MGS4 TGS Trailer Analysis
November 24th, 2007
Yeah, I know what your thinking, the Metal Gear Solid 4 Tokyo Game Show trailer came out ages ago. But I also know that chances are you’re bursting at the seams with anticipation for this game, so much so that even if I try to squeeze a tiny bit of juice out of this trailer it’d be worth reading.
This tiny bit of juice won’t be enough to quench your thirst though, so what I’ll be doing is backing this article up with several more analysis based articles right up to the release of this game. In the last 2 months I’ve finished almost every Metal Gear title (except for Portable Ops) and have been compiling data on everything that we need answers for. So to kick it off, lets turn back the clock to the TGS.
Now if your not sure what I am talking about then check out the trailer here. Also I suggest watching the E3 2007 trailer as well.
In the E3 trailer we learn that Liquid needs to discover more about FoxDie in order to understand how the nanomachines communicate with each other (and once he knew this he could obtain “total battlefield control”). Que for Naomi Hunter’s returning role in this series. At the start of the trailer she explains what I just said and sends out a help message for Snake to rescue her.
The first thing that you’ll probably notice is that her skin colour is much more tanned than the original MGS. The reason being that she should have always looked more tanned (due to her South African origin). Her skin tone in the original MGS was far to light IMO, so they have corrected themselves here.
The crux of this trailer really is about setting characters into their roles, the story finds uses for Naomi as well as other returning characters and introduces a new character. The scenes with Fox Hound don’t give away too much information other than:
- Praying Mantis is one of the PMCs(a part of Outer Haven?)
- FROGS are ‘Liquid’s private army’
- Each member of Fox Hound can work together due to the nanomachines and SOP
In the next scene we are introduced to Drebin, a gun launderer with a strange monkey dressed in underwear.
What I am going to do now is skip everything else in the trailer, focus on one point for a second and then piece the rest of the trailer into a convenient, flowing storyline. After the TGS at the consumer expo E for All Ryan Payton(one of the game’s producer) revealed that there were going to be a total of five environments for MGS4. He only revealed three of them, being; the Middle East, South Africa and somewhere in Europe. Now this trailer actually reveals one more or so it seems; Solid Snake’s location of retirement; Alaska. Near the end of the trailer we see Snake and Liquid prepare for a battle between Metal Gear Rex and Metal Gear Ray(the same one from MGS2?). Now some may argue but this scene has all the constructs of Alaska.
Okay, now lets piece together the rest of this trailer starting from the end with Johnny Sasaki whom has is a been featured in every MGS game in some form or another(read more here). We see Snake disarm him and get him on the floor. Now although the trailer doesn’t suggest this I think that after this incident Snake would meet(be reunited?) with Meryl as Johnny Sasaki is a member of the Fox Hound(which Meryl leads). We can see that this is the result because Snake is with Fox Hound at the start of the trailer.
So Snake teams up with Fox Hound, now before or after this(most likely before), Snake meets up with Drebin whom then helps Snake and Otacon ambush Liquid’s chopper, rescue Naomi and make a run for it. How do I know this? A fine eye my friend.
The chopper(well the convoy plane thing) holding Naomi was also seen in the E3 2005 clip. If you noticed the text on the tank in the scene with Drebin(Eyes on You) this is the same as the tank in the ambush scene as well as the chase scene (where Snake asks “Who the hell are these Patriots?”).
In the ambush scene right after the MGS4 calligraphy text we see Drebin’s tank burst through some gates and onto a landing pad where Snake and Drebin wipe out a few Metal Gears and soldiers. Later on in the montage part we see the plane take off (Otacon piloting) in this quick snippet we see Naomi being dropped into Drebin’s tank (his monkey friend also sits atop of the tank during these scenes).
So off the tank goes, through the middle eastern streets with Snake and Otacon following in the chopper above. Metal Gears drop into the area as they are trying to escape.
There are two interesting characters that jump in and out of these scenes, Raiden and Vamp. We see Vamp at the launching pad (with a large bullet shot wound to the head) and also on the streets throwing off his cape. Raiden is in the same sort of area. So what happens next? Cut and paste the awesome fight scene between in the E3 trailer. If you watch both trailers you can see how this then pieces together.
What I suspect Konami will do in thi part of the game is one of the awesome chase sequences. Much like in the escape sequences in MGS1 and MGS3. Which would be followed by the battle with Vamp. Although its a bit tricky to pinpoint how this will unfold exactly. Do you play as Snake in the plane or Drebin in the tank? If you fight Vamp that means that you’ll Raiden will be a playable character. I think that its likely that you’ll be able to control the tank, I’m basing this on what Ryan Payton said about the game featuring some gameplay elements from different genres.(Read more here).
Originally due to the trees in the landing pad area I thought that this might be the South African locale but because the trailer flow like it does this is obviously not the case. Also another point in question, why is Vamp trying to stop Snake get to Naomi? He’d be working for Liquid/The Patriots then.
After that juicy segment, we see Snake and Naomi by the tank, they begin to escape on foot. Naomi tears her clothes, I guess this is to make it look as though she had been kidnapped rather than saved. Otacon then starts talking about Sunny whom is obviously Olga’s daughter. This is confirmed at the end of the trailer. What I don’t understand is where she came from, was she on the chopper?
Meryl then introduces her squad, saying that they are there to investigate PMC (private military company) activity. This is followed by Snake holding a weakened (from the battle with Vamp?) Raiden in the chopper. He then takes Raiden to a cathedral where he meets Eva from MGS3. Shock horror. She’s about 70 years old and is a good guy(confirmed by Hideo, in his podcast..If I remember corretly). Why is she calling Snake, CQC Snake?
Conclusion
Well thats all I’ve got for this one trailer. I’m interested to know where the start of the E3 trailer fits in with what I have just been talking about. Next up I’ll start highlighting the questions that MGS4 should answer for us. Starting with Big Boss, I have a strong argument brewing as to why I think he is still alive and why he is going to be in MGS4. There is already some proof out there that he’ll be in this game, so as a pop quiz, can you find me some proof to his existence in MGS4? Let me know via the Contact Form and I’ll share what I have later on.
Ryan Payton Drops a Few Hints About MGS4
October 24th, 2007
Gametrailers and Joystiq both recently interviewed Ryan Payton(an Assistant Producer on MGS4). Although this is a few days old, it won’t stop me from writing about these meaty tidbits that he gave away. I’m just way too excited about this game, its hard to refuse. Lets take a look at the Joystiq interview:
Where the Game is at in Production
Payton states that the latest development build is a step up from the E for All demo. Differences include altered menus and the inclusion of more gameplay elements. At this stage, they are tweaking the AI for the games difficulty, stages and working on scripted enemy events. He believes that the demo is 80% of what the final game will be like.
Payton later continues that because the AI is still not done Konami don’t want to release a demo of the game(via PSN) as they think that people will exploit this. They think that even the demo at E for All isn’t up to Beta stage yet, so they want it to be perfect first, before releasing anything.
Ending
He knows what happens for the ending, says that there are no gimmicks. The use of “it’s the final chapter of Solid Snake” and “the final chapter in his life” kinda allures to an ending where Snake dies.
The ending is meant to pay homage to the legend, its meant to be something that people won’t believe and will talk about for some time.
Other Gameplay Modes
Payton states that there will be other gameplay modes beyond the main stealth/action gameplay design. These modes are meant to borrow from other genres and each bit lasts about half an hour. Although the interviewer suggests that this could be some sort of racing component(which sounds very reasonable) Payton declines to comment on these features. He thinks people will be pleasantly surprised by these additions.
Western Game Version
Payton states that Hideo has put him in charge of the western version of the game. So he gets to control difficulty settings etc. So he reckons that the western version will be more difficult than the Japanese version. He wants to focus more around the over the shoulder cam(Resident Evil 4) instead of auto aiming. This judgement is based from the different play styles between cultures.
Opening and Closing Movies
This part was quite interesting, theres little point in my paraphrasing it for you:
“I think that the opening movie and the ending of the game are going to be the two talks of the town. The opening movie is something that has never been attempted, and will never be attempted again. It’s something that could only come out of Hideo’s mind.”
Other Quick Tidbits
- Payton hesitanty reckons that MGS4 will be longer than MGS3
- Konami heard about the PS3 Rumble features about a week and a half before the TGS
- there will be no sections in the game where you play as an older Snake
- the treat ring gameplay mechanic was in both the TGS and E for All demos
- Payton isn’t sure about how Konami will bundle MGS4 and MGSO together in the US
Some very interesting tidbits indeed. And in some ways a bit of a relief to know the extent to which the team are putting in for this game. My anticipation is still running at an all time high. I’ll be sure to keep you all up to date on any more significant advancements.
Glorious Gameplay Unveiling (Metal Gear and Resident Evil)
July 28th, 2007
The past 5 days have been excellent for those PS3 owners out there as the first gameplay footage has been revealed for arguably the two most anticipated titles for the system. That is Metal Gear Solid 4 and Resident Evil 5.
What, more Resident Evil 5?! I hear you pout. Well, it seems like Capcom has been extremely generous(once again). They where so kind to even include some nice high res. shots. Now I’m not going to do a complete analysis of this new RE trailer(it’s actually an extended version of the MS press conference) as there is only a few things to point out.
What you can’t miss:
Resident Evil 5 Extended Trailer
Resident Evil 5 Extended Trailer HD
Resident Evil 5 Screenshots
Metal Gear Solid 4 Demonstration
Metal Gear Solid 4 Demonstration HD
Metal Gear Solid 4 Screenshots
Metal Gear Solid Online
Metal Gear Solid Mobile
Resident Evil Analysis
Firstly a lovely panning scene over a large part of the village is shown which gives us quite a bit more perspective of the introductory environment. Shortly after we see the strange man(guy who gets infected with the virus, in case you forgot ;)) being eyed down by one of the villagers.
In the scene with the two blokes chatting away we notice that there is some sort of scarring around the green shirt guy’s right eye. In the crowd scene, we the villagers throwing rocks at the person hung upside down(Chris?). This was difficult to decipher in the previous trailer.
Chris then says the following lines:
“Casualties continue to mount, for the long years I’ve struggled”
“More and More I find myself wondering if its all worth fighting for”
“Who knows?”
He is obviously referring to his fight against the Umbrella corporation/Wesker/The Viruses. Also admire the buffness of Chris, he looks like his in an entirely different league compared to Leon.
Two quick points that I previously brought up are clarified after his speech, firstly this is Chris Redfield and secondly he has the headset. The villagers all disappear after Chris is overwhelmed by the bright light. Mysterious. This could be part of a possible gameplay mechanic or just highlighting the hot/cold or light/dark mechanics that where previous talked about?
Chris then enters the warehouse where we see the previous snippets of the ‘strange man’s evolution all grouped together. It doesn’t look as though he has changed much from his previous self. Perhaps the virus is just ‘possesive’ like the plague in RE4(don’t worry the similarities don’t stop there). We are thrown into an orgy of gameplay clips which look remarkably similar to that of RE4. Although we do notice two new additions; that Chris gets rugby tackled by a villager and he can dodge a horizontal slice by ducking.
The trailer then repeats the clip of the announcer talking thru the megaphone, we have better definition of the guard to his right. It looks like it has no eyeballs….ewww. We hear him call “see for these creatures” or so it sounds. Its quite hard to tell if he is speaking english or a native local language. I’d go with the local language, although the next part up ahead can contradict my hypothesis.
The proceeding gameplay clip shows Chris shooting a villager in the leg who then rolls to the floor. The other villagers are throwing axes at him(Resident Evil 4 alert!). Just as Leon does/did we see Chris elbowing an attacking villager trying to grab him from behind. The lead villager running out from the shed then calls “free them”. Could he be referring to the guard with no eyeballs with the giant flyswat?
This is followed by Chris equipped with a shotgun and some awfully similar vertical slashing action from a villager.
The next interesting part is the dank room where Chris is totally surrounded by villagers. I’ll get to why this is so important later. We then see Chris with a fast firing rifle, another standard weapon for the game. Afterwards Chris pushes a villager and then fists him in the face, it looks like a context sensitive action to me.
More speech:
“If there’s one thing I’ll do, I have a job to do and I’m gonna see it through”
One key part right at the end of the trailer is the quick scene with the girl in the water tank, this is obviously the girl that … was talking about from the previous interview, get a good look as she’ll be playing an important part in the game.
Round up
There is a consistent theme with this trailer that provides some insight to how the developers are trying to redirect the RE series back to its roots while using the RE4 gameplay model. Producer Jun Takeuchi stated this a while back. The theme is being overwhelmed by enemies, we saw this throughout the trailer. This element of a non stop frenzy ensure that you are fighting for your survival(hence survival horror). The enemies also move faster than zombies or gandos which adds to this point.
Metal Gear Solid 4
What a way to celebrate MGS’ 20th B-day then announce a slew of new franchise games and show the first gameplay footage of MGS4; the final game in the series. Well…make that in the timeline. 🙂 Kojima showed off a full 15 minute gameplay demonstration of the new title which was very impressive.
We got to see how Snake’s new suit works with the environment, some new weapons, hiding places and just how awesome this game looks. The one thing that I couldn’t stop thinking about throughout the trailer was how equipped Snake was. You can do almost anything with Snake; throw grenades while climbing ladders, roll on your back, front while shooting in 1st or 3rd person perspective and then there is the new suit. It seems that Konami has tweaked Snake into the ultimate stealth warrior.
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