MLB 09: The Show

I've found the best headset to use is the Logitech PS2 headset. The cord is nice and long, handy mute button and volume control, and it sounds and records great. I was surprised how clear it sounded.

MGS4 and The Show were the titles that made me get a PS3, not to mention I've been a Sony fan since the original Playstation...

Disable the Media Server Connection option in your PS3 settings. It eats up a bit of bandwidth and can interupt your connections if your connection speed is a bit low at times (for whatever reason). It's usually the first step and easiest step when many PS3 users get dc'd from the PSN.

joseph_mach

Yes, I had the same exact problem a couple weeks ago. It kept disconnecting me from PSN even though every other internet app worked perfectly. Disable the media server connection.

First off I want to say that I have always loved the Metal Gear series ever since I bought Metal Gear Solid back in 1998. I was instantly hooked by the whole story and gameplay and each sequel did not disappoint in the slightest. I just bought a Playstation 3 last week and naturally I purchased Metal Gear Solid 4 along with it. I have been dying to play it since it came out and I made sure not to read ANYTHING about the game online so nothing was spoiled for me when I played it. Well, I just finished playing it the other night, and after thinking about every aspect of the game for 2 days, I have very mixed feelings about the way MGS4 turned out.

Beware, SPOILERS GALORE.

First off I want to talk about the gameplay. Metal Gear Solid has always been THE premier stealth game, setting the standard for all other games today that copy the format. Sneaking past the enemy was vital to your survival, and each game improved upon the concept, whether it was hiding under a cardboard box to disguising youself with an an enemy uniform or selecting camouflage to hide under the enemy's gaze. MGS4 introduced the OctoCamo, but to me it seemed like an excuse to use the camo index again, which after the first 2 chapters was basically useless. Even during the first 2 chapters in the middle east or in South Africa in the 2nd chapter I rarely used the camo. In fact, the whole feeling of needing to be sneaky in order to get through the level seemed to be missing throughout the whole game for me. I felt that it was much easier to run through the levels with guns blazing than to use stealth. In other words, I didn't feel that being patient and tricking the enemy was essential to getting through the game like it felt for the 3 previous MGSs. I understand theres higher difficulty levels and different rankings in the end for not being discovered by the enemy, but again, it didn't feel like it was necessary like it was for the other games. I rarely used the Metal Gear MK. II, only when it was necessary. The whole game just didn't feel like a MGS game to me.

I thought that Kojima missed a huge opportunity not incorporating the SIXAXIS controller more into the game. When PS3 was first announced with the SIXAXIS controller I couldn't wait to pull off some killer CQC moves with it for the new Metal Gear. I was disappointed to find that none of the motion control was implemented into that aspect of game play. Sure, looking out from under the crack of a dumpster lid by moving the controller was fun, but I did it once. Shaking the controller during Rose's Codec calls however made her breasts jiggle, which I discovered by accident. Same thing during cutscenes, shake the controller and Snake shakes off his current camo to switch back to the normal black color. Also discovered by accident.

Speaking of Codec, I always liked the codec calls in the previous games and I liked that they were long, they helped the stories drastically in my opinion. Codec in MGS4 wasn't that interesting to me this time around, Otacon and Rose being the only people you can contact. On the previous games you'd be able to call someone and lots of times learn tons of backstory information or any other random comments, very cool in my opinion. In this game, neither characters had much to say. In fact I thought having Rose as a contact was completely useless. I think she was thrown in there just to tie the story together in the end.

I loved all of the Shadow Moses environments; playing that chapter reminded me how MGS 1 kicks so much ass. It was great running through the same old levels some of us grew up playing, only this time remodelled into a way I couldn't have imagined them to look like 10 years ago. It was sad yet perfect. Kojima nearly ruined it for me towards the end. After fighting Vamp and the hangar is about to crumble and Snake looks at Metal Gear Rex, I said out loud, "Don't do it Snake. DON'T get into Rex." Sure enough he did it. Then you fight Metal Gear Ray while inside of Rex. I absoultely HATED this fight. The game turned into one of those Japanese Mech Assault Gundam type games, very cheesey in my opinion.

Bosses were way too easy in this Metal Gear game, I think I died once while playing the boss fights. Yeah I played the game on Normal, but the first time I play any Metal Gear game I always play it on Normal, and bosses have been harder in the previous games than this one. They weren't challenging and weren't innovative like some of the bosses of the previous MGSs. Defeating Psycho Mantis in MGS by plugging the controller into port 2? WHOA. Destroying a platoon of Metal Gear Rays in SOL was badass, spending a good hour defeating The End in Snake Eater, only to find out if you saved the game and played it a week later he died of old age! Man, that was great. I didn't feel any of the bosses in MGS4 brought anything new to the table, the only one being interesting was Screaming Mantis, but obviously a rehash of Psycho Mantis. I have to say that the fight against Liquid I though was perfect, loved the different health icons from the different games with their corresponding songs playing in the background. Hearing the Snake Eater theme again reminded me how I would always watch the opening movie before starting that game.

The motorcycle chase was a highlight of the game, visually beautiful, very much reminiscent of the chase from Snake Eater.

Visually I thought the game was stunning. Environments were great and felt real. The music was incredible, as it always has been for previous Metal Gears, and the voice acting was top notch once again. The only voice that seemed hokey was Mei Ling.

I could go on and on about the story, but I'm not going to. I'm going to keep it short. Basically I thought the beginning of the game and the story started off great, but I felt it was also thin and lacking in certain areas. (A quick note, I read a lot of criticism about the fake commercials that started off the game, I thought they were all great and I restarted the game a bunch of times just so I could see each one. All of them gave that Robocop/Total Recall vibe of a not-too-distant future.) I'm not going to get too specific with things in the story, that's a whole other thread, but I'll name a few things I thought were great but also not so great.

I was disappointed with the Sunny character, I thought there could have been more done with her and made things more interesting. I think there could have been more backstory as to how Raiden rescued her from the Patriots and their relationship could have been more effective.

I never had a problem with Raiden in MGS2 like so many people had, so I understand why Kojima tried to make him the cool character this time around. Yet I felt it was too much, he was a little too robotic, I would have liked to see more emotion with him.

Meryl was great, except for the relationship and wedding scenes, kind of lame. Mei Ling seemed useless really, kind of throwing her in that role for the sake of having her in the game, it seemed forced. EVA was great, but she didn't last long enough. Really, theres too much to say about the story but I'm not going to get into it. There were many things thrown into the game that seemed lacking and put in to connect the entire story, mainly things connecting MGS4 with Snake Eater. Again, too much specifics to get into.

What I will say is that I did love the very end with Big Boss showing up. I loved how it ended so poignantly with him slumped over at his headstone with his son Snake holding him. Perfect way to end it in my opinion.

So fans, in conclusion, if you've made it this far, I just have mixed feelings about this game. I guess you could say disappointment. To me the story didn't have the WOW factor like the previous stories, especially Snake Eater. After playing that one, I said wow, that was incredible. I didn't feel that way with this one. Perhaphs I need time to absorb it all in still and play again knowing what to expect.

On a separate note, I remember two scenes being in the trailers for the game years ago that weren't in the game. The first one being a scene of Snake sticking his gun into his mouth, and no it wasn't the scene from the end of the game. In this trailer scene he was in full OctoCamo, in the middle east, and I remember thinking whoa, Snakes giving up. Perhaphs this scene was remodelled for the ending of the game. The second thing I remember was a shot of a seemingly Young Snake getting hit with bird crap, also missing from the game.

Try turning off media server, under system options, network something like that.

acmx22

This solved it! Thanks a lot! And thank you everyone else.

By the way, what is that setting actually?

- Achievements. Gaming without achievements is no longer the same.

- Wireless controller standard[/QUOYE] Yeah, if you bought the Pro model instead of the Core. Both PS3 and Wii always featured wireless controllers from the start. Not to mention the fact that PS3s controller is rechargeable right out of the box, while Microsoft charges 20 bucks for a charger kit, which I did buy for my Xbox because I was tired of going through double a's every week...

- Guide button

Okay, but not really innovated. As many have said here PSP had a "guide button." PS3 has a guide button. Wii has a guide button. See a pattern here?

- Detachable hard drive

Oh, great, except when I want to upgrade the hard drive I'm forced to purchase Microsoft's overpriced hard drives with limited gigs, hard drives which ONLY work for the xbox, while PS3's hard drive is easily replaceable with actual computer/laptop hard drives, meaning I can use that hard drive for a computer OR PS3.

- Free three year warranty

Again, how is this innovative exactly?

- RTS, WRPGs and FPS that actually work on a console (incredible)

Once again, your opinion.

- Best controller ever

...Opinion.....once again. I think Gamecube's controller is "best controller ever." Doesn't mean it is. There is a reason that Playstation's controller has remained virtually untouched throughout the years...

- Project Natal.... best non-controller ever

And with this comment all little credibility you once had gets thrown out the window. You're calling something the best thing ever when it hasn't even been released yet? Are you a moron? I'm not kidding. Your comment is like saying that 2015 is the best year ever.

- Xbox Live Arcade

I'll give you this, slightly. Wii has its own Arcade too.

- Netflix

Again, I'll give you this. I am a Netflix subscriber, however have never watched a movie through Netflix on my xbox. I'd rather have full HD films on Blu Ray than watching compressed versions over xbox.

Xbox Live Primetime (ie 1vs100)

This is your strongest point so far. Except you could argue the same about online computer contests or games, i.e. online poker, blackjack, etc...

- NXE - XNA

Neither of these points are valid.

Sony keeps trying to catch up but just looks a poor imitation (their triggers for their DS3 are garbage compared to 360's,

Opinion. I happen to like them.

PSN is a joke compared to LIVE

Opinion. PS3 Network is getting better and better. And always free.

Resistance and Killzone 2 are nothing compared to Gears/Halo 3,

Opinion.

trophies aren't as good as achievements, etc. etc.).

Opinion....sigh.....

PS2 was so outdated it even only included 2 controller ports AND had no ethernet/hard drive!

Yeah PS2 didn't start with internet or a hard drive, but it was always designed to accommodate them, which it did. Just like Gamecube was designed to accommodate a modem as well. AHUGECAT, you're just the typical fan boy. Most of what you are trying to argue is your opinion. If you're going to make points, use some facts. Let me tell you about myself. I own a 360, have had enough experience to know what the Wii is all about, and I JUST ordered a PS3, so I'm not a fan boy. Each console has it's adwantages, as well as disadvantages. If you want to be taken seriously, make some serious threads.