Great news. If there's one thing this story is going to need, it's more women. (In large part because there are so few to begin with at NPF...you are a rare breed.)

Oh man you should totally catch up and vote as there is only about an hour left before the polls close!

I don't mind! I am not 100% all caught up on your Let's Play but yeah! Go for it!

So here's a crazy question for you, Ms. Celes: Would you be for or against the notion of appearing (or rather, a rough fictionalized approximation of your fine self appearing) as a character in my Let's Play?

Ohhhhh okay. Sorry, my brain wasn't working. I responded to that at 6 am after I was woken up by a call from my brrother and couldn't fall back asleep XD;

Oh I do not doubt for a second that Ocelot will show up. He's Ocelot. If he doesn't show up to stab someone in the back, it's not a MGS game. He even showed up in Portable Ops.

Nah, I think I confused you: my first experience with the original Metal Gears was with MGS3: Subsistence (MG and MG2 were included): but my first experience playing any game in the series would be Metal Gear Solid, way back in '98. Hence why I've had a good decade to dwell on Snake/Meryl (and hence why I named myself Solid Snake way back when I joined NPF in '03.)

Oh man, Peace Walker does look phenomenal. And it was announced just a few months after I purchased a DS Lite. I certainly don't regret choosing a DS over a PSP -- the Ace Attorney series is basically what I dream my life as an attorney will be like, and it's probably my second favorite series after only MGS -- but Peace Walker looks phenomenal. I'm only disappointed that Ocelot hasn't yet been announced to appear in the game -- it's necessary that he show up.

Yeah, I know people who really enjoyed the old Metal Gear titles too. Metal Gear 2 was... something. I don't know how else to describe it. XDD Poisonous Zanzibar Hamsters need to make a return to the series sometime. That's pretty cool that MGS3 was your first one. I played the NES one when I was really little (wasn't very good at it, but my brothers beat it) and then I played MGS1 and 2 with my brother when it first came out. Then I really had no clue that MGS3 existed until, like, a year ago when I got back into the series and became the fangirl I am.

Oh man, Peace Walker looks amazing. Too bad I don't intend on getting a PSP ever.

Oh I loved seeing Big Boss again, I just wish Big Boss' presence was better explained. This may be ironic given the length of MGS4's ending, but Big Boss showing up actually felt rushed.

I'm older than you so you'd think I'd have played MG1 and MG2 when they were initially released, but no dice there -- my first experience with them was with MGS3 Subsistence. By then, the games were too dated to adequately enjoy. For some reason I can still play 2D platformers and RPGs from the SNES era, but other genres don't withstand the test of time nearly as well for me. I've never played the Acid series, though...it's never looked interesting enough to justify a PSP purchase. (Peace Walker may change that.)

Ah that is true. I wouldn't want to spoil anything for others too. I might PM you with the originally intended ending.

I loved the resolution of four too (although the final Big Boss and Zero at the end was very hard to comprehend after playing the whole game in a nonstop marathon). Naomi was, ugh, and honestly Big Boss is my favorite character so I'm willing to suspend my disbelief to see him in beautiful PS3 graphics.

As far as the cutscenes go, I still would rather watch any MGS4 cutscene than the last bit of MGS2.

Out of curiosity, have you played any of the other Metal Gear games? (Metal Gear 1 and 2? Or how about Portable Ops or the Acid games?) I'm an old fogey's who's first Metal Gear game was actually the very first one on the NES back when I was just a little kid XD

I have played MGS4. I've been replaying it recently.
I may be in the minority, but I actually appreciate the bittersweet resolution Kojima offered in the ultimate ending. I won't include spoilers here just because this can be seen by the public community. But an ending that wasn't a complete downer, yet one that didn't let Snake entirely off the hook...that struck a perfect balance for me. Anything more depressing would have probably ruined the series for me, whereas a deus ex machina that resulted in Snake emerging unscathed would have struck me as ludicrous.

If anything, my biggest complaints with MGS4 were with Naomi and Big Boss -- massive plot holes and inconsistencies were left unresolved with both characters, and unlike with previous titles, this time around there's no hope that a sequel will resolve the mess.

Actually, MGS4 is still my least favorite Metal Gear Solid. Which still means it's a very good game. It just didn't feel as revolutionary as the former titles, and while the cutscenes were awesome, the ratio between cutscenes and gameplay was even more skewed against meaningful interactivity than ever.

I'm willing to accept progress!

Yeah, I don't think they expect you to just know that kind of stuff. But they want to make it hard. There's lots of cool stuff on there too that I'm learning a lot about. Like I guess in the original plan for MGS4, it was supposed to end way differently than it really did (don't want to spoil anything, 'cause I can't remember if you've played 4).

Also, my count is 305 rungs on the ladder.