I'm a couple of hours in and it isn't growing on me.  At all.  Am I going to be sneaking through the whole game or will the game pace pick up at some point?  Also, am I the only one who thinks the controls are just wacky?  None of it makes much sense to me... I'm sure not having played previous MGS games is contributing, but overall, I'm just not seeing why the game is so highly rated.  Please, no spoilers!  I'm going to try to finish it!

I thought the beginning is the best. As soon as you get the eyepatch and can use radar...challenging gameplay flew out the window. Its just mostly story after that.

Thigs you still have to look forward to are...there is a cool action part near the end on a boat and lots of action but that lasts 10 mins unfortunately...there is a cool sneaking around part in eastern european city. and there are some neat boss fights...

Once you're in act 3 it starts getting engaging, because the story starts picking up a lot. MGS is a story driven series so if you haven't played the first 3 you're going to have a difficult time appreciating a game with 9 hours of cutscenes that are completely based on the assumption that you understand the series mythos.

Whenever Akiba farts.

Lol, I have the patch and radar. That doesn't bode well. Since I've not played the previous ones and just don't have the time, I think I'll keep plugging away and if I don't find it any more interesting soon, I'll ebay it and get something else. I've got folklore and civilizations on order and uncharted as well as ratchet just arrived so I have stuff to play.

I loved Uncharted, i played through it 4 times before I sold it. Lots of gameplay and a fun story.

It got engaging for me right after the initial install. This style of game is not for everyone and if you didn't play the others it may not be as enjoyable. I played it the first time through as an FPS (it is extremely easy to play this as an FPS/TPS because of Drebin points, snake eye, octosuit, MK2, and the weapons that are available to you). If you get through the first act and you still don't like it, ebay may be your best option.

I was engaged in the game from the moment I started playing.

Maybe your just like me and not ever gonna be a fan of MGS, There is no part of these games I enjoy, but its easy to spot the quality in them, there just not for me.

If the first Act didn't grab you, I have little hope that you'll ever enjoy the game. I felt the game's opening was one of the strongest parts of the game overall, doubly so if you haven't played the earlier games and don't appreciate the historical aspects of Act IV.