |
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Adilegian
Rogue Scholar
Joined: 05 Dec 2006
Location: Q*Bert Killscreen Nightmare
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 7:17 am Post subject: Re: Metal Gear Portable Ops is bullshit |
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I liked this game a lot! So maybe I can provide some interesting counterarguments.
| dongle wrote: |
| After all the KojiPro Report hype and the seal of approval to make it canonical, I finally got a PSP so I could play this game. I got about half way through the game and didn't feel like finishing it. |
I think it's definitely worth finishing. The ending provides a useful narrative setpiece that explains some of the connections between MGS3 and Solid Snake's first mission.
Insofar as the game seems like a gaiden or sidestory, it's useful to remember that it is supposed to work as a narrative complement to MGS4. There will presumably be some correspondence between the revelations in each game.
| dongle wrote: |
- hiding in cardboard boxes
- sneaking
- a tranquilizer gun
- Snake |
All correct!
| dongle wrote: |
| - good dialogue (the codec is barely used, except for captures) |
I thought that the dialogue was pretty well done. Unlike earlier MGS games, there's definitely a sense that you won't get a whole lot of dialogue during the gameplay sequences, but what's there is still pretty good. I don't think it disappoints the precedent set by the earlier games.
Really, as a long-term fan of the series, I thought that the extant radio conversations were pleasant nods to someone who remembers nuances of the characters. E.G., Roy mentions that he joined the army "because of a woman," which sounds like a typical complaint until you remember that he's Meryl's father and had an affair with his brother's wife. The radio material builds off what's already there more than it adds new stuff. But I thought that was enough.
| dongle wrote: |
| - a larger concept (meme, gene, scene... what's this game's theme?) |
I understand this complaint, but... well. My gut idea is that Kojima's blown his creative/thematic wad on the MGS series. He's publicly stated that he wants to quit the series several times, and all of those times he's been corralled into continuing to work on it. I think of this in light of Douglas Adams' decision to kill all of the Hitchhiker's Guide characters off in the final book. He wants the goddamn thing to end.
With that said, I think it's natural that the MGS series move away from the sort of thematic congruency we've seen thus far. It's going to become more and more about the story of the MGS universe.
Insofar as the core three MGS games are artistic, they focus on exploring how three different influences bear upon a person's identity: genetic heritage, cultural heritage, and historical context. Fans are generally less satisfied with the balance of abstract communication, and they want a literal story. MGS3 managed to do both, with mixed results.
I think that MPO reflects the way that the series will develop as a story after Kojima's gone. It's building its fiction.
| dongle wrote: |
| - refined controls |
I actually found the controls better than those in any of the PS2 games! I didn't run into as many problems leaning against the walls, and I finally didn't have to grapple with going into FPV and bringing up my gun at the same time. On the whole, I thought that the PSP forced the MGS controls to become as simple as possible—and I thought that it worked pretty well.
| dongle wrote: |
| - epic cutscenes |
Epic in length or execution?
| dongle wrote: |
| - intricate setpieces |
You mean like an elevator sequence?
| dongle wrote: |
| - trademark Kojima post-modernisms |
I'm not sure what these are outside of MGS2. If anything, I thought that the Access Point Scan function used the PSP's technology to "break the fourth wall" just as well as acknowledging a rapid-fire controller.
| dongle wrote: |
| The two words that come to mind when I think of this game are unpolished and uninteresting. |
I thought the game was plenty polished. I didn't notice any bugs during offline play, and the only online bugs I noticed were (usually) due to inevitable lag or others' cheating.
And I think the uninteresting part is more relative. I like what the game's story adds to the MGS mythos.
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Shapermc
crawling in his skin
Joined: 04 Dec 2006
Location: Chicago via St. Louis
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 1:31 pm |
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Hey, I haven't played MGPO, but I can't imagine it being very good. Luckily I figured it out pretty quickly with ac!d, but playing a MG game w/o kojima involved is like playing the best of the best fan fictions with a pretty good budget.
I have to say that ac!d did do one thing: it made me appreciate how good Kojima really is. I had always thought that MGS (1-3) was a pretty good game but I didn't really give all the credit to Kojima (because of MG:GB mainly, and I don't think MGS1 is as good as many other people do), but the combination of playing Snatcher, and playing MG Ac!d fairly close together made me realise that I actually like Kojima more than I like MGS (which would also probably explain why I never understood what the problem with Raiden was).
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mechanori
Joined: 04 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 1:44 pm |
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| Shapermc wrote: |
| I had always thought that MGS (1-3) was a pretty good game but I didn't really give all the credit to Kojima (because of MG:GB mainly, and I don't think MGS1 is as good as many other people do), but the combination of playing Snatcher, and playing MG Ac!d fairly close together made me realise that I actually like Kojima more than I like MGS (which would also probably explain why I never understood what the problem with Raiden was). |
I'm pretty sure I agree with you. (This might not be what you were getting at, but) I find the movie references, and the quotations, and the subtle details extremely charming. His interests and personality fill out the games. |
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Shapermc
crawling in his skin
Joined: 04 Dec 2006
Location: Chicago via St. Louis
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 1:46 pm |
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| mechanori wrote: |
| I'm pretty sure I agree with you. (This might not be what you were getting at, but) I find the movie references, and the quotations, and the subtle details extremely charming. His interests and personality fill out the games. |
No, that's what I was getting at. It's something so potent it's not even lost in translation.
Can't fucking wait for Policenauts translation!
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showka
Joined: 04 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 4:36 pm Post subject: Re: Metal Gear Portable Ops is bullshit |
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| Adilegian wrote: |
| I think of this in light of Douglas Adams' decision to .................................................................... He wants the goddamn thing to end. |
You just spoiled the ending to an entire series of books. |
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dmauro
Joined: 04 Dec 2006
Location: Broker
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 4:45 pm |
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who was it that used the acronym WTFISTS?
Anyways, don't take your resentment out on the PSP. It is a great system for Konami week! I've been doing all of my Konami gaming on it except for La-Mulana.
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internisus
shafer sephiroth
Joined: 04 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 5:02 pm |
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| Wow, I really should have kept going in my enormous Hitchiker's Guide anthology. |
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Felix
unofficial repository
Joined: 04 Dec 2006
Location: vancouver
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 5:24 pm Post subject: Re: Metal Gear Portable Ops is bullshit |
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| showka wrote: |
| Adilegian wrote: |
| I think of this in light of Douglas Adams' decision to .................................................................... He wants the goddamn thing to end. |
You just spoiled the ending to an entire series of books. |
not really. by the time you get to number five it's reached the point where you can pretty much pick and choose what you'd like to take seriously, and as such the ending is ultimately so diffuse that it's hardly the sort of thing to take as "spoilers" anyway. |
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showka
Joined: 04 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 5:40 pm |
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I'll admit, I got as far as book four and thought, "This just isn't that entertaining." I had always wanted to finish it though.
By the way, was that movie lame or what? |
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internisus
shafer sephiroth
Joined: 04 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 5:41 pm |
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| That's exactly what happened to me. And I never saw the movie, largely because of opinions voiced on IC. |
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dongle
Joined: 04 Dec 2006
Location: Berkeley, CA
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 7:16 pm |
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| dmauro wrote: |
who was it that used the acronym WTFISTS?
Anyways, don't take your resentment out on the PSP. It is a great system for Konami week! I've been doing all of my Konami gaming on it except for La-Mulana. |
I'm not taking anything out on the PSP. I like it! I've defended it in several other threads. I'm using it to play Gradius and AC!D and other Konami games. If anything, I think the PSP deserves more than a stripped-down MGS3 fanfic. |
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Adilegian
Rogue Scholar
Joined: 05 Dec 2006
Location: Q*Bert Killscreen Nightmare
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 8:34 pm Post subject: Re: Metal Gear Portable Ops is bullshit |
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| showka wrote: |
| Adilegian wrote: |
| I think of this in light of Douglas Adams' decision to .................................................................... He wants the goddamn thing to end. |
You just spoiled the ending to an entire series of books. |
Oh, no, I haven't. Seriously.
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Westacular
Joined: 05 Dec 2006
Location: Waterloo-ish, ON, Canada
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| Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 7:55 pm Post subject: Re: Metal Gear Portable Ops is bullshit |
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| showka wrote: |
| Adilegian wrote: |
| I think of this in light of Douglas Adams' decision to .................................................................... He wants the goddamn thing to end. |
You just spoiled the ending to an entire series of books. |
The ending spoiled the ending. It's so abrupt and arbitrary that, well, it's unmistakably Douglas Adams saying "THERE. IT'S DONE. NOW STOP BOTHERING ME." He later regretted this, and had some vague plans for a sixth novel to fix things at the time of his death.
| showka wrote: |
| I'll admit, I got as far as book four and thought, "This just isn't that entertaining." I had always wanted to finish it though. |
I consider Life, The Universe and Everything (book three) to be the creative peak. Book Four was an okay sort of meandering. Book Five, "Mostly Harmless", was mostly pointless and has only one redeemingly entertaining aspect.
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Adilegian
Rogue Scholar
Joined: 05 Dec 2006
Location: Q*Bert Killscreen Nightmare
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| Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 7:58 pm Post subject: Re: Metal Gear Portable Ops is bullshit |
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| Westacular wrote: |
| I consider Life, The Universe and Everything (book three) to be the creative peak. Book Four was an okay sort of meandering. Book Five, "Mostly Harmless", was mostly pointless and has only one redeemingly entertaining aspect. |
Totally agreed. If you can snag it, you might check out Adams' text-based game "Bureaucracy." It's got a lot of the fun paradoxical stuff that I loved in the Hitchhiker's books.
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