PS3 question...

[bjornolf]

This is so embarrassing. I know this is a totally stupid question, but I just wanted to make sure. I got the PS3 MGS4 80gb bundle today at Walmart with the $100 gift card and whatnot. It comes with a dual schock 3 controller. There is a list of "initially compatible" games included. I assume that all games work with the controller, they just don't all use the rumble. I don't need a separate controller to play games not on this list, do I?

Thanks,
Joe

[BlueDevilJay]

This is so embarrassing. I know this is a totally stupid question, but I just wanted to make sure. I got the PS3 MGS4 80gb bundle today at Walmart with the $100 gift card and whatnot. It comes with a dual schock 3 controller. There is a list of "initially compatible" games included. I assume that all games work with the controller, they just don't all use the rumble. I don't need a separate controller to play games not on this list, do I?

Thanks,
Joe

Nope, you sure don't, the controller will work fine with all games, just won't rumble with all games. And now that you've told us, you HAVE to give a report on MGS4 once you've played it. Im going to pick up a copy over the weekend after I get paid, and Im dying to play this game. You got a very sweet deal with that bundle. Im going to have to go get one of the new Dual Shock controllers as well for maximum experience :)

Also, glad to see another member joining the PS3 'family' so to speak. Let me know if you plan on getting online and gaming as well, maybe we can meet up on there and play some. Currently I play COD4 and GTA4 online, but will probably get into NCAA 09 as well once it's released.

[bjornolf]

so, what are the must-plays on PS3 so far? Ninja Gaiden? Heavenly Sword? DMC4? GTAIV? Assassin's Creed? What do you think? :cool:

[Clipsfan]

so, what are the must-plays on PS3 so far? Ninja Gaiden? Heavenly Sword? DMC4? GTAIV? Assassin's Creed? What do you think? :cool:

So far I only have COD4 for the PS3, but I have GTAIV for the 360 and I'd recommend getting that as well. The PS3 doesn't have a ton of must-have games, yet.

[Schwarz]

I'd say the must-haves are GTAIV, CoD4, and MGS4.

The rest are by taste. I have Uncharted and MLB 08: The Show. Uncharted is a fun adventure game but might be a better rental as it lacks a lot of replay value. The Show is a great baseball game. I really like the road to the show mode where you play as one particular player and the game fast forwards to your hitting and fielding opportunities.

Assassin's creed is worth a rental, but not worth owning. I borrowed it from a friend and voluntarily gave it back before I finished it.

[BlueDevilJay]

I'd say the must-haves are GTAIV, CoD4, and MGS4.

I totally agree, and I DO have all three of those, best games out for the system by a long shot. Im also a big college football fan and buy NCAA each year, and NCAA 08 was the best version yet of the game IMO. Of course I wouldn't go buy it just yet, since the 09 edition comes out mid July.

Also, I couldn't wait, and went and bought MGS4 yesterday, and lets just say I'm blown away by this game. I put the game in around 6:30 yesterday evening, and finally turned the system off around 12:30 this morning since I knew I'd be dead for work today if I didn't. Had it not been that late, I'd have played longer. The weapon system in this game is great as well as the aiming. I finally found the sniper rifle, added a silencer, and I LOVE the thing. Also, the MKII is a blast to play around with, and very easy to control. Take a look at what Snake is using to control the MKII when you send him out to scout.

[bjornolf]

I keep seeing something about a GTA IV uncensored version. Is there such a thing? What's the difference between the two? Thanks. :o

[bjornolf]

so, GTA IV censored is only in certain countries, but not here. Nobody mentioned Ninja Gaiden or Heavenly Sword. I had heard a lot of good things about both of those. Has anybody played them? Are they no good? I was interested in both, but if nobody liked them, I guess I'll avoid them. I also heard rumors that BioShock is coming to PS3. Has anybody else heard this? Are they juiced about it? :cool:

[Schwarz]

so, GTA IV censored is only in certain countries, but not here. Nobody mentioned Ninja Gaiden or Heavenly Sword. I had heard a lot of good things about both of those. Has anybody played them? Are they no good? I was interested in both, but if nobody liked them, I guess I'll avoid them. I also heard rumors that BioShock is coming to PS3. Has anybody else heard this? Are they juiced about it? :cool:

I played the Heavenly Sword demo, and while it is a beautiful game, it wasn't really my style. It is also supposed to be on the short side. I think Ninja Gaiden is a similar button mashing hack-and-slash game.

Bioshock is a tremendous game. I played it already on the 360. I definitely recommend buying it for the PS3.

How do you like MGS4 so far? I've found that it takes a lot of time just watching the cutscenes. It has the best graphics any console game. The game play is fun, but the story is a bit too out-there.

[bjornolf]

I'm waiting for my HD cables to come in. I'm buying them on the cheap off the internet. Also, I'm trying to find a good plot synopsis for the rest of the games so I know what's going on. Gamespot had a great one, but it was in preparation for MGS 2, so it doesn't have MGS2 or MGS3 on it. Does anybody know where I can get the story? I'd hate to have to buy and play ALL the games up to now to know what's going on. Or maybe somebody that's played them could give me a rough over-view of what happens in 2 and 3. Thanks.

-Joe

[RelativeWays]

I'm still waiting for my copy of MGS4 to arrive in the mail, should be this Monday. I'd agree with most of the games already mentioned. I'll also second Uncharted, and recommend Hot Shots Golf V (not as serious as tiger but still fun), Resistance and Ratchet and Clank. You can also get games like Virtua Fighter V Motorstorm and Folklore for about $20, pretty good games for the price. I just upgraded the hard drive on my PS3 with a 160gb Western Digital hard drive from New Egg for about $70. It was pretty easy and cheap to do.

[RelativeWays]

I'm waiting for my HD cables to come in. I'm buying them on the cheap off the internet. Also, I'm trying to find a good plot synopsis for the rest of the games so I know what's going on. Gamespot had a great one, but it was in preparation for MGS 2, so it doesn't have MGS2 or MGS3 on it. Does anybody know where I can get the story? I'd hate to have to buy and play ALL the games up to now to know what's going on. Or maybe somebody that's played them could give me a rough over-view of what happens in 2 and 3. Thanks.

-Joe

There's also a Metal Gear Essential collection that came out for the PS2 a couple of months ago and its should work on the 80 gig PS3. It has MGS1,2 and 3. 3 is great and lays a lot of the groundwork for the series. MGS2 really ought to be experienced first hand for its ludicrous adventures in post modern philosophy.

[bjornolf]

they released Lost Planet: Extreme Conditions for the PS3. Game Informer says it's about the same as the Xbox 360 version, except that the difficulty has been rebalanced. I don't have a 360. Is this a good game to check out for the PS3? I noticed that Costco had it for $36.

Thanks.

[RelativeWays]

I have the Xbox version, its a pretty solid game. You should browse eBay as well, you can probably find it cheaper than 36.

[BlueDevilJay]

How do you like MGS4 so far? I've found that it takes a lot of time just watching the cutscenes. It has the best graphics any console game. The game play is fun, but the story is a bit too out-there.

The flashback scenes are really cool, but I agree with you, and actually have said it outloud quite a few times while playing, "Dang these cut scenes take too freakin long!" How far have you made it so far? I'm just starting Act 4 I think it is, returing to "Outer Heaven" or whatever the name of it is, and for those who are fans of the series from the beginning of it, you are in for a treat. Lets just say the gameplay isn't the same as the previous 50% of the game, at least for a short while. I was ecstatic that this "event" occurs in the game and actually thought beforehand, I wonder if they will put anything like this in the game. It's very cool, let me know when you get that far if you haven't already. So far I've put in just under 19 hours of playing time, as my wife gave me the entire day on Sunday (for Father's Day) to play my new game, and I took full advantage :)

[BlueDevilJay]

they released Lost Planet: Extreme Conditions for the PS3. Game Informer says it's about the same as the Xbox 360 version, except that the difficulty has been rebalanced. I don't have a 360. Is this a good game to check out for the PS3? I noticed that Costco had it for $36.

Thanks.

You should probably check out GameFly.com which is a rental system setup like NetFlix, they have a package at around $8/month, and you could test all these games out you're asking about for yourself, and if you don't like them, send them back. I think they even have the option to buy the game if you want to, at a discounted price, and they ship you the case and book free of charge if you buy it. Just a thought for you.

[Schwarz]

The flashback scenes are really cool, but I agree with you, and actually have said it outloud quite a few times while playing, "Dang these cut scenes take too freakin long!" How far have you made it so far? I'm just starting Act 4 I think it is, returing to "Outer Heaven" or whatever the name of it is, and for those who are fans of the series from the beginning of it, you are in for a treat. Lets just say the gameplay isn't the same as the previous 50% of the game, at least for a short while. I was ecstatic that this "event" occurs in the game and actually thought beforehand, I wonder if they will put anything like this in the game. It's very cool, let me know when you get that far if you haven't already. So far I've put in just under 19 hours of playing time, as my wife gave me the entire day on Sunday (for Father's Day) to play my new game, and I took full advantage :)

I finished act 4 last night with 21:43 of play time. I know the part you are talking about and I thought it was pretty cool (until I died twice!).

This is my first time playing a game in the series, and it really is a quirky game. Sometimes it seems to try to be a really deep drama, and other times it is poking fun at itself. I've done a lot of different things in the game, but there is a lot more depth to it that I haven't explored. I look forward to playing some of the levels again and trying different tactics while skipping the cutscenes.

[bjornolf]

You should probably check out GameFly.com which is a rental system setup like NetFlix, they have a package at around $8/month, and you could test all these games out you're asking about for yourself, and if you don't like them, send them back. I think they even have the option to buy the game if you want to, at a discounted price, and they ship you the case and book free of charge if you buy it. Just a thought for you.

you know, I've thought about that, but with three kids all under 6, one under three months, :eek: I really don't have a lot of time for gaming right now. I have become, per force, a casual gamer. So, right now, I'm looking for a few solid games to add to my library that I can play once in a while if I can't sleep and need something to do. If I had a gamefly account, I'd keep one game for like three months, and by then, I could have just bought it on ebay or at gamestop used. At this point in my life, it just wouldn't be cost effective. Maybe in a few years when all the kids are in school, I can look into that. Thanks for the advice though. ;)

[BlueDevilJay]

you know, I've thought about that, but with three kids all under 6, one under three months, :eek: I really don't have a lot of time for gaming right now. I have become, per force, a casual gamer. So, right now, I'm looking for a few solid games to add to my library that I can play once in a while if I can't sleep and need something to do. If I had a gamefly account, I'd keep one game for like three months, and by then, I could have just bought it on ebay or at gamestop used. At this point in my life, it just wouldn't be cost effective. Maybe in a few years when all the kids are in school, I can look into that. Thanks for the advice though. ;)

Good call there, I just wanted to throw it out there to you as an option, without knowing about the kids and all obviously. I can't imagine ever getting to "get my game on" if we had 3 kids, muchless the one that we do have! I only play after 9:30 to 10 every night, mainly because the 3 games in my "Library" right now are all rated M (COD4, GTA4, MGS4) so I don't really want my girl to see all the blood and violence in them, at least not quite yet :) Good luck with finding the games you'll like though. Almost all PS3 games are going to have exceptional graphics, its just a matter of finding the ones that play like you like.


I finished act 4 last night with 21:43 of play time. I know the part you are talking about and I thought it was pretty cool (until I died twice!).

This is my first time playing a game in the series, and it really is a quirky game. Sometimes it seems to try to be a really deep drama, and other times it is poking fun at itself. I've done a lot of different things in the game, but there is a lot more depth to it that I haven't explored. I look forward to playing some of the levels again and trying different tactics while skipping the cutscenes.

I am almost finished with Act 4 myself, I am just about to go outside to fight the boss for the level and I'm right at 20 hours of playing time. I hate that you haven't played any of the previous Metal Gears though because the "flashbacks" would be a little more rewarding for you if you had. It's almost like a flashback for me (as well as Snake) since I remember seeing and hearing everything that he flashes back to. I LOVE that aspect of the game. When you're down in Otacon's old office in that level, thats a level that you play through in the first MGS, with the overhead view and all, electrified floors, using remote control rockets to disable the electric floors, a lot of fun memories from that game. On your second playthrough, let me know if you'd like a special code to enter when Otacon prompts you to enter it on the computer. There is one thats not the correct code, but will cause another flashback, and reward you with 100,000 Drebin Points. (Its actually a code used in a previous MGS game, actually it may have been the first ever Metal Gear for NES) Also, don't know if you noticed or not, but when Snake is having the "voice" flashbacks while youre actively playing, make sure to listen to the entire thing (i.e. don't press start or pause the game during them) and you'll receive varying levels of DP just for listening to the entire sequence, ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 DP.

Another question for you about that level, how did you get around the last Gekko when the MK III is trying to unlock the back door? I actually finally found a use for the magazine (bullets, not Playboy) that I had picked up early on in the game. I kept throwing them in the corners of the room, and as soon as the Gekko would go investigate it, I'd throw one to the other corner, and kept repeating that process until the 2 minutes were up and MK III had unlocked the back door. I just thought it would be interesting to hear what others' strategies were for getting around him without alerting or fighting him.

[bjornolf]

Does anyone else find it a pain that you can only charge controllers when the ps3 is on? I mean, you don't want to just leave it on 24/7, do you? And most of the charging stations just plug into the PS3's USB port too. Is anyone else annoyed by this? Is there a good solution? I found a quad charging station on ebay that plugs into the wall, and there's a weird looking one by Nyko on Amazon that charges 2, but I'm not sure how good they are. How long does a charge last on a dual shock 3 controller, anyway?

[riverside6]

Yeah, it is extremely annoying, since no one wants to sit 5 feet away and play a game, especially on a big screen like mine.

One workaround that I've found helpful is that I can charge my controller while playing with it plugged into a USB port on my laptop.

[Dukiedevil]

I'm personally a big fan of the Devil May Cry games, so DMC4 gets a recommendation from me. Assassins Creed is worth a rent and I really liked Heavenly Sword, but it can be beaten with a weekend of extensive play... Ninja Gaiden was also good if you like that genre. If you like RPG's and you haven't ever played the game, Oblivion is very good.

[BlueDevilJay]

Does anyone else find it a pain that you can only charge controllers when the ps3 is on? I mean, you don't want to just leave it on 24/7, do you? And most of the charging stations just plug into the PS3's USB port too. Is anyone else annoyed by this? Is there a good solution? I found a quad charging station on ebay that plugs into the wall, and there's a weird looking one by Nyko on Amazon that charges 2, but I'm not sure how good they are. How long does a charge last on a dual shock 3 controller, anyway?

It doesn't hurt your PS3 to be left on in order to charge the controller, at least that's what I've been told, so I'll typically leave it on to charge around once a week for a couple of hours. Im not sure how long a full charge will get you in playing time, but mine was fully charged when I started MGS4, and I have now logged 20 hours of playing time, with the "power meter" having only lost one block of "power" so far, so I'd say you can probably get a good 40-45 hours or so out of one full charge. It has never been an issue for me yet, but I'm not positive with the DualShock, as it is probably about half the time of the regular SixAxis controller.

[Schwarz]

It doesn't hurt your PS3 to be left on in order to charge the controller, at least that's what I've been told, so I'll typically leave it on to charge around once a week for a couple of hours. Im not sure how long a full charge will get you in playing time, but mine was fully charged when I started MGS4, and I have now logged 20 hours of playing time, with the "power meter" having only lost one block of "power" so far, so I'd say you can probably get a good 40-45 hours or so out of one full charge. It has never been an issue for me yet, but I'm not positive with the DualShock, as it is probably about half the time of the regular SixAxis controller.

My sixaxis controller needed to be recharged in Act 5, and it was also fully charged when I started MGS4. It seems like with all of the cutscenes, that it should last longer than on a normal game. I think my work around will be to buy a dual shock and always leave the one I am not using plugged in.

[Schwarz]

Another question for you about that level, how did you get around the last Gekko when the MK III is trying to unlock the back door? I actually finally found a use for the magazine (bullets, not Playboy) that I had picked up early on in the game. I kept throwing them in the corners of the room, and as soon as the Gekko would go investigate it, I'd throw one to the other corner, and kept repeating that process until the 2 minutes were up and MK III had unlocked the back door. I just thought it would be interesting to hear what others' strategies were for getting around him without alerting or fighting him.

I used the bullet magazines for that part too. It seemed obvious to do that because I used them earlier in the act when a gekko was blocking a hallway I needed to pass through. I haven't used the playboys yet, but I am looking forward to trying that on the second time through. I have never used the grenades for anything so that is the only weapon I have thrown.

[Schwarz]

Just a word of warning. I finished MGS4 last night and the cutscenes/credits at the end run for about 80 minutes. The credits are spliced into the middle of the cutscenes so you have to watch the whole thing to get the full ending.

[bjornolf]

I just finished Act I last night and it says it took me 18 hours, but I know for a fact that at least 12 of that was pause time. I get to play for half an hour, then the kids need something and I pause and don't get back for like three hours. It sucks. Anyway, my favorite moment so far was infiltrating the camp right at the end, in the courtyard with the dried up fountain. I hit a guy with a tranquilizer dart from the shadows of the building. His buddy called it in when he saw him fall. I shot him to. Then the reinforcements arrived. As they checked on their buddies, I picked them off one at a time. I ended up with a pile of about 15 sleeping PMC troops. It was like nap-time in kindergarten. It was hysterical!


Is it odd that I use my dart gun 90% of the time and sneak up and nail them in the back of the head another 5%? Is that a bad way to go? I'm NOT a MGS expert. I end up with quiet battlefields full of snoring, weaponless troops. Maybe I could end this war through disarmament! Is that bad strategy that's going to bite me later on? It just seems like if I try to sneak around conflicts, I end up hiding right in the path of a soldier that trips over and discovers me, then I waste ration kits getting shot up. :rolleyes:

[BlueDevilJay]

I just finished Act I last night and it says it took me 18 hours, but I know for a fact that at least 12 of that was pause time. I get to play for half an hour, then the kids need something and I pause and don't get back for like three hours. It sucks. Anyway, my favorite moment so far was infiltrating the camp right at the end, in the courtyard with the dried up fountain. I hit a guy with a tranquilizer dart from the shadows of the building. His buddy called it in when he saw him fall. I shot him to. Then the reinforcements arrived. As they checked on their buddies, I picked them off one at a time. I ended up with a pile of about 15 sleeping PMC troops. It was like nap-time in kindergarten. It was hysterical!


Is it odd that I use my dart gun 90% of the time and sneak up and nail them in the back of the head another 5%? Is that a bad way to go? I'm NOT a MGS expert. I end up with quiet battlefields full of snoring, weaponless troops. Maybe I could end this war through disarmament! Is that bad strategy that's going to bite me later on? It just seems like if I try to sneak around conflicts, I end up hiding right in the path of a soldier that trips over and discovers me, then I waste ration kits getting shot up. :rolleyes:

Actually, the whole Metal Gear series has been based more on stealth than the "shoot em up" style of most first person shooter games. At the end of this game, you are actually awarded a 'rank' so to speak based on just how stealthy you were. The less times you're discovered, the better, so your approach fits perfectly with the MGS theme. That being said, I just can't help myself when I get to one of the more intense firefights, pulling out the big guns and joining the militia in battle. Also, aiding the militia helps you throughout the game as you don't have to sneak around them, they recognize you and consider you an ally, not an enemy. The PMCs will always consider you an enemy, so you want to be on the side of the militia either way you go about the game, stealthy or Rambo style.

I like sneaking up behind the PMC's and grabbing them around the neck, using them as a human shield. Most of their "buddies" won't shoot you when you're holding them hostage like that. Speaking of sneaking around, did you see the statue when you enter the 2nd or 3rd board, where you can actually stand beside them, and Snake's camo will turn to a "stone" pattern, and you pretend to be part of the sculpture? Its pretty cool, although Snake puts his hand on the nearby statue's "privates" so to speak. If you do it twice, the "privates" actually breaks off and there is a pretty funny scene that occurs. Sounds like you're doing great though, as stealth is the name of the game with MGS. I've seen folks go through the entire game before and never once be discovered.

[bjornolf]

Actually, the whole Metal Gear series has been based more on stealth than the "shoot em up" style of most first person shooter games. At the end of this game, you are actually awarded a 'rank' so to speak based on just how stealthy you were. The less times you're discovered, the better, so your approach fits perfectly with the MGS theme. That being said, I just can't help myself when I get to one of the more intense firefights, pulling out the big guns and joining the militia in battle. Also, aiding the militia helps you throughout the game as you don't have to sneak around them, they recognize you and consider you an ally, not an enemy. The PMCs will always consider you an enemy, so you want to be on the side of the militia either way you go about the game, stealthy or Rambo style.

I like sneaking up behind the PMC's and grabbing them around the neck, using them as a human shield. Most of their "buddies" won't shoot you when you're holding them hostage like that. Speaking of sneaking around, did you see the statue when you enter the 2nd or 3rd board, where you can actually stand beside them, and Snake's camo will turn to a "stone" pattern, and you pretend to be part of the sculpture? Its pretty cool, although Snake puts his hand on the nearby statue's "privates" so to speak. If you do it twice, the "privates" actually breaks off and there is a pretty funny scene that occurs. Sounds like you're doing great though, as stealth is the name of the game with MGS. I've seen folks go through the entire game before and never once be discovered.

I guess I misunderstood the point of the game. I thought "stealth" was everything...like if I was REALLY good, I could just sneak past everybody and never have to shoot anyone, or at least very rarely. I guess my point is that I'm not good enough to do that. If I try, I almost always get caught out and shot up by like 10 guys, whereas if I calmly move through the battlefield in increments, sneaking up behind the rebels and darting them, then sneaking up in front of the PMC troops and darting them, I have almost no trouble, and I collect tons of weapons and money, and I'm left with a totally safe, quietly snoring battlefield. I thought I was somehow failing if I had to do that. Apparently, that's really not a bad thing. ;)

[Clipsfan]

Does anyone else find it a pain that you can only charge controllers when the ps3 is on? I mean, you don't want to just leave it on 24/7, do you? And most of the charging stations just plug into the PS3's USB port too. Is anyone else annoyed by this? Is there a good solution? I found a quad charging station on ebay that plugs into the wall, and there's a weird looking one by Nyko on Amazon that charges 2, but I'm not sure how good they are. How long does a charge last on a dual shock 3 controller, anyway?

Do you ever use your PS3 to watch movies? You can charge your controllers while doing that (Blu-ray or DVD).

[BlueDevilJay]

I guess I misunderstood the point of the game. I thought "stealth" was everything...like if I was REALLY good, I could just sneak past everybody and never have to shoot anyone, or at least very rarely. I guess my point is that I'm not good enough to do that. If I try, I almost always get caught out and shot up by like 10 guys, whereas if I calmly move through the battlefield in increments, sneaking up behind the rebels and darting them, then sneaking up in front of the PMC troops and darting them, I have almost no trouble, and I collect tons of weapons and money, and I'm left with a totally safe, quietly snoring battlefield. I thought I was somehow failing if I had to do that. Apparently, that's really not a bad thing. ;)

No, you're onto it. That's the reason you're provided with the tranquilizer gun, so you can neutralize the enemy, but not kill him. Stealth IS everything in the game, and like I said earlier, there are some that can go through the entire game and never once set off an "Alert", but I'm not that good myself. Putting them to sleep, to me, would be a part of the "stealth" itself, being that you're still not being discovered by the enemy. Sounds to me like you're playing the game as it's supposed to be played honestly. I'm actually on my 2nd playthrough now (haven't finished the game yet, but started over on a harder level, and trying to make sure I find everything this time around. Ive got a game saved at the start of Act 5 for my first playthrough)

My favorite part of the MGS series or even the original Metal Gear for NES is hiding in the cardboard box. Simple I know, but I love that you can do that, and even hide in an oil drum this time as well. My wife cracks up seeing Snake's feet under the box when I'm trying to be discreet and walk around a battlefield under a cardboard box.

[bjornolf]

No, you're onto it. That's the reason you're provided with the tranquilizer gun, so you can neutralize the enemy, but not kill him. Stealth IS everything in the game, and like I said earlier, there are some that can go through the entire game and never once set off an "Alert", but I'm not that good myself. Putting them to sleep, to me, would be a part of the "stealth" itself, being that you're still not being discovered by the enemy. Sounds to me like you're playing the game as it's supposed to be played honestly. I'm actually on my 2nd playthrough now (haven't finished the game yet, but started over on a harder level, and trying to make sure I find everything this time around. Ive got a game saved at the start of Act 5 for my first playthrough)

My favorite part of the MGS series or even the original Metal Gear for NES is hiding in the cardboard box. Simple I know, but I love that you can do that, and even hide in an oil drum this time as well. My wife cracks up seeing Snake's feet under the box when I'm trying to be discreet and walk around a battlefield under a cardboard box.

The stupid oil drum got me killed twice. The first time a random soldier bumped into it and thus discovered me. The second time, I was rolling around a little, and didn't realize that vertigo was a risk. I ended up falling out of the drum and puking right at the feet of a PMC troop, then getting shot in the head before I recovered. That sucked big time.

I have another question. Somebody mentioned the rebel soldiers thinking I'm on their side. How does that work? It seems like half the time, they run up to me and ask for help, while the rest of the time, they shout that the enemy is there and shoot me. How does that work? Is it dependent on whether I'm sneaking around vs. just walking up to them, or is it if they see me shooting or tranquilizing one of their mates, is there some other element to it? I have yet to figure out how that works, so I usually just tranq them to avoid the risk. :rolleyes:

[bjornolf]

a few more questions... does the color of your gear matter? Is it just your preference, or if you wear jungle gear in the desert town for example, are you more likely to be seen? :eek:

Second, I'm all about suspension of disbelief (I LOVE the color-changing body armor), but how do they explain the fact that I'm Mr. Sneaky when I'm lugging around 500 lbs. of arsenal and 200 lbs. of ammo, not to mention all the freakin' items? No wonder Snake's always rubbing his back! It seems to me you should carry a few weapons and have to go back to a cache to switch. Maybe pick your weapons for each save "section", then be able to switch for the next. :rolleyes:

Speaking of which back aches, do those compresses really do anything? How often should I use one? How does Snake's psyche affect gameplay? Did I really see Snake's health go down as his psyche went up as I was smoking cigarettes? That's SO cool! ;)

[BlueDevilJay]

a few more questions... does the color of your gear matter? Is it just your preference, or if you wear jungle gear in the desert town for example, are you more likely to be seen? :eek:

Second, I'm all about suspension of disbelief (I LOVE the color-changing body armor), but how do they explain the fact that I'm Mr. Sneaky when I'm lugging around 500 lbs. of arsenal and 200 lbs. of ammo, not to mention all the freakin' items? No wonder Snake's always rubbing his back! It seems to me you should carry a few weapons and have to go back to a cache to switch. Maybe pick your weapons for each save "section", then be able to switch for the next. :rolleyes:

Speaking of which back aches, do those compresses really do anything? How often should I use one? How does Snake's psyche affect gameplay? Did I really see Snake's health go down as his psyche went up as I was smoking cigarettes? That's SO cool! ;)

Wow, thats a bunch of questions :) I'll try to address as many of them as possible. First, militia vs PMC's. If you have your Solid Eye equipped (I do 95% of the time) you can tell the diff between the two, your "friends" appear as blue names, the PMC's as red. I have NEVER shot a militia with anything, unless they ran through my fire when shooting at the PMC's. If you shoot some of them, they WILL turn on you as they will no longer recognize you as a friend, but a threat.

Color of your gear DOES matter. When you change environments, you should give your camo a second to adjust (you'll hear and see it). Look at the top right side of the screen to see just how camoflauged you really are. When hiding, you want at least a 75% rating up there in order to avoid being discovered. Obviously if you're wearing dark green in the desert, your rating will be 0% or even a -% meaning you're standing out.

As for all the weapons and items, I don't know how they explain that, I've wondered myself. I could see Snake sneaking around with an oil drum strapped to his back, pretty funny if you think about it. The weight of all items you're carrying DOES affect how fast you run though, and each item/weapon is assigned a kg value.

The compress seems to work alright but I don't use them too much, don't really notice a huge positive from it. And yes you did see his health going down while his Psyche goes up. I've always thought that was pretty cool as well. If you smoke enough, Otacon will even lecture you on the bad habits of smoking. Did you see the warnings while the game is loading up? Smoking is bad for your health. Always ashe in a proper recepticle to avoid fires, etc. Its pretty funny. Hope that helps some. Let me know if you have any other questions.

OH and about Snake puking, he does get Vertigo if he rolls in the barrel too long as you've discovered, but he will ALSO get sick if his stress gets too high and Psyche too low. I've puked on a PMC's boot before when Snake went into his "Combat High" mode, where you are less affected by bullets and have more stamina, but he typically pukes before going into a Combat High. You'll experience that in some of the more intense firefights later in the game if you choose to fight with the militia.

[bjornolf]

Wow, thats a bunch of questions :) I'll try to address as many of them as possible. First, militia vs PMC's. If you have your Solid Eye equipped (I do 95% of the time) you can tell the diff between the two, your "friends" appear as blue names, the PMC's as red. I have NEVER shot a militia with anything, unless they ran through my fire when shooting at the PMC's. If you shoot some of them, they WILL turn on you as they will no longer recognize you as a friend, but a threat.


If they don't catch you doing it, tranquing them doesn't anger them at you, and it allows you to grab their weapons, which seem to sell for more than the PMC models. They run around with no weapons for a while when they wake up, but then they magically get a new one. Also, did you notice that if you pick up bodies, they dump ammo? I didn't know that.


Color of your gear DOES matter. When you change environments, you should give your camo a second to adjust (you'll hear and see it). Look at the top right side of the screen to see just how camoflauged you really are. When hiding, you want at least a 75% rating up there in order to avoid being discovered. Obviously if you're wearing dark green in the desert, your rating will be 0% or even a -% meaning you're standing out.

That wasn't quite what I'm talking about. I know all about your octo suit. I'm talking about the fact that you can go into the menu and change the color of your gear (your vest that has the ammo holders, web belt, gear clips, etc.). You can change it to khaki, black, olive drab, dark blue, and something else I think. Does the color of that matter? Do I need to change it when I go from jungle to desert to city etc., or does that not really affect you?


As for all the weapons and items, I don't know how they explain that, I've wondered myself. I could see Snake sneaking around with an oil drum strapped to his back, pretty funny if you think about it. The weight of all items you're carrying DOES affect how fast you run though, and each item/weapon is assigned a kg value.

Just the five or so you have active, or ALL the ones in your inventory?

Anyway, thanks for your answers.

[BlueDevilJay]

Gotcha on the camo thing. I haven't really noticed much of a difference with the diff colors, I normally have mine on the blue color, but I don't think that counts towards just how hidden you are. In regards to tranqing the militia, I didn't know that and might try it tonight. For selling the guns, I stopped at the last battlefield before going into the building where you find Meryl and crew, and fought with the militia there for a good 30 minutes or so, there are infinite militia there, and once they get killed, I run through and grab their weapons, especially when the chopper arrives on the PMC side. They always send out one or two with an RPG, which goes for 6000 DP. Plus I love taking the choppers down with the RPGs as well. I collected well over 100,000 DP just from that battlefield alone. Youll recognize it when you get there. Youre on one side of the street behind sand bags with the militia, the PMC troops are holed up on the other side of the street (I use the word street loosely, as its a 'dirt path' so to speak.

And yes, the 5 weapons and 8 items you have active are all that count towards how much weight you're carrying. I know it's not believable to be able to change the items in your inventory, but so goes the world of Metal Gear :)

As for picking up the dead guys, sorry I forgot to mention that. Pretty much every one of them will drop something, sometimes dropping Rations which I find the most valuable in the game. Let me know once you get to the mission where you will actually discover a PMC browsing through a Playboy. I won't give any details, but it's pretty funny once you see it.

[bjornolf]

Gotcha on the camo thing. I haven't really noticed much of a difference with the diff colors, I normally have mine on the blue color, but I don't think that counts towards just how hidden you are. In regards to tranqing the militia, I didn't know that and might try it tonight. For selling the guns, I stopped at the last battlefield before going into the building where you find Meryl and crew, and fought with the militia there for a good 30 minutes or so, there are infinite militia there, and once they get killed, I run through and grab their weapons, especially when the chopper arrives on the PMC side. They always send out one or two with an RPG, which goes for 6000 DP. Plus I love taking the choppers down with the RPGs as well. I collected well over 100,000 DP just from that battlefield alone. Youll recognize it when you get there. Youre on one side of the street behind sand bags with the militia, the PMC troops are holed up on the other side of the street (I use the word street loosely, as its a 'dirt path' so to speak.


I'm already past that part. I'm in South America now.


As for picking up the dead guys, sorry I forgot to mention that. Pretty much every one of them will drop something, sometimes dropping Rations which I find the most valuable in the game. Let me know once you get to the mission where you will actually discover a PMC browsing through a Playboy. I won't give any details, but it's pretty funny once you see it.

Did you notice that if you read the playboy yourself, your stress goes down and your psyche goes up? And if you read that weird magazine about B&B, your stress level goes up? I thought that was cool. I've never gotten rations from troops though.

[BlueDevilJay]

Did you notice that if you read the playboy yourself, your stress goes down and your psyche goes up? And if you read that weird magazine about B&B, your stress level goes up? I thought that was cool. I've never gotten rations from troops though.

Yeah if my stress level gets too high, Ill pop out a Playboy and get all the gauges back where they need to be. When you finish the game (or beforehand if you decide to do so) do you plan on playing online any? I've read that all the controls are exactly the same, and it looks like a lot of fun. I plan on getting online with it in the very near future, so if you're going to as well, let me know and we can get a match going.

[bjornolf]

A few quick questions for the MGS experts out there:

1. How do you destroy a gekko if you want to? What's the best weapon to use if I'm at the beginning of the snowfields? Do they drop anything?

2. I assume the M82a2 is a good weapon to use on a gekko. Is there anywhere I can find it outside of drebin's shop? I'm short a few thousand dps.

Thanks,
Joe

[bjornolf]

Another question for you about that level, how did you get around the last Gekko when the MK III is trying to unlock the back door? I actually finally found a use for the magazine (bullets, not Playboy) that I had picked up early on in the game. I kept throwing them in the corners of the room, and as soon as the Gekko would go investigate it, I'd throw one to the other corner, and kept repeating that process until the 2 minutes were up and MK III had unlocked the back door. I just thought it would be interesting to hear what others' strategies were for getting around him without alerting or fighting him.

I just finished that part. I just hid under the truck and every time the Gekko discovered the MKIII, I'd shoot it with a grenade and it'd run back past me out of site.

Speaking of that part, I just took out Crying Wolf, and I was running around the board trying to pick up the items before I finished her off, and the oddest thing happened. Suddenly, the screen went white and she started posing. So, I started shooting her with my camera. It was very weird. It made it really easy to finish her off with the tranq gun though, as she didn't dodge much when she was holding a pose. Have you seen that?

[RelativeWays]

I just finished Screaming Mantis a couple of days ago so I don't have much longer. To whoever asked, the railgun you got from Crying Wolf = death to gekkos.

Man its gonna be a looooong time before Resident Evil 5 or FFXIII.

[bjornolf]

Just beat mantis, so I'm nearing the end, but a few questions came up.

I saw somewhere that you can buy the bandana. How do you buy it?

Also, has anyone ever bothered with the matchlock gun? Is there any use/advantage to it?

Also, have you tried using the M82a2 on Gekkos instead of the rail gun? I find it MUCH more effective. Two or three shots to the head and the gekko is down with no annoying charge time. It's faster than charging the weapon and if you don't get a direct hit, you're not exposed. You can use it while lying down to hide better. If other enemies come at you, you can just one shot them instead of wasting your charge time on them. I found this particularly useful on the deck of the ship when I had both elite troops and gekko to deal with at the same time.

Just a thought.

[bjornolf]

just beat it for the second time and am going for the BBE. I REALLY like this game. I think my favorite part is wearing the Altair costume. Even without playing the others, I love it, as I managed to study up on a lot of the plot history.