Vympel wrote:I'm just at the part where I have to infiltrate the Shagohod hangar and set C3 on the fuel tanks to blow the whole place sky high. Needless to say, I'm sure something will happen that will ensure Shagohod survives this plan and then I'll have to destroy it with an entirely unrealistic amount of PG-7V grenades.
Anyway, thoughts on the game so far:
- the Soviet emphasis is nice, but I wish they would've gotten it right. There's no way five Mi-24s could possibly lift something as huge as Shagohod.
I'd have to look up the power of those Hinds, but if you must know, the Shagohod's mac weight is just shy of 150 tonnes. I recall many IGN posters going on about how ludicrous it was to have a 100+ tonne hovercraft. I hope they never stumble across the
Zebyr class, comrade.
- there's no way there were Mi-24s anywhere near that level of readiness in 1964, if they existed as flying machines at all.
The Mi-24 wasn't even off the drawing board back then. Obviously Col. Volgin's bureau and money made those things happen earlier in this timeline.
- for a retro-game, why are there still night-vision goggles and more ridiculously, thermal goggles, in 1964? This seemed to be laziness by the developers. Not having them in the game would've made it better all round.
Again, Volgin's bureau and Groznygrad permitted such technology to come about earlier. The gameplay value is debateable, but given you notice Skorpions used by the troops on those flying platforms with laser sights (albeit, rather clunky ones), technology is advancing quite well here.
- MGS3 firmly establishes that the Metal Gear's developed by the US (MG Rex, MG Ray) are entirely the product of the Soviets of the 1960s. Sucks to be them. This was hinted at in MGS2, but I had no idea the Colonel on the tanker was being so literal about it. While we're at it, did I mention how jarring it was to see a model of MG Ray in Granin's office? Talk about weird- Shagohod is a believable Soviet war machine, and so is Rex, but Ray?
The RAY model was nothing. Look again. You'll see Jehuty too. It's an in-joke homage if anything, but the plans for REX are clear enough, though likely restricted in technological terms. RAY uses artificial muscle, GPS guidance and one helluva powerful hydrocutter among other things, so it's a way off being made.
- "The Boss" thing- she "led us to victory" in WW2? Talk her up a bit, don't you think?
I expect she did a great many big spec-op missions. Naturally, she didn't win the war for us, but she was a big help with her unit, just as the Commandos and so on would be.
- I miss the Soliton radar. Still, camoflage is a nice touch.
I don't even think soliton waves had been theorised by then.
- Is Snake impotent or something? How many times does Eva have to say "fuck me" (in her highly improbable for 1960s Soviet Union underwear) euphemisms before he gets it?
He's not the most sociable guy. If he's anything like Solid, then women are as much a mystery as anyone else. Remember, he lived for the mission and was a career army man. Solid, when he retired, was living alone in Alaska with wolf-dogs for company. Think Plissken, not Bond.
- Revolver Ocelot is an awesome character. Which makes the whole bullshit of MGS2 and the possession by Liquid's arm even more annoying.
Yes, I agree. The way he got owned at the start by everyone was funny as fuck, but the rookie learns fast. You've not seen the last of him...
- I liked the bit where Sigint (if you ask him) rubbishes the whole idea of a tank with legs as stupid. Nice to know someone in the MG universe is rational.
There are other instances, the new MGS4 trailer clearly shows the Gekkous as being a bit cumbersome, despite their added agility. The Shagohod only uses the "legs" for pulling itself out of bad terrain anyway. The hovercraft propulsion and Archimedes screws make it pretty much a tank with an IRBM attachment. This was all before the whole SSBN wank we have now.
- The entire Shagohod design stinks to high heaven, even for MG. The effort to make it out to be superior to ICBMs in silos was absurd- requiring a 3-mile long runway to deploy the damn thing kills whatever little utility it has, and them talking about this while in the same breath talking about how it couldn't be spotted by spy satellites- ungh.
On the plus side, it's more mobile than moddern land based carriers and can hold its own in a fight. The IRBM is limited, but you don't need the run up for firing it, unless you want ICBM range. The idea is to have a rapidly deployable unit that can hit behind enemy lines and not be a sitting duck. REX is the same, when you get past the fake plan for it being an TMD system.
- I'm amazed the designers included a park full of
"Object 279" heavy tanks at the research facility- I suppose if you're going to have them, there's the place- guess they're wrong about only one tank ever being built though
I loved that too. I had to actually look them up, it's been so long since I last saw the single prototype they made.
More to come.
Finish it, NOW!
