rionaleonhart | 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

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.

Whoops, Did I Say 'Phantom Thief'?

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