So I'm also catching up with all the Kojima Productions Report podcasts that I had missed out on previously.  I love the voice acting ones, in particular David Hayter's, Quinton Flynn's, and Debi Mae West's.  Check 'em out:

David Hayter:
http://mp.i-revo.jp/user.php/kp-ryan/entry/79.html

Quinton Flynn:
http://mp.i-revo.jp/user.php/kp-ryan/entry/128.html

Debi Mae West:
http://mp.i-revo.jp/user.php/kp-ryan/entry/134.html

Particular highlights are when Hayter launches into his trademark "put an exaggerated question mark on everything he says" schtick, Flynn's direct voice contrast to MGS2 Raiden and MGS4 Raiden, and Debi's discussion of her Meryl action figure.  ^_^

Said "hi" to the DARPA Chief, then said "bye."  Ditto for Baker, after disposing of Ocelot. (And yep, he most certainly only lost his hand, NOT his arm.  I'm hoping they'll explain the discrepancy as to why he took up Liquid's arm as a whole, and not just his hand.)  The heart attack bits remain to be thrilling pieces of drama, and even in its more restrictive form, they're cinematic sequences that still hold up unbelievably well.  About to tackle the M1 tank, and lemme just say: George Byrd/Greg Eagles made for a much better Cyborg Ninja voice than Rob Paulsen in Twin Snakes. (Oh snap, I just realized the alias correlation between Byrd and Eagles.  Birds!)  Ah, and ever heard how Snake's voice sounds when he dies in a gas chamber?  It's pretty ghastly.  o_O

It's been an interesting exercise re-adapting to the less refined gameplay of MGS1.  First-person shooting is something I am missing so very much.  I've very nearly forgotten how to shoot a gun properly in this game and as such, I've been taking to the habit of just doing the classic sneak-up and choke-hold snap neck method of killing.  (Hey, no sissy tranqs in this game, right?  It's kill or be killed here.)  It seems that quite a few people didn't know it back in the day, but you can actually run and shoot your weapon at the same time.  It's not the most comfortable method, having to hold "X" while moving, and then having to press "square" to shoot -- but it sure comes in handy later when you're doing the Communications Tower run with the FA-MAS.  Miller also explains the concept of "stalking," which hasn't really been implemented effectively in the series just yet - so I've always found it easy to just crawl on noisy, grated floors.

Well, I'll be cockslapped. Lookin' at Mr. Paulsen's Wiki article. He did Yakko Warner on Animaniacs? Weird . . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Paulsen

Yeah, I liked him for his work in Animaniacs, and especially TMNT's Raphael.  I remember conversing with his son, Ash, who writes for Games Are Fun.  He staunchly defended his dad's work in The Twin Snakes, naturally. 

I think my biggest problem wasn't necessarily with Paulsen as the Ninja, but as Deepthroat.  He didn't bother switching up the voice tonality for those codec sequences, so it made it fairly obvious that Ninja and Deepthroat were one and the same.   That follows toward the pivotal near-end scene with him saving Snake from REX, where he retains the same, lifeless monotonous tone.  In the original, his 'normal' voice portrayed that he at least had a shred of humanity, of Gray Fox, left in him. 

Of course, I'd blame that more on voice direction - because there's no denying Rob's versatile voice talent.  He could likely nail any requested voice you give him.

Just beat both the M1 and Cyborg Ninja.  I am reminded that MGS1 still excels at having the most well designed boss battles in the series.  I think it's the confines of the gameplay that make it so; it forces variety upon the player, and for them to make due with the resources that they have.  Comparatively, MGS2 and MGS3's fundamental basis of winning is to just enter first-person view and shoot.  MGS1 has you tangled in a runabout shootout around a C4-laden room, tossing precision-based grenades at a seemingly impregnable tank, and partaking in an epic multi-phase hand-to-hand duel.  That's not even mentioning evading pattern-based flying objects, sniping, stinger-shooting, and a tense hide 'n seek pursuit in a frozen warehouse later on.  Sure, they have variations of these concepts in the later games, but MGS1 still stands out for its originality and amazing execution.

I'm dying to see how MGS4's boss battles will play out.  Those ladies look damned-near unstoppable. o_O

Agreed, MGS1's boss battles are great. The only bad thing about that is the stretches of normal gameplay between them are somewhat dwarfed because of that to the point the game seems to be a series/chain of boss battles than anything else despite how involving the codec conversations tend to be.

"Snake, do you like me?  Hold me, Snake!  Ooh, hurry!  Make love to me!  Snake, I want you!" - Angela Li.... I mean, Meryl Silverburgh, MGS.

That bit with Mantis' mind-reading before the battle is still a wild trip.  This time, I'm a "very methodical man, the type that always kicks his tires before he leaves."  I'm careful with traps, yet I have not saved often, and am therefore somewhat reckless.  And he still knows I like Castlevania and Suikoden.

Oh Hideo, you crazy bastard of a genius, you.  "Did you like it?"  Hell yeah, I love it.

i remember that thing with suikoden and castlevania very cleary. the first time it freaked me out like nothing else before it.

it was just a second before i realised how he knew, but that second i tell you, will be forever burned into my gaming brain.

Shit, I clear plum forgot about that! How the feck could I? Or when the screen goes blank and it says "VIDEO" on top of the screen. Not only is Mantis just an awesome character, but his fight was one of the best I've seen in a video game, topped maybe only by Kojima's later efforts with ZOE and it's sequel.

Sheeeit, mang. I saw the goddamn Essential Collection at Traders the other day, but alas! Money and I go together like, like . . . a really broke guy and an empty wallet.

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Ah, but it wasn't "VIDEO" - just replace that "V" with an "H."  I'm telling you: bonkers ingenuity personified.

So, this one's clearly an oldie..... but I had totally forgotten what I was:

http://www.metalgearnamegenerator.com/

My codename is "Echidna Pirannha."  What's yours, comrade?

Atomic Mongoose.

not that bad.

And mine is . . . Gaseous Bluebird. f---. And "Hideo"? I could've sworn one version or the other had "Video". I could be totally wrong, though.

Mine?  Chocolate Ladybug.  O.o

Manganese Crocodile

Nice.  We just need one more person to make up our six-man unit.  Any takers? :)

Took down Sniper Wolf on her first battle.  I would say that sniping was one of the greatest improvements from MGS1 and MGS2.  Here, sniping is quite restrictive in that you can't zoom, and you always have to be in a lying prone position.  And boy, are your hands shaky in this one; you definitely need your diazepam to be able to shoot accurately at all.

Now, I'm facing the interrogation sequence..... and the decision to endure or succumb.  I've always preferred succumbing, thereby resulting in the Otacon ending.   It feels more real, more emotionally engaging to have Meryl die - and it further bonds the comradeship between Snake and Otacon.  But now that it's canon that Meryl lives, I'm wondering if I should endure this time?

What say the rest of you?  Do you prefer the Meryl or Otacon ending?  Which should I choose this time?  I'm leaving her fate in your hands.....

let the hooker die.

Alright, that's a little harsh. I did very much like Meryl, after all. But you're right. I felt that Snake and Otacon's relationship kinda hit a high peak with her death. And also, letting her die nets you the optic camouflage (if I'm not mistaken, like I've been known to ) which is several times cooler than the bandana.

That actually reminds me of that scene from MGS2, during the Big Shell part of the game, near the end, where Snake gives Otacon a big hug when he's goin' through that little bit of character development. That felt kind of like the climax of their relationship a bit where the two were no longer just war buddies, but genuine friends who cared about each other. Kinda hard to put into words without sounding like a big sappy idiot.

o_O  I can understand saying that 'bout Eva..... but Meryl?

Yeah, I think that was another reason I've always went with the Otacon ending, for the far more useful stealth camo.  I see the bandana's infinite ammo as a better asset in MGS2, since they've refined the weaponry so that you'd want to abuse the hell outta them for fun ;)

Certainly one of the most unforgettable moments of MGS2 for me.  The reprisal of the MGS Main Theme with the scene brought it all back to the original.  I love Otacon, really.  I missed him in MGS3, but it looks like he'll be back in full force in MGS4.  I keep secretly hoping it'll be him who'll kill Vamp, for Emma.

And I can't wait to hear this so-called geeky conversation from him about his college days, a cubicle, and jelly beans.  ^_^

Well, the majority hath spoken: she's history.  Hey, if it makes anyone feel better, I did endure for the full three times before hitting Submit -- if only because I wanted to hear Ocelot's dialogue in between tortures.  (Other than, "Don't even THINK of using auto-fire, or I'll know!")  Those bits of dialogue may actually provide glimpses into his final plans for MGS4.  In any case, corny yet endearing Dave and Hal joke, comin' my way!

And, I always found it interesting that you'd only find out that Campbell is Meryl's father ONLY if she dies.  I wonder if she ever figures it out in MGS4? 

Now comes both my favorite and least favorite part in the game: the Communications Towers.  The first staircase ascend up Tower A refreshingly leaves the stealth aspect of the game behind, pitting you against wave after wave of enemies as you make that intense climb up, FA-MAS a-blazin'.  (You'll want to have mastered that run 'n gun technique here.)  Then, once you've made the climb, it's time to make that glorious rappel down from the roof to Tower B.  Playing this particular scene back then was just about one of the greatest and coolest gaming moments I've ever witnessed.  Still is.

You know, I've often wondered what would happen if you never grabbed the rope at the very bottom of the tower.  I believe I tried it once before, and if you were unfortunate enough to save the game on the roof, I think you were pretty much screwed; you would need to run ALL THE WAY back down, grab the rope, and trek all the way back up in order to progress the story.

From this point, it teeters between lame and rad.  Lame, when you have to run up all those empty staircases (with a couple of security camera guns) in Tower B because the elevator stopped.  But then it ramps up the rad again when you have your showdown with Liquid and the Hind D.  Then, it tones down again by having you descend back down those very same stairs.  Then rad yet again when you face off with the stealth-equipped guys in the elevator.  Whew.

Atta girl.

I was looking at this at my local EB the other day and I couldn't help but be a little annoyed with the fact the front covers all have "a Hideo Kojima video game" written on them. With all the stuff I've read I honestly believe the man has a huge ego.

I believe they've been doing that since MGS2. I think the thinking behind it is to make the game sound as prominent as a film with a big director, but yeah, it does come off as a little pompous. Remember when game credits all had code names and no one had personal glory at all, just collective collaborative credit?

Dunno, from what I've read, Kojima sounds like a pretty humble guy - deceiving I know, given his place in the game industry.  Besides, I believe the decision to have his moniker on the games wasn't a choice of Kojima's himself, but Konami's PR and marketing departments.

That said, I'm actually hoping the moniker will show up on MGS4's cover, for consistency purposes.

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