If you’ve been following the Metal Gear Solid series closely, then the showdown with Screaming Mantis in Metal Gear Solid 4 would have caused a major case of goosepimples, thanks to the nostalgia. Then again, even first-time Metal Gear players probably would’ve gotten goosepimples because they can’t get a bead on the bad guy. Or girl.

Well, worry no more. The video above teaches you just how to beat the tricky stage boss. In a nutshell, this is how to do it:

• Use the the syringe on Snake
• Shoot Screaming Mantis’ dolls
• Go get the dolls
• Use the dolls against Screaming Mantis

Note: You can also use the syringe on Meryl to keep her out of the way because you’ll have to keep her from dying as well.

Post from: EveryJoe

How To’s: Beat Screaming Mantis in MGS4

If you keep bugging Otacon for some hints, he’ll tell you what you need to know—you need to disable Vamp’s nanomachines using the syringe given by Naomi Hunter. This is done by accomplishing the following in order:

1. Equip the syringe;
2. Knock Vamp out. One headshot using a shotgun is effective;
3. Position Snake behind Vamp;
4. As Vamp gets up, use CQC on him (by pressing R1);
5. Press the triangle button to inject the syringe.

Post from: EveryJoe

MGS4 How To’s: Beat Vamp

Post from: EveryJoe

NSFW: Snake snaps pictures of MGS4 beauties

Tell me, is the video clip funny, or is it as a pathetic attempt to get some attention because all eyes are currently on Metal Gear Solid 4? My money’s on the latter.

Post from: EveryJoe

Battlefield pokes fun at Metal Gear

Pundits say that the PlayStation 3 provides über designer Hideo Kojima the platform to finally realize his vision for a Metal Gear game. I say hogwash. Kojima never did let hardware limitations prevent him from creating masterpiece upon masterpiece in the previous console generations.

Case in point: the brilliant boss fights. Each Metal Gear Solid installment had them, and even the ones in older games could be considered as all-time greats. Psycho Mantis and Sniper Wolf were my personal favorites in the first MGS, and when either are compared to any game boss ever created, the FOXHOUND duo is certainly unmatched when it comes to fun factor and design brilliance. Of course, how can we forget the sniping showdown with The End in MGS3? There is simply no boss fight like it in any game system.

However, I can’t say the same with my first boss encounter in MGS4. Laughing Octopus was quite tricky to locate given her camo powers, but there were no “OMG!” moments to permanently sear the experience into my subconscious. The second round against Laughing Octopus wasn’t that interesting as well because while the boss was tricky to hit with guns, she never did try to do anything else but try to grab Snake—and she didn’t do a very good job either because she’s too slow. To be fair, it was the first boss fight so MGS4 has several more chances.

I just find it ironic that the supposedly-ideal platform to fully realize Kojima’s vision for MGS has already used up one bullet–and it missed.

Could it be possible that because the hardware is supposedly ‘ideal,’ Kojima and his crew have lost their edge? Or was Kojima too wrapped up in closing the story’s loose ends story that somehow, he didn’t put in as much time and effort to make the boss fights as staggeringly impressive?

Whatever the case, the eyes of all Metal Gear fans and gamers everywhere are on Kojima and crew. Forget the perfect score given to MGS4 by GameSpot. Forget all the hype that we were subjected to for four years. Play the game and let it speak for itself. Let the discussions commence.

Image of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is courtesy of Konami.

Post from: EveryJoe

MGS4 playthrough: Could boss fights be not as good?

War may have changed in Snake’s tired eyes, but the trademark Metal Gear gameplay is still very much intact in stealth action game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. For the uninitiated, this involves getting from point A to point B without attracting any attention.

Moving between points isn’t so simple, however. The armed goons that dot the landscape no longer have tunnel vision, which made sneaking in earlier installments quite easy. There’s no telling if an enemy is waiting just around the corner for an unwanted surprise encounter.

Thankfully, the first act is quite forgiving when it comes to encounters. Like all first stages, Liquid Sun serves as a tutorial for beginners and a refresher for veterans. This first stage may look familiar to those who’ve downloaded various MGS4 trailers. It’s the Middle-Eastern area that was always shown off these past few years.

Snake may be better armed this time around with more guns and slightly-improved controls, but a full-on shootout is hazardous even in the early stages of the game. Never mind that there’s an option to play MGS4 like a first-person shooter. Acting like a maniacal space marine in Mars would only get Snake killed before reaching the “interesting” parts.

Hint: This “interesting” part rhymes with ‘mocelot.’

Image for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is courtesy of Konami.

Post from: EveryJoe

MGS4 playthrough: Liquid Sun is as hot as it gets

If you’ve played MGS4 and agree/disagree with the review, I’d love to hear what you think.

Post from: EveryJoe

1UP chimes in on Metal Gear Solid 4

Take this first one, for example. You’ll see (or not see) how difficult it can be to find Snake as an average grunt on the battlefield. If you’re expecting to plainly see a cleverly-camouflaged Snake hiding in one corner during multiplayer, then get ready for a rude awakening. Snake would be presented as a translucent specter that you can barely see.

I’m still on the fence on how this would work first-hand because frankly, I would rather see (or not see) camouflage so good that we actually wouldn’t notice Snake hiding instead of just making the character almost invisible because that’s what the camo indicator says.

This video shows us how shooting other people in the face works in MGO. It’s good to see that unlike other multiplayer games, MGO allows players to engage in close-quarters combat (or CQC) instead of shooting each other with high-powered rifles at pointblank range, which rather looks ridiculous.

The buzz around Metal Gear Solid 4 and MGO may have been dulled somewhat by the release of a certain Grand Theft Auto IV, but rest assured that once the GTA hype is over, we’d all be itching for Snake by June.

Post from: EveryJoe

New MGO videos show how gameplay is like

Interestingly, there seems to be a dramatic twist in MGS4’s plot, but unless you know how to speak Japanese, you won’t really know what it’s all about. Solid Snake wants to put a bullet through his mouth, as you’ll see in the latter portion of the trailer. As to why, it’s hard to tell. It looks like a review of the entire series is in order before taking on part four.

Alas, I might have to settle for reading the plot instead of playing the previous games since I shifted to the 40GB PS3 and have gotten rid of my PS2. I was actually tempted to get Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection, but I don’t have a console to run it with. I’m such a loser.

Post from: EveryJoe

New MGS4 trailer shows drama queen side of Solid Snake

Yes, you read right. I’ve tried to get in the Metal Gear Online beta, but no dice. I signed up at the game’s beta version webpage several times (using different personas) and received emails saying I didn’t qualify for the MGO beta’s “download promotion.”

The emails never did say why I didn’t qualify. I do understand that there are a limited number of Unique Product Voucher Codes, but I really would appreciate it if there was an explanation that came with the emails.

If Konami ran out of codes to give away, I would appreciate the truth even if I wasn’t able to get any. If Konami just didn’t want me in because my geographical location would strain their servers too much, I would still appreciate it if they’ve told me. All this cloak and dagger isn’t making me feel better even if there seems to be a good explanation for it.

Did you get in the beta?

Image of Metal Gear Online is courtesy of Konami.

Post from: EveryJoe

Snubbed by Konami, left out in MGO beta