Really the only thing left to come to fruition out of metal gear (other than the super obviously supernatural stuff like lightning mcgrabby-hands) is the idea of AI running our governments, which I suspect is a real possibility within our lifetime
Its kinda a shame that video games are still viewed as immature and not worth any thought as a medium.
Everybody lauds 1984 for its predictions of a near post-truth society largely because books are viewed as a serious medium.
If some shining examples of games like MGS2 had gotten serious appraisal in an academic sense I'd wager society would be a bit more vigilant and wiser like 1984 did to the publics' knowledge at large.
Hell even just showing Superbunnyhop's video on MGS2 is all that's needed.
to be fair even with 1984 being as almost omnipresent as it is, the general populus still seems rather accepting of horrible government spying and restriction of liberties unless it's about guns
Thing is that 1984 hasn't happened, and is very unlikely to. The information control in 1984 is about utter and total revocation of the past and destruction of the individual, whereas current information control relies entirely on making the individual feel vindicated above all else, and feel like only they are right. Total isolationism versus total conformity. Both systems rely entirely on the ideal that people will never want to stray from the comfortable box they are given and unite.
Not because it lacks impact, but because people see the "1984 warned us" meme perpetuated and they in turn pass it along without having ingested the content of it, if they even read it at all, to show others that they are "aware" of the state of things.
It's been sucked into the stream of purely aesthetic bullshit that people share and add on wow this is so deep without actually doing anything with it, and that makes it useless information.
If we lived in 1984, then you wouldn't be able to say it. You wouldn't know 1984 existed. Neither the book nor the year. That's the thing really, 1984 represents such a helpless, historyless world that I hope to God we never reach that state. Winston can't even be sure that it is nineteen eighty four. He can deduce logically that the years will, or have, progressed to the point where 1984 has been, is, or will be the current year, but he cannot say for certain when exactly it is or was. He cannot say, for sure, that two and two equals four because even though all logic dictates it, there is nothing to counter the view that two and two make five, infact if the Party wishes it there's nothing but evidence to back up 2+2=5 and none to back up 2+2=4. The control the Party has is so fucking absolute that there are only binaries and utter blankness, no ambiguity or alternate interpretation.
The real world is much to the contrary- there's so much confusion and conflict (a lot of it likely engineered) that people feel helpless sometimes.
Now I have to play MGS2 again
That, and giant robots launching nukes.
1984 has been MGS2'd
The problem is that anyone can read a book. But not everyone can play MGS2. And even if you have everything needed for it, you need to actually be able to play up until that point.
And to be honest, I bet a lot of the players who actually got to that particular point in the game didn't even fully grasp the meaning of this bit, and may thinking instead: "Jesus Christ enough with the endless gibberish already, just give me more ass to kick"
that and giant robots. we don't really have those outside some one off clunky junkers made out of construction equipment
One of my favorite things about MGS2 is how back in 2001 barely anyone got the full extent of the story, and now on 2018 we're almost living it
2001: "haha Kojima is such a mad genius, this sci-fi shit doesn't even make the tiniest bit of sense lmao"
2018: "well fuck"
if the prophecy is true only a terrible soldier who has a persistent irritable bowel syndrome can save us.
how did this japanese series nail down america better than most americans?
probably because japan has had all the shit from end stage capitalism including economic stagnation, police corruption, and political gridlock long before it became commonplace in the US, plus its not like the Trump era is original, he's just trying to 1-up regan and bush jr at this point, steel tarrifs, massive defense spending, deficit busting tax cuts, taking credit for an economy that's largely growing because of unrelated technology shifts, actively working to kill LGBT folks as fast as possible, its all been done before, Trump's even brought in many of the people that were part of it the first few goes.
Tbh, we were starting to see this a bit, maybe even a good bit, before all the shenanigans that have been going on.
But I guess the thing is, these have been the tiping point that really are easily visible to anyone.
MGS2 is a masterpiece and I will fuck up anybody who says otherwise.
The gameplay hasn't aged super well but the story is incredible. The slow way it builds up your frustration and your sneaking feeling of "Didn't this happen in MGS1?" until shit goes off of every rail in existence is just amazing.
It's a different kind of gameplay IMO.
MGS1 is a much tougher cookie to swallow. MGS2 still feels like it has a very fluid gameplay to not feel like a chore, but I might be biased because I love the whole (main) franchise and have played the games so much that it takes a couple of minutes to restore myself to the maximum dexterity I've ever had with its controls and gameplay elements. VR training is actually very good for that, especially if you do a lot of trial and error. It almost ends up not being so much of a challenge, and being actual training.
Oh don't get me wrong. I recently replayed some MGS1 and boy oh boy is that game a piece of shit. The movement is downright uncooperative, the cover camera angles do nothing at all, and staring at the tiny postage stamp radar is more useful than actually looking at the environment (which still looks great imo, the visuals really hold up.) MGS2 is slicker in every way and overall feels much more playable. 1st person aiming is a big help and leaning is a godsend. But it still falls prey to MGS1's claustrophobic and restrictive camera issues. A few struts require you to enter first-person mode every two seconds to actually see what's going on, and since you can't move like that these parts are very frustrating (looking at you, Sediment Pool.) The aiming controls are very basic as well and suffer for it.
imho I prefer MGS1's gameplay because it never forces you to do the somewhat awkward first person aiming like MGS2 does constantly. The mechanics in general are simpler which works better with the top down view.
Now that I think about it, I sort of agree with you. The funny thing is that the Tanker chapter has absolutely amazing gameplay that doesn't force you to use FPS mode all that much, and then everything in the Big Shell is a lot more frustrating. Makes me wonder if these level design differences are intentional. Of course playing as Solid Snake feels better and more natural: he's straight-up better than Raiden.
no yeah I know, I only brought it up to reinforce my point that simpler mechanics are better when it comes to top-down games.
Since it's Kojima you might be totally right about the level design difference being thematic however, a simpler explanation would be that the tanker section is meant to ease people into the transition from MGS1 mechanics to the more complex MGS2 mechanics.
It is. One of the themes of the game is that Raiden is not, and will never be Solid Snake. The game punishes you/Raiden for wanting to be Snake or trying to play like him.
When you get the HF blade, that's when Raiden starts being himself(Jack the Ripper) and the gameplay becomes much more fluid and things begin to work out. Raiden throwing away your nametag at the end of the game is him accepting himself.
Metal Gear Solid 2 is a masterpiece of writing and gameplay mechanics woven together. I don't know if it's the smartest game ever made, but it's the smartest piece of media I've ever consumed.
D-T-G || Driving Off the Map this essay explains everything and why it's a masterpiece of writing
I never thought about how good it feels to tear through the Tengu dudes in Arsenal compared to doing... literally anything else as Raiden. That's really interesting. I think that actually gives some validity to MGR: Revengeance - Jack the Ripper is Raiden's true self.
Except when you have to fight Sniper Wolf and the only way to sniper her is to lie down to aim the PSG-1 in first person.
I hated the PSG-1 in MGS1. Felt too sluggish and when hit your aim would fly up.
I ALWAYS used the Nikita exploit to cheese the second fight. It felt far more fun in Twin Snakes. (Gamecube MGS1 remake)
I'm a big fan of Metal Gear and MGS2's story but I have to say Deus Ex's critique of societies systems was a bit more real and nuanced. Not saying that MGS2's wasn't good as-well but I feel MGS2's get's a lot more attention than Deus Ex's. What I feel is barely mentioned.
Different aims in mind. Deus Ex is supposed to link silly conspiracy theories like the Illuminati with chillingly real conspiracies. Metal Gear has its real-life links but it's far more detached from our reality. Deus Ex is chilling because of its reality, MGS2 is chilling because of its surreality.
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