- Joined
- Jul 3, 1997
- Messages
- 7,061
Thanks. Wikipedia does seem to have a pretty good "back story" summary so I can readily bring myself up to speed regarding the prior episodes. Thanks for that.
While I fully understand that playing the earlier games will result in a richer gaming experience because all the references fall into place I'm not so sure that I would characterize it as being more "satisfying" (although I do see and appreciate that point.) I've played lots of games where there has been a type of flow from one numbered version to the next and while I can see the linkage I also feel that it's not critical to the story line. The excellent (but now dated) Half-life series immediately comes to mind. References to "Black Mesa" in HL2 elicit knowing glances but don't make it impossible to get the current story. Game developers would be doing their products a disservice if they made you play through the earlier efforts for a number of reasons. For one thing some of these franchises have been around so long that many of the earlier systems are now either unavailable or in our closets. For another, the tremendous leap in game technology makes the earlier efforts (aside from their back story aspects) rather quaint looking because the newer editions look, sound and play so much better. True, it is my understanding that some of the early edition MGS boss battles rank with the best of all time in terms of story, etc. and it's things like that which make them possibly appeal to me after I finish MGS4 when I get the time.
Once again, thanks for the feedback. It's appreciated. I particularly like the comment about MGS4 being an "event" rather than a game. To me, that's the type of experience that I look for in a game that I'm going to devote my time to. Clearly, those of you who have followed the MGS series from its inception (or at least since it came to the PS2) are having a great time as the story reaches a final conclusion. As a final observation, I see where most sites have been very cautious to not talk about specifics so as not to spoil the ending. But I also have a pretty good idea, as an outsider to the series, where it's headed based on the tone of the vague comments. That doesn't bother me at all because to me it's all about the world that a game creates and apparently the MGS franchise has created a magnificent one on just about every level.
While I fully understand that playing the earlier games will result in a richer gaming experience because all the references fall into place I'm not so sure that I would characterize it as being more "satisfying" (although I do see and appreciate that point.) I've played lots of games where there has been a type of flow from one numbered version to the next and while I can see the linkage I also feel that it's not critical to the story line. The excellent (but now dated) Half-life series immediately comes to mind. References to "Black Mesa" in HL2 elicit knowing glances but don't make it impossible to get the current story. Game developers would be doing their products a disservice if they made you play through the earlier efforts for a number of reasons. For one thing some of these franchises have been around so long that many of the earlier systems are now either unavailable or in our closets. For another, the tremendous leap in game technology makes the earlier efforts (aside from their back story aspects) rather quaint looking because the newer editions look, sound and play so much better. True, it is my understanding that some of the early edition MGS boss battles rank with the best of all time in terms of story, etc. and it's things like that which make them possibly appeal to me after I finish MGS4 when I get the time.
Once again, thanks for the feedback. It's appreciated. I particularly like the comment about MGS4 being an "event" rather than a game. To me, that's the type of experience that I look for in a game that I'm going to devote my time to. Clearly, those of you who have followed the MGS series from its inception (or at least since it came to the PS2) are having a great time as the story reaches a final conclusion. As a final observation, I see where most sites have been very cautious to not talk about specifics so as not to spoil the ending. But I also have a pretty good idea, as an outsider to the series, where it's headed based on the tone of the vague comments. That doesn't bother me at all because to me it's all about the world that a game creates and apparently the MGS franchise has created a magnificent one on just about every level.