You can leave the Kitchen Sink.

mI just read over at The Brainy Gamer a very interesting post about Metal Gear Solid 4 and why exactly he felt it overwhelmed, bewildered and frustrated him as a player. You should read the post on his site actually as it is very insightful.

It did make me think about the increasing number of game mechanics and elements in video and PC games and then lead me to think about how games are becoming more about a narrative experience, as opposed to a ludic one.

I am still putting my thoughts together on this, and will probably post on it later on.

Interactive Movies

While I was playing MGS4, it dawned on me that most of the stand out moments for me in the game were cutscene related. The interactive sections were a sort of bridge to the cutscenes, or I should say the continuation of the story. Even some of the interactive sections were structured in such a way to create a cinematic experience.

A lot of people online seem to use this as the main reason to put down the Metal Gear Solid series, but I feel that there is something going on there. Must games be purely ludic activities requiring constant input from the player? People always argue that that should be the case, especially when the quality of the non-interactive sections is below C-grade movies or books. There is a potential for this style of 'game' to be explored though.

While I was playing MGS4, one of my mum's employees was sitting down and watching me play the game. She then said that it looked like something she would like to play as it seemed that there wasn't much input required from her (I had just gotten to a section peppered with cutscenes). She even asked me whether there were games that would require even less input! Her first point raised something in my mind about those people who are looking for narrative experiences out of their games. A game that was just about its 'gameplay' would hold minimal or no interest to them.

From what I understand, the genre of Visual Novels in Japan are like this. Sort of prettied up choose-your-own-adventure stories. I think a game like Metal Gear Solid 4 could be the next step in this regard. Of course I am not advocating that all games should be like this, but it could help bring in some more people into gaming, and even provide an avenue for the near-dead adventure game genre.

Now that I think about it, games like Killer 7 also used a similar sort of structure. Minimal gameplay mechanics in a linear narrative that string together the story. Maybe Suda 51's and Hideo Kojima's rumoured collabo project would be something like this?

Just a thought.

It's Over...

I finished Metal Gear Solid 4 just before 1am this morning. I saw the full credits roll at about 1.30am. I was spent, I was giddy and I was satisfied. It seems weird to be so pumped about playing through and finishing what some could cynically call an interactive movie experience, but hey, I can't help what I felt eh?

So, what did I think? It was awesome! Well worth the play time and everything. The last boss fight is really of epic proportions, and if you have played through the previous MGS's, a major reward for all the effort. I am still getting the hang of actually writing on the internet, and in this whole blog style, so I won't go into any complicated review or what-have-you, suffice to say that the game was very good and will be time well spent for anybody who does not mind not being in control for the a good portion of the game...well, that and the awkward script and some OTT scenes. I loved that stuff by the way.

Pros
1. Excellent production values
2. The last three boss fights are really, really great. Wonderful set pieces all of them.
3. The music!
4. The fanservice and random meta-statements.
5. Snake is really one of the coolest characters in videogames...period.

Cons
1. Kojima really could have used an editor and I know some people say that is part of his charm and so on, but really, the whole experience could have been a LOT better without some of the dialogue and scenes.
2. Odd difficulty spikes here and there, but on the whole, I felt it didn't provide enough of a challenge on the first playthrough. Will see if this changes once I try to it on the harder difficulty setting or go for the Big Boss medal (crazy I know!).
3. In terms of gameplay mechanics it is not doing anything interesting.

I can't really think of more to say really. I think it was an excellent game, but I can completely understand sites like eurogamer that gave it an 8/10. It is really good, but stops just short of that 9/10 that marks the introduction of something truly outstanding as a game. As an experience though (and this is of course entirely subjective) it would be a 9.5/10 for me and a fitting end for the old man.

MGS4 - Update: Before the End

Okay, so I am what I think is the final chapter of Metal Gear Solid 4, and I thought I should put down some of my thoughts.

The game is very well made, and the craft and artistry that went into the development of this game are nothing short of astonishing. The attention to detail and the whole experience of it are really awesome.

Now, this is where I am supposed to go into the parts of the game I don't like. The truth is, I doubt I can say anything that has not already been said in loads of places all over the internet since its launch. The dialogue is awkward, the cutscenes are long, the gameplay can be a bit rough at times (and I mean that in that there is no smooth flow of game mechanics being introduced and so on, like I read somewhere, the gameplay is almost based on the scene you are in at any particular time), and most of the boss fights are pretty dull tbh, even though the cinematic flair of them cannot be denied.

But, all that been said, I really, really like the game. I do not think I could really rate it anything. It is defintely one for the fans of the series, and I don't think that there's anything wrong with that.

Most of my stand out moments from the game are from the cut scenes which I think is a bit sad. BUT, the stand out moment for me, is one of the last boss fights. Wow! It was so tense and just really, really cool. I don't want to give away any spoilers so I will wait until MGS4 saturates in the internet and everybody at least has a vague idea of the set pieces in it, but yeah. WOW. I liked that fight, and the one after that too was pure class as well if a bit on the easy side (and I am playing on the second-to-hardest setting you get at the beginning of the game, not sure what it is called now).

I am sure that finishing this game will embellish it forever in my gaming memory and I can add it to my gaming milestones, except this one will be the first time I ever got completely caught up in an HD experience complete with surround sound. Even Call of Duty 4 didn't do that for me, but maybe it's because it was a bit on the short side. I've also had a lot of fun playing through some of the sections with my girlfriend there and getting all tense on my behalf :-)

Well, will put up my final thoughts in a sort of review once I am done.

Metal Gear Solid 4

Okay, so my girlfriend got me MGS4. I would probably have had to wait a few more weeks before I could afford to get it, and now instead of that I am able to have it in my PS3 right now (Thanks Bibi!).

Initial impressions are pretty favourable! Although I guess I would say that since I am a sucker for that sort of thing...no spoilers though. I will post about it more as I go through it. Maybe I might do a play-blog or whatever they call those kinds of things. No videos from me though :-(