@liquiddragon: But I'm talking bout the ppl dat efds all day(z) long, baby! I'm talking som Khalifa tears running down my face FF7 ending bro shit!

I said this during E3 and I'll say it again: What the fuck is this game?

It's a prequel to Zone of the Enders

I...I want to know what the game is. Does this need to be explained? Why are you wondering why people want to see gameplay for a game they're looking forward to? You want to see as little as possible and that's cool. I want to know what the gameplay is though. What's so confusing about this

@liquiddragon: Those things are more than just writing, but pretty visuals and events without any meaning, any part to play in the narrative and world, are just pretty, hollow images and events. I'm interested because his ability to direct a scene is still fantastic (it's why Kojima trailers are so good) and I'm interested in the horror elements in the trailers and whatever remnants there might be of his Silent Hill stuff. I'm cautious because I find that while initially appealing, the substance of the worlds, characters and narratives he creates tends to be lacking. I realize that that is partly due to the baggage of the MGS franchise, but I don't know to what extent. Furthermore, I find his overall game design has only declined over the years. MGSV plays great, but its a toy box to mess around in that doesn't really fit with the stories he wants to tell. Ground Zeroes is more interesting, at least from a design standpoint.

So for me, I need to see more. Will a clean break result in a less bloated world and gameplay design? Or is modern Kojima just as indulgent as ever? It's hard to say with all that's been shown. I like what I see but I liked what I saw of MGSV as well, the final game not so much. The longer this publicity tactic goes on, the more elements get shown and introduced, the more I think it will be disjointed like his vision of the Metal Gear franchise, and the less interested I become. The longer they go without showing gameplay, something that shouldn't be a shocking reveal since presumably you spend a large portion even from early on playing the game rather than watching Norman Reedus talk to Mads Mikkelsen, the more people are going to suspect that the game play just isn't quite there. And if the gameplay isn't there, and MGSV is indicative of Kojima's current writing ability, Death Stranding starts to seem a lot less interesting than it promised to be. No Man's Sky and Sea of Thieves are still fresh in people's minds, they've been burned too often by games that fall short in the "what do you actually do" department.

And I'm not sure I'd agree his games are always worth the experience. MGSV, again, while it plays well, I don't think it's a terribly interesting game if you ignore the events surrounding it's development and release. You spend a lot of time doing mundane things and only quite rarely get the kind of creative crazy that Kojima games are traditionally good for. With almost every other MGS game, I'd say people should play through to the end. For MGSV, really I'd say just play until you're bored because the quality of the basic mechanics is all it really has going for it, and a lot of people expect more from games than just good (superb even) basic mechanics.

@frostyryan: I just asked why since you’re on board, jez.

@brackstone: ok, I’ll put you down as on the fence even tho I think you’ll no doubt play it.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Kojima's worst enemy is his fame.

As someone who hasn't played any of the MGS games, what makes me nervous about finally sitting down and playing the copy of 1 that I have sitting on my PS3 is just how dogged his fans are and how the industry as a whole just seems to absolutely adore giving this guy a pass on everything he does.

Just about every time I've seen even the slightest bit of discontent towards Kojima, one or two or fifty angry fans have to show up and scream and scream and scream. I mean how did we even get to the point where people are annoyed and arguing with others for asking to see the gameplay of a video game (Not a direct shot at you, @liquiddragon, we've talked on other threads and you seem like a cool dude. Lord knows I have my fair share of blind spots lol)?

Hey, remember when Ground Zeroes came out as a $40 demo...and people were screaming their heads off about how "OH, IT'S FINE! TRUST KOJIMA! YOU SHOULD BUY 6 COPIES!!" I mean are you freaking kidding me?

It just makes me wonder if this guy's content is acclaimed because it manages to rise above its shortcomings of being mostly movie (from what I've heard), or because everyone instantly attacks anyone who dares to say anything different and freaking waterboards them until they change their tune.

@nicksmi56: Not to be one of those screaming masses you illustrate, but I'm pretty sure that Kojima has just as many detractors as he has fans, and that Ground Zeroes was $20 but my memory is hazy on that. Some people really love his games while others think it's "anime garbage" and that he's sexist, misogynistics, a creep, a bad writer, a hack etc. Plenty of people don't give him a pass, and in my opinion take their criticisms to the very other extreme. To this day you will see snide remarks about "being ashamed of words and deeds" because certain individuals got that upset over a characters design - a character that plenty of women cosplay at during conventions no less.

I like all his games (even Boktai is pretty cool) and while I said it before I'll say it again, you can't deny his ingenuity. People play that short Silent Hills demo to death and loved it so much that they invented ways to keep Sony from scrubbing it off their consoles. That said, to remark that he somehow gets a blind pass on everything he does is kind of an exaggeration. IF anyone in the industry gets a blind pass, it's typically first party Nintendo games, and even then it's not like a 100% all encompassing pass.

Just to think there will only be 83 more Death Stranding trailers, each one even more masterpiece-y than the last.

Being more serious, the more they show of this game the less interested I become. It took them 2 years to confirm the game has walking, and we get a non-threatening bad guy with generic dialogue. And this game will probably have the same problem as MGSV, where Kojima wanted an Actor, but actors are expensive, so they barely talk in the entire game.

I'm just at the stage where they need to prove themselves. This is the fourth or fifth trailer, and that game is still probably 2 years away. There's only so many times I can get hyped for black goo and babies.

@nicksmi56: I think there's still an aspect to this industry where it aspires to be considered as great as film. Part of that is trying to find creators to prop up as auteurs, which I don't think is healthy for anyone.

@humanity: Nope, looked up the original asking price and it was $40. The price of a full brand-new 3DS game and even some Switch games, for a demo. But that was totally cool and everyone should buy it, guys! It's Kojima!

Maybe it's just where I've frequented the net, but I've seen much, much more of the "I'LL DISOWN MY CHILDREN IF THEY AREN'T KOJIMA FANS!" people than the "Kojima's a hack and shouldn't be allowed to write anything!" people. If we went this long without any gameplay for just about any other developer, I guarantee the outrage would be 3 times as loud. But since it's Kojima, we should just accept this is his thing without letting anyone rightfully point out that it's a pretty crap way of showing a video game. This very thread is good proof of that.

Also, I'm not sure how Nintendo gets a free pass? Seems to me like they've been the redheaded stepchild of the console world since the Wii U. Go to a comment section on Nintendo anything and you'll see plenty of "Switch isn't a real console! No games! Port machine!" along with people threatening to sell their Switches. This even happens on Nintendo-dedicated sites. Even with the Switch's monstrous first-year success, people have already turned back to the other side of the coin, and the online debacle sure isn't helping.

I can't decide if that would make it more pervy or less pervy.

@nicksmi56: I mean it’s the way he has always shown off his games and like I mentioned before you’re either into it or you’re not. I don’t think anyone is offering blood sacrifice in the guys name, you’re either a fan or you’re not and if you are then you’ll likely stand up for him to some degree.