Hey there fellow dwellers of the internet, I recently decided like a few others on this forum to get into the Metal Gear Solid franchise. Now I've heard thats its best to play in release order but i've got a more curious question about whether the game is accessible gameplay wise, because things have aged fairly badly, but I'm hoping the MGS series is holding up. I start with the legacy collection tomorrow, and eventually will move through them all to get to the most recent Metal Gear Solid V. I'm quite pumped for this play through.
MGS: Entire Series Playthrough
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The first game is fairly easy to play since it's so arcadey.
The second game is an evolution of the first but it is still fairly easy to play. It adds manual aiming in which makes some things easier but adds a higher level of challenge in some areas.
The third game completely changes most of the gameplay and is probably the most challenging. It's not arcadey at all now and favours being slow and methodical. However it adds a bunch of clunky menus to the game and aiming some of the guns requires about 5 buttons to be pressed which is mental.
The fourth game builds on the third but adds crouch walking and plays more like a standard third person gun game which makes it all a lot smoother, and its probably the best in terms of gameplay.
The most recent one controls incredibly.
I only started the series 6 months ago and found all the games playable, despite being a PC player (so not a dab hand with the controller.)
The second game is an evolution of the first but it is still fairly easy to play. It adds manual aiming in which makes some things easier but adds a higher level of challenge in some areas.
The third game completely changes most of the gameplay and is probably the most challenging. It's not arcadey at all now and favours being slow and methodical. However it adds a bunch of clunky menus to the game and aiming some of the guns requires about 5 buttons to be pressed which is mental.
The fourth game builds on the third but adds crouch walking and plays more like a standard third person gun game which makes it all a lot smoother, and its probably the best in terms of gameplay.
The most recent one controls incredibly.
I only started the series 6 months ago and found all the games playable, despite being a PC player (so not a dab hand with the controller.)
At first the controls are going to feel so fucked up! Like aiming with 3 or 4 buttons ... and to lower your weapon is to slowly release a button and fire is to quickly release it. Soon they feel quite natural and easy but it does take a while to program your brain.42 said:
I don't know the best order to play them, the story as the games are released means you bounce between Snake and big boss (and Raiden) but playing in timeline order would mean the controls are even more crazy 'cos you would start with decent controls and then go worse to better
If thats what you think about Peace Walker than Phantom Pain is going to have some nasty surprises for you.LeathermanKick25 said:
Peace Walker at least gave you a variety of side missions for timewasting shit, like monster hunting, ghost photography and perfect stealth missions.
Phantom Pain has 10 side missions for clearing landmines, about 30 side missions for fighting armored vehicle/tank units, and at least a dozen side missions for eliminating enemies that are simply not able to fight back.
Phantom Pain also has an actual resource system, and its the bane of my existence right now
I still feel the series is very playable. Obviously MGS1 will be dated in graphics and the gameplay isn't up to par, but at the same time, it doesn't play nearly as badly as something like Syphon Filter would play like now because there's really no normal aiming like a normal TPS (outside of 1st-person sniping). You don't even move the camera with the right stick (same with MGS2) and the radar handles the function of seeing what's ahead. Aiming in TPSs really didn't come into their own until last-gen and MGS was always doing things its own way so it kinda bypassed the humps of the TPS genre. Starting with MGS2 the controls do get complex (like having to slowly release the fire button to lower you gun), but I wouldn't call them clunky or bad as once you learn them, you'll never die because of the controls. MGS3 was the game with one major problem control-wise, they got rid of the radar (due to being a prequel thus not having that radar tech) so you'd have to constantly go into 1st-person to see ahead; however, Subsistence fixed that by adding a normal free look camera (which I'm guessing would be the version in the collection). The CQC controls are very complex at first but they have to be for the amount of stuff you can do like grabbing a soldier to interrogate, to choke out, to slit his throat, to slam down, to put C4 on him, etc. MGS4 is the best controlling game in the series and best controlling TPS IMO. Like I said how TPS aiming just didn't feel quite right until really last-gen, MGS4's aiming is as tight and smooth as I've ever experienced in a TPS (and TPSs are kinda my favorite genre especially for online shooters). MGS's controls are more complex than most TPSs because you can do things you can't do in other TPSs like you can aim in 1st-person and lean your character left/right (in MGS2 you can lean up, tippy-toe basically), what other TPS allows that?! MGS5's controls are just as smooth but they do take out quite a few advanced maneuvers like leaning so MGS4 still has the best controls for any TPS. Lastly, MGS5 has an contextual cover system and contextual cover systems just aren't the best because contextual controls of any kind will get you killed from time-to-time.
That's a superb summary chap, nice one.endtherapture said:
For all the evolution of the series, I still love the 1st one the most by a long shot. It's just so easyily accessable and fun.
Don't forget The Twin Snakes, because it's a good game.
And Peace Walker is far more important to Phantom Pain than MGS2 or even MGS1. Don't listen to people who dismiss it as some sort of spinoff. (The game was called MGS 5: Peace Walker during development.)
And Peace Walker is far more important to Phantom Pain than MGS2 or even MGS1. Don't listen to people who dismiss it as some sort of spinoff. (The game was called MGS 5: Peace Walker during development.)
I'd play them in order just to see the evolution of the series, if nothing else. I never had much difficulty with the first game, but I grew up in the time era it came out, so... Yeah.
There's a chance after you get used to the controls of the older games MGS4 is going to take some getting used to. That's where they really switched things up. Toggling between stand, crawl walk, and crawling was a nuisance for me.
There's a chance after you get used to the controls of the older games MGS4 is going to take some getting used to. That's where they really switched things up. Toggling between stand, crawl walk, and crawling was a nuisance for me.
Suggested Order, Chronological:
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snaker Eater (PS2) 1964
Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes (PS4) 1975
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain (PS4) 1984
Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes (GameCube) 2005
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2) 2007/2009
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3) 2014
If that is of no interest, then go by release.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snaker Eater (PS2) 1964
Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes (PS4) 1975
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain (PS4) 1984
Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes (GameCube) 2005
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2) 2007/2009
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3) 2014
If that is of no interest, then go by release.
No peace walker? You'd be lost playing the phantom pain without knowing the events of peace walker. The list should go something like this.fenrizz said:
MSX Games if you can stomach them (they are playable in the MGS 3 menu)
Metal Gear
Metal Gear 2
Then the main series
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snaker Eater (PS2)
Metal Gear solid: Peace Walker (Psp)
Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes (PS4)
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain (PS4)
Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes (GameCube)/ The PS1 original if in the likely event you can't find a copy or have the necessary nintendo console.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2)
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3) 2014