Topic: Obi's Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes Review

[StrikerObi]

Talk about my review here d00dz.

[mouse_clicker]

I seriously don't get everyone's problem with the button combo for pausing. It's not like you have to push Start and A/B at the same time- you hold down Start then hit either A or B. It's really quite simple, and that's coming from a guy who nearly wrecked a car because he forgot it was in reverse when he smashed down the gas pedal.  

[Bill Aurion]

Sort of like saving in Link's Awakening...It's kind of silly that the worst part of the game is having to save by pressing Start, select, A, and B at the same time...

[StrikerObi]

I don't have a "problem" with it. It's just an inconvience that could have been handled better.

[mouse_clicker]

I'm not being rude, man. I'm just saying I really don't see how it was an issue at all- it's so trivial I don't really think it's even worth bringing up.

Can anyone tell me why the little FMV the game did have was pixelated, though? It's not like they would have run out of space.

[SearanoX]

Yeah, I don't think that the button combo really was necessary...although it certainly doesn't hinder the score.  Just another thing that takes an extra minute or two to get used to.

Aside from that, I agree with everything in this review.  I played some of the original game, but this really is my first time through, and I enjoyed every minute of it.  Great job in writing such a great review on this one, StrikerObi.  

[vudu]

i prefer the start + A to bring up the codec and start + B to pause the game.  it would really annoy me if i had to bring up a main menu every time i wanted to get to the codec.  it's much easier to be able to go right to the codec.  especially because i use the codec a lot (not necessarily for help, but i like to see if anyone has anything interesting to say after i accomplish something).

... for the record, it really annoyed me that i had to bring up a main menu in order to view the map in beyond good & evil.

regardless, good review.  it's nice to be able to read at least one review that doesn't have a sentece that starts out "sadly, they changed xyz from the original".

[KDR_11k]

kingvudu: Then how about keeping that AND having start alone call up a main menu?

[Ian Sane]

"I seriously don't get everyone's problem with the button combo for pausing.  It's not like you have to push Start and A/B at the same time- you hold down Start then hit either A or B. It's really quite simple"

I don't like it because there's NO REASON for it to be two buttons.  It's just a poorly thought out design decision.  And it has affected my game at least once.  When fighting a boss my idiot brother decided it would be a good idea to ask me something so I had to pause.  That extra split second it took to push two buttons caused me to get hit.  That's minor but it's still a flaw.

It SHOULD have been designed like Super Metroid which used L & R to cycle between two screens: map & status.  In this case it would be map and codec.  Whatever screen you were looking at last is what shows up when you press start so if you use codec more than the map most of the time the codec screen will come up first.

If I was to write a review for The Twin Snakes I wouldn't penalize it harshly for the pause controls but it would get mentioned and the controls part of the score would lose at least half a point for it.

[vudu]

would you dock the game a point because there wasn't an option for different kart skins?

[mouse_clicker]

Man, you guys must get really flustered- I had absolutely no problem with the pause buttons at all, even when pausing during boss fights. Like I said, in the end it's so incredibly trivial it shouldn't have even been mentioned- having such a debate over it is bad enough.

[Ian Sane]

"Like I said, in the end it's so incredibly trivial it shouldn't have even been mentioned- having such a debate over it is bad enough."

Well I don't see it as trivial.  To me it's a control brainfart that sticks out like a sore thumb in an overwise well polished game.  It's also quite noticable because it's so weird.  I don't think I've ever seen a developer come to such a conclusion when faced with a need for two pause related screens.

[mouse_clicker]

Actuallty, I completely forgot about it after the first 5 minutes of playing the game. Keep in mind, too, that MGS for the PSX and MGS2 for the PS2 both used two different buttons for pausing, and quite honestly I had more problems with them. And when you look at the entire game, which, as you say, is very well polished, why should an apparently odd method of pausing the game be cause for so much attention and concern? People always seem to single out the few bad things about something and ignore the good things. In my opinion, the game's incredible polish should have overshadowed its strange method of pausing. Why should one minute detail trump the incredible effort that went into the rest of the game? People need to complain about the littlest things, especially when they're a rarity, and can't appreciate their many good aspects. If having to press two buttons at once to pause the game is the biggest complaint you had with it, I don't think you should be complaining at all.  

[Uncle Rich AiAi]

Good review StrikerObi!

I'm glad PGC got someone who hasn't played MGS before to review the game, because that is the case with me too (unless you count the demo ).  So, it was good to read the review that wasn't comparing it to the original game.

[Myxtika1 Azn]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
That extra split second it took to push two buttons caused me to get hit.  That's minor but it's still a flaw.

The way I see it, your right thumb should already be near the "A" button already since it's so big and it's the "main" button in the game.  The distance from your right thumb to the "A" button is pretty much inexistant.  So, the only "delay" in pausing would be from moving your left thumb to the start button.  My question, now, is what "extra" split second are you talking about?

[Bloodworth]

I'd think that if the codec was automatically selected when you hit pause, it could have been just as quick.

[ruby_onix]

I didn't think the original MGS even needed a "pause" feature in the first place (I don't have Twin Snakes yet myself). Pulling up the codec was just as good, unless you started some big long plot sequence by doing that. But you didn't (IIRC) advance the plot-reading unless you were hitting the button, most of the time.

I remember accidentally pulling up the codec somewhat often when I wanted to pause, and saying "meh, good enough" and going off to do whatever it was I was going to do.

Button combos aren't really a big deal. So many games keep using them. But they aren't as good as having dedicated buttons, which is what MGS seemed to have (most of the time). It just seems like one slightly-annoying thing which draws attention to the GameCube controller being "inferior" to the PlayStation controller in presenting this top-quality game, which makes Nintendo and the GameCube look bad. And it simply didn't have to.


Edit: Or what they SHOULD'VE done, is leave the start button solely as a "pause" button, and make the GBA your dual-use (not at the same time) codec/radar. That would be sweet. No more pulling up your codec and in the middle of a hallway and finding it perfectly normal and safe to carry on a twenty-minute conversation.

[mouse_clicker]

Quote
It just seems like one slightly-annoying thing which draws attention to the GameCube controller being "inferior" to the PlayStation controller in presenting this top-quality game, which makes Nintendo and the GameCube look bad. And it simply didn't have to.

Nobody came to the conclusion that the Gamecube controller was inferior to the PS2 controller simply because of Twin Snakes, and it most certainly did not make Nintendo and the Gamecube look bad- you're overreacting. It's not even a controller limitation, as Ian's example would work perfectly.

[ruby_onix]

"you're overreacting"

Nah. You're just reading too much emphasis into my reaction.