Wednesday, July 14

Deadliest Catch

Before I start ranting about the politics of acquisition in portable adventure games, I would like to mark a dubious milestone. This the 50th post on The Unbearable Lightness of Dutch. What started as an outlet for nostalgic musings has turned into a creative project in which I am now thoroughly invested. Hit or miss, there are some thanks that must be distributed:
  • Alex Connolly, who created the banner for the blog and gave it a sense of identity.
  • The opinionated few who comment regularly on each of my deliberations. Thank you for your support.
  • Anyone who has read, or who is (hopefully) still reading my thoughts.
  • Carly, my unofficial editor and love of my life
Reading the majority of critical ruminations regarding Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, I was stunned to see how many had protested that the difficulty curve employed in the portable actioner was too steep. This is not me attempting some 50th post, celebratory dick swinging, rather I believe this is a trapping of the storied franchise. Apart from the first instalment on the original Playstation, I've never thought that a Metal Gear Solid game had lacked a sufficient level of challenge. Whether it be the sneaking grind you play through for the majority of each chapter or the grand, attack-pattern heavy boss battles, I've had to replay sections of each title recurrently. I will concede that some of the boss battles are more prolonged than their home console forbears, the strategies one needs to utilize to attain victory haven't really changed as time has passed. You memorise attack patterns, and pummel your opponents when you can no longer hear/see  explosions or bullets ricocheting off of hard surfaces. These battles may be shorter and less challenging with the help of a friend (several reviewers have hinted to as much), but I'm afraid that I can't comment. If anything (and this is a concession made due to the fact Peace Walker is a portable game), some levels are so short that even if you do fail, it won't take long to progress past your last mistake. I would even go as far as to say that the regular sneaking action is punctuated so expertly and regularly, that I have not encountered anything akin to frustration.



I've read two reviews (funnily enough both from Australian sources) that have taken exception with the recruitment methods employed by Naked Snake on behalf of Militaires Sans Frontiers. Both also likened the process to that of the Pokemon games, each with its own redundant misappropriation of the franchise's battle cry: Gotta Catch 'Em All. Yes, you kidnap and brainwash enemy combatants, but how is it different to assaulting a wild animal and then poaching them with your Pokeball? I'm not defending the use of the Fulton Recovery System to abduct American (both of Central and Northern origin) soldiers, but Peace Walker isn't the first game that tasks players with the brutal subjugation of opposing forces. The alternative is far more troubling and guilt-inducing. For anyone who has ever played through the brilliant Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, there are consequences for firing a weapon. With the option to either kill or tranquilize Russian forces as you attempt to prevent Cold War tensions from boiling over, players are confronted with the faces of the fallen (combatants, even the animals you killed for sustenance) during one of the games later sequences. The result of spilling blood isn't so apparent in Peace Walker, the only noticable outcome being a reduced mission score. Still you would rather have these men alive and working with/for you as opposed to on your conscience.



The video lacks the effect of that when I first played through MGS3 and had racked up a regrettable kill count. There were so many apparitions of soldiers, boss characters and animals approaching me on my initial playthrough of the game. I believe this is one of the first post-modern boss battles which calls for reflection as opposed to observation and action. The Metal Gear Solid series has almost always presented significant challenges and features some of the more memorable boss fights that I've had the pleasure of playing through. Besides if you find it too hard, you can always lower the difficulty.



Care to share some memories of exemplary boss battles?

26 comments:

  1. That massive boss in FFXII. I can't remember his name. he had the sick armour and sword that you got to keep if you killed him. I am going to go with Goglomoth (not his real name). If I was so lazy I would look it up. But my god that was a mammoth battle. That, and the final boss battle in that game. It took an hour and a half to beat. Needless to say i had to repeat twice, and my god, that was the most tension filled, and in the final moments of victory, relieved I have ever been during a video game.

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  2. Good one Sambo, the final boss in FFVIII is the most difficult I have ever come across. I never actually beat Ultimecia and have so far been unable to conquer the four or so phases in that battle. Epic!

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  3. Congrats on the 50th, Trits!

    Can't really recall too many boss battles. Maybe a lot of the encounters in Uncharted 2?

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  4. The UC2 ones weren't bad. FF has definetely got the most epic boss battles running around though. And you actually feel as though you have gone through a battle when you complete them.

    I remember Devil May Cry, I think the 3rd one, had that crazy crab or spider boss pretty early on that was pretty hard to best.

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  5. Good call Sambo. The Lava Spider at the end of the 3rd level of the original DMC was a true bastard. As a matter of fact, every boss battle in the original DMC had tears cried over them.

    The last boss in Uncharted 2 was more frustrating than genuinely challenging. I found that if I was just running and spraying I did just fine.

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  6. It's strange...I've really shied away from games that, by way of their mechanics and DNA, require boss battles in the traditional sense. Maybe I'm a coward!

    Hang on...BULLSHIT! LOST PLANET 2! THAT GAME IS ALL BOSS! What the hell am I talking about. See, maybe it's like Shadow of the Colossus Syndrome - you begin to take thousand-metre long bosses as simply part of the enemy menagerie.

    Hell yes, Lost Planet 2 bests all when it comes to ridiculous boss battles. Sadly, the final boss of that game pales in the creativity department when set beside its prior level predecessors.

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  7. Yes, the lava spider was a pain in th ass. And Shadow of the Colussus was EPIC!!!! It was rad as. man they were some hard boss battles

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  8. Never played much of Shadow of the Colossus as I had progressed to the x360 by this point. I am looking forward to playing it as part of the inevitable Team Ico Collection which should hopefully be released on the PS3 soon.

    HD REISSUES OF PAST GENERATION CLASSICS FTW!!!

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  9. SOC was rad, didnt finish it but got to the 6th or 7th boss out of 12 if i remember, very much looking forward to a HD reissue.

    Mass Effect has bosses that I like, quick and easy lol.

    Its true though FF has the most epic boss fights, the final boss in FF12 was a pain and I was supermaxed by that fight and still just won.

    FFX will remain my hardest though Yunalesca was a bitch!

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  10. And in response to your question from the previous blog "should I play Dragon Age?"...in short no, you would not like it, the first two hours is primarily dialogue. It definately trails at a snails pace. I am very keen for DA2 though seems interesting, going for the more ME2 approach it seems so far. They have named the characted and all dialogue is voiced, unlike origins where you have no voice just dialogue ooptions and the NPC's responses.

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  11. Thanks for the advice Rubes. With that in mind I'm going to pick up Bad Company 2 again, only $58 @ EB. I never actually played the single player and now I'm starting to feel like a complete tool. Plus I want to try the new Onslaught pack and the Vietnam pack at the end of the year.

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  12. I fell off the bandwagon with Bad Company 2, as well. It was the go-to game for a while there...but once a shooter wears out its welcome for me, I find it very hard to go back. LP2 is a different kettle of fish, but that's the exception to the rule.

    On the inbound/order list for me is Front Mission Evolved (fingers crossed, but I need my machine pornography) and Need For Speed Shift. I've got InFamous and AC2 here, so I should probably find the time to delve into them.

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  13. I was going to ask about your experience with Assassin's Creed 2 at the very least. But as above, can we assume there is no experience yet? lolololol

    I can remember always wanting to buy Front Mission 3 on PSone, it looked like Final Fantasy Tactics with robots. But being a teenager with no cash, it was either that or Vagrant Story/FF8/Smackdown/Jackie Chan Stuntmaster so it never happened.

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  14. Yeah, FM3 probably ranks as my favourite SRPG, next to Metal Gear Acid 2. Front Mission Evolved is just a third-person mecha shooter, but anything with robots like that gives me the horns.

    Played a little of AC2 last night. Lovely game! Not too far in, so impressions yet to come.

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  15. Only liked that mech sim that used to be in arcades, i think its an XBLA game now.

    I was very tempted just t o snag BFBC2 but resisted as I dont even play anything much anymore, reasons being Mass Effect, well Bioware in general and the fact i dont play much apart from a couple of hours a week. PS3 has become more of a media hub for me now than a games machine

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  16. HOpefully next PLUS update will be rad. Any news on what the next update will have?

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  17. You're thinking Virtual On? Ah, to have that on PS3...

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  18. Rubes - I wouldn't peg your hopes on the next Plus update. Unless of course you are dying to play Infamous for an hour. lolololol

    Taz - I loved the Metal Gear Ac!d games. Such a crazy mix of stealth, shooting and card games. There were some epic boss battles in those games too. lololol robot fetish.

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  19. I just purchased Dantes inferno for $28, i figure I love the book, i like god of war, combine Ill enjoy, and for 28 hopefully cant go wrong

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  20. Dante's Inferno was sixty frames a second, too, which doesn't hinder the exercise. 28 sounds about right for that title.

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  21. $28! Where from? I'll jump on that one.

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  22. Trits, just a little update, and a strange one at that. Played inFamous and AC2 a fair bit...and neither are really all that exciting for me. inFamous is kinda okay, but even then, it's not particularly enthralling. I'm really sad to find myself ho-humming about AC2, because if anything, it's a perfect stop-gap until the next Thief game. However, I'm still trying to pinpoint what exactly it is about AC2 that isn't clicking - because it damn well should be.

    Curious.

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  23. I liked inFamous for the first island, but then it all became very (VERY) samey. Assassin's Creed II, hmmmm...... how far in are you? I found it picked up after the 4th sequence (?), but regardless I loved it all with the only exception of the Desmond in the future crap.

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  24. AC2 is crap Taz its ok not to like it, AC one was so much better, at least in the story department.

    AC2 largest let down in a long time. Sadly inFamous was a let down too. Spider-man Web of shadows was far superior and it sucked lol

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  25. Christ...I sorta feel guilty for this admission. Especially with AC2...I should be lapping that up!

    I'm up to the fourth sequence, so I'll keep going.

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  26. Reuben your distaste for good games continues to amaze me! Did you actually play AC2 or were just listening to slightly hammy hybrid dialogue? AC2 was one of the better playing games of last year, even if the initial parts of the story were heavy handed.

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