MGS5 is the first game in that series that looks like it might actually be fun to play instead of trudging through sub-par gameplay sequences to finally get back to watching the movie cutscenes.

@jouseldelka: If you want to enjoygoing through the MGS games, then go on YouTube and watch all the cut-scenes from the first three. I recommend Twin Snakes instead of MGS1 on the PS1, because that game looks way better, and don't listen to the crazy people, the voice acting in Twin Snakes is great if you don't have the nostalgia for the original clogging your mind.

Then start playing MGS4. That one is actually fun. Peace Walker is too, but the areas are really much too small, because that was a PSP game at first.

I thought Snake Eater was the epitome of Kojima's genius? The gameplay is mediocre/sub-par in it?

I don't know man, I really value gameplay and frown upon games that don't satisfy me as I play, even if they have a good story going.

@jouseldelka: Trust me, MGS1-3 are better as stories to be viewed than games to be played. Especially today.

Do people actually enjoy video games ?

Yes.

I always enjoyed the Metal Gear games in pretty much every way. I understand why people would hate it, but to me I actually liked the stealth stuff and awkward controls. It was frustrating at times, but that is what made the game challenging and fun. Kind of the same way I feel about the Resident Evil series, too.

As for the gameplay/cutscene ratio, I understood early on that the gameplay part was just a device to keep the story moving, not the other way around like most games.

I've always held the belief that if you are playing a Metal Gear game for the gameplay, you've got your priorities backwards. It's about the story first and foremost, that's really all that matters.

I think it's one of the best series out there. Story, Characters, Gameplay, Music, it has everything. I can definitely understand why people don't like the story, but it does make sense if you really pay attention and you need to realize it's not all done yet. There are still a lot of holes to be filled. I think it's a brilliant series.

Haven't played Portable Ops though.

Also, I think the true way to play these games is European Extreme, AKA no alerts. Peace Walker is kind of an exception because of it's mission structure and lack of difficulty options, but all others games should be attempted on EE.

Except for those motherfucking stupid ass button press sequences which are nigh IMPOSSIBLE without injuring yourself. Really disappointed that I could never beat EE MGS2 because I can't press the button fast enough at the very end of the game.

I enjoy the stealth gameplay, yes.

If you're trying to play it like a third person shooter, I imagine that's going to be a lot less fun.

I am terrible at stealth... terrible. But I'd imagine that other players aren't, and they might enjoy it.

I definitely go to Metal Gear for the crazy story and narrative, but the gameplay is still fun. It is just that it is a narrative driven game so it makes me want to get to the next crazy thing quickly.

I suffer through the gameplay for the crazy story.

Holding up guards, disarming them, shooting their arms/legs/radio was a pretty big deal back then. I can see how people would not enjoy them though.

!

Those games are quite old and there have been a shitton of improvements to their gameplay style, the gameplay was good when the games came out but the controls are a little outdated. Still good games though.

never really enjoyed normal MGS games, thought the story was always awesome though, Metal Gear Rising, however, i loved unconditionally.

Absolutely! I would've have played through almost all of VR missions if I didn't. I think I got to around 97% completion in that. Though I haven't played Snake Eater and MGS4, where it seemed to get less isometric-esque and more third-person, especially in the latter case. But whatever, that's just a camera change, it wouldn't change up the gameplay much.

Metal gear solid 3 came out a long time ago and back then, it was a great way to play the game. Lots of fun. There is a reason why mgs4 is now a lot more 3rd person shooter like, things have changed but things havent changed also because that game is still super awesome. Also, maybe you shouldn't have started with 3, if you are having a hard time with that then you are going to have a serious problem with 1 and especially 2.

Yes I do, but I love stealth games. If you're playing Metal Gear Solid like it's a 3rd person shooter, you're completely missing the point. With that said, some of the mechanics haven't aged well and take a bit of getting used to. Drawing your weapon in MGS: 2 on the Xbox 360 is a little wonky, for example. The controls definitely aren't super slick and streamlined. I'm curious, do people who claim that MGS: 4 is the only good game (from a gameplay perspective) feel that way because it's more of a shooter?

Whatever, I replayed MGS: 2 and MGS: 3 last summer and had a fantastic time.

I played MGS1 for the first time 2 years ago, and still loved it. I have a knack for resetting my brain for what the game intends to play like. There are cetain outdated aspects, but not so much that it's impossible to have the patience of a person much like yourself... just 15 years younger.

I quite like the gameplay of MGS3, haven't played any of the others. Lots of "I don't like it, so it isn't good for anyone" in this thread.

I do quite a bit.

Besides Peace Walker, sure! Especially MGS3, even if it's also the clunkiest of the lot; it was undoubtedly ahead of its time with the crazy amount of system it's balancing. But it's also the most 'hardcore' stealth game across the series, and most definitely has some of the best boss battles across the series as well. I've 100%'d Special/VR Missions many a time across the years, as well as the VR stuff in MGS2: Substance at that, and I collected every damn dog-tag in MGS2's story...

Overall, I would say I've gotten a lot out of the MGS series, from both a narrative and gameplay perspective.

But yo, Peace Walker sucks.

I loved 3, until the moment you had to start blasting fools, then the controls became clunky as hell. Obviously you're supposed to stealth through as much as possible, but once all hell broke loose it was frustrating to try and actually shoot well. Subsistence made this a lot easier than the original snake eater though, luckily. I enjoy the stealth gameplay in 3 immensely though. So cool how you have to equip things like a radar instead of it just being part of the hud, and even still it's not a map screen, and enemies can actually hear your radar ping. Lots of great little touches like that is why I love 3. MGS1 is okay for it's time, but honestly I enjoy it way more on easy since I can just get through it without dying constantly. MGS2 is probably my least favorite gameplay-wise but was still pretty doable (though I never beat it.) 4 was really cool, but I remember just kinda blasting fools and there wasn't really any extrinsic incentive for me to play stealth so I just played it like a cover based shooter, and it was mediocre at being one of those. That's kind of my fault more than the game's though.

Yeah i enjoy it. Blew my mind when I played them as a kid.

I'm a sucker for box-sneaking, groin punches, and shaking dudes down for dogtags so yeah, I'm into MGS gameplay.

Even if I didn't care for that, I'd struggle though in Easy mode for the story. I enjoy Kojima's wacky postmodern hijinks.

Yeah I enjoy the game play, it's one of the earlier games in the stealth genre that felt more approachable for newcomers than the Splinter Cell games that relied on trial and error.

Metal Gear? No.
Metal Gear Solid? Sure, I like it. Doesn't take me that long to get used to the old ways of controlling it either which is also why it's better to play the games in the order they were released.

Yea I've played through all of them recently and still really enjoyed them. Also isn't the version of MGS3 in the collection the one with the controllable camera? It's gonna be tough for you to go back to the fixed camera angles of 1 and 2.

I do, yes.

I'm actually surprised at the amount of people who don't like MGS here. Not that it's a bad thing, too each their own etc etc but.... come on its Metal Gear, it's awesome.

I have never liked the gameplay. MGS4's gameplay was reasonably tolerable. I play for the theme, for the characters and for the Kojima insanity.

Absolutely we do, but a lot of people played from the very beginning. The gameplay hasn't aged as well as the rest of the games do. With MGS1 you're playing a game that didn't require analogue sticks, and the other games up until 4 iterated on that gameplay very closely.

Also stealth games are not for everybody, and MGS is pretty much pure stealth.

The first one i played was on the cube and that was after next gen cam, so just to answer the question. Yes.

I'm not all that stealthy but the series is goofy enough and interesting enough for me to try.

They're remaking the first one soon so i hope it's like the cube version and I hope GreyFox doesn't look as pokey like the toy or the costume in Revengeance.

@kaos_cracker: must be intentional... Pretty sure every MGS has a late title card but I could be wrong.

Bullshit. The story in MGS is... a mediocre story that's just waaaaayyyyy more complicated than usual video game stories. Complexity=/=good. I agree that, particularly in MGS2, you had the story shoved down your throat more often than actually playing the games but... I enjoyed the gameplay portions quite a bit. I didn't play much in the way of stealth games prior to MGS, but I did enjoy MGS.

Also... if you're complaining about the shooting controls in a MGS game, you're doing it wrong. Generally speaking, if you need to shoot in MGS that means you fucked up and you failed at stealth. Walking up behind a guy and cracking his neck then putting him in a closet was much better, but optimally you'd slip past them entirely.

Absolutely. I have been playing these games multiple times over the years and still feel great and natural. Not dated or anything. (Though I do wish the crouch walk from 4 was in 3.)

By time MGS 3 was out the first 2 Splinter Cell games were out and they handled stealth so much better. Also Tenchu was out before MGS and that also handled stealth better. Hopefully MGS 5 will be better but I have never felt that the MGS series were good stealth games and most people seem to only play for the story.

I've always really struggled with the way MGS controls, but have loved everything else about it from the ridiculousness to just the sheer ambition. I actually really enjoyed MGS4 because I enjoyed the controls much more than previous games (even though other elements are clearly much weaker than MGS at its best). I can totally understand people loving Metal Gear Solid's gameplay, though. From the outside looking in MGS3 seems to me like one of the greatest videogames ever made.

I really, really enjoyed the gameplay in Ground Zeroes, I'm super pumped for Phantom Pain.

if you try to play the games like an actual "spy" I find em enjoyable. Running and shooting shit? no.

I really did enjoy the gameplay in those games, whenever it was that I played through them (like 6 years ago?).

I thought 3's systems were a bit too complicated, but I did prefer it to 4 which I found kind of dull and never finished.

peace walker in my opinion (the hd edition) has the best gameplay/controls and is pretty easy to pick up and play.

There are a shocking number of people in this thread saying that they like the gameplay but can't fathom how people like the story. I don't understand how anyone could bring themselves to play through those games without at least semi-enjoying the story.

I find the gameplay of MGS pretty great, altough I almost prefer the simple joy of MG2SS or Ghost Babel.

I've always considered the gameplay in any given MGS game to be something that has to be tolerated rather than something that can be enjoyed.

@xshinobi: That was always my feeling. I felt like Splinter Cell played better and the controls made more sense/felt better than MGS. I felt like they were keeping that control scheme because it just the way they always did it. While MGS4 had the option for more modern controls there were still some holdovers from the early days. Ground Zeroes is the first game in that series than feels like it controls on par with the stuff being released alongside it.