From the Diary of Jim Squires: Why I won't be buying Metal Gear Solid 4 today.

Written by Jim Squires

Thursday, 12 June 2008 05:45

Lately it seems as though we've had a bit of a hate on for Metal Gear Solid 4 here at theBBPS. In all honesty nothing could be further from the truth. Ryan and I were both part of the Metal Gear Online beta, and have both been looking forward to the launch of MGS4 for as long as I can remember. Just take a listen to our earlier bitcasts -- every time someone asked me what upcoming games I was looking forward to MGS4 was at the top of my list.

Sure Dan might have given up on the franchise and Kevin might have given up on the fanboys, but that doesn't mean anybody here actually hates Metal Gear. I'm sure if you asked Dan even he'd admit that although it's not his cup of tea, it's a brilliantly crafted franchise for those who are into this sort of thing. So how did it come to this -- that one of the two guys here on the site who've been actively salivating over MGS4 for months now has decided to give this game a pass?

I'm sure on some level it has something to do with the hype train that I'd discussed in an earlier post. On an even bigger level it has to do with where I am as an adult. Family begets responsibility, and responsibility begets time constraints. For the most part my gaming always has to fit in an hour or two session. That means that I can't jump on top of 20-40 hour games too often, and when I do it's going to take me a while to finish them. It sucks sometimes, but that's the way it goes. I've only just discovered Times Square in GTA IV this week -- I'll be lucky if I'm done with this game by September. How in the hell am I going to make time for MGS4 right now? Besides -- extensive cut scenes aren't exactly conducive to my play style. 90 minutes may have been an exaggeration, but I'd be amazed if some didn't clock in at around 45. I just don't have time for that.

But the third and most significant reason I won't be picking up MGS4 today has to do with a promise I made to myself. I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, but I made a few to myself this year that I haven't really publicized. The biggest of these had to do with the games I play and the games I cover. The way I see it, so many other bloggers and sites cover triple-A titles so thoroughly that I wanted to try and get away from that as much as I could this year. I wanted to get the word out about some quality indie titles, I wanted to play some gems that flew under everybody's radar, I wanted to get some titles on the map.

For the most part I feel I've done a pretty good job of it. I've reviewed games like WordJong and Defend Your Castle. I've interviewed Telltale Games and shone a spotlight on Rhythm Tengoku Gold. I've made a far more concerted effort all around to showcase the best of the rest this year.

"But Jim," you might be asking yourself. "How did you become such a snazzy dresser, and what does this have to do with you not buying Metal Gear Solid 4?" To be honest, the correct answer is Kevin. Without knowing it he put me on the right path last night. I was humming and hawing about whether or not I should buy MGS4 today, knowing that after a few days of fiddling with it it would likely sit on a shelf for months until I had the time. Then I read his review of Trials 2, and I got to thinking -- I could buy MGS4 and have no time for it or for the same price I could buy 6 under-the-radar titles at $10 a pop that I actually would have time for. After that it was a no brainer (and a great opportunity to please the New Year's gods).

I'm definitely going to be picking up Trials 2 and I was thinking about giving Lost Winds and Toki-Tori a try. Anybody else out there have any suggestions?

Comments (7) Add Comment

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written by Kevin Alexander, June 12, 2008

Go ahead and say it Jim, I'm your savior.

I've been singing the praises of XBLA title Lost Cities to anyone who will listen. Give that a shot.

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written by OPT1MUSPR1ME, June 12, 2008

I just ran out to Walmart and got the PS3-MGS4 bundle with the $100 gift card. I am pretty excited at how easy it was to get one.

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written by Xav @ X3F, June 12, 2008

I get what you're saying Jimbo. But at the same time, MGS4 isn't like a message in Inspector Gadget. The disc won't self-destruct after a certain amount of time.

You can always play it in spurts.

That being said, it's smart to pass on something if you know you won't have the time.

While I don't have the time personally to play it, I bought it and am forcing myself through it because I don't want to have the story spoiled for me by some random commenter at Joystiq.

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written by Xerxes3rd, June 12, 2008

“How did you become such a snazzy dresser[. . .]? To be honest, the correct answer is Kevin."

Awww, he lays out your outfits for you each morning, how cuuuuuuute!

On topic, I'm not picking up MGS4 because I've never played Metal Gear before. Perhaps it's a cardinal sin, but the series never really interested me. I really have no doubt that it's a good game; most titles that have this much hype are pretty good. I guess my lack of PS3 is keeping me from buying it, too.

Ok, ok, I lied. The real #1 reason I'm not picking it up is there's this little place called the Lothar server that has its hooks in me.

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written by Faith, June 13, 2008

I'm picking it up just for the 90 minute cutscenes. Who really needs to play their video games nowadays anyway? Videogames that are more movie than videogame are the way of the future.

Great for the really lazy gamer.

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written by B, June 14, 2008

I've been a Metal Gear fan since September 22, 1998, when Metal Gear Solid launched on the PSone. As a devout fan of the series, I would try to sell it to anyone at the time when I worked at GameStop (99-02). That being said, I was extremely hyped for the 2nd one and was let down, loved the 3rd one, but it still didn't feel like the Metal Gear I was used to. Now the 4th one. The 4th one is the only game in the series that constantly has me awestruck. I was like you Jimmy in that I was really excited up until a few weeks before launch. I don't know if it was fear of being dissappointed or just the fear of it being changed completely to the point where I didn't know what it was. Now that I'm 10 hours in, I can honestly say that I'm extremely satisfied, and it takes a lot to satisfy me. The way the cutscenes are presented makes the game feel very very seamless. It doesn't feel like you're being taken out of the game like the previous metal gears. The progression is very natural and for the first time in gaming, I actually look forward to the cutscenes. That's not to say that the gameplay is subpar. I say it because the story telling and the camera work is up there with the greatest Hollywood movies I've ever seen. I think every gamer owes it to themselves to play this game. If you've never played any of the other ones, there's a retrospective on all the metal gears at Gametrailers.

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written by TheBBPS.com » From the D, June 25, 2008

[...] A few weeks ago I got up on my soapbox and told you why I wouldn’t be buying Metal Gear Solid ... I was being the pretentious dick who wanted to abandon the possibility of a great game experience just so that I could focus on smaller and independent titles. What I neglected to factor in at that time was that A) I’m a weak, weak man, and B) I can both have my cake and eat it too. You see, there’s no reason why I can’t balance my time between AAA titles like MGS4 and off-the-radar games. [...]