Metal Gear Online

[Kaney]

So by now you probably know your way around Blood Bath and Gronznyj Grad like the back of your hand and you're starting to want more from your Metal Gear Online experience. The European beta has now been updated with a third map and a new gameplay mode. The new map, Midtown Maelstrom, is a medium size level set on the street of a war-stricken town. Hence the name.

As for the new gameplay mode, we expect the Sneaking Mission to be incredibly popular for the sole reason that Snake is a playable character. One player takes on his role, complete with OctoCamo, Solid Eye and other handy items (how does he carry so much stuff while sneaking around?). The aim is to move silently around the map trying to collect dog tags by defeating other players. If more than ten people are playing then another player takes the role of Metal Gear Mk II in order to help out Snake. Meanwhile two teams battle it out as usual.

Get online people. NOW.

[9 to 5]

Oh Jesus! I havee so much to do but, but, but...

Expect me online shortly.

[TheRossWalker]

Oh fuck.

If the patch hasn't downloaded by tomorrow morning, I'm going to fucking cry.

That, or give up and play GTA.

Probably both.

[9 to 5]

I am shite being Snake.

Not abd at hunting him down however.

[Vilge Duin]

Well that settles that then... If you guys have been on, then the servers have to be region exclusive.

Which is bullshit. Bah.

[Edit:] And the number of people online at any one time has dropped significantly each day since Friday. Which doesn't seem to bode well for the game.

I know it's now Monday and all, but considering Call of Duty 4, Warhawk, Resistance and such are almost always full of people playing at any one time and this beta was just released and was "hotly anticipated"... that ain't good.

Edited April 28, 2008 by Vilge Duin

[Kaney]

Everytime I've played it there've been people in every server, and the Otacon Server in particular has never had less than 900 players at any one one time, so it sounds likely maybe it's more of a problem on your end.

[Vilge Duin]

How exactly would it be a problem on my end?

Or have you not noticed North American and European servers obviously are not connected to each other? Add on that people over here needed the pre-order code...

[Kaney]

How exactly would it be a problem on my end?

Or have you not noticed North American and European servers obviously are not connected to each other?

...I think you just answered your own question. YOU might not be able to connect because you have a duff code or a shit server, but that doesn't mean the beta is somehow failing to live up to expectations.

[Vilge Duin]

Where the fuck are you getting that from?

Want me to take a fucking picture of the server list? There isn't as many people on. Period. I don't see what the fucking problem is.

And regardless, seems people have already found exploits. Was playing some dude named TENCHU and he literally could not be killed. 50+ kills during Capture with no deaths. And every shot he hit someone with, even in the foot, was a headshot.

[Kaney]

There wasn't a problem till you started bitching about one, so do everyone a favour and calm down. You were saying the beta doesn't look good because the servers were quieting down, and I'm saying the servers I've seen are still going strong. You say the severs aren't connected so...whats the problem?

[9 to 5]

The amount of players playing or not playing doesn't take away from it's quality. Besides, right now I imagine most people would be working or at school, nevermind the codes problem in America.

[Vilge Duin]

1. Point out where I said the beta wasn't good.

2. You somehow speak for the activity of North American servers (the core demographic of the game)... how?

3. Where the fuck did I say the servers weren't connected?

I didn't bitch about shit. I said that over the weekend since the beta started people have significantly dropped off from playing. I said that's not good for the game. Which is true of any beta. Didn't say the game wasn't good, didn't say I have a "duff code" (yeah, how the fuck does that work?), didn't say the servers weren't connected, etc.

Where you get you're assumptions from, I don't know.

[Dan]

Chill out, lad.

[Kwanzabot]

Can I also point out that Japan and Europe are probably the core demographics, as just behind Japan, we in Europe are the best buyers of MGS.

[Vilge Duin]

Hmmm, yeah, looking at data, albeit not wholly accurate, kind of proves that theory wrong.

And on that note, tasering dudes as Metal Gear Mk. II is wonderful.

[CKN]

According to vgchartz europe is the best buyers I fail to see your point. Plus Japan is the main target for the series... why else would they have created the character Raiden. Japan loves their girly men

[Kaney]

2. You somehow speak for the activity of North American servers (the core demographic of the game)... how?

For christs sake. You were the one who said the activity was dwindling from previous days in the first place! I'm bored of this now, so just drop it, please.

And I disagree on your other point as well. Nothing feels as good as when you finally kill that tiny bastard Mk.II after being shocked a couple dozen times >_>

Edited April 28, 2008 by Kaney

[Vilge Duin]

According to vgchartz europe is the best buyers I fail to see your point. Plus Japan is the main target for the series... why else would they have created the character Raiden. Japan loves their girly men

I didn't say dick all about sales, he did. By his statement the series is bought more by Japanese, then Europeans and then by default North Americans. Which is not true as dictated by data. THAT's my point. If you take the entirety of the series and every installment (with upgrades) NA and Europe are about the same.

However, considering the consolidation and access to the Internet along with the proliferation of "online gaming" among Americans and to a lesser extent Canadians, and taking into consideration there is a larger install base (along with a far cheaper price point, thus resulting in more potential buyers) of the PS3... North America is obviously MGO's core demographic.

I see not what is so hard to comprehend.

2. You somehow speak for the activity of North And I disagree on your other point as well. Nothing feels as good as when you finally kill that tiny bastard Mk.II after being shocked a couple dozen times >_>

Obviously the little bugger is supposed to help Snake win, which if two players were playing together (ie. with mics) it would be rather easy. However a lot of people don't have mics and even those that do don't use them (...guilty as charged I be).

But playing as Snake is so difficult. I feel sorry for the guys that spawn as Snake as it's effectively you vs. everyone else. I have only seen 1 guy win and that sadly was due to my own stupidity... I had my 3 magazines down and 3 of the other team all conveniently stopped to look at them. While I was getting ready to pick them off, Snake came up behind me and put me to sleep... So 4 sitting ducks for him to pilfer from... was embarassing...

And the new map is leaps and bounds better than the first two though. Lots of nooks and crannies with enough sniper spots and places to hide and open spaces for big fire fights.

[Kaney]

I love Groznyj Grad, but yeah, the new map is fantastic, it looks like something from MGS4 properly, not just a rehash or something shit thrown together like Blood Bath (Ugh)

I've never had the chance to play as Snake outside of a locked server for testing, but it does look pretty fucking hard. I played about a dozen games earlier and Snake won only one of them, although he came close once or twice once he figured out how to steal the dog tags. We were raping the other team in terms of kills, but they seemed to run into Snake a lot more often, which sucked.

One cool thing is that I was actually help up by Snake, like you could do in MGS2. I don't know where he came from, but he did the whole "freeze!" thing, the bastard.

[Vilge Duin]

I love Groznyj Grad, but yeah, the new map is fantastic, it looks like something from MGS4 properly, not just a rehash or something shit thrown together like Blood Bath (Ugh)

I would love GG but for some reason it just feels completely sterile and lifeless. It's immense with a full 16 player game, but anything less seems kind of iffy. Playing with like 6-8 people can make it seem too large. Blood Bath... meh. Seems too fancy for its own sake and just boils into a straight up shoot out no matter what. They're also both symmetrical and I don't really like maps like that.

The new one takes all the good of both and is unique in itself, thus making it awesome.

I've never had the chance to play as Snake outside of a locked server for testing, but it does look pretty fucking hard. I played about a dozen games earlier and Snake won only one of them, although he came close once or twice once he figured out how to steal the dog tags. We were raping the other team in terms of kills, but they seemed to run into Snake a lot more often, which sucked.

I think once people learn how to play as Snake it will be better. Namely the Octocamo. I only actually noticed it when I tested it by myself (bit too hectic during an actual game), but you have a index number like in Snake Eater. This is what affects when Snake looks blatantly invisible, which I'm sure you've seen.

What you really have to do as Snake, is what he does best, sneak around the entire round and try to single out individuals. Pat'em down and run off. Snake wins regardless of kills if he gets 3 tags. So patience is the key... But I noticed, as I too did it, a lot of people will stick as a team during that game mode far more than otherwise. And in that case, Snake is screwed.

One cool thing is that I was actually help up by Snake, like you could do in MGS2. I don't know where he came from, but he did the whole "freeze!" thing, the bastard.

I thought that was cool too. I wish I didn't experience when I did though. I spawned, started running off, "FREEZE!". He then flipped me, and then did it again. So there I am cowering on ground while I got patted down... Next thing I know, Snake gets taken out by 3 dudes from their team, who all come and crouch around me looking at me while I stayed there frozen. As I stirred to movement, one capped me in the head...

But having messed around with Snake on the new map by myself, I think Metal Gear Solid 4 will be an immense game. With the added control and features, plus what looks like an even better designed game than before, it'll be great to mess about with. Still not keen on the controls and such being used for online though.

Edited April 28, 2008 by Vilge Duin