Editorial: In-Game Movies - A Line to be Drawn?

Loot Ninja writes:

"So with any luck you've all been able to play a bit of MGS4. And those of you who have played more than a couple of hours have witnessed the amazingly detailed (and lengthy) cutscenes that make up most of the storytelling. As I played through the first few hours I couldn't help but wonder (as I'm sure most of you have) if I've payed for a game - or a really expensive movie with interactive moments. I hope it's the former because sixty bucks is a lot for a movie - and games for that matter. It's not a new thing really - Japanese RPGs have been doing it for years. I'm sure many of you fondly remember the cutscenes in Square Enix's mega-hit Final Fantasy VII. But where is the whole thing going? How many franchises will follow the example set by games such as MGS4? And should they?"

[PoSTedUP]

but.. who dosnt want to watch the awesome/interesting cut scenes?

get your popcorn and your drink and enjoy the pure art mr. kojima has made for you. : )

[fiercescuba]

MGS4 has a nice blend of movies and action. Finding that happy medium lies with the gamer and not the developer. What may be too much for you may be just the right amount for me.

[pharmd]

exactly, if you like it, buy it.... if you think its gay.. dont buy it!!!!

[ScentlessApprentice7]

Except I would have added a little bit more to it:

exactly, if you like it, buy it.... if you think its gay.. don't buy it, and STFU and stop hating on it just because its a PS3 jewel.

[BulletToothtony]

Because everyone in here and in the playstation forums seems to love the game, and yes that obviously includes the cutscenes as well...

I mean just look at those cutscenes... they're amazing.. look at that fight between Raiden and Vamp that's epic.

don't tell me those cutscenes are boring cause that's pure bull

[aceitman]

if you think you dont like the cutscenes then skip it its not like you cant and your forced to watch it its telling a story just like the other metal gears did just a lot better than the other ones and for all the cutscenes 90 min worth you have 16hours and 45min of game play is it worth it yes 40$ for single player mode 10$ for online and 10$ for a movie (cutscenes) just like a movie so stop your biching about cutscenes and skip and play or enjoy a story of one of the best video games in history metal gear solid 4 sons of the patriots

[jadenkorri]

first all, a video game is a movie that you interact with, hense why they are called "VIDEO" game...And cut scenes in FF7 were not that bad, gameplay had way more than cutscenes... I can't speak for MGS4, i did buy limited edition, its still sealed, playing MGS1, 2 and 3 first then ill open MGS4

[Condoleezza Rice]

After Hideo Kojimas masterpiece,I think all game developers should implement good length Cut Scenes in their games to substitute for the normal Cheesy half a minute Cut scenes that focus more on the Graphical Detail on the Characters rather than telling the ACTUAL story.

[Chris Bosh]

I feel like cutscenes is the future.
Who doesnt like a game and a movie.
Its 2 in 1.
All for a reasonable price of $60!!!!!

[Ludwig]

The only real problem with in-game movies/movie-like driven games is that many young gamers lack culture in the movie/book sections and are "game fans" .. so they may keep paying for low-budget-like movies in game's clothing by lack of culture.

It's just a possibility.

[iamtehpwn]

They're shorter than FFX cut scenes.
It's more gameplay than Cut scene. I don't know what you people are talking about.

[TL24]

For those people complaining about how long the cut scenes were, it's part of what makes MGS4 so different that every other game we have out there in the market!

MGS4 felt like a masterpiece movie you see at the theaters and while you're sitting there you wished you could just pick up a controller and play the damn thing.... Well MGS4 is just that, it's a masterpiece of a game/movie that won't be matched for years and years to come... Only person that will be able to out-do it is Kojima himself.

[The GOAT]

Do these people not know that all the cut scenes can be skipped if you don't want to watch them, MGS4 cuts scenes were very entertaining and drove the story along well, if you don't want to watch them skip'em. so quite your b!tching.

[--Onilink--]

perhaps people like you should actually read the articles so everything you say makes sense and doesnt look completely idiotic to someone who actually reads them...

[thenickel]

I could never stand cutscenes or moments where your taken out of the experience in any game. To each there own I guess but for me it's a negative move forward.

[wangdiddy82]

Especially MGS4.. I love the cut scenes and actually cant wait for the next one to come on..

Another game that has done a excellent job telling the story through cut scenes is uncharted. Another great game with a great story..

[Freakwave003]

I liked the cutscenes.

[INehalemEXI]

Yup, I liked em too. Alot better then reading a page of text before a mission in Gaiden. Its an excellent way to drive story. Alot of games do cut-scenes horribly though.

MGS4 has excellent cut-scenes that bring clarity to a complex story line that spans Many games.

[Xiru]

I love cutscenes, they really bring you up to speed as far as the story is concerned. Uncharted and Heavenly Sword are awesome examples of this and I loved every minute of both game. I haven't completed MGS4, but the cutscenes are exceptional so far.

*Lol someone disagreed with my personal opinion? Awesome!

[DJ]

Gameplay sequences. No complaints here, and they're definitely a nice break between the big action segments. BTW, the Drebin Point system is ridiculously addictive.

[Not the Face]

too bad they couldnt mask the loading times with them before each level.... ps3 power house...movie player that is.

[Jon8602]

I believe that if you can find a game that has the qualities of great storytelling and voice-acting that you can be able to have lenthy cut-scenes. Kojima had decent-lenthy cutscenes from the beginning and slowly made them longer and longer and that was a good build up for MGS4 and it was well worth the wait for me to get this game. If someone would make lenthy cutscenes if would already have to be a well-established series with great voice-acting and story to do something like this...or you have to have a serious amount of confidence in your game to back up your lenthy cutscenes.

[Big Jim]

As long as they let you skip the cutscenes I think they can make them as long as they want. I've always hated cutscenes in the past, but there have been some games this generation, like Lost Odyssey, that had cutscenes I actually liked, mostly because the graphics have gotten so much better this gen. I liked the cutscenes in MGS4 a lot, frankly more than the game. I could watch cutscenes with Naomi all day long. I guess it comes down to whether the cutscenes are high quality or not.

[PimpHandHappy]

was after playing for 6 hours with only a 30min break i found having a boss battle at the end of a epic and engrossing cut scene to really tire me out

Act 5 is crazy

I want to shoot someone with the musket

[Wise Rant Monkey]

<I really do enjoy the whole cut scene thing in games. It really adds more detail and depth to the storyline and characters. I enjoyed the length of of many mgs4 cut scenes. However there were a few that could've been a little shorter (the sappy ones))

<I could have gone with a little more action at times than some of those sobbing cut scene's.)

[ToastyMcNibbles]

slightly off topic here but this is why i prefer ps3 because of games like uncharted heavenly sword metal gear god of war...its games like these that make gaming an experience...im a very story driven kind of gamer...i love movies..so when i have a game that offers me that same cinematic experience im all for it...i've been the biggest fan of metal gear since the first one arrived on playstation and it was the cutscenes and incredibly detailed story that got me hooked...it was the game that when i played it i was in total awe and thought to myself wow...so this is the direction video games are going huh...and from there on my whole perception of video games changed...so basically in relation to this article its basically why i prefer ps3 because for me its only on ps3 where games will continue to be like this...with incredible stories and cutscenes...no other system in my opinion offers these experiences...so for yes games will continue to follow what metal gear solid 4 has done but in my opinion they will only be on ps3

[Big Jim]

The 360 is making progress in this area. Lost Odyssey and Eternal Sonata have massive cutscenes. Neither of those games are as good as MGS4 of course, but they are story driven. The 360 is not the shooter-only console that people think it is.

[Reibooi]

I personally love the games that have very long cut scenes. Mainly because I think gaming is a place that is capable of better story telling then film. I loved MGS4 and all of its very long cut scenes and I was one of the few that was pissed when the cut scenes in the Xenosaga Trilogy got shorter in the last game. But honestly it really is a think about taste. If people don't want extremely good story telling and long cut scenes but still want the stealth game play then play Splinter Cell. No one forces anyone to play the games with very long cut scenes so there really is no reason to complain about.

[OldGamer]

But so far I've enjoyed the cut-scenes. Maybe a bit lengthy at times, but entertaining nonetheless. This is a great game that everyone should experience.

[Dark General]

This is something i've been thinking about alot since first playing Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. I've always been a big fan of the Metal Gear Solid games because the cutscenes were some of the best and most memorable and the stealth gameplay was awesome as well. It was a perfected blend of wildly awesome cutscenes and action packed gameplay that was so different from everything i played. The environments i played in was immersive and the boss battles very distinct and memorable. Now that brings me to MGS4. I really, really like MGS4. I haven't completed the game yet but i'm close to finishing act 4 and i have to say... Wow.

All of Act 4 from mission briefing up until the end is very, very good in my opinion. The best act thus far for me. But that's not the problem. The problem for me is the fact that i feel like i've actually like the cutscenes much more than the gameplay of mgs4. I don't feel comfortable saying it or thinking it. I've always thought MGS games was blended perfectly with the action/sneaking bits and the great cutscenes. Now i feel as if the main draw for MGS4 thus far has been the cutscenes for me. The gameplay hasn't had that impact on me as much as others. I've gone through the entire game thus far using the shock knife, tranquilizer gun and recently the Mosin Nagat. I've been playing the game trying to kill as little people as possible and not get alerts.

And i have to say while the sneaking and whatnot has some very intense moments the other parts doesn't quite come together for me. The Boss battles have not lived up to my expectations for the most part (well except for the one at the end of act 4) and the bosses have felt to easy to defeat and i'm playing on big boss hard. I don't know if it's just me feeling this way and thinking the cutscenes are more superior than the actual gameplay or what. I'm not saying the gameplay sucks ass because it has it's moments (big mama, drebin) but i just don't think the gameplay has had that same charm as the rest of the series. It feels like the cutscenes is blowing what you actually play through out the water (except act 4). Am I the only person feeling this way? Is there that much i'm missing by sneaking my way through MGS4? Even if i'am it's supposed to be a Stealth game first and a action game second. Comments/debates/responses welcomed.

[likeaboss302]

No you're not alone. I found myself enjoying the cutscenes more even though some were long winded. The gameplay wasn't bad and like you have experienced it seems pretty easy. I think as people look back in a few months they'll still say it was a hell of an experience but wish there was more player involvement through gameplay.

[Dark General]

I'm not the only person that feels this way. And i agree with you that the game could have used more player interaction or better storytelling through in-game actions or eavesdropping on conversations. I also actually missed the codec conversation i know you can still call them and have those conversation and such but the codec convo's of how the story unfolded there is missed for me. It's wasn't just about the story but how the characters reacted and talked with each other during those moments is something i also miss.

But like you said in a few months people will probably notice how some of the action parts wasn't as high octane as previous metal gear solid games. MGS4 is a masterpiece in storytelling and is probably one of the best if not the best story told in a game. But the actual gameplay part of Metal Gear Solid 4 could have used some more of that special Kojima magic. I know the acts are varied and whatnot but it's just missing that Kojima magic.

[likeaboss302]

I enjoyed MGS4 but think the cutscenes were in serious need of good hollywood editing. Plus there were more ways to tell the story through gameplay. As a big fan of the series I was pissed to play Raiden in MGS2 but in this game if I played Snake most of the time and also played the supporting cast that would have been really cool. That way the MGS fan gets their Snake fix while also playing other serious favorites and keeping them engaged.

[Aclay]

I see nothing wrong with In-Game Movies to me as long as it's engaging.

I honestly think that it's about time that more developers start stepping up to the plate and creating a cinematic experience just as good as MGS4.

Uncharted Drakes Fortune, Heavenly Sword and Shadow of the Colossus are just a few of the games that I can think off the top of my head that has delivered a very nice Cinematic experience just like the Metal Gear Solid series has.

[tako2000]

Well, MGS4 is a video game of its own kind. It contain the length of cut-scenes feel like RPG game and action oriented game play. Should all developer do that?

I doubt, MGS series don't really have highlight on either story or game play. It try to put equal weight on both part, so the result we have is the movie quality cut-scenes that try to tell the story as detail as it could (still hard for those didn't play or know the previous story), and game-play allow you either blast your way through (not recommend but feasible) or stealth/search all the hidden element in the game.

The only problem I have with MGS4 is too few people on codec I can talk with. Even I know the codec frequency, they don't response unless they called themselves. Sucks, I really love those codec conversation in the previous game...

[zapass]

Commentorial:

Game Editorials - A Line to be Drawn?

[iceman2885]

So I don't know about you, but am I there only one who would have rather seen some kind of cut scenes for whenever Drebin tells the stories of how each of the B&B's came to be. That would have be awesome. Maybe I'm the only one.

[Mr Fancy Pants]

I don't know about everybody else but i loved MGS4. Everything about this game is awesome. The cut-scene were amazing, so i don't understand what's the problem with them, but for other games to recreate what Kojima has done with MGS4 is going to be very difficult.

[Mr Fancy Pants]

--I don't know about everybody else but i loved MGS4. Everything about this game is awesome. The cut-scene were amazing, so i don't understand what's the problem with them, but for other games to recreate what Kojima has done with MGS4 is going to be very difficult.--

[Gaara_724]

should make more games like mgs4

[Not the Face]

or make a mgs4 movie!!!!!!!!!!!! then you can use the whole blue ray and change snakes camo color or play othello with that monkey in the main menu............

[Imallvol7]

If yuo don't like it, dont play it. DONT TRY TO CHANGE THE GAME I LOVE.

I think all these articles are rediculous. They are all about how can we change metal gear to make it just like every other game out there. ITS DIFFERENT, AND THATS WHY WE LOVE IT. (And the fact that its the best game of this generation of consoles).

[Gandhi Man]

In case you missed it.

[Blasphemy]

I like the game and all but I think they kinda over did it on some of the cut scenes.

[N4g_null]

It's weird but PS brand has always been wrapped in the idea of the story game. I remember when people hated FMV. I remember when people loved dragons lair which ran off of laser disk in the arcades. What made it ok when it was successful was amazing CG graphics. I would not play another FF but I went to see both movies. I won't be getting a PS3 for this game since I've play some of it at my friends house. Kojima is the man no doubt but the game play did not hook me. I would buy a machinia of this game showing the story and that's about it. The sneaking is not clever to me and the gun fights are pretty stiff. I have all the others that how much I like kojima and the idea behind this game but either it's boring or too easy.

Yet if the action was a certain type and the story was more moving I would go thru way more just to see it. So I understand every ones happiness plus to the way the game is presented you have to respected it. It's almost a memorial in design. Even if fan boys wanted to give it a bad score in a mag review they could not because it was almost disrespectful. Kojima is a genius for that!

After watching way more anime than I should have this year I could see this type of gaming being big. This is what SONY may need to start pushing but their is one problem how many companies can actually pull this off? SONY owns movies studios and even they can't pull it off. This is one reason why I'm not exactly excited about their line up and any other game that is based on the story being the selling point rather than replay or game play based story telling that truly makes the game interactive.

If there was away to save snake then wouldn't you play till you could make that happen? Suddenly the 5 hour play thru would be huge on your second play thru. Yet maybe that was his original intent and why he said what he said about the game. Who knows but he was right not to talk about that. After learning more about even blu ray I see what they wanted to do but I wonder if the industry is even ready for all of this. Only huge companies are able to do some of these things. yet with ever year we closer to being able to do the same things on our desktops. That's the one thing I like about SONY and even crazy ken they really are trying to merge the two.

Gamers are always scared that some thing is going to merge or change gaming from what they want and I think you have two spectrums at work here. Nintendo is bring every one into gaming and SONY is trying to bring more artist into gaming. MS may have the tools but SONY listens to the artist way more and artist always want more. Most people that went to see the FF movie where all digital artist or either curious about it.

It is not up to gamers to decide yet it's up to developers to make better stories and better games and not use the things that good games have built upon as crutches...