Help Drew by addressing Metal Gear gameplay misconceptions

I am hoping that we can post information here, for Drew's sake, correcting misconceptions Dan and Drew have about gameplay mechanics and systems in the Metal Gear Solid series. For example, near the beginning of MGS2: Episode 1, Dan tells Drew that softly letting go of square does not prevent the firing of weapons in the PS3 version, but it DOES. There were plenty of moments like that in the first Metal Gear Scanlon. Usually they figure out their mistake, but when that revelation comes late, the damage in Drew's frustration has already been done.

What this thread is not intended to correct:

• Misconceptions about story, character, or setting
• Detrimental gameplay habits (except if it's the result of misinformation)
• Common misconceptions that they have not yet made

This is not a general tip thread. Part of what makes these features so fun are the mistakes, sometimes repeated mistakes, that are made by Drew to his chagrin. But I will not stand for the errors and sloppy play that are a direct result of inaccuracies. Let Drew's suffering for our amusement be from sucking and nothing else.

PS I do believe Drew should play through these games with as little outside help as possible, just as he would if he were playing it on release day. So please try to refrain from posting general tips. Let's subtract misinformation, not add information.

Here's an essential one: L1 will lock on to an enemy in first person view. In third person view, it will lock on and allow Snake to run and shoot.

I don't know if this was explained, or if Dan even knows about it.

An excellent tip. But considering the topic, this tip would've been better justified if Dan said, "I don't think there is any way to run while shooting in MGS2" or if Drew said, "It's a shame you can't lock on to enemies in 1st-person view". Still, this is an invaluable piece of info that's buried a few Codecs deep and easy to miss.

Protip: don't scream at your monitor.

Protip 2: don't be frustrated with how other people play games.

Other than that, good of you to catch the square button thing.

You can just run up behind a guy and hold ▢ to hold them up, then go into first person to aim. Drew tried to go into first person before holding them up, which seemed like a cumbersome way to do it.

When it comes up, and it will, I found that moving your thumb so it is half off the square button is the best way to lightly hold down the button for first person aiming with rifles. I think it's fair to share tips on actually controlling the game rather than the mechanics, as fumbling with the controls isn't fun for anybody.

Getting frustrated by how someone plays a game seems pretty silly.

This is a strategy tip. An example of what not to post. And beside the point, I don't agree with it. I often go into 1st-person first.

I would still classify this as gameplay mechanics. This tip is on topic because Dan thought the trigger button was no longer pressure-sensitive.

It is Drew's frustration I am worried about, not mine. And only the frustration caused by false information. The rest of his frustration is fine, entertaining even.

If I feel frustration from Drew's playing, it's a good kind, like the kind a sports fan might feel during a sports. When Dan gives Drew gameplay info that is incorrect, and I know that information is going to lead to Drew's needless frustration, then I get a bad kind of frustrated. That may be silly, too, but at least I've cleared up your common misinterpretation of who I am.

Unless I'm totally off-base here, I'm nearly positive that you can't obtain a lethal weapon until after the fight with Olga. Dan suggests that you can, but there's a very good reason (aside from just being a pregnant lady) why she needs to be taken down non-lethally. This is more plot-specific than anything and is sort of late at this point, but it does have to do with an incorrect statement made about the takedown methods available.

Just something that stuck out to me!

You're right; it's impossible. It is story-related like you said, but it also falls under gameplay systems. If the comment would have sent Drew on a wild goose chase that extended into next episode, a correction would have definitely been warranted.

Finishing the game is not necessary to unlock Nastasha's book In the Darkness of Shadow Moses. All you have to do is flip through all the pages of the The New York Mirror review.

I want to say that you could get the USP earlier in the MGS2 demo. Dan, like myself, probably played it a million times and that's where that came from. It's in the room where you see that guy's shadow, at the bottom end, in a locker, I think. I mean, this was 2001 or whatever.

INCREDIBLY PLEASED THIS IS THE FIRST POST

@drewbert @danryckert

can't wait till MGS3 hold down L2 and R2 brings in iron sights while holding down Square. Something like Metal Gear Online helped remember the controls a lot. Even Ground Zeroes has an odd iron sights change in controls, each game has a learning curve.

Drew needs to know that sneaking up on guys to break their necks is WAY EASIER.