The Shrine

Might be too early for this, but the game is only 16 days away. =D

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/34384.html

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I am giddy.

I've already arranged to borrow a PS3 for this game. I've already prepaid for the limited edition (well, got enough credit to get it for about half price) and am stoked for it. It really is the only game on the PS3 that would make me buy the system. Thankfully, I don't have to yet

When I get back from NY, I will probably borrow one of the PS3s from the cluster and rent MGS4 from Blockbuster.

That you have a cluster of PS3s to borrow from is the most awesome thing ever.

I've been working on Fea, trying to convince her to let me buy a PS3 before the game comes out. It's not going well so far. I will cry bitter, bitter tears if I'm not able to play MGS4 on its release.

Meh. I'll play it later, when they port it over to 360. You guys should be excited about Ninja Gaiden 2.

How many discs would it take on the X-box 360?

SineSwiper wrote:Meh. I'll play it later, when they port it over to 360. You guys should be excited about Ninja Gaiden 2.

I'm the only person on the planet who didn't like the Ninja Gaiden reinvention...and I adore the original NES games. In fact, my bud and I regularly play them in one sitting. So I really don't care much for the sequel and if I did, I'd probably just wait for the Black version anyways.

Also if you read up what Kojima's said, it may not be easy to port it to the 360 and his team doesn't seem to wanna get involved. Games that will use up the PS3s capabilities, as they claim MGS4 does, generally will need to be scaled down a bit as it's more powerful. Also, I don't think Konami will want to spend the time and money porting it either unless it's a colossal failure and they want to recoup some coin, which is unlikely. There's also no real track record for the port to a M$ system, they only did the one (Nintendo requested and paid for the MGS remake on the GC).

I wouldn't hold my breath on a 360 version

Zeus wrote:Games that will use up the PS3s capabilities, as they claim MGS4 does, generally will need to be scaled down a bit as it's more powerful.

I don't know that the PS3 is more powerful than the 360 (Kupek?). It is a pretty different architecture, though. MGS4 also doesn't look that special visually.

Zeus wrote:Also, I don't think Konami will want to spend the time and money porting it either unless it's a colossal failure and they want to recoup some coin, which is unlikely.

I don't know why they wouldn't port it. Most games released for both consoles sell a significantly greater number of copies on the 360. Why leave that money on the table?

Zeus wrote:There's also no real track record for the port to a M$ system, they only did the one.

That was a loooong time ago, and in a completely different market.

My bud who worked at Ubisoft (now A2M) as a designer told me that it's better to design for the PS3 and port to the 360 as the PS3 needs ground-up development due to the unique architecture. Kupek I'm sure could go into the details but it's not something I said out of my ass.

I think with MGS4, it was developed to use the full capabilities of the PS3 from the ground up. If you do that, it won't be a simple port. That means a ton of time and thus money to port. It may not be worth it. And there may be an exclusivity contract too. I don't deny they may want to do it at some point, but if it sells well in the US, I can't see it happening.

SineSwiper wrote:Meh. I'll play it later, when they port it over to 360. You guys should be excited about Ninja Gaiden 2.

It's been announced for the Xbox 360?

Zeus wrote:My bud who worked at Ubisoft (now A2M) as a designer told me that it's better to design for the PS3 and port to the 360 as the PS3 needs ground-up development due to the unique architecture. Kupek I'm sure could go into the details but it's not something I said out of my ass.

Oh yeah, no doubt it's different. I just don't know that it's more powerful — at least in the ways that we care about in games. If it is more powerful, that's not been evidenced by any games that I can think of; and you could present a lot of games as evidence to the contrary.

Zeus wrote:I think with MGS4, it was developed to use the full capabilities of the PS3 from the ground up. If you do that, it won't be a simple port.

Agreed, but even if they had to build the 360 game from the ground up it would still be much, much cheaper than developing just about any new game from scratch (The design is complete and all resources exist, for example). And again, I'd be very surprised if sales of MGS4 on the 360 didn't surpass those on the PS3.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't come out on the 360, even if it would make Konami a heap of money. Given their next-gen output I'm not sure they have the resources to produce even a next-gen port if the team that created MGS4 is working on something else.

Andrew, Killer Bee wrote:I don't know that the PS3 is more powerful than the 360 (Kupek?). It is a pretty different architecture, though. MGS4 also doesn't look that special visually.

As far as peak theoretical performance goes, the Cell in the PS3 probably handily beats the 3-core chip in the 360. But achieving anything near that peak performance is non-trivial (yes, Andrew, in the CS, blowing-up-the-Universe-with-your-mind is non-trivial way). Which means that any code that aims for good performance on the PS3 will be highly specialized, and porting will be nasty.

I went into more detail back in December: viewtopic.php?p=113901#113901

Dutch wrote:It's been announced for the Xbox 360?

Seeker, ever late to the conversation...

I just don't see this game as being a console seller. Just look at your own comments. "Rent from Blockbuster." "Borrow the console from a friend." None of you would actually want to BUY a PS3, because it's too expensive, and there STILL aren't enough exclusives for it.

So, yeah, eventually even a trendsetter like Kojima will wake up and realize that it's just a better choice to make more money on a 360 version. If MGS4 fails or even does mediocre sales on the PS3, the entire console will fail. Sony is betting all of their cards on this game.

Kupek wrote:(yes, Andrew, in the CS, blowing-up-the-Universe-with-your-mind is non-trivial way)

Jesus Christ, I can't believe you remember that, haha!

SineSwiper wrote:"Borrow the console from a friend." None of you would actually want to BUY a PS3, because it's too expensive, and there STILL aren't enough exclusives for it.

Keep in mind that the last new game I bought was Twilight Princess for the GameCube, and the last console I bought was that GameCube.

SineSwiper wrote:

Dutch wrote:It's been announced for the Xbox 360?

Seeker, ever late to the conversation...

I don't really care about the conversation, what I want to know is why you think it is coming to the Xbox 360?

Dutch wrote:I don't really care about the conversation, what I want to know is why you think it is coming to the Xbox 360?

That's, uh, what the conversation is about.

Andrew, Killer Bee wrote:

Dutch wrote:I don't really care about the conversation, what I want to know is why you think it is coming to the Xbox 360?

That's, uh, what the conversation is about.

Seeker, ever late to the conversation...

Also, Andrew: my mind is a fucking steel trap.

Steel trap.
(Wait, who are you again?)

There's no real reason to drop $400+ on a PS3 for 1 to 3 games when you can drop the same amount and get a 360 with 3 good games for that price. At least not for us gamers.

But you'd be shocked how many people are just waiting for the PS3 to drop without even giving a second thought to the 360. There's a reason that even though it's more expensive, the PS3 is neck-in-neck with 360 sales now and whupping it in Europe. There are TONS of Sony bitches and there will be a decent number of them who will use this game (and the fact it plays Blu-Ray on their new HD TV) as an excuse to get a PS3. We might not, but I think there will be a chunk who does.

BTW, IGN posted a quick Metal Gear seires summary if you care

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/877/877084p1.html

Since MGS4 is supposed to tie together the entire storyline up to this point.

I started playing through all of the old MG games for the PSX on. I'm almost finished with MGS and I'm about half-way through MGS2. MGS3 I need to start all over again as I've missed several key items. We'll see how it goes though. I had hoped to get all of them done when I bought the three pack back in March but with Weddings/GTA4/MCSE Tests/Soon-to-be-home ownership it is looking like it is going to be a bit of a crazy month.

<A HREF="http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?ar ... >Eurogamer review!</A>

You're sorry to see Snake go. But should you be? Guns of the Patriots is a frustrating, fractured game that turns Metal Gear Solid's world upside down several times over, but never changes it. It just burrows deeper into what fans love and detractors hate than ever before, and it will make few converts. It's a crying shame, given how many genuinely classic gaming moments there are here, given the countless exquisite creative touches, but Metal Gear Solid 4 is its own worst enemy. You could not ask for a funnier, cleverer, more ambitious or inspired or over-the-top conclusion to the Metal Gear Solid series, but it's definitely time to move on.

We love you, Snake. Don't come back.

8/10. NeoGAF is, predictably, going nuts. Great review, though.

Andrew, Killer Bee wrote:<A HREF="http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?ar ... >Eurogamer review!</A>

You're sorry to see Snake go. But should you be? Guns of the Patriots is a frustrating, fractured game that turns Metal Gear Solid's world upside down several times over, but never changes it. It just burrows deeper into what fans love and detractors hate than ever before, and it will make few converts. It's a crying shame, given how many genuinely classic gaming moments there are here, given the countless exquisite creative touches, but Metal Gear Solid 4 is its own worst enemy. You could not ask for a funnier, cleverer, more ambitious or inspired or over-the-top conclusion to the Metal Gear Solid series, but it's definitely time to move on.

We love you, Snake. Don't come back.

8/10. NeoGAF is, predictably, going nuts. Great review, though.

They ain't bringing in new fans? Burrows deeper into what fans love? Hey, no problem here. I figure if you ain't a fan of the series by now, you shouldn't be converted with this one. You ain't gonna get half of the references made during the storyline anyways. And Kojima's said this is a hardcore's game, one for the fans of the series.

Well, I just pre-ordered my copy with a gift-card I found from some woman I had done some PC work for. Can't wait to pick it up Thursday. w00t!

Imakeholesinu wrote:Well, I just pre-ordered my copy with a gift-card I found from some woman I had done some PC work for. Can't wait to pick it up Thursday. w00t!

I'm off next week so I'll be playin' the ever-lovin' shit out of that game. I can't freakin' wait.

Zeus wrote:

Imakeholesinu wrote:Well, I just pre-ordered my copy with a gift-card I found from some woman I had done some PC work for. Can't wait to pick it up Thursday. w00t!

I'm off next week so I'll be playin' the ever-lovin' shit out of that game. I can't freakin' wait.

I want to play it but I want to finish Snake Eater first.

Imakeholesinu wrote:

Zeus wrote:

Imakeholesinu wrote:Well, I just pre-ordered my copy with a gift-card I found from some woman I had done some PC work for. Can't wait to pick it up Thursday. w00t!

I'm off next week so I'll be playin' the ever-lovin' shit out of that game. I can't freakin' wait.

I want to play it but I want to finish Snake Eater first.

Yes you do. That was a great game...once you got past the Cobras (the Sorrow was pretty kickass but the rest were just OK). They were honestly kinda lame, I was happy once I got past them. The End would have been amazing....if they confined it to just one large area. The fact that you had to go back and forth across 3 areas ruined that battle.

It was a great game overall with a great story that made up for the story hiccup at the end of MGS2.

Just bought it. Need to steal my friend's PS3 now.

METAL GEAR?!

Just bought Metal Gear, and I have a PS3 to play it on!

1up'd Andrew! :p

This Is Poque O' Clock!

Picked up my copy.

I love the Octo Camo. It's the camouflage from MGS3 without the clunky interface. And I totally didn't know that the game would have merchant and gun customization a la Resident Evil 4. I can see myself playing through this a couple of times. Unless, of course, Hideo decided to throw another curve ball to fuck with his audience. I mean, I consider myself pretty immune to the man's shenanigans by now, but that old bastard is full of surprises.

SPOILER ALERT!!!











I'm trying to fight Laughing mantis, where the fuck do I have to aim to bring this bitch down?

I broke down and bought an 80GB bundle. My wallet weeps.

some people might want to update that sticky with some PSN account names.

I'm up to Act 3's boss battle. The game has been pretty amazing so far.

I just started act 4. Feels like I'm getting to the end, so I'll probably have it beat sometime Wednesday.

I'm near the beginning of Act 3, just go to a big cutscene that did a lot of 'splainin'. Very nice cutscene, I like.

Holy shit at the start of Act 4, hahaha!

Finished.

Pretty incredible overall. While not even half of the game is actual gameplay, I didn't mind a bit since every cut scene was presented and directed phenomenally (although some were a bit too long).

I'll wait until the rest of you have finished before saying anything else.

Black Lotus wrote:Finished.

Pretty incredible overall. While not even half of the game is actual gameplay, I didn't mind a bit since every cut scene was presented and directed phenomenally (although some were a bit too long).

I'll wait until the rest of you have finished before saying anything else.

How about you mail me your PS3 and copy of MGS4 so I can play it, too? You know you won't be playing anything else on the system. Share!

Lox wrote:

Black Lotus wrote:Finished.

Pretty incredible overall. While not even half of the game is actual gameplay, I didn't mind a bit since every cut scene was presented and directed phenomenally (although some were a bit too long).

I'll wait until the rest of you have finished before saying anything else.

How about you mail me your PS3 and copy of MGS4 so I can play it, too? You know you won't be playing anything else on the system. Share!

Ditto.

Penny Arcade has been sharing a lot of vague words about MGS4. While impossible to completely decipher Tycho's writing, it appears to me that he likes the game, and its story, but finds its presentation stifling.

Of course, he didn't like earlier MGS games either.

MGS and FFX2 are the only games where I find it more enjoyable to watch someone play than actually actually playing it. I think MGS's presentation just doesn't fit a game. It tries to be too romantic/artistic/philsophical/whatever you want to call it, and whether that's good or not is up to question, but unlike most games, the presentation actually physcially affects your ability to enjoy it as a game.

Andrew, Killer Bee wrote:Holy shit at the start of Act 4, hahaha!

Just got to that this morning. I completely agree :-)

I've never played much more than a few hours of any MGS game so this never interested me... but I have to ask-- how is this a game worth justifying the purchase of a PS3? How is it a game worth buying period? If more than half of the game is just cutscenes then where's my game? I'm not saying it isn't an awesome movie with some interactive elements to it... I dunno, I just don't see how people can buy a $60 game, find that most of it is a movie, and feel the price is justified, let alone a reason to buy a $400 system.

Tessian wrote:I dunno, I just don't see how people can buy a $60 game, find that most of it is a movie, and feel the price is justified, let alone a reason to buy a $400 system.

"Most" is a relative term. There's more than enough game there to justify the price of entry. (As long as you're just paying for the game, that is.) The problem I've had is not that there's been too little gameplay; it's that there have been too many cutscenes. It's a subtle, but critical, difference. I'd estimate that the single-player campaign, stripped of its cutscenes, is about as long as Halo 3's or Gears' were.

I'm a huge MGS fan, so I think it's worth buying the system for (but Fea won't let me! SAD FACE) — especially given that the system now has a reasonable stable of exclusive games in its library. The game isn't going to convert anybody that's not already a fan, though.

Meh. What is this "reasonable staple" you speak of?