Metal Gear Scanlon: 2 - Part 06

I just noticed something: Dan and Drew's boxes in this video aren't blocking anything in the game. When Drew holds the weapon/item select button the shot of Dan or Drew's face is just clear of the box that shows what weapon or item they're on. Way to go, Justin!

But you at least agree that on your first playthrough it is a useless mechanic.

Next time Fatman. It's going to get really interesting. Someone want to bet on how many deaths we are going to see?

Also that scene where Raiden accidentally shoots Vamp in the head is one of my favourite scenes in any MGS game. It's just so random and hilarious.

@cooljammer00 said:

I know they talked about True Lies in this episode. Look for 80s stuff with Kurt Russell or Arnold the governor. Escape from LA, the Terminator movies, things like that?

Holy shit that box moment was so great. Easily my favourite highlight of Metal Gear Scanlon 2 so far. Keep it up Drew, ace job this episode!

@kevin_cogneto: In the same way that shooting them is also useless because you can just sneak by them, sure.

@kasaioni: Now you're just being silly. Obviously shooting guys benefits the player because a dead/sleeping guard cannot raise an alarm. Just because you can sneak past them without shooting them doesn't mean there's no benefit to doing so. There is absolutely zero benefit to holding up the guards.

Look, I think this game has a lot of cool stuff in it, it just needs to give you a reason to use all of it. Make a section where you need to hold up a guard to get a password or something, make a section where you have to sneak by without tranquilizing or killing anyone. Show off your damn mechanics, Metal Gear Solid 2! Because if you don't have a reason to use them, they might as well not be there, and that problem is at the very core of what's wrong with this game.

@kevin_cogneto: Well if that's the reasoning then I don't see any reason for the hold up mechanic in the entire series. Might as well take it out of every game, I'm sure that would make the games more enjoyable.

Metal Gear has a lot of mechanics that you don't need to use if you objective is just to complete the game. You don't need the three-hit combo in any of the games, you don't need camo in MGS3 onwards, you don't need 90% of the weapons or equipment, you don't need the 3D camera in MGS3, you don't need to crack necks in MGS1, you don't need the box in any of them. But, like holding up enemies, these features and mechanics give the gameplay in all the games more depth, replay-ability, and make them more enjoyable.

I wouldn't like MGS2 as much as the next person if I only played the core story once; if I didn't play the VR missions, Sake Tales, or play the game on the highest difficulty. And there are times in VR missions (aside from the mission specific ones), Snake Tales, and Extreme where holding enemies up is very useful and may be the best choice. Especially in those situations where you are caught in a very enclosed area and holding the enemy up is the quicker and more efficient way to immobilize them rather than trying to tranq them.

If you want to criticize MGS2 for having mechanics that you don't absolutely need to use to complete the game, then at least apply that criticism to the entire series.

@kevin_cogneto I'm really with @kasaioni on this. If all you want to do is beat the game, sure, you can cheese it with the tranq pistol, and you don't need most of the other items that they give you. But everyone has their own play style, and MGS games generally enable multiple paths of attack for multiple people. I love watching blind Let's Plays because I see people rely heavily on tactics that I personally never gave a second thought to, and meanwhile completely ignore my favorite tactics.

I also love using the games as a playground for seeing how all of my different items affect guards and bosses in different ways. If you don't like the extra items and just want to keep it simple, nobody's making you use them... but the option is there for those who like a more playful style.

Hold L1 and square while moving to keep your weapon aimed as you run.

Beyond ambition, on the pure moment to moment gameplay this game is fucking terrible. I'm "good" at video games but this series just completely lost me at MGS2. So god damn fiddly compared to MGS1, and MGS3 just went further down that route. Can't help but wonder if Drew really regrets getting in on this one, there is a LOT of game to go.

With all the talk about Dan watchin Akira, I was wondering wich dub he would have seen, the old vhs dub had Cam Clarke aka James Flinders as voice actor for kaneda.

@danryckert oh, I've forgotten which episode this was mentioned on, but you can totally play through this game, when you bought it on PS2, without ever playing the Tanker-sequence, if you chose the shitty answers in the beginning menus. I did this when I got the game on release day. Doubled the punch of Snake not being the lead when it turned out you never even played as him.

Imagine my surprise when I eventually punched up the difficulty on the second playthrough and discovered... what, a whole new fifth of the game I had never seen?

Try holding square pushing forward on the analogue stick then hold cross to run with your gun out. Useful for some battles you get into.

Drew, I hope u see this in time, when ur spotted immediately leave the room and it cuts the conversation and its like u have not spotted. Im a verteran and this technique is used often used this is a game changer. @drewbert

@danryckert

So when your spotted by the enemy u have two options , leave the room WHILE THEIR CONTACTING BACK UP just leave its stops the whole alarm. Or just run up to him while he is contacting back up and use the 3 punch combo its stop the conversation and gives you time to leave. This cuts the game in half. CANT WAIT FOR SNAKE EATER!!!!

Also the key to aiming and holding up an enemy properly. You can enter first person mode aim but then you click the THE LEFT STICK to lower you weapon without firing I see you do this and I understand it can be frustrating. You can then enter first person and use the clicking left stick motion to not shot him.

Now,holding up an enemy (without first person **this is useful**) when behind or beside them no hesitation and run up to them and press press square this holds up the enemy. The key is not to release the square button and this allows the player to move in front of the enemy while aiming this is very useful. I beat the game very quickly using these methods. You can also use the left stick click to lower your weapon in third person. If you use this method you should hold up everyone without a problem. @drewbert@danryckert

Hating Raiden is still a thing 12 years later? I thought people would be over the whole not playing as Snake twist by now. Meh, whatever I've always liked Raiden.

I haven't played any of the MGS games, so I don't have any particular love for Snake, but good god, that terrible voice acting alone is a good enough reason to not like Raiden, even without having played the game.

new ep. 2day?

I hope @drewbert you saw my post earlier. This method of leaving once your spotted does work with the HD collection I use it often and makes the game difficulty drop substantially I have beaten the plant in about 3 to 5 hours using these tips and tricks I have posted earlier. I hope you take this into consideration I scream at the screen sometimes but I do understand this is your first time lol. I love this show I watch it and cant wait for SNAKE EATER which is the BEST IN THE SERIES. These tips should also work in Snake Eater @danryckert

I understand, peoples hate for Raiden as oppose to the bad ass of Solid Snake.It is for story telling reasons and it works perfectly. I will not spoil but in the end it works out great. He suppose to sound and act like a rookie he does it. In other words he was desighned not to be like more then Snake. So if you do not like Raiden you are probably the same group who love him in MGS4

Watching this just reminds me how much I loath Metal Gear games and Kojima.

FYI, guys, you can drop bodies off of ledges if you just let go of them while they are facing the ledge.

The codec conversations with what's her name are maybe the worst things I've ever seen. It's almost unbearable, make it stop.

Yea going from Snake talking to Raiden talking all the time is a huge step down, and fuck me Rose is literally some of the worst written/VO I have Ever heard for something trying to be dramatic.

Priority my Butt!

I can sort of understand why people do not like Raiden.

He's an idiot.

@burgavo: For me it's not about Raiden not being Snake, it's about him being a whiny baby. This series has been my only real interaction with this series other than my few hours with MGS3. I'm really enjoying it, whiny baby Raiden included.

Such skill. I am impressed. Way to go @Drewbert.

Every time Dan remembers something that's about to happen his face gets filled with such glee. It's hilarious.

God that Rose and Jack stuff got fucking boring in this game.

Jason is Mei Ling.

That successful use of the cardboard box was awesome.

THAT BOX THO!

Possibly the best opening 5 minutes of any video GB has produced, ever.

His voice is also incredibly grating. Luckily he gets redemption in later MGS games.

Metal Gear Scanlon 2 - Part 07 LINK

Drew exhibiting some true box mastery in this episode.

From minute 27 on, this becomes the best episode of this ENTIRE series. Ah thank you!

As in, I'm totally into it.

Controversial opinion: I actually like the conversations between Raiden and Rosemary, at least what I've seen so far (never played MGS 2 myself). They're frankly only a little more awkward than any of the other weird conversations in this series, like Mei Ling offering Snake tidbits of Chinese philosophy in the middle of a mission in the first game, Para-Medic's obsession with movies in MGS 3, or Drebin's 'Tragic Backstory Theatre' moments whenever you defeat a member of the Beauty and the Beast Unit in MGS 4. At the same time, the exchanges between Rose and Jack are just bizarre and out-of-place enough to hit the same relationships-on-the-battlefield stuff that the animes I used to watch back in the day had, and which were so strangely compelling to me at the time.

That all being said, here's a link to Metal Gear Scanlon 2: Sons of Drewberty Part 7, since there isn't one on this first page of comments.

Dan Ry-den

One thing I've always liked about MGS 2 is the jazz music that's interspersed throughout. It's sounds like an Asian take on New York jazz. Kinda reminds me too of the jazz scene at the beginning of Hard Boiled.

Do people hate raiden so much because he's a representation of the player?

daddy's got his mojo back

I feel like someone made a bet with Kojima that he couldn't write a worse female character/romance in MGS2 than in MGS1 and then Kojima created Rose/Raiden and won a dollar.

how did drew play an entire metal gear solid game and 6 hours of mgs2 and still not realize that when you save, it doesnt save anything you do after entering the current room?

Great episode

Give that box a promotion.

On the topic of Raiden, he sucks in this game, but man I really liked him in MGS4 and his solo game. He’s been through some shit by that point.

Also his voice actor is better in those games