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Dood Trigger™
Thanks, guys.

I started God of War PS4 (aka Dad of War) a couple days ago. My first playthrough. This game is incredible. I'll post my thoughts when I'm done with it because there's a lot I want to talk about.
Dood Trigger™
Dad of War final thoughts...

I assumed the GoW series was over, outside of cash grabs like Ascension, and I was honestly fine with the OG trilogy and nothing else... until this game happened. It might be the best in the franchise (have to go back and replay 1-3, but it'll be a tough fight). Everything about it is so polished and enjoyable.

The combat is more technical and strategic, and with the world design being more free, there are now tons of reasons to explore that aren't just plain ol' HP/MP upgrades: there's armor, crafting, all sorts of perks to equip, optional quests and challenges.
Don't get me wrong, I like the gameplay in the classic GoWs, but they've always been more about the spectacle to me. Killing enemies in the old games was secondary to the dude with the flaming beard stomping an entire city in the background.

Story was really good. Characters grow and change, and the relationship between Kratos and Atreus was pretty sweet and real. There were some intriguing themes too. Interesting how they kept so much of the Norse mythology in the background. This was more of a personal story, after all, and holy moly the things they can use now if there's a sequel.

This is also one of the most gorgeous games I've ever played, art-wise and technically as well. Every room is memorable, every angle you look is like a goddamn painting, and the way the camera shifts from gameplay to cutscene is super seamless.

I'm struggling to find anything negative about this... I guess there weren't as many ridiculously huge scale fights as you'd expect in a God of War game, but again, personal story and all. And the game still kept the action interesting with whatever challenges that were thrown at you.

It was pretty dang incredible. I was tempted to do some optional things, but I might take a break for now and come back another time, maybe in NG+.
Does anyone truly know the trick to get Colossus #4 to lie down so you can get on his back? 

Sometimes he does it right away, sometimes I try it for an hour or more and he won't even do it once. 

There's tons of different sources online that claim to know the trick, but they all have a different answer and they all don't seem to increase the likelihood of getting the colossus to lie down.
Dood Trigger™
Finished Metal Gear Solid 2 for the first time ever.

It was awesome. Can't say for sure which game I prefer between MGS1 and 2, but that only tells me how great they are.

Gameplay
I love the improvements coming from MGS1. Controls are less clunky/sticky, aiming is better, there are more options in general and QoL stuff. New mechanics like dragging bodies and tranq gun add a lot to the gameplay.
Stealth changes were also interesting, with the bad guys being constantly monitored and replaced when they get offed, and alerts persisting through rooms. I thought this would be annoying, but I was surprised at how enjoyable it was figuring out efficient ways to solve each area.
Hell, I finished the game last night and still feel like playing it.


Setting and scenarios
Tanker was excellent, and bittersweet, of course. Pretty cool how they kept the OG game over screen/music just for this episode.
Big Shell grew on me. I like how each room has its own unique dangers and enemy placement. It was mainly the bomb search that was getting a little too backtrack-y, but looking back it was still pretty fun.
Besides, there were plenty of creative sections in MGS2. Ray photo shoot, the pacemaker search, Nikita vent maze, etc. I wasn't crazy about 100% of the bosses, but I'm aware that there are things I didn't know that will make them more enjoyable next time. I liked the Ray Army and Solidus sword fight.


Story
I think I'll need to replay the series to absorb more of the plot (just not feeling too patient with videogame stories these days), but from what I gathered, it was pretty well done. Snake's role, the twists, the conspiracy. It all felt very urgent the whole time.
Raiden is fine, but admittedly I'm speaking from a different perspective than most fans. I played MGS2 after Metal Gear Rising (where Raiden's awesome IMO), and also with the knowledge that Snake came back as a playable character in several other games. I can understand why people got frustrated with this back in the day.


Presentation
I bet I'll keep finding new easter eggs and little secrets every time, because these games just have so much detail. From the muffled sound in first person view to the Thermal Goggles affecting birds. Were the Shadow Moses flashbacks taken from the original MGS1 or were they created with PS1 graphics just for MGS2? Damn impressive if it was the latter.
The game looks and sounds great overall. I do prefer MGS1's music, though.


Loved the game, and I'm even more curious about MGS3 now 'cause it seems like the most popular in the series.
I was a huge fan of MGS on PSX. Then played the demo of MGS2. Liked it, but never bothered to purchase the game and play it all the way. One of those games I badly need to revisit.
Dood Trigger™
It's worth it IMO!
My only real problem with MGS2 were the copious codec calls breaking the pace of sneaking sections and the like. Can't wait till you play MGS3. That's generally considered the best in the series.
Got the platinum in SotC.  Trying Fable Anniversary now.
omg Fable Anniversary sucks.  You guys are slacking.  You should have warned be by now.  Is this topic done?
One shall stand, one shall ball.
Not sure Fable's a real popular game in these parts lol.
red chamber dream
i don't really play games right when they come out unless it's something like zelda

playing borderlands the pre-sequel right now though. the moon physics are fun!
One shall stand, one shall ball.
Pre-sequel was really frustrating to me because it addressed, like, every issue I had with Borderlands 2's character design as far as progression and skill trees go and you had actual mobility, but god actually doing anything in that game was like seven layers of tedious because the quest design got worse somehow and there's like two enemy types and every encounter is a study in spawning 40 enemies in one at a time.
One shall stand, one shall ball.
One of the story quests in that game had so many arbitrary roadblocks that by the time I go to the end of I forgot what I was even supposed to be doing.
red chamber dream
haha i felt that way about borderlands 2. i just zone out and listen to podcasts while i play, i only vaguely pay attention to the story

it's a shame because borderlands 1 was genuinely great
One shall stand, one shall ball.
BL2 is still one of my go to podcast games lol. I guess it helps that you can go through a whole podcast waiting for Roland/Lilith/Mordicai to shut the fuck up and let you go to the next map.

Pre-sequel has less standing round iirc, but it sort of replaces it with making you run back and forth across the same couple of maps to the point where I became actively aware of how little I was actually doing, I've spent literal hours killing Oxen in Dragon's Dogma to level up classes and it never felt half as annoying. But your mileage may vary on that.
Dood Trigger™
Finished Metal Gear Solid 3: Instant Ramen Eater. First playthrough.

I loved it, although there were some gameplay-related things I wish were different.

This game is maybe even more packed than MGS1 and 2, full of secrets and details that no doubt I'll keep discovering every time I play. In the mountains I saw a vulture land and eat a guy I had just killed before. How ridiculously cool is that. I could mention a ton of other creative moments like IRL mechanics and the various ways you can deal with The End.

The world in MGS3 is damn impressive. The jungle, swamps, bases, animals with their own patterns and behavior. It feels very real and alive. I also like the maps in general (even though I didn't love the stealth itself). There was always plenty of stuff to interact with, from grass to crawlspaces, optional areas and multiple possible solutions.

I like how much effort went into making everything jungle-like and faithful to that time frame. Bosses were memorable for the most part - at least their backstories and characterization - and I was curious to see how the story was going to unfold. Ocelot's Literal Russian Roulette was great. 007 theme song was the best.

I thought food, camo and cure would be more strategic. You're never really in danger from any of that because the solution is always available, and there's no punishment for pausing and taking care of yourself. I don't know if surgery items and food are scarce on harder modes, but on Normal it was all just menu distractions.
That being said, creatively I think they're cool features. Survival-wise it makes sense having to eat, blend into the environment and do something about injuries.

Things I prefer in MGS1 and 2:
- this game's radar functions were very limited, and alert times were needlessly unforgiving. Those things made stealth tedious for the most part. I rushed several rooms when I got caught in this game, while in MGS1-2 I always felt encouraged to retry the room proper;
- I don't know if MGS3 has a laser aim gun, I couldn't find one, but the red dot in MGS2 makes aiming so comfy and satisfying (especially with the tranq gun);
- the setting, in the sense that MGS1-2 are big places you get to know little by little. The jungles in 3 are amazing with the wildlife and all, don't get me wrong, but I enjoyed discovering those big areas Metroid style;
- faster pace, including more lenient alert times, no hunting and not having to worry about menuing as much (camo, cure, inventory, map access, etc.).

Overall I think I had more fun with the first two games, but this could change because I definitely intend to replay the series. I'm impressed by how unique each MGS game has been so far. Hopefully MGS4 has its own identity as well.
MGS4 is when things go bad, unfortunately. Beware.
red chamber dream
also be aware that your opinion may differ from idkbutlike2's :P
Edit history:
Idkbutlike2: 2019-04-30 06:26:46 pm
I'm not echoing some contrarian sentiment here, you know.

btw, did you play vanilla PS2 MGS3 or the Subsistence/HD version? Cause the latter is a lot more refined and better - it introduced a normal third-person camera to alleviate the lack of a proper radar system and polished up a whole bunch of other gameplay.
red chamber dream
i dunno, plenty of people love mgs4
red chamber dream
doesn't it depend on how much you like watching movies during games lol
The length of cutscenes and pacing are definitely bad, but the bigger problems with the game lie in how it handled the story and continuity of the series. It's a total clusterfuck in those regards - and not a particularly well-written one at that.
Dood Trigger™
I played the HD version via MGS Legacy Collection (PS3). Yeah, I tried the original camera for a little bit just 'cause I heard so much about it, and it is a pain in the ass indeed. Switched to full camera control and never looked back. Glad I played this version.

If the biggest problem with MGS4 is the story I think I'll be fine... I'm not nearly as invested in videogame stories as I once was. Unless it's like... Other M bad...

Starting later tonight btw!
red chamber dream
aren't people who take the mgs story seriously missing the point?

to be clear, i still haven't played a single mgs game. just heard a lot about them ;)
One shall stand, one shall ball.
I mean the games certainly want you to care about it.

Which is why Revengance is the best one. A man literally says, "Nanomachinces, son!" because it knows exactly how seriously to take MGS.