Happy 10th Anniversary!!!

[fgdj2000]

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is now 10 years old!!! 

I think it still holds up pretty well. The story was both celebration of and swan song to the Metal Gear series up until that point. And even when we got more Metal Gear (and not all of it bad), the series hasn't quite been the same. 

Anyway, let the celebration begin. praise, criticisms, anecdotes.

[A.G.]

Came home after work today and fired it up. Shocking to know it’s been a decade! I still remember the week leading up to the release. June 12th was a Thursday, so I worked extra hours so I could leave at 11 to get the game. The fridge was stocked and I was ready. Played late into the evening. Went to bed. Woke up early and called out for work that Friday! Can’t have that getting in the way! Took almost all day to finish. Tears at the end... shocking reveal of Big Boss... it was perfect! I was happy not only with how it ended but that it ended. It felt complete. I never forgot Big Boss’ final advice, “forget about us. Live for yourself.” It was time to grow up and live. Set aside fansites, forums and endless hours of gameplay. It was time to live a real life.

The series always made me think about my own life and how I should aim to make it better. How to focus on things that matter. Find what’s important enough to believe in and then pass it on. This goes beyond mere fandom. Now a decade later I look back at the journey traveled. A wife. A house. A career in video production. And think, “this is good. Isn’t it?” Yes, yes it was.

Now then... it’s time to equip that iPod, queue me up some Zanzibar Breeze and school some FROGS! And only an MGS4 fan will understand that!

Happy 10th, MGS4!

[A.G.]

This!

[fgdj2000]

Jun 12, 2018 22:52:09 GMT -5 A.G. said:

Came home after work today and fired it up. Shocking to know it’s been a decade! I still remember the week leading up to the release. June 12th was a Thursday, so I worked extra hours so I could leave at 11 to get the game. The fridge was stocked and I was ready. Played late into the evening. Went to bed. Woke up early and called out for work that Friday! Can’t have that getting in the way! Took almost all day to finish. Tears at the end... shocking reveal of Big Boss... it was perfect! I was happy not only with how it ended but that it ended. It felt complete. I never forgot Big Boss’ final advice, “forget about us. Live for yourself.” It was time to grow up and live. Set aside fansites, forums and endless hours of gameplay. It was time to live a real life.

The series always made me think about my own life and how I should aim to make it better. How to focus on things that matter. Find what’s important enough to believe in and then pass it on. This goes beyond mere fandom. Now a decade later I look back at the journey traveled. A wife. A house. A career in video production. And think, “this is good. Isn’t it?” Yes, yes it was.

Now then... it’s time to equip that iPod, queue me up some Zanzibar Breeze and school some FROGS! And only an MGS4 fan will understand that!

Happy 10th, MGS4!

Yeah, it's hard to believe it's been 10 years. I had just been living in Munich for less than a year, fresh out of school. It was the first game I wanted to buy the collector's edition from, because it was the grand conclusion to my favorite video game series. However, it was sold out on amazon and on eBay only available to horrendous prices. Anyway, I went to my local electronics store (Saturn) and went through the racks, full of fresh copies of the game. I remember reading the prices: 69.99, 69.99, 69.99... suddenly 99.99! Could it be?! It was the collector's edition. I got it right away and it's still on my shelf today. 
I also couldn't play the game right away, because my two best friends from back home visited for the weekend and it was the first time we've seen each other in months - which back than seemed like an eternity.
I then decided to first finish the semester of film studies (which included our first short film) and then I played through the game over the course of four days. One day for each act. The last two back to back. I admit, I had a little headache by the end and it made me feel extra for Snake exiting the microwave corridor and throwing up. After finishing the game, I felt such closure. It was just a perfect ending. "It is time for you to put aside the gun and live." The day after I finished, I left for the summer to work on there students projects, but carried the memories of Snake and all the characters fondly in my heart. It wasn't until a couple of weeks later that I got a chance to boot the game up again. 
I had a lot of fun with Peace Walker, and MGSV also touched me, despite its flaws. However, MGS4 was the definitive conclusion to the series and I haven't felt this type of closure since. Especially in the video game industry.
Here's to you, MGS4, still the best conclusion to a video game series, you can hope for, and one of the best games of all time.

[A.G.]

Just finished Act 1. Man this game holds up! If you go in and explore the details it looks great, especially anything mechanical. True, human models have improved, but guns and vehicles look just as good as modern games. I also recall the game catching heat for uncompressed audio. Don’t know why... it was created for surround sound! The audio quality is off the charts! You feel fully Immersed into the environment. You can hear every little detail!

What amazes me is that I was 18 when I played MGS1 for the first time. I’m almost 37 now. Yet somehow I’m not tired of it. Weird...

[fgdj2000]

Jun 15, 2018 22:33:44 GMT -5 A.G. said:

Just finished Act 1. Man this game holds up! If you go in and explore the details it looks great, especially anything mechanical. True, human models have improved, but guns and vehicles look just as good as modern games. I also recall the game catching heat for uncompressed audio. Don’t know why... it was created for surround sound! The audio quality is off the charts! You feel fully Immersed into the environment. You can hear every little detail!

What amazes me is that I was 18 when I played MGS1 for the first time. I’m almost 37 now. Yet somehow I’m not tired of it. Weird...

That's how it is if something is great and if you love something. I was 11 when MGS1 released in Europe in 1999. It was the first game I ever finished and played again and again. And since I dug deep into every Kojima game, even PW and V. With most games I usually reach a point where it was a chore to play, usually around late mid-game. Towards the end it usually gets interesting again. However, with Metal Gear (and Kojima), I just can't put the game pad down until the end (MGSV was the only Kojima Game that did get a little tedious). And honestly, I'm cautiously excited about Death Stranding, now, since the new trailer released - but that's a discussion for another topic.

What's also funny, if you are really attached to something, you still love it, even if it's bad. I was a huge SW fan even before the prequels. Despite this, the prequels released during my adolescent years and I kind of was really into the world, the characters and, yes, even the story. So for me, even though their flaws are painfully, painfully obvious to me now, I still am more emotionally attached to the prequels and the prequel-era than any other part of Star Wars.