Magus

 

 

1up - A

IGN - 8.9

Gamespot - 8.0

Gametrailers - 8.5

 

With that said, people are going ham over this (still going ham). I definitely think Capcom/Ninja Theory has succeeded in alienating their fan base. As for me, I don't have the game yet, and still undecided on if I'll get the game or not. On one hand, as far as gameplay I like what I'm seeing. I won't say it looks as good or as stylish as DMC3 or 4, but it looks good. On the other, the atmosphere of the game is really off-putting, not only that, but the environment and graphics. Don't get me wrong the game looks good, but everything moving around the way it does and then the bright colors, it really messes with my eyes. I don't wear glasses or anything, but looking at that stuff too long will make me feel dizzy.

 

 

Anybody have the game yet? Thoughts?

Lets try to get some activity going on here.

http://www.1up.com/p...-zeroes-preview

For those who don't want to open the link

As part of an event celebrating the 25th anniversary of Metal Gear in Japan last night -- the original MSX2 title came out in 1987 -- Hideo Kojima and company had a big surprise to share along with a look back at the history of the franchise. A brand-new Metal Gear Solid game made its debut, and while those in attendance were not allowed to film the 20-minute demo that ensued, accounts of what took place have come out and should pique the curiosity of even those who have grown tired of the series' formula.

We know very little in the way of hard details concerning the curiously titled Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes. The reportedly impressive-looking gameplay demonstration was powered by Kojima Productions' Fox Engine, first revealed last year, which was running on a PC with current-gen hardware. Following a scene with a young boy and an older man who was accompanied by soldiers and guard dogs in which we see an "XOF" emblem, the phrase "From FOX, two phantoms were born" appears on-screen. Next we see a man with an eyepatch and facial hair who appears to be identical to Big Boss and is only referred to as "Snake." A patch on his shoulder seems to support that this is Big Boss and the game will take place in or around the 1970s, a theory that isn't disproved based on the level of technology seen in the video. Of course, given what Kojima has done in the past, it's impossible to know if Big Boss (or a Big Boss look-alike) will be the game's protagonist or if he is merely a placeholder.

What's potentially even more exciting than the return of Big Boss are indications that Ground Zeroes will be an open-world title. Aside from engaging in the kinds of things we expect the star of an MGS game to do, like crawl around while prone and take out security guards, there was evidence that player freedom will be a major point of emphasis. GameSpot describes the military base Snake explores as feeling "expansive and huge," and Snake has the ability to drive around in a jeep or call in a helicopter to transport him around, neither of which points to a linear game. Kojima indicated he hopes to provide players with the ability to use all of Snake's tools to escape when discovered instead of presenting them with a game-over screen, something that would work best in an open world.

Further supporting the idea that Ground Zeroes will be more open-world-like is the fact that, last we heard, Kojima was at work on Project Ogre, a game he himself described as being "very free" and set in an open world that players could explore at their leisure. He also claimed the game would provide new things to do and places to find after 100 hours of play. Rather than Big Boss being a placeholder for some other protagonist, it could be that Project Ogre was the next MGS title all along and that it was presented as something unrelated until now, although we don't know if that is accurate at this point.

If it is the case, this would be a dramatically different direction for a series that is traditionally more linear and cutscene-heavy. In addition to his description of it as being "very free," Kojima indicated last year that his next project would avoid being "something very cinematic," which would suggest Ground Zeroes will spend more time in control of the action. Although long cutscenes are frowned upon in many games, they are an intrinsic part of the franchise and the notion of having a Metal Gear Solid game that strays from that is rather odd.

Assuming Ground Zeroes does prove to be as different as this first look (and previous details on Project Ogre) would suggest, I find myself very excited. A stealth-based, open-world game would be unlike the vast majority of open-world games on the market, as they tend to follow the Grand Theft Auto III mold in being more action-oriented. As with any change to an established franchise, should Ground Zeroes be leaving behind both the structure and cinematic-heavy nature of previous MGS games, longtime fans may take issue with this game carrying the MGS name regardless of who the main character is. That's even more true because, as we're seeing with Revengeance, it's not as if Konami is against dropping the 'Solid' part of the Metal Gear Solid name when it's necessary. Until an open-world game can be shown to drive the kind of narrative experience fans want from an MGS title, there will be a heavy amount of skepticism surrounding the game. And it may be a while yet before fans can be convinced Kojima knows what he's doing -- the game has been designed with the current consoles in mind, but as the Fox Engine is built to support next-gen consoles, it's possible we'll be waiting until Microsoft and Sony's new platforms arrive before we get to play Ground Zeroes for ourselves.

What's sure to frustrate fans in the meantime is the lack of confirmed information: no release date, no guarantee Big Boss is the protagonist, no word on where this fits into the overall storyline. However many things may be in the air at the moment, though, the potential for a proper Metal Gear Solid experience to unfold within the framework of an open-world game where you can tackle things in any order and feel like you are actually deciding how Snake approaches a situation is very intriguing, if nothing else.

Heck, I'm still anticipating Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, and they're already bringing another, and going back to the "Solid" franchise (I still haven't completed MGS4 yet). I'm excited to hear about this and I'm very intrigued to see how this'll turn out since it's going to be in an open world environment.

Thoughts?

I don't know how many of you watched it, but G4 had a week long mini-series type thingy revealing what they thought were the top 100 games of all time. Incase you missed it here were the choices.

100. Pong
99. Words With Friends
98. Pitfall
97. NBA 2K11
96. Guitar Hero 2
95. Burger Time
94. Braid
93. Star Wars: Tie Fighter
92. Galaga
91. The Sims
90. Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn
89. Left 4 Dead
88. Double Dribble (NES)
87. Mass Effect 2
86. OutRun
85. Silent Hill 2
84. Wii Sports
83. Ninja Gaiden (2004)
82. Super Smash Bros. Melee
81. Resident Evil
80. Gears Of War 3
79. Psychonauts
78. Spy Hunter
77. Excitebike
76. Blades Of Steel (NES)
75. Fallout 3
74. Star Fox 64
73. Mega Man 2
72. Mortal Kombat
71. Wing Commander 2: Vengeance Of The Kilrathi
70. Star Wars Arcade
69. Double Dragon
68. Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time
67. Minecraft
66. Assassin's Creed 2
65. Unreal Tournament
64. NBA Jam
63. Wolfenstein 3D
62. Sid Meier's Civilization 2
61. God Of War 3
60. Contra (NES)
59. Maniac Mansion 2: Day Of The Tentacle
58. Ultima Online
57. Pokemon Red & Blue
56. Super Street Fighter 4
55. Kingdom Hearts
54. Gauntlet
53. Deus Ex
52. Rock Band 3
51. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
50. Sonic The Hedgehog
49. Angry Birds
48. Tecmo Bowl
47. Myst
46. Red Dead Redemption
45. Metal Gear Solid
44. Grand Theft Auto 4
43. Quake 3: Arena
42. Ghost N' Goblins
41. Super Mario 64
40. Space Invaders
39. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
38. Super Metroid
37. Halo: Combat Evolved
36. Batman: Arkham City
35. Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night
34. Counter-Strike
33. Final Fantasty 7
32. Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!
31. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
30. Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo
29. Star Wars: Nights Of The Old Republic
28. Super Mario Kart
27. Chrono Trigger
26. Ico
25. Grand Theft Auto 3
24. Madden NFL 2005
23. Halo 3
22. Panzer Dragoon Saga
21. Resident Evil 4
20. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
19. Diablo 2
18. Ms. Pac-Man
17. Starcraft
16. Half-Life
15. Donkey Kong
14. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
13. Portal
12. Doom II
11. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
10. World of Warcraft
9. Shadow of the Colossus
8. Goldeneye 007
7. Super Mario Brothers 3
6. The Legend of Zelda
5. Tetris
4. Asteroids
3. Bioshock
2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
1. Super Mario Brothers

Personally, I didn't get a chance to catch the show at all due to me working the midnight shift, but now that I got a better look at the list, I am kinda shocked that basketball games actually made a list for a change. I do have to admit that there are some games on there you'd never see me play. For the most part I don't really have much to say about G4's list. I never took these kinds of things seriously from the getgo. I just find them to be fun, If anything, it tells me that I should really try playing Shadow of the Colossus, Portal, Minecraft and Angry Birds one day.

Thoughts?

It is that time again (Man, 2012 is halfway done already). I don't know what to say since the event don't start until Monday. Uh, what are you looking forward to seeing?

So far Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 are the only games I've seen that's going to be at the event. Not that I did it intentionally, but I haven't been keeping up with the games this year, so now there's no excuse for games to have lack that hype factor for me... At least that's what I'm hoping for.

Anyway

Considering now that I am a proud owner of the DMC HD Collection, I pretty much have what I want, and then I'm still debating on if I want to buy the MGS HD Collection or not. Anyway, if there was a series you'd like re-released in HD or updated (if you will) what series would that be?

Shenmue. Mainly because I don't have a Dreamcast anymore and this game is just beyond awesome. I think there's a rumor floating around somewhere that it's being done, or it's actually completed... (I think I read it at 1up)

Shin Megami Tensei. The only game I actually played in the series was Nocturne, and that was only about 10 minutes - 1 hour of it. I don't have a ps2 anymore and I've pretty much missed out on the series.