rionaleonhart | Whoops, Did I Say 'Phantom Thief'?

Entry tags:

Whoops, Did I Say 'Phantom Thief'?

When I was talking about perhaps attempting Metal Gear Solid 2 a couple of weeks ago,

firefly99 said that entering the Metal Gear Solid series with the second instalment would be a terrible mistake. The exchange went something like this:

rionaleonhart: Perhaps I should play Metal Gear Solid 2.

firefly99: You have to play Metal Gear Solid first.

rionaleonhart: Really? I don't know; I've already got a copy of the second game, and I thought I'd just see wheth

firefly99: I'VE BOUGHT IT FOR YOU

rionaleonhart: ...what?

And she had!

(I do not deserve the LJ friends I have, seriously.)

So, Metal Gear Solid. I have been playing for about an hour, and here is what I have learnt:

I am not good at this game.

I am, in fact, upsettingly, humiliatingly bad at this game, and by 'humiliatingly bad' I mean 'four Game Overs in less than an hour of gameplay on Easy Mode' bad. Between this and Shadow of the Colossus, I am beginning to wonder whether

firefly99 is not just being ridiculously lovely and is instead plotting to destroy my self-confidence by introducing me to games at which she knows I will be completely rubbish.

(It was ridiculously lovely of her, though, and I shall persevere!)

Possibly part of my problem is the fact that I'm refusing to kill any of the guards. (I initially typed this as 'refusing to kiss any of the guards'. Whilst admittedly I haven't been kissing any of the guards, this is more due to gameplay restrictions (or at least I don't think the game allows one to kiss the guards) than any conscious refusal, and I don't think refusing to kiss the guards would really be a problem, as kissing a guard would probably precipitate one's discovery. Oh, unless Solid Snake is in fact a Jynx and his kiss sends people to sleep, in which case it would be an excellent infiltration strategy. But I would be surprised to learn that he is a Jynx.

Perhaps 'knockout lipstick' is an item one can acquire in the Metal Gear Solid games? If not, perhaps it should be.)

ALL RIGHT, BIT OF A DIGRESSION THERE. Possibly part of my problem is the fact that I'm refusing to kill any of the guards. I do not quite know why; they do not hesitate to kill me. It is probably Iji's fault. WAY TO MAKE ME INTO A VIDEOGAME PACIFIST, IJI. THANKS. NOW I CAN'T PLAY ANYTHING BUT TETRIS.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

My entire knowledge of the MGS series comes from the amazing Let's Destroy Metal Gear (http://hiimdaisy.livejournal.com/?skip=10&tag=metal+gear) comics. They are huge and detail entire game plots, so, spoilers. Perhaps if you are determined to play, save them for when you've finished the game(s)?

I will give those a read when I have finished!

...assuming I am actually capable of finishing help why am I so rubbish?

You are not the only one who doesn't kill the guards; I regularly laugh at my mother who does exactly the same thing.

My knowledge of the first game comes from sitting watching her play the game, because I found it too hard to do it myself. I couldn't get to the elevator in the first half for the longest time.

MGS2 however, I can play (if my mother is there to sit and tell me what to do); and did play, and it is AWESOME.

Oh, is the second game easier, then? That's a relief, because I really am absolutely terrible. (And a high-five for your non-guard-killing mother!)

MGS2 is quite a bit easier, but some of the puzzles are a little trickier, verging on guide-dang-it in places.

Speaking as somebody who's family was brought together by MGS, it is an absolutely immutable law that you play MGS1 before any of the sequels (playing Metal Gear any any of it's pre-MGS sequels would also be a plus) - Ideally on your own at night, so at certain points you can feel free to let that single solitary tear just roll down your face.

Also, on a practical note - as the game progresses avoiding guards becomes far easier than taking them on, so it never hurts to practice. You could also get the extra disk of special VR missions. firefly99, do you remember that one where you had the guards walking around the goal in a circle, occasionally stopping to change direction? Completing that was one of the high points of my life.

Oh and speaking about MGS comics - The Last Days of Foxhound (http://www.gigaville.com/) is brilliant.

as the game progresses avoiding guards becomes far easier than taking them on, so it never hurts to practice.

Of course, the problem is that I neither take guards on nor avoid them; I just get spotted and die. I do hope I'll improve eventually.

Thank you for the comic link!

...but it will spoil you silly, so hold onto it.

OH GOD THAT ONE. I REMEMBER I THREW THE CONTROLLER AT THE WALL A FEW TIMES ABOUT THAT ONE. And do you remember the one with the guard you had to wire up and use to blow up a camera? AUUUUGH!

The ones in the MGS2 disc aren't as fun, but I still occasionally boot it up just so I can be Raiden and take photos of ghosts. Or do the puzzle where you have to guess what kind of girl the developers like.

AND ANOTHER ONE THAT DROVE ME CRAZY. THE PUZZLE WHERE YOU HAD TO THROW GRENADES AT THE STICKS TO MAKE THEM ALL GO DOWN. GODDDDD.

AND DO YOU REMEMBER THE ONE WHERE YOU DRESS SNAKE UP AS LIQUID AND MAKE THE GUARD SALUTE

oh goddd, that game was more fun than it had a right to be. I heard they made it because while the devs were supposed to be making MGS2, they'd be making new MGS1 levels with the VR engine and sending them to each other to see if they could beat it. Kojima Productions must be like the world's most insane playground.

Also, the murder mystery!

THE ONE WHERE YOU'RE IN THE HOUSE? YES. SHAT A BRICK AT THE ENDING.

God, that game was the best bonus mission pack ever.

DID YOU SPEND HOURS PHOTOGRAPHING NAOMI LIKE I DID

SHE ALWAYS TURNS AROUND WHEN I POINT THE CAMERA AT HER, THOUGH. I KEPT SHOUTING AT HER "NO DAMMIT DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO MODEL"

oh yeah and I remember staying up all night trying to finish the one where you have the tiny path and the one guard and the snow and you have to blow up the wall, and getting this (http://i31.tinypic.com/2llya6f.png) cruddy doodle of a robot for it?

When I clicked on the 'cruddy robot doodle' link, I was expecting something more like this. I have to confess myself disappointed.

No I did not. Perv.

I remember the path/snow level... and thinking "wow, this level is going to be easy. I bet I'll be finished in like 10 minutes". I wasn't finished in 10 minutes.

I don't remember that doodle. I was playing on the PS1 MGS1 "Disk 3" Special VR missions, well before MGS2 came out. Did they release them somewhere else as well, or am I just being forgetful, because for the longest time I was in denial about MGS2 (SPOILERS: )

I just want to thank you for blanking out spoilers. ♥!

It's cool. If you don't know that SPOILERS: it kind of ruins it when SPOILERS: . You'd better not read those 'till you finish the game! SPOILERS: .

I heard they made it because while the devs were supposed to be making MGS2, they'd be making new MGS1 levels with the VR engine and sending them to each other to see if they could beat it.

That is wonderful! I want to work there.

Me too; I was sold as soon as I heard they used Lego to prototype levels. Lego!

DID YOU SEE THE AWESOME MAKING-OF DOCUMENTARY FOR MGS2 WHERE KOJIMA WAS MAKING A GODILLA FIGURINE STOMP ALL OVER THE LEGO BIG SHELL

All right: hopeless or not, why did I take so long to get around to playing these games?

CLEARLY YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW DEEP AND MEANINGFUL THEY ARE

I claim I love the games because they're clever, but in reality they're a fascinating look into the writer's tiny, whacked out Japanese brain. Hideo Kojima is the main character.

In one of the guide books, it claims that Snake is half American, half Japanese, but they seem to have quietly retracted that. Maybe because it would have made Liquid half American, Half Japanese and entirely British.

CLEARLY YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW DEEP AND MEANINGFUL THEY ARE

I wasn't joking when I was it saved our family. My sister hadn't spoken to anybody for like three years until we started talking about MGS.

There's also how well it's produced. SPOILER:

Snake was originally supposed to be half British half Japanese! It's actually a minor plot point in MGS1 when [OH GOD MY SPOILER TEXT DIDN'T WORK I'm just not going to talk about it DON'T WORRY RIONA IT'S NOT A MAJOR SPOILER OR PLOT POINT OR ANYTHING.]

They have pretty much retconned it out though, for something far stupider.

Edited 2009-07-09 16:39 (UTC)

I LOVE how well the games are produced, they're just so well-made, which is one of the reasons TTS was such a disappointment - it didn't feel as well-made and (ahem) solid, you know? I mean, even now, I think MGS looks good.

MGS IS REALLY HARD UNTIL YOU GET USED TO IT, SERIOUSLY. You'll find a little switch in your brain will go 'ping' and then you'll be breezing through the game, though.

Also, I badly want a fanfic about Snake using knockout lipstick. And I will write it as soon as I figure out the logistics of Snake not going unconscious when he puts it on in the first place.

Didn't they explain that in, well, Firefly?

Despite my name, I don't watch Firefly, so you're going to have to explain that a tad more. :)

I don't know. It was something like Vaseline (not mentioned by name) on her lips before the sedative lipstick, so she wasn't affected. There's no point in me explaining who "she" is.

That is a great relief! I am looking forward to the pinging of the switch.

Er, whoops, didn't think about that particular problem. I hope you work it out soon, because I really, really want to read this.

You'll know it's happened once you realise that just hiding motionless for 20 minutes to learn the guards movements is the best part of the game.

I never do that. I'm more of a run-in and improvise sort of person, myself. I try and follow a route around the room, and dodge guards as they come, instead.

ALSO, I DON'T KILL THE GUARDS EITHER. I used to kill pretty much all of them, and then I reached a point where there's a guard using a urinal. I snuck up behind him, snapped his neck, and felt so damn bad about it I tried to fight the mandatory encounters with my fists (and died).

Oh, dear, yes, there are going to be people I have to fight, aren't there? I hope I'm not quite as rubbish when I am fighting as I am when I'm not.

Hand to hand. It is the basis of all combat.

Only a fool trusts his life to a weapon!

Also, I find your lack of guard-killing somehow reassuring.

(REVENGE SPAMMING.)

You actually get a bonus at the end for not killing loads of guards. Although I recommend carving your way through your first playthrough, because you'll freak out more at the end.

I have nothing to say, I just want to point out that I'm spamming this entry.

*also can't bring self to kill the guards unless it's by accident and only got moderately acceptable at stealth after a long long long time* SO DO NOT FEEL BAD.

Thank you! I am beginning to wonder whether anyone kills the guards.

(I tried to kill one today, to get to the suppressor. It didn't work very well. I am becoming intimately familiar with the Game Over screen. (And I still don't have that suppressor.))

Snake? Snake! SNAAAAAAAAAAKE!!!!!

"Perhaps 'knockout lipstick' is an item one can acquire in the Metal Gear Solid games? If not, perhaps it should be."

...

you don't even know

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Whoops, Did I Say 'Phantom Thief'?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject