What are you currently playing?

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Re: What are you currently playing?

Postby Axm » Wed Dec 30, 2015 4:41 am

Playing too many games at once.. first world problems. I like being focused on one game at a time usually but with all the sales and vacation time recently im all over the place.

-Everybody's gone to the Rapture ($12)
So far a really beautiful game with a nice story.

-Need for Speed ($24)
They should have just called it Underground 3. Such a fun game. Lots of customization. Classic rubber banding opponents though still. When will they ever just let cars have a set speed value ability?

-Little Big Planet 3 ($8)
More of the same really.. cant tell whats changed at all with this game. Regardless its still fun and all the created levels from the previous games on PS3 carried over to PS4.

-Gauntlet reboot (Free)
Pretty fun playing this 4 player online co-op. Just more distraction from keeping me focused though..

-Star Wars Battlefront ($40)
Still playing this frag/missile/snipe fest. It's brilliant fun though. I love it. I could play it for years and probably will.

-Witcher 3 ($38)
Ok this game ive got abit hung up in cause im on the highest difficulty and probably under leveled. But I really dont care about doing all the side missions so just trying to force my way through the main story. Its a lovely game that I should be spending more time with but ya.. see above..
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Re: What are you currently playing?

Postby ShenGCH » Wed Dec 30, 2015 2:53 pm

Henry Spencer wrote:
Why did Volgin and Mantis not talk at all? So disappointing. What's even the point of bringing those characters back if they don't even get them talking at all? Heck even Eli/Liquid only has like two lines of dialogue in the whole game.
Why is everybody in this game a complete mute?

My guess for Volgin's muteness is that he is the embodiment of pure, seething rage and revenge, and giving him dialogue would make him appear human and that some may even sympathise with him. Bringing back Volgin in the first place was just... I dunno... silly? When many of us thought he was a hallucination back when the GDC 2013 playthrough came out, it all made sense, but bringing him back because his rage and desire for revenge kept him alive for twenty years, with him somehow managing to pick up demon powers along the way? It's pretty ridiculous to me. It was pretty neat seeing an old character rendered in the FOX Engine, though, so that's one plus :P

As for Mantis, it's understandable why he wouldn't speak: he relies solely on his psychic/telekinetic abilities and doesn't want other peoples' thoughts and/or true intentions to force their way into his mind - something he has no control over - hence why he wears the gas mask. He is more of a shadow than a psychical being, acting upon the evil thoughts and influence of others, which is the reason why he is so drawn to Eli.

One of the reasons for so many characters not speaking a lot during the game is undoubtedly Kojima's desire for the characters' facial expressions to do the talking for them, even though it doesn't always come across all that strong. Then there's the whole language thing.
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Re: What are you currently playing?

Postby Riku Rose » Wed Dec 30, 2015 6:42 pm

I'm excited for Kojima's next game simply because of how amazing the gameplay in Phantom Pain is. Everyone and their mum's dog knows that Kojima has been done with Metal Gear for awhile and this was obviously something where he just had to squeeze in Metal Gear references where he could. Now that he has more control over what he makes I think we will see a big upswing in the quality of his stories since he no longer has to make it all fit in a timeline that he didn't intend for it to fit into in the first place. Next time he sits down he will have a blank piece of paper and can go wild.
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Re: What are you currently playing?

Postby MiTT3NZ » Wed Dec 30, 2015 8:52 pm

Kojima's a great storyteller? I've just finished MGS3 n gone on a six or seven paragraph rant about how shit he is at storytelling. Though, to be fair, he did a decent job of working in "storytelling through gameplay" during the torture scene. But still... I'm struggling to get my head round that one. Unless I've done the equivalent of judging Nas by Nastradamus as everyone around me talks about how great Illmatic is, I can't see what you see. Either that or you've got objectively shite taste.
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Re: What are you currently playing?

Postby Mr357 » Wed Dec 30, 2015 9:45 pm

MiTT3NZ wrote: Kojima's a great storyteller? I've just finished MGS3 n gone on a six or seven paragraph rant about how shit he is at storytelling. Though, to be fair, he did a decent job of working in "storytelling through gameplay" during the torture scene. But still... I'm struggling to get my head round that one. Unless I've done the equivalent of judging Nas by Nastradamus as everyone around me talks about how great Illmatic is, I can't see what you see. Either that or you've got objectively shite taste.


Have you played MGS1 or 2? Snatcher? Policenauts?

Those are much better examples, in my opinion.
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Re: What are you currently playing?

Postby MiTT3NZ » Wed Dec 30, 2015 10:34 pm

Nope, nope, nope, nope. Though I'll eventually play MGS 1 & 2 regardless (it's annoying, but I kinda have to finish a series if I've already started it)
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Re: What are you currently playing?

Postby Mr357 » Wed Dec 30, 2015 10:57 pm

MiTT3NZ wrote: Nope, nope, nope, nope. Though I'll eventually play MGS 1 & 2 regardless (it's annoying, but I kinda have to finish a series if I've already started it)


Do yourself a favor and don't play the Twin Snakes version of MGS. It's pretty butchered aside from the gameplay.
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Re: What are you currently playing?

Postby MiTT3NZ » Thu Dec 31, 2015 6:11 am

Well it's a stealth series, so gameplay trumps storytelling as far as I'm concerned.
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Re: What are you currently playing?

Postby Thief » Thu Dec 31, 2015 6:30 am

I have to admit I lost a lot of respect for Kojima when I realized that all of his works (plot-wise) were largely stolen from Blade Runner, Lethal Weapon, Terminator, and Escape From New York (among others probably). I've played all of his games too, please don't try to tell me they're not rip-offs.

Anyway, If I were introduced to Metal Gear as a franchise today, as an adult, I probably wouldn't much care for it. However, as it stands, there's way too much nostalgia for me to dismiss it entirely.

If I were going to be as objective as possible (hard to do) I'd likely say that his best games are Metal Gear, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty -- but MGS2 has a HUGE problem in the shit writing department. After much reflection, I don't particularly like much of the series from MGS3 onwards. MGS1 on the PSX is a nice game, but heavily flawed, and largely a remake of MG2 that came before it on the MSX.

I played through MGS4 with a friend of mine recently because he had never played it -- and my god it's the biggest piece of shit ever. MGSV sucked super hard, for me, but MGS4 really should've been the nail in the coffin.

If someone asked me now if they should get into the Metal Gear franchise, my response would be "maybe". It's a really hard thing for me to recommend now...


EDIT:
MiTT3NZ wrote: Well it's a stealth series, so gameplay trumps storytelling as far as I'm concerned.


Well, don't play it for the gameplay either, to be quite honest. It's pretty broken because the game gives you the added controls/mobility of the MGS2 without taking into consideration the level and boss designs of the first game -- in short it's lazy and terribly easy.
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Re: What are you currently playing?

Postby OL » Thu Dec 31, 2015 3:44 pm

Thief wrote: I have to admit I lost a lot of respect for Kojima when I realized that all of his works (plot-wise) were largely stolen from Blade Runner, Lethal Weapon, Terminator, and Escape From New York (among others probably). I've played all of his games too, please don't try to tell me they're not rip-offs.


Normally that would be a huge respect-killer for me too (I hate ripoffs), except that the plots aren't actually ripoffs; it's only some basic concepts and visuals that are.

MGS has a character named Snake who's forced by the government to do something through way of infection, but otherwise the story is pretty much entirely different from Escape From New York. That's just the setup in the first few minutes. Snatcher uses the trench coat visual and the basic idea of hunting down synthetic "humans" from Blade Runner, and mixes it with the look of the Terminator (also Random looks just like Sting from Dune, don't forget that)... but absolutely nothing else about its story is a ripoff at all. I still haven't played Policenauts, but as far as I know it's only really the basic look of the two protagonists that's ripped from Lethal Weapon, along with the fact that they're cops; everything else I've heard is all Kojima-original.

So it's really not the plots (as in, the sequence of events making up the stories) that are ripped off, just some concepts and setups. And we're really just kidding ourselves if we think other creators do things much differently. Everyone does the exact same thing, they're usually just less-honest about it. Most people wouldn't dare give a character the exact same name as the protagonist from the main movie they're springboarding off of, specifically because they don't want to be labeled as "ripoffs." So they'd "lie" about it to some extent, give them different names, and pass it off as completely their own creations. Kojima, though, is a bit like Tarantino in an odd way; both actively acknowledge their influences, all while creating entirely new experiences with little bits and pieces.

Honestly, if that's enough to ruin something for you, I bet I could ruin just about anything for you by pointing out the veiled places they're swiping from. Practically everything creative springs out of some other source. New ideas grow out of old ones.

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Re: What are you currently playing?

Postby MiTT3NZ » Thu Dec 31, 2015 4:01 pm

In one sentence: There's a difference between a rip-off and a source of inspiration.

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Re: What are you currently playing?

Postby Thief » Thu Dec 31, 2015 4:02 pm

I'm sorry OL, but gunna have to disagree big time here. Here's the similarities of MGS and Escape from new york. It's the same fucking plot.

spoilers for mgs1
"- Main character is Snake
- Time limit is 24 hours
- Both Snakes didn't volunteer for the mission
- Both Snakes are infected with weapon during mission briefing (Solid Snake with FoxDie, Snake Plissken with two microscopic capsules lodged in arteries)
- They go alone to the mission, with no other support than radio.
- First person they supposed to rescue is a decoy (Decoy Octopus in MGS and some drunk who is wearing Presidents bracelet in Escape from New York)
- Both get supported from person they've met before (Solid Snake - Grey Fox and Snake Plissken - Harold "Brain" Herman)
- Both get supported by female (Meryl and Maggie)
- Both get captured and go through torture (Solid Snake via Electrical torture device, Snake Plissken via death ring vs. guy who is twice his size)
- High-speed chase in the end (Solid Snake with jeep, Snake Plissken with Taxi)
- Chaser is the bad guy (Liquid Snake, The Duke)
- Both are rescued from certain death by luck (Liquid Snake is killed by FoxDie and The Duke is killed by The Presidents M16)
- Both missions ends within the time limit (S. Snakes missions time limit is almost over ["The battery on these nanomachines will run out soon. They won't be able to follow us." {Briefing files says that injection gave 24 hour batteries for nanomachines}] Snake Plisskens clock has 3 seconds left).
- In the end, both says their real name to someone else

Meryl: "So... where to, Snake?"
Snake: "David. My name is David."

Hauk: "We'd make one hell of a team, Snake!"
Snake: "The name is Plissken."

- Real data is stolen (Metal Gear REX data by Ocelot, Casette by Snake Plissken)"

(taken from wiki)

Plus the opening sequence of the game is practically lifted shot for shot from Escape from LA.
Yes, other people get inspired by other works, but Kojima flat out rips them off.


I'd have to replay Policenauts and Snatcher to point out all the little details. But I can at least think of one off the top of my head for Policenauts, when he goes to visit the home of his black partner and have dinner with his family. Even the fact that he ripped off the character designs (exactly the fucking same look) is a big disgrace. There is homage, and then there is fucking ripping off. Sorry but no.

Image

Image

Image


MiTT3NZ wrote: In one sentence: There's a difference between a rip-off and a source of inspiration.



I agree, but Kojima rips ideas off. He goes much further than what's acceptable for a source of inspiration.


EDIT:

Should be noted that I do like MGS1, but it is a rip-off of Escape from New York regardless.
Last edited by Thief on Thu Dec 31, 2015 4:14 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: What are you currently playing?

Postby MiTT3NZ » Thu Dec 31, 2015 4:09 pm

I've made it abundantly clear that I'm yet to play MGS 1, will soon get round to doin so, and you list a shitloada plot points without spoiler tags? DICK!
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Re: What are you currently playing?

Postby Thief » Thu Dec 31, 2015 4:13 pm

MiTT3NZ wrote: I've made it abundantly clear that I'm yet to play MGS 1, will soon get round to doin so, and you list a shitloada plot points without spoiler tags? DICK!


Sorry.
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Re: What are you currently playing?

Postby OL » Thu Dec 31, 2015 4:56 pm

Thief wrote: I'm sorry OL, but gunna have to disagree big time here. Here's the similarities of MGS and Escape from new york. It's the same fucking plot.

"- Main character is Snake
- Time limit is 24 hours
- Both Snakes didn't volunteer for the mission
- Both Snakes are infected with weapon during mission briefing (Solid Snake with FoxDie, Snake Plissken with two microscopic capsules lodged in arteries)
- They go alone to the mission, with no other support than radio.


Yeah, that's all the "basic setup" stuff I was talking about.

Thief wrote:
- First person they supposed to rescue is a decoy (Decoy Octopus in MGS and some drunk who is wearing Presidents bracelet in Escape from New York)
- Both get supported from person they've met before (Solid Snake - Grey Fox and Snake Plissken - Harold "Brain" Herman)
- Both get supported by female (Meryl and Maggie)
- Both get captured and go through torture (Solid Snake via Electrical torture device, Snake Plissken via death ring vs. guy who is twice his size)
...
...
...
- Both missions ends within the time limit (S. Snakes missions time limit is almost over ["The battery on these nanomachines will run out soon. They won't be able to follow us." {Briefing files says that injection gave 24 hour batteries for nanomachines}] Snake Plisskens clock has 3 seconds left).
- In the end, both says their real name to someone else

Meryl: "So... where to, Snake?"
Snake: "David. My name is David."

Hauk: "We'd make one hell of a team, Snake!"
Snake: "The name is Plissken."


Outside of maybe the chase at the end, most of that sounds like reaching or nitpicking, though.
-Decoy Octopus is literally impersonating the president, and acts as a major player in revealing the plot. The badguys throwing Snake off with a tracker in EFNY ain't quite the same.
-Having someone the characters know already there isn't exactly something you can rip off; that happens in just about every action story ever. Besides, Grey Fox isn't exactly "supporting" Snake; he's there on his own as a wild card ninja, and Snake has no idea what to think of it. Not even close to the same as Harold.
-"Both get supported by a female." Um... yeah, there are females in most stories. Sometimes they're on the same side as the protagonist. It's not original to EFNY.
-Getting captured is similar, I'll totally grant you, but going through electro-shock torture and having to face off with a big guy aren't really comparable.
-The missions kind of have to end within the time limit if the good guys are going to win, and again, getting down to the last seconds happens in so many stories it's not even worth mentioning.
-In EFNY, Snake saying "The name is Plissken" is a standoffish show of defiance, after he insisted previously that his name was Snake. It's him saying "fuck you" to the guy, telling him they'll never be the same team. Snake at the end of MGS saying his name is David is an actual reveal to a friend he just made. Opposite ends of the spectrum there, and I really wouldn't be surprised if Kojima didn't even think about that scene in Escape when writing his. It's just that loose.


Whatever someone might make of those comparisons though, it totally disregards all of the stuff that is, very specifically, original to Kojima's story. Characters like Psycho Mantis, Vulcan Raven, Ocelot, Liquid Snake, Sniper Wolf have no conceptual analogs in Escape, nor does the idea of Foxdie as
a weapon against them.
The Cyborg Ninja is original, an idea that spun out from a drawing in Yoji Shinkawa's sketchbook. Demanding Big Boss's remains so they can get their hands on his genetic information, making use of a walking, nuclear-equipped battle tank, the scene of Meryl
getting shot and used to lure Snake into the open
, and so on and so forth...
Honestly, if I were to give an overview of the actual plot of MGS, it would sound almost totally different from Escape outside of the opening details, and the stuff that MGS is actually popular for is the stuff Kojima created on his own (the character, nutty twists, and so on).
Guess it's all just perspective.

Weirdly though, I do have the urge to see Escape From New York again after talking about it now. :lol:
Gonna have to check Netflix or something.
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