Deconstructing Yahtzee’s Metal Gear Solid 4 review
Benjamin “Yahtzee” Croshaw thinks Metal Gear Solid 4 is a “stiff and inefficient” third person shooter,” mainly because of the controls. The game’s storyline was lambasted as well, but that was to be expected. Surprisingly, Yahtzee seems to hate MGS4 even more than Haze, which was universally reviled.
Controls freak
Apparently, the part-time adventure game designer believes that pressing both shoulder buttons and the triangle face button while firing “is not good design.” Personally, I never had a problem with it. And from the looks of things, so did dozens of other critics who evaluated the game.
I was wondering if Yahtzee ever got the memo that MGS4’s first-person view (triggered by pressing triangle) is entirely optional. Heck, even the manual aiming is optional, but maybe the guy didn’t bother looking into that—even if he was supposed to make a review.
I was also surprised that Croshaw was having trouble shooting behind cover. Our favorite curmudgeon believed that players need to stand up first before they can fire back. If our misguided critic bothered to stick to cover and aim behind the edge of objects by pressing L1, he wouldn’t have those problems. Funnily enough, the option to use the cover is displayed in plain sight each time Snake sticks close to any object large enough to hide his body. Obviously, this gripe is invalid.
And this bit about a split-second delay to fire the gun? I have no idea what Yahtzee is talking about. If he’s referring to a slight delay when bringing out a hidden firearm (a quick press of the R2 button), then he must probably be unaware that holding the R2 button pauses the game.
Thick and redundant
As for the enemies being “legendarily thick,” perhaps the guy is playing MGS4 in the easiest level. The baddies may not be as Einstein smart, but it’s not that easy to get past them. Nothing wrong with playing the game on the easiest setting since not everyone who can write half decently can necessarily play. However, for a review to be truly comprehensive (and more accurate), the critic shouldn’t select the easiest difficulty.
Despite our differences in opinion regarding certain gameplay elements, Yahtzee and I agree that MGS4 is badly written. Dialogues are redundant, resulting in 90 minute cutscenes. Then again, I think some redundancy is necessary especially when dealing with events in the previous games. Not every person who played MGS4 was fortunate enough to go through the previous installments so a background is quite necessary.
There was no mention of weapon customization, high production values, great visual design, multiple installations, annoying 90-minute cutscenes, or even the quirks of Metal Gear Online in Yahtzee’s review.
Good writing can get you only so far
If you’re keeping track, I’ve pretty much discussed each point that Yahtzee made and I’m puzzled with the supposed issues he highlighted. This gives the impression that Croshaw didn’t really pay that much attention to the game as a whole. Who knows? He may have never reached the second act. For the first time, I must question Croshaw’s reviewing methods. I love his scathing reviews because they’re entertaining and fresh. Still, good writing can get you only so far.
To Yahtzee: It’s always a good idea to spend more time with the games you review. And know what you’re talking about. If you really took the time to complete MGS4 like some of us reviewers did, then there’s a good chance you’d be singing a different tune.
I’m not a big MGS fan so maybe I’m not qualified to say much, but referencing Raiden and Rose as “Mr and Mrs Oh Christ Not You Cunts Again” made my day.
That was quite funny in retrospect. I just don’t get why he’s so upset in seeing those characters again. I’ve never heard of people griping about seeing Han Solo and Leia Organa thrice in Episodes IV to VI.
“pressing both shoulder buttons and the triangle face button while firing”
I see MGS4 hasn’t really cleaned up the clunky controls that have been plaguing the series since MGS2.
He makes a good point about MGS4 being a game for the fans…I had to go back and play the first 3 to understand half the things that were going on.
@Alex
Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t Call of Duty 4 use that same scheme? Pressing the left shoulder button for iron sights, then the right shoulder button for shooting?
Let me also clarify that you don’t have to keep pressing the triangle button while firing. It’s a toggle that lets players shift between third-person and first-person view.
It’s not what other games do so much as what the MGS series has done in the past regarding control schemes. It’s archaic to have one button solely devoted to a first-person view, whether or not it’s a Toggle or Hold, especially when the player is going to have to hold a button to bring up his weapon anyway.
Just bind the FPV function and weapon-sights to the same button for a game like MGS. There’s no logical reason not to. It streamlines the control process.
It’s not devoted solely to first-person view. The triangle button is a context-sensitive command. If Snake is against a wall, pressing triangle would command him to use cover.
I suggest you play the game first. MGS4 is leagues better in terms of controls compared to previous MGS games.
See, that’s the beauty of MGS4’s controls. If you want to play in first-person, you can. If you want to completely forgo it and use third-person, you can as well. Heck, if you want auto-aim, you can choose that too.
There’s a lot of play styles that can be used in MGS4 and the layout is just right. It’s not confusing at all.
I don’t see how Triangle being used for other functions somehow validates this L1+Triangle nonsense. If Triangle has a variety of other actions assigned to it depending on the situation, then all the more reason to avoid mapping yet another command to it. Having to press three buttons to fire a gun has been one of the many control scheme banes of the franchise and I’m genuinely disappointed to hear that those issues have not been addressed.
You don’t have to press three buttons to fire a gun. You don’t have to press triangle if you don’t want to. You’ll still be able to shoot your enemies even without the triangle button. All that it does is provide players more options.
The shooting mechanics in MGS4 is more similar to Resident Evil 4 (except that it’s far more responsive than the latter). Pressing one button (L1) readies the gun, another button makes the gun fire (R1). Pressing the fire button without readying the gun activates CQC. It’s simple and surprisingly efficient.
Like I said previously, I suggest you try playing the game first before saying that x feature sucks. Same can be said for Yahtzee.
First, more options are not necessarily better, Mike. Perfect Dark 64 gave players more options and the frame-rate fell to shit because of it. ;-)
Second, you absolutely have to press three buttons there if you want to fire a gun in FPV. Triangle. L1. R1. Three buttons. And that’s just pathetic, especially to anyone who’s played MGS2/3 and had to deal with that same kind of clunky approach to controls.
It doesn’t bother me that one button is used to ready the gun and another is used to fire. What annoys me is that for three games now, separate buttons are used to enter FPV and to ready the gun. Those two actions should be bound to the same button, because those two actions are intrinsically linked in any MGS game.
Well, I can assure you that the framerate in MGS4 was in no way affected. ;)
As for your second point–yes, you would have to press three buttons to fight in FPV. However, I’ve said that Triangle is a toggle. Therefore, you don’t have to keep pressing it. Just press Triangle once, and you’re done.
In fact, there is an option to “recall” what view you previously used (FPV or TPV), so you don’t have to keep toggling the button.
If you don’t believe that this control scheme works, then I reckon that you haven’t played MGS4–something which you haven’t admitted to until now. If this were the case, then you’re merely arguing semantics because you’ve never played the game.
If you search the forums for people that share your opinion, you’ll find that yes, there are a handful that do but they are greatly outnumbered by those that found the controls very agreeable. While it may not be as scientific a proof as it gets, this certainly shows that the game’s controls DO work.
Toggle or not, you still have to press Triangle. Hence, you’re still pressing three buttons to fire in FPV.
The recall option is nice, but too little, too late, because there should never need to be an option, because the issue should have been addressed a long time ago. Recall doesn’t fix the problem; it just mitigates how annoying it is. Still at the core of the recall option is the need to press three buttons to fire a weapon in FPV.
No matter how you slice this, we’re still playing with a fundamentally archaic control scheme.
Answer the question, Alex. You keep evading it.
What question, Mike? Have I played MGS4? No, I haven’t. What does it matter?
MGS’ clunky controls should have been increasingly streamlined over three sequels. We should not have to use three buttons to fire a weapon in this generation of games. Period.
Game options that “remember” your preferred firing method (FPV or TPV) are not improvements; they’re merely confirmations that a serious problem exists.
Actually, it does matter. Part 4 is a very different beast, but since you haven’t played it, all your arguments are moot. Like I said, semantics.
It does matter that you haven’t played it. How can you comment on something you know nothing about? How can you say that any part of the game is archaic? No matter how many articles you read about MGS4, no matter how many videos you watch, no matter how many points of gaming theory you argue, if you haven’t played the game in question, then all your arguments mean diddly squat. Nada. Zip. Zero. Nothing. Niets. Nul.
Your best theoretical argument is that we need to use three buttons, but this statement alone is erroneous because it implies that the three buttons should all be pressed at the same time, which is untrue. The game only requires only two buttons to fire, just like Resident Evil 4. And you know what? We never heard any complaints about THAT one’s controls.
This use of a third button that you keep attacking is a mere option that makes the gameplay more varied than it already is. When you say option, that means it’s just there. You don’t have to use it. Maybe the definition of the term “option” would help you understand.
Like I said, the controls have been improved greatly and many people (people who have actually played it) agree that the control scheme does work. If you want proof, just do a search on Google.
Let me ask you: would you believe me if I proclaimed that Duke Nukem Forever sucks? NO. Why? Because I haven’t played it. And you know what? The very notion of making an uninformed comment/s wouldn’t speak very well of me, would it?
“Like I said, the controls have been improved greatly and many people (people who have actually played it) agree that the control scheme does work.”
Actually, the controls have not been improved greatly. It’s the *camera* that’s better.
Control-wise (layout), MGS4 is very similar to previous titles. FPV is mapped to a separate button. Lean is mapped to buttons, rather than a joystick. You’ve got the requisite Item Select, Weapon Select, Fire, CQC, Crouch, and so on. There’s not much difference.
But what really has me scratching my head is Square, the D-pad, and L3.
Square turns on/off Auto-Aim? Was there truly no important gameplay function for Square? Square couldn’t have been used to deploy Metal Gear Mk II?
The D-pad being used to Zoom and Lean is just absurd.
For any shooting component in a game, you don’t get much more antiquated than the D-pad Up/Down being used to Zoom. Most developers learned early on that a simple click of L3 or R3 is perfect. Halo/Gears did it right. You click the right joystick and you zoom. Easy, streamlined, straightforward. Halo’s approach kept your thumbs where they needed to be: on the joysticks.
Leaning is just as asinine. D-pad Left and Right? Again, this is something that most developers have already learned: you don’t map important movement/combat-related functions to the D-pad. The D-pad requires you to take your thumb off of the joystick. Big no-no, especially in shooters. Better implementation: figure out a way to use a joystick for it. Better yet, Six-Axis it.
L3 is unassigned. Why? Why not follow the “Western” tradition and give it a Crouch function? Again, it would allow you to avoid taking your thumb off of the joystick.
Mike, my arguments and “points of game theory” are not made irrelevant by me not having played MGS4, because game theory is where a game begins. And MGS4 was built around shoddy game theory when it comes to controls.
By the way, if you want to fire in FPV, you are still using three buttons. You may not be using them at the same time. You may not be holding all three. But you’re still needing to use three buttons to fire a weapon in FPV.
Also, I have plenty of issues with RE4’s controls. I just never saw the need to mention them, since rarely, if ever, have I seen anything substantial about RE4 here. With that said, RE4’s combat issues can mostly be attributed to the fact that Leon STILL moves like a fucking TANK. lol. Like MGS4, the controls themselves aren’t improved; it’s the *camera* that makes them feel better.
Regarding the recall option, the very fact it was included in the game confirms to me that the developers were at least minimally aware of this control issues, which begs the question, why include an option and instead of addressing the fundamental issue? The option itself is a Band-Aid, nothing more.
Can you imagine what would happen to Resident Evil 4 if Leon didn’t move like a tank? That’s right, it’s going to be a regular shooter and won’t be as scary. I think I can speak for other gamers and say that we wouldn’t want it that way.
As for MGS4, the camera didn’t improve in that game. This was already implemented in MGS3: Subsistence.
Look, you put up a valiant theoretic effort researching the controls layout, but it’s all moot. You haven’t played the game. It changes this whole discussion. There are still many nuances that you still don’t know that an article or video would ever tell you.
Play the game. Finish the game. Then we’ll talk. ;)
The entire point about having to use three buttons to fire in first person mode is invalid.
There is an option you can set, so that holding down the L1 button will put you in first person mode without having to press the tirangle button. If you set that option you don’t need to hit the triangle button ever again to shoot in first person mode.
They gave people the option to change the control to fit their play style, but I guess going into the option menu takes more work than just do nothing and rant about it.
Next time try playing a game first before you get all worked up about it.