I just finished Snake Eater for the umpteenth time, except this go-round was on Extreme difficulty. I don't know why I didn't try it earlier -- the boss fights are friggin' awesome when they actually require some degree of strategy.
Still not sure how I feel about the theme song, though.
Anyway, Podtoid's ninety-ninth episode records tonight and we need listener questions. We'll be talking about last month's Musings theme, the sudden glut of western-themed games announced (Red Dead Redemption, Call of Juarez 2, Red Steel 2, and to a lesser extent, Mad Dog McCree), and probably other stuff.
Hit the jump and start asking questions for the chance to earn a Dtoid swag bag.
Also, I'm really tempted to ask someone to Photoshop cover art for Metal Gear 1 and 2, and Metal Gear Solid 4 that fits in with the cover art style of the MGS Essential Collection. As it stands, I've got a really weird-looking collection on my shelf with the Essential Collection in the middle, bookended by a midget-y looking box for MGS4 and a flimsy paper packet holding the second disc of Subsistence, signifying the first two Metal Gear games. I need visual harmony, dammit.
Were you disappointed that the main theme of the MGS games was not in MGS4?
The one I mean is the one that was in MGS1 and 2 and 3.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag-O4VfJx6U
Do you think that some video game adaptions of films were better executed than the actual films they were based on? Or is it completely irrelevant because of the different experiences you have with films and games?
The upcoming wiiware title cave story. Will it be a direct port of the original free pc game? Basically if you already have the game on your pc should you play it or buy the wiiware version?
The MGS3 theme song is the most awesomestest of all the MGS theme songs.
Also, what's with everyone breaking one of the golden rules of gaming? I mean, everyone's getting the new Wolverine movie game? What did you guys think of the demo?
Looking back, can you think of a single event or decision that you made or that happened to you in any way, that if it had gone differently, would have changed your life and caused you not to be a gamer or a fellow robot?
What inspires the topic of the monthly musing theme? They are often well thought out topics that allow for a lot of flexibility for people who wish to write them. I honestly quite enjoy them, and they often inspire me to get off my lazy ass and write something.
Also, best of luck to the person who gets to judge the "nothing's sacred" contest. Massive troll bait that thread is.
Why do most games all cost $60 when their content varies to the extreme? You pay more for a entire season of a television show than you do for a new DVD movie release, but that's because of the difference in content. Why can't this concept made it to games?
What a thrill...
With darkness and silence through the night
What a thrill...
I'm searching and I'll melt into you
What a fear in my heart
But you're so supreme!
I'd give my life
Not for honour, but for you! [Snake Eater]
In my time there'll be no one else
Crime, it's the way I fly to you! [Snake Eater]
I'm still in a dream,
Snake Eater!
Someday you go through the rain
And someday, you feed on a tree frog
This ordeal, the trial to survive
For the day we see new light!
I'd give my life
Not for honour, but for you! [Snake Eater]
In my time there'll be no one else
Crime, it's the way I fly to you! [Snake Eater]
I'm still in a dream,
Snake Eater!
Do you guys like to think up game ideas randomly when you're day dreaming? Or do you leave that stuff to the professionals and leave gaming out of your imagination? When you do think up a game concept, is it basic, like "Wouldn't it be cool if there was a freeform zombie apocalypse survival game", or do you get into the details, the story, the gimmicks that would set it apart from everything else, etc.?
Every couple of days I'll start brainstorming out of nowhere a big complex game concept, including thinking about monster design and plot flow and gameplay elements, then most of the time just forget about it just as quickly.
Six Days in Fallujah was cancelled. Considering the PR stank radiating off off this IP, do you think it'll find a publisher/ do you want it to/ do you care anymore?
Also: Otacon slept with his stepmom, awesome or not? Discuss!
btw: The 'Big Shell Incident' would have on April 29th 2009(says Wikipedia), but it didn't, is Hideo Kojima a dirty liar or is swine flu to blame for that?
ALT QUESTION: MGS3 shows that the basic MGS Story (soldier vs technology vs command constructs) can be applied pretty well to historical conflicts. In which historical conflict would you like to see a Snake character make a "what-if" style appearance? Trebuchet Gear Warwolf?
While there have been some solid representation in the action and science fiction genres in video game storytelling, it would seem that a great western yarn has never been experienced in a digital form. Why do you think it's so tough, especially when the familiar themes of vengeance, one man versus the world, and honorifics factor so heavily in the Western works of Ford, Sturgis and Leone?
Radical terrorists have kidnapped your goldfish. The only way you can save her and defeat them is by grafting Aaron Linde onto your crotch, turning you into a superhero, crime fighting team. Do you think video games are being too conservative when it comes to basic story? Also, how often would you groom the newly grafted Linde?
Question:
You just mentioned how the game was arguably much better on extreme difficulty, but if so, isn't it bad form to review a game on normal as you've said you generally do, as you assume that is the difficulty you have to review it on?
Everyone has the same difficulties to choose from at the beginning of the game, so couldn't you go through a bit of the game on different difficulties until you find one that fits the game (or fits you, depending on how you look at it)
Question: How horrific was the zipper shortage in 1964?
Serious Question: Is exclusivity dieing a good thing or a bad thing?
I ask this because me and a few friends, starting on the topic of MGS4 going 360wise, asked if the loss of MGS and any other big names would devalue the PS3 and how much.
Metal Gear 1 and 2 MSX are lot better than the NES version. Did any of you play the MSX of metal gear? It was included in a limited edition of MGS: 3 snake eater with English support. What If Solid Snake had a daughter and you could take her role in the next MGS game, surprising huh? bye
When is a spoiler a spoiler? Throughout the time I listen to this show along with RetroforceGO! there are always differing opinions on spoilers. Some things are sacred (MGS4) and others are full disclosure (A**** is F*******). How do each of you feel about spoilers? There are actually some people out there who don't want FFVII to be ruined for them.
Rev Ant - I completely understand the desire for a visually appealing flow on one's shelf. You could do what I did: replace the cover to the MGS3 box with the cover to the MGS3:Subsistence box. This allows you to remove the placeholder for the single disc and localize your MGS3 collection into the Essential box set while keeping the matching covers. Also, if you have it, the MGS4 Limited Edition box has similar dimensions to the Essential's box, so they look more pleasing to the eye when next to each other.
Another arrangement I use is placing the Essential Collection next to the MGS4:LE box, followed by Twin Snakes, MGS2:Substance, and MGS3:Subsistence. Everything is centralized and conveniently organized, though you're forced to acknowledge your double-dips.
Do you think that a big time Hollywood Director could make a decent video game? I mean give someone like oh I don't know, a Peter Jackson or Guillermo del toro a shot?
A serious noir game directed by David Lynch
My money would be on a fantasy RPG in the hands of terry gilliam
How do you guys maintain continual contact and know exactly whom will be posting a certain news story etcetera? I'm new here (just joined after reading for a couple weeks), but has there ever been a case where something like this happened?
P.S. Your site is f*cking awesome, best game blog out there.
Recently I found myself with more stress at work and less free time at home. This is how I rediscovered something that had been missing in games for a long time; fun. I simply found that I no longer had the time or energy to devote to long-winded tales, or in-depth character development. I found myself playing more Burnout, more Street Fighter, and more disposable action-adventure experiences such as those in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. None of these games are perfect, but they act as good time-killers. And damned if they don't keep a stupid smile on my face. There's so much discussion about The Next Big Evolution, or the Citizen Kane of videogames, but if feels like we have started on a slippery slope of forgetting why we play in the first place. Are we in danger of losing the fun factor in lieu of pushing the medium towards its next stage of maturity? We mock the casual gaming market, but is this just an example of how distant we've become from that which got us here in the first place?
With all the hardware reviews coming up I wanted to ask:
If you could design a peripheral to go with your favorite game, what would it be? Like, if the MGS series had a separate radio screen that vibrated whenever you had a call on the codec.
Recently some gaming analyst stated that we should not expect to see any new "next-generation" consoles till at least 2013 and possibly later than that. What do you guys think about the lengthening of this console product cycle? Would you like it to last this long or even longer before the next 'upgrade’? or would you rather the next iteration of consoles come sooner than later?
So did the Skype freakout on RFGO dissuade you from trying to do a call-in show for ep. 100?
On the western-themed games topic, will it be difficult to implement the simpler gameplay aesthetics of the old west when gamers are used to the complexity/variety of modern shooters? Will these games need to rely more on story than special effects? If so, do you think they'll succeed? Should shots of whiskey make you stronger a la Doc Holliday in Tombstone?
As long as you're talking about Western-themed games, I'd like to toss a big "fuck you" out to Reverend Anthony Burch. He swore Call of Juarez was worth my time, but didn't specify that the 360 version was garbage. I wasted hours of my life waiting for that steaming pile of shit to get better and it never did. I sure hope Call of Juarez 2 is a bit better.
Also, I don't know if I'm the only one, but I found Gun rather satisfying. It had very "last gen" graphics, but it was an enjoyable mindless romp back when there were very few games for the 360.
Actually, I'd play Gun over MGS3 any day of the week; I just couldn't get into that game.
Have any of you ever read The New York Trilogoy by Paul Auster? Kojima cited it as an influence for MGS2. Honestly, even if you don't like the "meta" aspects of MGS2 (Anthony), I would say The New York Trilogy is worth your time. It's three short stories that explore identity from different angles and build on each other in interesting ways. Check it out.
Can we get Jim to say the following sentences in his Liquid Snake impression?
Foxgirls with tits just don't fly, Snake!
If I wanted to have sex with Nicole Wiebe...
Aaron, how is the new Bonerquest coming?
On podtoid 99 I believe it would be quite the shame if Jim didn't talk about Ninety-Nine Nights 2, or just rant about the first one.
That aside the Podtoid crew often references the stories of Bioshock, Half-Life 2, Portal, Metal Gear, Braid, and the occasional Final Fantasy, but there are many other games out there with stories just as good or moving as those games such as: Okami, Yakuza (1 and 2) Cave Story, EBA, Earthbound, Valkeria Chronicles, Starcraft, and many others. Even games that we don't normally consider as story driven have surprising and powerful moments like the end of EBA, Wind Waker, Rosalina's morose story in Super Mario Galaxy. I'd love to hear more discussion about the tales in those games that are not discussed every week. (PS Linde, the RFGO Earthbound episode didn't go as far as it should have in my opinion
Alternately, what games have given you all the most memorable moments in regards to their music, what are the moments you've had in games where the music has pushed the experience over the edge in terms or sadness, epicness, or anything else.
If you could have designed a limited edition controller for the MGS essential collection, what MGS-related shape would be the most useless in terms of game play, but most awesome? My first thoughts were either a claymore mine or a pack of cigarettes?
HOW COULD YOU NOT LIKE THE SNAKE EATER THEME! I mean common now! Its suppose to be a spoof of a classic 60's James bond flick. I love it! The lyrics are hilarious and the harmony in the song is amazing. It is a song that I sometimes wisel or hum at work (and at sometimes sing). I dunno I think its just fantastic, and it plays at the perfect time in the game, right after the prologue, just like any Bond film (I love Bond films too). Anyways, yes the game kicks ass. That is another game I want to come back and play again sometime this summer. And yes the box are for the MGS essential collection is amazing. I wish we got the European Box art for MGS4 in NA. Because that looked so kick ass. I loved the homage to MGS: VR missions. LOVE IT!
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12:40 PM on 05.04.2009 
