This Week in Review is sneaking ... and stuff

by Ross Miller { Jun 14th 2008 at 7:30PM }

No time to talk, must sneak. Check out all of our impressions and reviews from the Joystiq Network this week:

Metal Gear Solid 4

Nintendo DS

Ninjatown (Hands-on)
Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 (Hands-on)
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Review)
USA Today Crossword Challenge (Review)

Xbox 360

Frogger 2 (XBLA in Brief)
Commando 3 (XBLA in Brief)

Nintendo Wii

My Pokemon Ranch (Review)
Actionloop Twist (Review)

Tags: metal-gear-solid-4, mgs4, this-week-in-review

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Ninjakamster (PS360 FTW!) @ Jun 14th 2008 7:37PM

I don't think I'll be playing this game for a while since GTA4 damaged my PS3, as has happened to several others and I'm hearing the same is happening with MGS4, damaging the Blu-Ray drives on some PS3s. : /

A lot of people have gotten to play it and I'll have to wait until the bugs are fixed, don't want to buy a PS3 and have it break down again. And ironically, my 360 is going strong.

tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 14th 2008 7:43PM

Hope you get to play it soon. I'm on act 4 and it's quickly becoming my favorite game this gen.

Vegnagun bwf @ Jun 14th 2008 7:59PM

It's the best game of this gen (hands-down) for me.

Ubiqutous Oxymoron @ Jun 15th 2008 1:11PM

Hope you enjoy it also, playing through act 2 and i have to say I have never, ever been this impressed by a console game on any platform.

playing fine on my 60gb

jynxycat @ Jun 14th 2008 10:10PM

Funniest thing I've heard in awhile.

Game discs damaging your system.

I bet -_-

Ninjakamster (PS360 FTW!) @ Jun 14th 2008 10:15PM

I know it sounds farfetched, for a disc to damage hardware, but it has happened to me, it is happening to other PS3 owners as well, so far I'm noticing its with mainly MGS4 and GTA4.

I dunno what is exactly causing it to happen, on my PS3 before I dumped it, it could no longer read Blu-Ray discs but still read my DVD movies and PS1/PS2 games perfectly.

I hope you wouldn't think I'm making this up would you? Thanks to stupid GTA4, I lost quite a bit of $$$. : (

j.howlett @ Jun 14th 2008 10:37PM

i just want to know how you had a 60 gig and gta4 was your only game on a bluray. my 60 gig worked fine before and after the patch. i admit i wasn't to far in the game before the patch hit because of the mgo beta and having problems reading the cellphone screen in the game. but when i do play for a couple hours at a time its works

Vidikron (FU) @ Jun 14th 2008 11:03PM

So are you going to whine about your busted PS3 drive in every PS3 post now?

Anticrawl @ Jun 15th 2008 12:01AM

@Vidikron (FU)

I say he has ever right to, I mean plenty of folk whine about broken 360's and about half of them never had one to begin with. If my PS3 bricks when I start getting into MGS4 I'm gonna be raising hell as well.

Ninjakamster (PS360 FTW!) @ Jun 15th 2008 12:58AM

Your right Vidikron, not appropriate in this thread at least, but I do think its serious and it pains me when I say my story on forums and people think I'm a 360 fanboy trying to stir up shit, when I've always been a PS3 fanboy yet I have a 360 because of my PS3 dying, otherwise I wouldn't.

Something serious is going on for GTA4 and now MGS4 to break the drives on some PS3s and Sony had better take the steps MS did for the RROD.

ill trooper @ Jun 15th 2008 3:53AM

I understand it's frustrating that your PS3 broke, but you have told us this a few times before. As you can tell, many of us have read your plight in previous posts so maybe keep the story to one sentence and have faith that we've heard you.

It's gonna be back soon, repaired, and you'll be back in action. Trust me, I've had two 360's die on me, and when it comes back it's like some wild bitch of a girlfriend that you love blindly; you forget all about it when she's back in yer arms.

Meanwhile, back on MGS4... I've only played a few hours on this game but it's really the type of game I like, and I think I'm already enjoying it more than GTA4, which was good, but not this good. I got sick of GTA4 telling me exactly how to do the mission each and every time - "get closer you're losing them," etc.

nealbailey @ Jun 15th 2008 10:21AM

"It's the best game of this gen (hands-down) for me."

Wow...personally I can't express my level of disgust with this game. I'm 4 hours in and I've actually played for less than an hour (the game is just there to lead you from one cinema scene to the next), not to mention the story is so ridiculous and the dialog is so poorly written and acted that it's just painful to play this game, especially considering the game wants to be a movie so bad but it doesn't realize what a bad movie it would be.

Total waste of $60

DaveC @ Jun 14th 2008 7:46PM

Finished MGS4 yesterday. Short, but EPIC.

Jeffrey @ Jun 14th 2008 7:52PM

Finished MGS4 today. Good, but not nearly as good as I was expecting.

KingOfGods @ Jun 14th 2008 8:08PM

Yeah I know what you mean. The controls feel much better than any of the previous titles but there are a lot of things that are just plain dumb and dated.

I hate having to constantly pause the action just to swap to a weapon or item that may be better suited for the situation...c'mon if I'm already able to carry a ridiculous amount of weapons and items in my inventory just let me scroll to them without the pause menu.

It's a good game but not what the hype made it out to be.

Noshino @ Jun 14th 2008 8:20PM

"if I'm already able to carry a ridiculous amount of weapons and items in my inventory just let me scroll to them without the pause menu."

So you want to scroll through your ridiculous amount of weapons while sneaking?...that is the exact reason why you have to pause to change a weapon...

KingOfGods @ Jun 14th 2008 8:48PM

Why not? I was able to do it in other MGS games. They would group like items, now If I want a pistol and my trank gun I have to either take up 2 slots or pause to swap them when needed. In the options I can also set it to swap between my last two weapons used so there won't be that much scrolling.

All I'm saying is if I'm carrying it already just group them and be done with it.

Hyams @ Jun 15th 2008 8:15PM

I just keep the dartgun, the M4, a sniper rifle and a heavy weapon on me at all times, and then I can combat just about any situation. It also leaves me one weapon slot available for whatever else I feel I might need. I rarely had to access the weapon screen.

And at any rate, MGS4 has a *hell* of a lot less pausing than MGS3 had.

Ninjakamster (PS360 FTW!) @ Jun 14th 2008 7:53PM

I suppose I'll wait until the MGS4 "Substance" version is eventually released with all the nice little extras...... and a I hope. And I'll have to wait until I'm sure PS3s aren't breaking down, a new SKU I guess that'll either have little or no B/C unlike the precious 60gb. : (

I was so sure of their reliability until hearing of GTA4 especially damaging some PS3s. If only I knew in advance so I never would have bought the game and waited instead. : /

Jakka @ Jun 14th 2008 8:44PM

There doesn't seem to be a reason for releasing Substance...unless they would port it to 360 and PC.

...and we all know this will never happen.

Solid Chief @ Jun 14th 2008 8:51PM

Why would that be? (no substance version)
Since they have done it for every single Metal Gear Solid already?

j.howlett @ Jun 14th 2008 8:57PM

DLC may be a reason there isn't a sub-??? version released later on. they can add whatever they want later

Slayer @ Jun 14th 2008 9:11PM

I don't think mgs3 has been ported to xbox. So, what are the chances of 4 being ported? That doesn't make any sense.

DangerMouse @ Jun 14th 2008 9:36PM

Correct, MGS3 wasn't ported to anything else, as i'm sure that MGS2 on the XBox didn't get the reception they were hoping for. But when MGS3 came out, the XBox didn't have the same following like the the 360 has now(in the US anyway). I would've said before MGS4 came out that they'll port it just because of the sheer cost that it probably took to make it vs. how many are sold, but from the looks of things, it's pretty damn popular. I'll be interested to see what they do.

RanWitScissorz @ Jun 14th 2008 8:02PM

Anyone know the average total gameplay in mgs4? I just started act4 and feel like I haven't played more than 2-3 hours, rest being cutscenes.

KingOfGods @ Jun 14th 2008 8:10PM

yeah it's mostly cut scenes. The first act alone was mostly story telling.

Noshino @ Jun 14th 2008 8:21PM

it has been reported to be 29 hrs, with 9 hrs of cutscenes

RanWitScissorz @ Jun 14th 2008 8:23PM

Act 3 was heavily cutscened with only about an hour of gameplay at the most, kinda disappointing. If it's mainly a movie, should of lowered the price closer to the DVD pricepoint.

tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 14th 2008 8:30PM

It's definitely not 29, unless act 5 is the longest act in video game history cause I just started 5 and I got about 17 hours so far.

Noshino @ Jun 14th 2008 8:42PM

it took me 20 hrs, and I did it somewhat fast...

The Stig @ Jun 15th 2008 3:14AM

21 hours completion for me, and I really wasn't rushing through it either. It was kinda of short, but it was an amazing ride while it lasted.

Hyams @ Jun 15th 2008 8:09PM

Took me 17 hours to beat the game. I'd say about a third of the game was cut scenes though.

uh-oh polio @ Jun 14th 2008 8:12PM

love this game.

Huh war what is it good for absolutely everythign @ Jun 14th 2008 8:13PM

So it's not a game, it's the PS3's best feature at work again... Playing back films?

Noshino @ Jun 14th 2008 8:34PM

Ok litle Billy, let me explain you, this game is (reportedly) around 29 hrs long, with about 9 hrs of cutscenes.

The series as a whole is known for having many cutscenes throughout the game, and this one, being the last of the series, went up a notch, and it is a bit (hey, a bit) understandable as it pretty much sums up the whole story to the point where there are almost no loosen ends.

Know you should based your opinion on what little Bobby and Tommy say and experience things on your own

Solid Chief @ Jun 14th 2008 8:41PM

haha!
That was actually pretty funny if not a little stupid (but what post here isn't stupid in some way or another?)

Jakka @ Jun 14th 2008 8:50PM

@ Noshine

The fact that other MGS games had long cut-scenes isn't an excuse.Because that logic can be applied to pretty much an game.The last MGS game was released 3 years ago.Kojima is a smart man so he should've figured out how interactive storytelling works.We're long past these times when pre-rendered cut-scene was the only comfortable way to push the story forward.

I don't care if it's MGS or if it was made by Kojima.Hell, it could even be handcrafted by God himself.But if I need to spend 1/3 of the game watching cut-scenes then something is clearly wrong.

Jakka @ Jun 14th 2008 8:51PM

*Noshino

God,I hate typos!

Jeffrey @ Jun 14th 2008 8:55PM

@ Jaka, the cut scenes aren't pre-rendered :p (They're real-time)

Jakka @ Jun 14th 2008 9:08PM

I know...I was saying that cut-scenes (usually pre-rendered as tech was very poor in the past) were the only way to push the storyline.

ill trooper @ Jun 15th 2008 4:25AM

The cut-scenes are not the shortcoming the haters act like it is. It's a half-story/half game sort of experience, and if you're enjoying it, and eating up the story like many of us are, it's not really a big deal at all. In fact, it allows for more detail in the story we're being told.

Maybe some would feel more involved if it was like HalfLife2, where you can look around during the cut-scene? It would still be a cut-scene, and I prefer the controlled camera angles and shot set-ups in MGS. Way more cinematic than anything else out there, and it fleshes out a much fuller story than many other games even attempt.

Shader @ Jun 14th 2008 8:20PM

I've just finished it and can safely say this is the best game I have EVER played. That is all.

Hala Madrid!! (Madrileno hasta la muerte!) @ Jun 14th 2008 8:31PM

Yo check out this funny story I found in Funnyordie.com

Los Angeles, CA - Jeffery Hollandsworth, a 17 year old student, became a victim of a self-induced violent crime yesterday when he purposely slammed his dick in to the car door after playing the newly released Metal Gear Solid 4 video game.

After playing all night Jeff realized he had spent the bulk of his time watching cinematic cut scenes . When he went online to investigate, he found severely distressing news.
"I read some review that tells me the game I just bought is over 50% cut scenes," an outraged Jeff told us. "I buy this thing expecting it to be fun and games only to realize it's neither. Do you know one of the cut scenes is 90 minutes long? What kind of bullshit is that?"

It was the news of this 90 minute cinematic that sent Jeff racing towards his 1997 Toyota Camry.

"I wanted to forget the fact that the game I just spent 65 dollars on won't even let me play it half the time. Slamming my dick in a car door seemed like the quickest way to accomplish that."

This is the first news of violence surrounding the Meal Gear Solid 4 launch, but it certainly wasn't the last. Emergency rooms around the country have been overrun by teenage boys who got their penises stuck in everything from microwave oven doors to mousetraps after discovering how absurdly long several cut scenes were.

A representative from Konami said they wish a speedy recovery for Jeffery and his once Solid Snake.