Feral said:
As much as I like the Metal Gear games, I do wish it would calm the hell down. It's like each installment tries to out-stupid the previous one.
The other thing that is increasingly evidenced is that these games aren't really ironic, that they take themselves seriously, and we think they're doing it on purpose; cause no-one could create that kind of magnificent idiocy by accident.
What really points to this is a)no-one ever talks about Kojima with anything other than complete seriousness b)I really don't think the Japanese have the concept of irony
Seriously? You think MGS takes everything seriously? You mean to tell me, that all the little Easter Eggs that play around with the characters and all the inside-jokes carried throughout the series, were done because they were taking things seriously with nary a sense of intended humor or irony? Okay then...(also that last bit was just a liiiittle bit unnecessary)
As for Yahtzee's coverage on this, as much as I usually enjoy his stuff, I can't help but feel that he was a bit..... off when covering this one?
I don't mean that he was wrong to criticize it or anything, rather it just doesn't feel like his usual magnificent "taking a piss" routine. He seemed more confused and in desperate need of grabbing as much "negatives" just to find a way to do a quick stab at it. The blatant lack of any mention regarding Platinum Games was certainly a misfire on his part, and he comes across less as being witty/snarky and more confused/whiny about the Metal Gear franchise. It's little awkward that Yathzee mentions that MGR is taking a stab at itself with the final boss for the sake irony and "joining in the fun of making of fun of MGS". Uh what? If I recall correctly, the vibe of that final boss felt like it was the complete reverse, in that it was making fun of ALL the criticisms leveled at the series while slapping them back on our faces in the most over-the-top fashion like it was nothing at all ("NANOMACHINES, SON"). And it's also only NOW that he thinks that MGS is deliberately trying to screw with the players? Hasn't it been doing that in strides here and there since MGS2 onwards? (what with MGS2's blatant deconstruction of MGS1 and the spiteful tone of MGS4 in regards to nostalgia) I also thought that his stab at Raiden's overpowered-ness and inhumanity seemed a bit misinformed since the whole story was pretty much addressing this notion as Raiden methodically killed each and every one of his enemies (both the grunts and the bosses) while still struggling to try and maintain his humanity despite all the violence he had caused as well as his unwavering superiority against them (what with "survival of the fittest" being a huge theme in the game).
On a side note, I do like how the challenges that the bosses posed were accumulative in that you learn certain skills each time until it all comes together in the end for the final boss; truly testing your skills and what you've learned throughout the game. I recall that he rambled on about how DmC failed at this and rightly so (I also enjoyed DmC so don't get me wrong). So with MGR succeeding in exactly that it was a relief to hear that he at least acknowledged that even if it was somewhat of a passing mention.
While the game certainly takes itself seriously at times, MGR never felt like it was trying to be truly melancholic as he makes it out to be. Sure it had serious moments and self-reflection, but those moments of seriousness were often followed by moments of sheer empowerment, and in some parts, no-nonsense brutal ass-kicking (ass-slicing?). It was for this reason that when the OTT shiz started hitting the fan it still felt natural and not at all out of place ESPECIALLY for a game developed by Platinum Games. I don't know, while truly enough I really enjoyed this game, his coverage on this just comes across as being a little awkward (read: a bit behind and somewhat of a misfire) than what I'd usually expect from Yathzee since he could've chosen other more juicy parts of the game to either praise or criticize like hell.