Second MGS4 review in -score 92 "story too complex"

[Profcrab]

rocketpig said:

GotchayeA said:
I grant that it's a fun combination, windbane, but I meant to ask how the interactivity made the experience artistically superior. A hot dog at a baseball game is an incredibly satisfying combination, but there remains a sense in which the hot dog doesn't make the baseball game better.

I never played that, rocketpig - how does the interactivity make the difference there?

To ruin it, there's a scene where you meet your girlfriend in the game. Nothing big, mind you. It seems like a simple task.

She asks you to sit on the couch and you watch television with her for as long as you like. Later, she is executed in front of you for your crimes against the family. Normally, you wouldn't give a shit. But that one moment on the couch and Jenny's voice acting actually makes her a real character to the player.

It's really quite poignant and brilliant given the general feel of FPS games. The rest of the game is mediocre at best but that's one of those moments where interactivity is really shown in its glory because you had to actually connect with the character on a subtle level and when she dies, you are actually invested in that moment.

It's sad how one rather annoying moment on a couch turns into one of the most powerful moments I have seen in gaming in quite some time.

 Good point about that scene.  I thought it was an odd inclusion at the time also, but it turned out to be a great call by the developer to actually make the player feel the impact when she dies.  It also really makes you want to kill Paulie (if I remember the name right).  After that, of course, the story doesn't quite keep intensity up, but that one single part of the game is golden.