Metal Gear began on the MSX computer. and Kojima HATES the NES port since someone else added a ton of garbage that wasn't originally there.

 don't forget the sucker punch. Bioshock may have raised the bar in 2007, but MGS4 took it to new levels that won't be surpassed for several years....or maybe until God of War III....and what the hell happened to Splinter Cell: Conviction.  weren't the developers making yearly sequels?

You know, i think we kinda hit an opinion wall here, because you see, i love Kojima's style of "convulted" writing as you put it. It is actually very specific for the anime & manga style of exposition. And that's exactly what MGS(4) is, a manga with big screen movie level of production values. You don't like the style ? Fine, but that is just your personal opinion resulted from the culture you were raised in and the values you grew up with, and the same is true for the millions that love it and find it better than other art & writing styles. 

And among the games you mentioned i played PlanetscapeT, Vampire - Bloodlines, Deus Ex, The Witcher and a Myst game long time ago.  And in all honesty, they are simply different styles, but in no way better. They scream Tolkien all over, a style i don't like in the least, but that doesn't mean i'm calling them badly written, just in a style that says absolutely nothing to me.

It basically comes down to Eastern VS Western culture, but make no mistake, there isn't a single thing wrong with MGS4's writing.

*High Five!*

Wow KylieDog, it looks like you like MGS4 about as much as I like FFVII. I think MGS is a good but not great game. I'm not a fan of Kojima's story telling. Even as an avid JRPG fan, I find the amount of cutscenes in MGSIV to be way over bored. The game takes the easy route too often and you end up watching an event that should be handled during gameplay. I agree with you on the story Kylie, but I'm not as disappointed by the game as you were.

My PS2 died before MGS3 got released and its seems that MGS3 was more like MGS1. I really in enjoyed MGS1 but MGS2 was a complete and utter clusterf*ck. My roommate has the MGS Anthology. Unfortunately, he has the 80GB PS3 and not the 60GB. So the game doesn't play quite as well as it should.

shio
To say MGS1 wasn't loaded with high morals about war, nuclear weapons and the pain inflicted by humans upon other humans would be an utter lie. Although not as moralistic as 2, 1 was as moralistic 4 and more than 3. If you cant remember then i would suggest you played them all again

None of the games I mentioned has a High Fantasy setting, and only 2 of them are fantasy. They have nothing to do with Tolkien.

Planescape Torment has easily the best videogame story of all-time. Pure masterpiece that was even compared to literature.  Mask of the Betrayer was the successor of PS:T, and also written by the best writer in the videogaming industry Chris Avellone. Deus Ex has a deep, profound story with mature themes masked by an enjoyable generic sci-fi conspiracy.

But you are right when you say that MGS4 is the equivalent of an anime because it's a fact that Animes are way below in quality compared to western live action series.

Yes, the nuclear threat, blah blah. Difference is they didn't waste time on it like they did on MGS4 and MGS2, which was my point.

Well, nice opinions you have there guys.

I say have fun with the games you like and leave MGS4 for those of us that appreciate it's story and style.

Glad to see someone else is annoyed by snake repeating everything everyone says.  You could tell snake that he repeats everything you say to him, and the only response you'd get is "I repeat everything you say?".  I really do like mgs4, but I find it amazing how people look over mediocre gameplay and such terrible dialogue.  Best game ever?  You must be easily pleased.  If this game was the first in a series of games there'd be very few people claiming it's the best game ever.  People would tear into it for its problems, especially the dialogue.

The dialogue could probably be rewritten to cut all cutscenes down to 2/3 their length without losing ANY of the story.

[Cackle]. Ah, MGS4, how do we love thee, let us count the ways...

I could spend hours talking about how amazing MGS4 truly is. The phenomenal dialogue, scripting, game-play, storyline, plot, music, anti-war message, strong female characters, eye-popping boss battles - suffice to say, people will be writing dissertations about this masterpiece. How do I know? Because I'm writing one right now. (Yes, PhD students can be gamers, too.)

But that's for another time and place.

All I really want to say is a "thank you" to Hideo Kojima and the immensely talented people at Konami.

Thank you for ten wonderful years of some of the greatest, most thought-provoking, socially responsible and politically subversive game narratives ever created.

Thank you for your signature wit and humor, which make your games such a delight.

Thank you for games which make players think about the real-life consequences of war and violence.

Thank you for creating characters who speak to the best in our humanity, and urge us to transcend our worst.

And last but not least, thank you for keeping the faith with your fans all these years - because you were the bearers of light, in the epoch of neoliberal shadow.