I'm a huge MGS fan (see avatar) but can agree that controls are not the games strong suit.

I still love them and started playing through Ground Zeroes, and the controls are much better

I already posted in this thread that I play older games all the time. I'm officially the biggest fan of PS2 mainly because games of that era were focused on fun. MGS games were not though.

Hmm i think you are one generation too late for that(lots more of those on previous gens). But i think you look for a compromise of graphics with fun.

The stealth mechanics were fun. Its just nowadays you expect to breeze through the game. The fun on MGS was in taking your time, using gadgets and strategies in stealth games that you hadnt seen before and taking in the story. 

These aspects saw alot of evolution in the last gen (and have been spoiled by exposure), so its not surprising that they have become more difficult to savor. 

If for example you look at MGS5, it is considerably faster paced with codec conversations beeing more seamlessly integrated. MGS didnt age gracefully because it pushed aspects of gaming to the forefront that have since been considerably refined. They were novel at the time, but not anymore.

Yes, I think I "get" them. I've been playing them since I was 10 years old or so, and I never found the camera to be annoying or the voice actors to be bad, they are quite good in fact. The writing was amazing despite some odd parts until Kojima decided to jump the shark several times in a row during MGS4. I still love the franchise though.

Metal Gear is one of my favorite franchises, though I think it should of ended after 4. I'm not hyped for Phantom Pain at all. As for it controls and camera, I see them more as an aquired taste rather than hindrance. These games sure aren't for everyone though.

At the time, most of the games were among the best in the industry. MGS1 was mindblowing and MGS2 was a technical marvel. I guess it's harder for me to see the flaws because when I play them, my mind reverts back to when I first played them. The industry and gameplay have made a lot of advancements since 1998-2008 (Plus whatever year Peacewalker came out).

Just remember the game gives you a setting, an arsenal, adversaries, and all of the tools you will need to be proficient. You just have to play them basedd on what was possible then and not what is possible, now. Hope you manage to enjoy them.

One series i've never been able to get into for some reason. Maybe it's because i don't have the patience to crawl around and such. I still try every other one that's released, but no go.

I love them ">.<"

Having your view restricted by lying down in tall grass is one thing, standing in an empty room with 5 enemies and having to look at a radar instead of your actual environment to confirm they are standing 10 feet across from you (firing at you) is something completely different.  That's not a specific example, as I haven't played the game in years to be able to draw on an exact for instance, but it's a general description of something I remember being frustrated by when playing it back then. 

Taken from a review of Metal Gear Solid 2:

"limited because of the game's camera. It's not fun to chase and shoot at enemies off screen, but often that ends up being an effective method. Unless you're up against a wall, the camera is locked in an overhead view, so enemies that would be easily visible in reality are completely out of view here."

The first MGS is one the best games I've ever played.
It was truely next gen, with great innovations. Grafix, gameplay, artstyle, music and sound, characters, boss battles, voices, perfect.

About the rooms looking the same, its not a platformer or rpg where you travel through many regions and towns and dungeons.
Resident Evil is also a great classic and is played in one house.. and a garden.