So lately I've been on an MGS kick and have been playing the hell out of them. I've came to a point where I'm trying to decide which game is the best, but it's just so fucking hard! so I thought, well...if I can't do that, maybe I can atleast decide which game has the best bosses. too hard, as well. so, in general, instead of which game has the best individual bosses...which game has the best unit, all-together?

MGS/
Foxhound Unit:

Decoy Octopus
Psycho Mantis
Sniper Wolf
Vulcan Raven

-Liquid Snake-

MGS2/
Dead Cell Unit:

Fortune
Fatman
Vamp

-Solidus-

MGS3/
Cobra Unit:

The Pain
The Fear
The End
The Fury

The Sorrow

-The Joy/The Boss-

MGS4/
Beauty & The Beast Unit:
(notice the similarity to Foxhound?)

Laughing Octopus
Raging Raven
Crying Wolf
Screaming Mantis

-Ocelot-


such a tough one!

How is that tough? Anyone who doesn't think the MGS1 villains are the best is a moron.

The MGS 2 and 4 villains are tied for the stupidest villains ever in a videogame. When I first saw a screenshot of the MGS4 villains I literally lawled, they're that stupid looking. And MGS2 features a rollerbladding fatass and a faggot vampire. It also ruined Ninja and had a geriatric main villain who looked like Dr. Ocotopus but even gayer.

haha. rather true about Dead Cell. HAHAHA. I still love the hell out of MGS2, though.

Beauty & The Beast Unit are pretty cool, though. it's probably the deepest concept, as well. Have you fought any, by chance? I'd have to say they're the funnest of any; and the battle with Crying Wolf is fucking eerie!

for the most part, I've figured most people would probably go for Foxhound or Cobra Unit. it's just really hard for me to say, myself.

hhmm...

I had noticed (and pointed out) the similarities between the B&B's and Foxhound; I just looked into it and read this:

"Their animal names openly reference the members of FOXHOUND from MGS, their emotions relating to the Cobras from MGS3, and their weapons taken from Dead Cell members from MGS2. "

so I take it:

Laughing Octopus = Decoy Octopus/The Fear/Solidus

Raging Raven = Vulcan Raven/The Fury/Fatman

Crying Wolf = Sniper Wolf/The Sorrow/Fortune

Screaming Mantis = Psycho Mantis/The Pain/Vamp


I'm sort of confused with the Dead Cell-weapons references, as Laughing Octopus uses basically the same weaponry as Fatman (explosives, with the occasional bullet sprays); while Raging Raven uses a grenade launcher (no Dead Cell member has one); I just take it Laughing Octopus matches with Solidus because of the mechanical octopus arms.

I'm thinking too hard on this...

MGS1 had the best bosses by far, each battle was epic! The shootout with Ocelot around Baker strapped to C4, Raven's tank, the Ninja melee battle, Psyco Mantis and the controller trick, the original Sniper Battle, the Helicopter Battle on top of the towers, Metal Gear Rex and then the chase.

The latter half of MGS4 was pretty damn good too: return to shadow moses and a split screen ninja/geko fight. When you first get Rex and just wade through thousands of Geko only to emerge and it's a Rex vs. Ray Giant Robot Battle! Great stuff!

MGS1 wins for its unit. Each member was sinister and, although cliched, had a decent enough back story to warrant a few emotional moments here and there. The battles themselves were fucking creative too - Psycho Mantis anyone?

MGS3 was fucking wicked, too. In terms of modern gaming, MGS3 probably wins for it's introduction of wide, open environments with a variety height levels; as opposed to the typical singular level corridor action of the previous two games. MGS3 also had some pretty creative boss battles to boot - The End comes to mind. MGS3 hasn't really dated at all and is still very playable today.

MGS2 was basically a regurgitation of the first game, just with better controls, abilities, and graphics. None of that really matters anymore now, though, since the game has inevitably dated technically. This presents a problem for all games that specify graphics and controls as their primary feature; for a game to be timeless, it needs to do something original. MGS2 didn't.

MGS4, while I haven't played it that much, was a pretty big disappointment in terms of bosses, story, and even controls. I was playing it the other night and it just felt clunky. Also, the sheer amount of gadgets and abilities you're given access to are overwhelming; you're never going to use all of them, and, as Yahtzee succinctly put it, once you're given the tranquilizer gun that can take an enemy out in one shot at the beginning of the fucking game the titular* stealth mechanics become redundant.

Concluding thoughts: I really am torn when it comes to the MGS series. At its best it's innovative and original; it's fun and addictive; and it has a well told story with melodrama and emotional depth. At its worst the plot is convoluted and tedious; it's gameplay is derivative and uncreative; and it's just plain stupid in places, evidently forcing me to hurl my controller at my tv.



*'Tactical Espionage Action', in other words, STEALTH!

MGS2 had the least interesting bosses of the lot. The final fight with Solidus was sorta fun because you had to use the sword, but beyond that I can't remember much else. It even took me a while to remember the fight with Vamp.

I haven't played MGS4 for more than 15 minutes, so I don't know about that one. The controls weren't exactly intuitive but I'm sure I'd get used to them.

MGS3 had some sick fights. The Pain was fairly tedious, The Fear far too easy once you've figured out the easy way, the Fury was sometimes infuriating albeit pretty cool looking. But, the End is where its at. There is just so much there despite what is essentially an old dude with a rifle in the middle of a jungle. You wouldn't think there would be much to it, but it's this pared back simplicity which made it just so engaging. Then there was the Boss, which was unnerving to say the least the first time through. But patience is rewarded with a fucking sweet ending.