The gameplay was a good part of it, for sure. FP aiming was comfortable, and the stealth was fun and challenging.
However, the weapons save for the tranquilizer were very underused. The only utility was to fend off assault teams, which I don't see the point in at all. The claustrophobic corridors were a bit tiring, but overall, the gameplay was really great and improved over the MGS 1 in terms of controls. As long as I wasn't interrupted by a codec call. Damnit, Rose, I'm on a mission!
Big Shell. What a bland area that was. I was constantly waiting for the plot to take me somewhere away from the vomit-coloured backtrack-fortress.
The boss fights were bland. One of my favourite parts of MGS 1 were the colourful 1v1's against the FOXHOUND. This game made me throw myself at a couple of bosses that I didn't care for. Fortune's was just dodging for a while until a cutscene plays (again!). Fatman's was alright, but very easy. Vamp.. I didn't care for, really. The Harrier fight was simplistic and over fast. The RA Ys at the end did send me for continues, but after getting the hang of it, it was just stinger spam. The swordfight with Solidus kicked ass. Dodging and careful attacking — awesome.
I was of course a little dissapointed by the sudden Raiden, and I can't say I ever liked the guy. He came off as complaining and annoying most of the time, and his albatross girlfriend Rose didn't help it all. Snake was cool as expected, but I found his philoshopical rantings a bit generic. His comrade bromance with Otacon was a treat, though. Speaking of which, his sister was irritating and her high pitch didn't help. The Dead Cell didn't interest me at all. Peter Stillman I did actually like for reason or another. Ocelot kept his sadistic charm from his first appearance. Solidus was badass, but he could've gotten more time; maybe replace crying scene a la Fortune with him.
As for the story.. well, I won't chalk it up as bad. I appreciated the message and philoshopy it was presenting, and it certainly left me think for a while. Yet it seemed too focused with plot twist masturbation to give time for actual emotional connection between the player and the game. I just wasn't intrigued by it after the initial 'whoa' factor. It was meta without enjoyability, and maybe a bit too smart for me.
Good game I couldn't enjoy
The gameplay was a good part of it, for sure. FP aiming was comfortable, and the stealth was fun and challenging. However, the weapons save for the tranquilizer were very underused. The only utility was to fend off assault teams, which I don't see the point in at all. The claustrophobic corridors were a bit tiring, but overall, the gameplay was really great and improved over the MGS 1 in terms of controls. As long as I wasn't interrupted by a codec call. Damnit, Rose, I'm on a mission!
Big Shell. What a bland area that was. I was constantly waiting for the plot to take me somewhere away from the vomit-coloured backtrack-fortress.
The boss fights were bland. One of my favourite parts of MGS 1 were the colourful 1v1's against the FOXHOUND. This game made me throw myself at a couple of bosses that I didn't care for. Fortune's was just dodging for a while until a cutscene plays (again!). Fatman's was alright, but very easy. Vamp.. I didn't care for, really. The Harrier fight was simplistic and over fast. The RA Ys at the end did send me for continues, but after getting the hang of it, it was just stinger spam. The swordfight with Solidus kicked ass. Dodging and careful attacking — awesome.
I was of course a little dissapointed by the sudden Raiden, and I can't say I ever liked the guy. He came off as complaining and annoying most of the time, and his albatross girlfriend Rose didn't help it all. Snake was cool as expected, but I found his philoshopical rantings a bit generic. His comrade bromance with Otacon was a treat, though. Speaking of which, his sister was irritating and her high pitch didn't help. The Dead Cell didn't interest me at all. Peter Stillman I did actually like for reason or another. Ocelot kept his sadistic charm from his first appearance. Solidus was badass, but he could've gotten more time; maybe replace crying scene a la Fortune with him.
As for the story.. well, I won't chalk it up as bad. I appreciated the message and philoshopy it was presenting, and it certainly left me think for a while. Yet it seemed too focused with plot twist masturbation to give time for actual emotional connection between the player and the game. I just wasn't intrigued by it after the initial 'whoa' factor. It was meta without enjoyability, and maybe a bit too smart for me.
I do think it's a good product. Just not for me.