That game had real substance to it!

btw, that picture could be anyone, but it really matters not. The fact that you are on this forum soley to bash one game is really rather sad. Try expanding to hating other games, at least.

Jesus, if you really think MGS can in any way be put in the same comany as Seven Samurai....jesus.

As I've said before, I like MGS games, but the plotting and dialogue is ludicrous. Seven Samurai is one of the greatest films of all time, and is a truely amazing work of art. MGS....isn't. There are games that get story much, much better than MGS does. Japanese ones even, for those that are turning this somehow into a Japanese/Western issue, which it isn't.

I don't think Metal Gear is quite as bad as, say, Van Helsing or Wild Wild West. Is does try to be cerebral, even if it kind of hits you over the head with it and oversimplifies the concepts. I'd say it's more in line with The Matrix and it's sequels, in that it's kind of philosophy for dummies. In fact, you could say both The Matrix and MGS2 act in certain ways as "Jean Beaudrillard for Dummies," though both try to add their own other elements in as spice--The Matrix adds a little Derrida (oversimplified to hell and slightly bastardized), MGS2 a little Nietzche and Machiavelli (ditto).

 Nah, I hate other games as well.

There are even a couple of games I really love.

Ive said before MGS4 is a good game not great. Because Kojima thinks he's a film director. When realistically he would probably get canned by film critics for dialogue and tedious not needed scenes. You could cut MGS4 cutscene time by half and still get the entire message across. On top of that the interactive cutscenes are some of the most useless around. Ive managed to see 8 hours of the game now, and I'm losing interest. I actually prefered MGS2.

I agree. The video game industry will eat itself alive if this type of thing continues. Seems whenever a game is released that people really enjoy, the circular firing squad assembles to rip it down as best as they can. I'm not talking about Fishie's opinion but the reaction to it(he is, of course, entitled to it and backs it up.) The Cliffsters of the world with their subtle and smug takedowns, the people who don't own and never played the game bashing it because of something they heard or read. In this thread alone, I've seen this game compared to Hollywood and Japanese movie classics(favorably and unfavorably), and I've seen people who enjoy this game called morons. Seriously? In re to the OP, no. MGS4 is not bad for the industry, in my opinion. The game sold well and most people who bought it were quite pleased with it. The Balkanization(sp?) and utter immaturity of the fans of this industry, however, is. If you don't like that type of game, don't fucking buy it. Really, it is as simple as that. Fishie: I don't think the industry is near that transcend game that seperates the medium from other art forms just yet. I only think that'll be possible when it reaches a combination of complete interactivity(i.e walk, talking, etc) and a different way to tell a story(i.e total immersion.) The dev who will make that game probably hasn't been born yet. So, I respectfully disagree and think this discussion would better take place a decade from now or so. In the meantime, it'll be bits and pieces of what's to come scattered about. No one game will put it together for a long time. At this point, however, I think all new and old ideas are relevant because when compared to others art, video games, as a whole, are still in the infancy stage. edit: I don't know why these keep posting in Wall of text....I have spaces in it and everything. Oh well

I would say that plots to games like MGS4 are so convoluted and complex that the little outside media attention they receive will center around a few seconds of video clips and sales figures. Games like GTA and Halo which are easily understood as incredibly violent and sell much better are far worse for the overall videogame industry.

However I would say the attention all violent video games receive is in general bad for our image because it means non-violent games (sports, racing, misc.) are frequently ignored by the media, despite having a large devoted fanbase.

 It's the turth....

 I am pretty sure Nintendogs and Wii fit received far more mainstream media coverage then the likes of GTAIV