| HappySqurriel said: Honestly, the problem with Metal Gear is not the storyline or the game it is the moronic reaction and undeserved hype of Fanboys ... Metal Gear Solid's story is very similar in delivery to a movies like Wild Wild West or Van Helsing; poorly acted and directed over the top movies that are entertaining when you turn your brain off. It is (somewhat) better than these movies because there is an effort to add some deeper content into the story, but these messages are poorly integrated into the story and end up seeming clumsy. From what I have seen, the only people who really see Metal Gear as being particularly deep are people who tend to only see the surface messages in movies/books/videogames and miss the subtext of a story. When someone who truly understands and enjoys deep subtext hears about how "Deep" Metal Gear Solid is, and then plays the game, they are bound to think that either games are the most shallow medium ever created (if this is the deepest game created) or that Metal Gear Fans are morons. |
I think Wild Wild West and Van Helsing are poor comparisons for the reason you mention how the MGS tries to insert relevant (Not necessarily deep) messages in it. That makes it different as brainless movies like the ones you mention never preach to you. (Nor should they.) Something like the League of Extraordinary Gentleman (the movie) seems closer to the mark as in it's just as campy and over the top but yet tries to maintain a serious tone about it despite being every bit as idiotic. It also seems to almost force meaning into every action and character and seems to foster some sort of poor attempt at being historically relevant.
Having the same brain dead glitzy presentation preaching to you and trying to convince you it's important is more painful for me then when it's just accepts it's role as mindless entertainment. Then to draw out to about 4 or 5 times the length of an average movie makes it even worse. =P
But I'm really just quibbling, I agree with you last paragraph. And to Fishie I'd say this kind of "damage" was probably already done with the previous Metal Gear games and ones similar to it, the latest version would just reinforce what was already established among the critical art circles.
