CRank: 5Score: 72510

My declining interest in MGS V

As a long time Metal Gear fan I was always looking forward to the next chapter in the sage, but things are changing.

I still remember playing the first two Metal Gear games a long, long time ago. Fighting the first Metal Gear built by Big Boss was an exhilarating fight at it`s time. Playing MGS on the PS1 brought the same feeling, sneaking around guards evading their sight, fighting Psycho Mantis and being surprised by his "power" to move the controller and read "my mind". Watching Sniper Wolf taking her last breath and fighting a Hind-D on a rooftop. MGS2 had it`s moments and MGS3 was a return back to it`s form followed by decent portable games and the "final" of the story with MGS4 before we revisited the story of Big Boss with Peace Walker.

So far I enjoyed all of the Metal Gear games to some extend including MGS2 (didn`t play Snakes Revenge), but things start to change. Graphics wise there is no doubt that MGS5 looks good and trailers so far have looked good, but there are things I`m not sure about.

The first time I got a bit cautious with my enthusiasms about the new game was when it was announced to be an open world game. The premise sounds very good, but as a fan of the series I can admit that the gameplay often wasn`t up to date or not as refined as it should have been. Now going open world can be a double edged sword. They will now inevitable be compared with games like AC, Watch Dogs or Rockstar games. Those games are very refined and I have my doubts that MGS5 will be on par with those titles regarding gameplay (please note that I don`t count AC3 in that case because it`s gameplay, game design and story can`t match previous AC games).

The second time was when it was announced that Kiefer Sutherland, the star of 24, will voice Big Boss. I have no particular opinion of him so I neither think he is awesome and neither hate him. My issue on that subject is that first of all the first part of MGS5 (Ground Zeros) plays directly after Peace Walker where Big Boss is voiced by Hayter and that the original Japanese voice actor will still voice him in the Japanese version. The reason given by Kojima for that change was that they have to do motion capturing and needed somebody who can do that. The thing is Hayter is not only a voice actor but a fully trained actor and it would be always cheaper to get another actor to do the motion capturing and have Hayter to the voice acting, similar to what had been done for Halo 4 when the motion capture actor was not the normal voice actor for the character. Of course having Kiefer Sutherland let`s you market the game much better in the western market particularly in the US compared to having Hayter who is less known among non MGS fans.

The last piece of my declining interest came recently in a Twitter message from Kojima (this could be wrongly translated). Where he says that the initial character design had the priority of having more people cosplay as the characters, making the characters more sexy and wanting people to buy the figures. There is no denying that some of the female characters have always been a bit more "sexy" like Sniper Wolf in MGS or Eva in MGS3, but making this a priority for character design shows yet again possibly a tendency to try and sell the game more to a new western audience that didn`t play MGS games before. I didn`t enjoy previous games because female characters have been sexy or because I wanted to buy the figures for the characters. I enjoyed the games for the story and for the well done character design that was fitting for the universe and story because those characters haven`t been design in the first place to make people cosplay as them or to sell their figures.

Right now I`m not sure about the shift of the series towards trying to appeal more to a western audience and an audience that didn`t want to play MGS before. That was not the appeal that got me to play every game in the series. It is a tactic that reminds me to some extend of Capcom and the recent change of the Resident Evil series to appeal to a larger audience. MGS5 could still turn out as the a great game and the best in the series, but for the moment I`m very cautious.

Donnieboi4300d ago

I'm hoping MGO isn't overly westernised too.

DragonKnight4300d ago

"Where he says that the initial character design had the priority of having more people cosplay as the characters, making the characters more sexy and wanting people to buy the figures."

If this is true, then that doesn't bode well for the game. It's the same kind of mentality that made Ben Affleck Batman. No integrity to the work or source material, just dreams of dollar signs dancing in their heads. Pretty sad.

maniacmayhem4300d ago

Ben Affleck was bad a$$ in Argo and Boiler Room.

DragonKnight4300d ago

And equally badass in Gigli and Daredevil...

Eamon4300d ago (Edited 4300d ago )

It's always been a japanese cultural thing. Over there, figurines are a real industry and a shit-ton of people buy erotic or nude toys of their favourite female character from an anime, manga, videogame or eroge.

Just google imaged from each of the 4 and look:
http://www.fant-asie.com/wp...
http://img.amiami.jp/images...
http://i1142.photobucket.co...
http://www.happysoda.com/wp...

Can never really understand why people buy this stuff but they do and it rains money.

OrangePowerz4300d ago

@ Dragon

http://ie.ign.com/articles/...

Like I said it could be a mistranslation.

@Eamon

It is a big industry in Japan, but a game like MGS shoulnd`t put their focus on selling figures. It`s a game series that is focused usually on story.

Eamon4300d ago

Yeah I agree with you. But it's not 'focused' on selling figures. That's just an idea by Kojima to get cosplay and figures - both would help market the game too.

Nicaragua4300d ago

My main interest in this game is a new version of Metal Gear Online.

Im not really excited for the story, i feel like they are milking it a bit now.

Pillsbury14300d ago

The story is what makes metal gear, it is such a deep and detailed world I want to know everything about it. Don't say it's because of the story because there is so much depth to it.

Welcome2Die4300d ago

Great blog let me reply by sections!

"The first time I got a bit cautious with my enthusiasms about the new game was when it was announced to be an open world game. The premise sounds very good, but as a fan of the series I can admit that the gameplay often wasn`t up to date or not as refined as it should have been."

This is definitely a first and we'll see how it goes but Im definitely looking forward to how an open world metal gear will work... Im skeptical though...

"They will now inevitable be compared with games like AC, Watch Dogs or Rockstar games"

Im afraid of this as well...

"The second time was when it was announced that Kiefer Sutherland, the star of 24, will voice Big Boss"

Go on Netflix and search for Kiefer Sutherland, search for the movie about a priest, after watching that I was convinced that he would be a great Big Boss...

"Where he says that the initial character design had the priority of having more people cosplay as the characters, making the characters more sexy and wanting people to buy the figures."

Yeah Im not a big fan of this either... especially since cosplayers will cosplay ANYTHING.

"a new western audience"

OOOHHH YOU USED THE "W"!!
The last time this happened we got Final Fantasy 13, and now the series which I used to love with all my heart alongside MGS is now dead. I fear that Kojima is selling out.

Yeah personally I think Kojima should have retired the series and let it end at 4. I hate that Metal Gear is going multiplat thats retarded.

Show all comments (19)
70°

Epic Games Reveals Son Heung-min Fortnite Skin

Son Heung-min Fortnite collaboration confirmed for June 21 with exclusive skin and Snap Ceremony emote bundle.

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gameslatestnews.com
140°

Nintendo Switch 2 May Receive Support For Docked Mode 4K 120 Hz Output In The Future

The Nintendo Switch 2 may receive support for docked mode 4K and 120 Hz output at some point in the future.

Read Full Story >>
twistedvoxel.com
Neonridr20h ago

hopefully VRR via a firmware update is released for docked play as well (like the PS5 did post release)

jznrpg9m ago

Not a knock on Switch 2 but it’s not made for it. Maybe a lower resolution at 120fps or 4k at a low fps but it’s not capable of both.

fr0sty8h ago(Edited 8h ago)

There's actually a pretty long list of games on PS5 that support 120hz. Even more with 60+hz unlocked, and that isn't even counting PS5 Pro.

https://www.reddit.com/r/PS...

badz14910h ago

err...is it even HDMI 2.1 on that thing?

repsahj9h ago(Edited 9h ago)

Yes, according to the dock teardown. It contains HDMI hardware chip of Realtek RTD2175N that supports 4K 120hz. And the HDMI included on the Switch 2 is HDMI 2.1.

150°

Nintendo Switch 2 Sets US Launch Sales Record with Over 1.1 Million Units Sold in First Week

Nintendo Switch 2 breaks US launch sales record, selling over 1.1 million units in its first week. This breaks the record set by PS4.

Read Full Story >>
twistedvoxel.com
Tacoboto11h ago

It'll outsell it within a year easily

Gameseeker_Frampt1h ago

Could be a 3DS though. 3DS outsold DS by 2:1 in its first year in the United States yet lifetime sales ended up being less than half.

repsahj18h ago(Edited 18h ago)

I'm happy for Nintendo. Even though the Switch 2 has received so much hate just to bring it down, it hasn't won. Even though some are saying they'll boycott Nintendo, it hasn't affected sales. Especially now, with word of mouth that the system is good, demand for the Switch 2 will definitely increase more.

Profchaos13h ago

Yeah loud minorities that were not going to buy it anyway

ZeekQuattro4h ago

Considering the record sales the Switch 2 is seeing around the globe its clear a portion of the loud minority clearly bought the device.

Profchaos13h ago(Edited 13h ago)

But But the internet told me the switch 2 was going to be a failure.

Such a good system im having a blast with it and really enjoying my first ever playthrough of yakuza 0

senorfartcushion3h ago

You shouldn’t care about the sales of a game company

babadivad12h ago

Sold through or to the stores? Asking because they're tons of them at my local Best Buy. When the PS5 and Series consoles launched, you couldn't find them anywhere.

OtterX10h ago(Edited 10h ago)

The article clearly says sold. If it were shipped, it would say shipped.

Nintendo had been saying the last year or so that they would be flooding stock so that scalpers would not be an issue. They've followed through with their word. It's not cutting edge tech, so it's been easier for them to sit on stock for a while until it accumulated to a massive number available to be shipped.

babadivad46m ago

Companies often use shipped and sold interchangeably. Regardless of what it is, supply hasn't been an issue at all.

hduce28m ago(Edited 28m ago)

What is the location of the Best Buy you speak of? We can find out if they have units or not. If they do, I can put something out there on Twitter/X for those in the area looking for a Switch 2.

Good-Smurf11h ago(Edited 11h ago)

Good for them, I'm still not buying.
Looks to be a pretty safe and boring upgrade over Switch 1 which I don't think they can top it on how plain looking it is design wise.
Shame since Switch Lite showed they still know how to make a handheld that looks good and is actually portable in a classic Nintendo sense.
That's why I got one over Switch 2's block of charcoal.
Then there's the prices of it all and the whole Key card thing destroyed any sense of game ownership.

Profchaos10h ago

There'll be a number of revisions for the s2 like a s2 lite or oled also seems inevitable

Good-Smurf9h ago

Unless they drop the prices and actually has a more portable variant that can also dock then maybe I'll reconsider but as of now, nope too big too boring and expensive to make it worth this early, not enough of its own games atm as well.

Profchaos9h ago

Who knows removing the dock capabilities would lower the cost of the unit pretty significantly.

The cost of the dock, reduction in shipping costs etc bug savings which will enable a cheaper system

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