The Official Metal Gear Solid 4 Thread Vol. Snake's Last Hurrah | It's Out | Don't Post Spoilers!

[battousai7o1]

Originally Posted by MarTdiZzle23

im gonna go wait at uniqlo tonight at 1 after I get my LE anyone else goin to uniqlo on NT??

maybe i will but honestly after i get my game... i just wanna head straight back home and play

 

[areyouin729]

I'm gonna hit up K Mart after work, they are ******ed there i'm sure I can trick an employee into getting me the game at that time

 

[theprocessofbelief]

Originally Posted by Jetpacunlimited

theprocessofbelief, NCTwin... oh yall wanna jump me now... I C how it iz....

 

[SplinterMatic319]

are there some left in walmart for the ps3 bundle?

 

[eteam o2]

u gonna wait at uniqlo @ 1am?
and stay til 5pm?

if its gonna be that serious n I have no chance of getting my copy signed then I dunnooooo
at least I hope the shirts aren't limited to those that lined up

id love to jus walk in n pick one up

 

[NCtwin]

Originally Posted by theprocessofbelief

Originally Posted by Jetpacunlimited

theprocessofbelief, NCTwin... oh yall wanna jump me now... I C how it iz....

You didn't know it was Gang up on Jetpac Day¿

You know you're good. I'm just ready to play already!!

I hope you guys who did the beta remembered your Konami and Game IDs because you will be using them again for MGO...

 

[null snake]

My god....I don't want to spoil...but my god...

 

[kal ripped ken]

the walmart and gamestop here won't have it available til 8 am tomorrow

talk about WHACK

 

[cwrite78]

my gamestop is having a midnight release.. not bothering to go because i dont even have a ps3 yet

plus i have mine reserved so i can go later on

 

[akf0dy7]

Anyone think this game is going to sell out at best buy or Wal-mart? I was thinking no, because Halo didn't sell out and Halo's fan base is craaazy.I'm just trying to determine if I need take off from work early. lol

 

[kingofny04]

Originally Posted by GrizztheBoss

just picked up the game today its pretty cool

Snake on a Joint

 

[NCtwin]

Just a heads up, Best Buy is matching the Wal-Mart $100 gift card deal.

From 1UP:

[h2]A Chat with MGS Composer Harry Gregson-Williams
[/h2]We interview the man behind the music of the Metal Gear Solid series.

There's no question the Metal Gear Solid series has continuously set new standards for cinematic and storytelling qualities in gaming, and a large part of that is due to the uniformly fantastic musical scores each game has received. Composer Harry Gregson-Williams has been responsible for the scores to each game since Metal Gear Solid 2. Even if his name isn't immediately familiar, you've surely heard his work in a movie theater at some point -- Gregson-Williams wrote or contributed to the scores for such films as both Chronicles of Narnia movies, Gone Baby Gone, Kingdom of Heaven, and Team America: World Police, among many others.
On the eve of the launch of the latest (and, for Solid Snake, possibly last) game in the series, we had a chance to chat with Gregson-Williams on a wide variety of topics regarding his work on the series, including how he hooked up with Hideo Kojima, how the process of writing the music has evolved over the years, and even -- gasp! -- a few rumblings about the Metal Gear Solid film adaptation. Read on, stalwart fans, and take comfort in knowing Metal Gear Solid 4 is almost in your hands.

Also, as bonus listening while you read the interview, Konami gave 1UP this exclusive track from Metal Gear Solid 4, titled "Love Theme."

1UP: I'm sure you get this question every interview, but for those who may not know, could you talk about how you got involved working with Hideo Kojima and Konami on the Metal Gear Solid series?

Harry Gregson-Williams: I didn't work on the first one, as you know, but it kind of cropped up out of the blue. Hideo sent me a CD which he had compiled, with a few of my queues from sort of "blockbustery" type action movies that I either did the score for or contributed to. For instance, Armageddon, The Rock, and The Replacement Killers. He just kind of picked out a style and a sound that he really wanted to have on his game. So I mean, flattery will get you everywhere. [Laughs.] And it seemed like a great opportunity to try my hand at it -- I'd never done music for a videogame, so that was another reason it was interesting to me.

1UP: Were you at all familiar with the Metal Gear series before jumping on board?

HGW: Nope, not at all. Obviously I went out and started getting familiar with it. But as time has gone by and the series has evolved, our working process has changed a bit. On the first game I did, it was pretty hit and miss I think. [Laughs.] Hideo was in Japan and I was out in Los Angeles. But I think we've got a fuller understanding of how to actually put it all together now.

1UP: You've mentioned in interviews before that you sort of fell into scoring films "accidentally," that you never really planned to make a career out of it. Where does scoring games fit into that conception of your career?

HGW: Well by the time Metal Gear Solid 2 came to me, I'd been working away as a film composer for many days and nights, and it just seemed like an extension of what I was doing. The opportunity seemed like a great one, especially to work with Hideo. I did my research on him, and he was obviously a really smart, interesting guy. But we've always had to converse through a translator, obviously, since his English is about as rotten as my Japanese.

1UP: So how did that work for you, having to deal with a translator? Does it make it tougher?

HGW: Yeah. I mean, obviously we're in different countries as well. On MGS4, we did quite a lot of video conferencing -- I would send him music, and he would receive it and his engineers would line it up and play it as I was talking with him, and he would give me his comments straight away. So it was kind of a first-person thing, rather than getting an email from somebody who's translated something he's said. He would be sitting there listening to the music, and I would get his comments immediately -- I could actually see him physically. Although obviously, there was someone there translating.

It was more refined than when we first started on Metal Gear Solid 2. On MGS2, I actually didn't meet him until the very end, I think. We maybe did some press together after I had done the music. But I've gotten to know him a bit better now, and on this one, he was in Los Angeles quite frequently, several times during the making of the game, which was great. I could actually have him in my studio and really nail it down.

1UP: I read that for creating the score for Metal Gear Solid 2, you were given detailed descriptions of scenes and situations, but you never actually saw the game as you were writing. Was it still the same for MGS4?

HGW: Well as I said, it's evolved slightly. The descriptions were much fuller, and he would actually send me footage as it got done -- not with my music already in it, but to give me an idea of what a certain character or a certain situation would look like, and I never got that on the first game that I did. So the working process has definitely evolved a bit, and it's more conducive to us understanding what each other wants.

​

1UP: How does writing a score for a game differ from a movie? I may be mistaken, but usually with a movie you see a first cut before you start writing, correct?

HGW: Yeah. For instance, I've just started working on...I think it's my eighth movie with [director] Tony Scott, and yeah, Tony hasn't even finished shooting and I've got what we call a first assembly. Lots of scenes are missing, and even the scenes that are there are probably a bit long and clunky, but the earlier you start in this process, the better chance you've got of getting it right.

The music for the Metal Gear games has always taken quite a long time, though. Not necessarily because the music was taking a long time to write, but because it's spread out over a year. For this one, I would do a little bit of work, then it would go quiet from Japan for a few months, then they'd get back to me -- they'd kind of be playing catch-up, since they'd be on to the next thing. Then they'd send me a little bit of footage, more descriptions, and I'd start chiseling away. Then in the middle of that there would be E3, and Hideo would bring a trailer to show people, and we'd get to meet. That'd be halfway through the "trip", as it were, so it'd be on-off-on-off. I guess it's just because it takes such a massive amount of time to make this game.

1UP: Yeah, it's been about four years now since Metal Gear Solid 3.

HGW: Exactly. My starting point is usually his descriptions -- usually we've had a really good chat about the environment, and that's something that's changed over the three games. The geographical environment has changed, and therefore what we're going to do with the music has changed also.

On MGS3, it kind of surprised me -- Hideo was really, really keen for me not to be too "jungley." And he's never been keen for me to go too ethnic. Say we're in Russia, or wherever we are, he doesn't want me to assign places too much to the music, but more to be the engine that moves things along.

1UP: Metal Gear is a very cinematic game, as most games go. Is there a different method behind writing the music for the cut-scenes as opposed to the more ambient music that plays during gameplay?

HGW: With the cut-scenes, it's very much like writing a queue for a movie. That would be my modus operandi, anyhow. With a movie, I've got a screen running in the background the whole time, so I'm in sync with it, experimenting different things with different cuts. But clearly with the more ambient stuff that they're going to loop in the background, those are the ones that have really been done with these descriptive notes.

1UP: Does that make it more difficult? With a game, you really don't know what a gamer will be doing at any time, what will actually be on-screen.

HGW: That end of it is not my concern and never has been. How my music ends up in the game and how it changes with what the player is doing -- that's somebody else doing that, technically. I don't even begin to understand how that works in the game. But my job is to provide enough music so that if a gamer does go down a certain path and takes that extreme, there's enough there so that if something's going to change, the atmosphere of the music changes as the gamer makes the decision. But that actual physical thing of transitioning from one thing to another is not something that I've ever had to look after. Which is good, because I'd actually have no idea how to do it. [Laughs.]

[NOTE: No real spoilers here, per se, but very vague discussions of MGS4's ending follow. Skip to the next note if you want to play it safe.]

1UP: MGS4 is being set up as Solid Snake's final mission, the conclusion of his story. Did the finality of that influence your work?

HGW: Yes, certainly the final themes. I don't know how long it'll take you to get to the end, but when you do get to the end, you'll see it is pretty much an end. It's quite emotional, I think. I haven't played the finished game yet, but I know what Hideo wanted me to try and achieve with the music, in the last sort of ten minutes of the game. And I had quite a few visuals for that. He'd send me renders of what was going to actually happen. And in the story, what was actually going to happen was made quite clear to me.

[NOTE: Spoiler-%+* stuff over -- read on safely.]

1UP: If there are any more MGS games -- and Konami has already basically confirmed there will be -- would you be interested in returning to the series again?

HGW: I'd think so, if Hideo were at the helm.

1UP: Well he's mentioned before, multiple times, that he wouldn't be back for a sequel.

HGW: I think that would be the only condition, if Hideo was there and wanted me to. It's rather like with the Chronicles of Narnia films, which I've been very fortunate to do. I haven't been asked to do the third one, simply because it'll be with a different director who I don't have a relationship with, and that director has his own composer. But having said that, similarly, if [current Narnia director] Andrew Adamson was asked to do the fourth or the fifth, and he asked me to come back, I'd definitely do it.

1UP: You've also done some compositions for Call of Duty 4, which covers some of the same themes of modern war as the Metal Gear series. How did that experience differ?

HGW: They're quite different games, actually. As you said, Metal Gear is quite cinematic. It's a story. The journey that it wants to take you on is cinematic and far-reaching. Call of Duty 4 is more of one of those realistic games, so quite often it wasn't the job of the score to heighten reality, if you know what I mean. To slightly falsify tension or emotions. Because that was the whole thing about it -- you wanted to really feel this was what it was.

1UP: Are you interested in expanding your work in the videogames industry to other series?

HGW: I see myself being pretty busy until next summer, but in the future if an opportunity comes up... it's all really about being stimulated and excited. I mean, no one wants to do the same twice, so there's got to be a good reason to stretch oneself musically. That's the starting point for me. And if the game developer seems interesting and up for it, then yeah, I don't see why not.

1UP: Speaking of adding variety to your work, MGS3 was interesting in that it's set during the Cold War. Was that particularly exciting to work on, being able to bring in those historical themes to the music?

HGW: Yeah, I enjoyed that a lot. I enjoyed the setting as well. But you know, they're all different. When I look back to MGS2, 3, and now 4.... 4 is significantly different as well, as you'll see. I don't think Hideo stands still. The series seems to have developed extraordinarily. If you think about it, there's really only been four games, but it's been what, ten years? And it could have stagnated, but he hasn't allowed it to at all.

1UP: It was announced a couple of years back that Metal Gear Solid would be adapted into a film.

HGW: Whenever I had Hideo in my studio, I was always like, "Hey, I bet I know why you're over in Hollywood right now." [Laughs.] He's very cagey about it. He was actually here about two or three weeks ago. It was more of a special visit because I had finished the music, and he had finished the game, and he came and signed one of the posters for me. And I asked him, "I bet you're taking meetings up the road in Hollywood?" He had a smile on his face, but he wasn't telling me anything. [Laughs.]

1UP: So is that something you'd want to work with him on?

HGW: Oh yeah, that's why I told him. I said I'd be right pissed if he didn't consider me. [laughs].

1UP: A lot of fans would probably be pissed, too. So are you much of a gamer yourself?

HGW: A little bit, yeah. The more and more that I've had something to do with them, the more and more I've explored them. But I wouldn't say I spend too much time doing that. I spend an awful lot of time in my studio with computers working on music, so it might feel a bit unnatural to go home and, you know, sit right back in front of a computer. But I've taken more of an interest since I've been involved; it does fascinate me.

1UP: Lastly, it's a topic that's sort of been beaten to death over the last couple years, but since you've had such extensive experience both working on movies and on games, I'm curious about what your thoughts are on the whole games as art debate. Do you consider them already as an artistic medium, or if not, do you think they're capable of achieving that status?

HGW: I dunno, I mean...there's an awful lot of crap out there in movie theaters, for God's sake. I think to say movies are art and games are not is such a huge generalization, isn't it? A Stanley Kubrick film you could say is art, but some of the nonsense you see at your local Cineplex you couldn't call art. I think it's similar with games. I honestly think that Hideo is an artist and a bit of a visionary. I think he expects anybody that's working with him to treat his games as though they are art, and give them the respect that they should have.

But in general, I really don't know. There's so much in gaming that I have no idea about what it is or who plays it. I can only tell you from my point of view, which is pretty limited -- it's only the three Metal Gears that I've done and Call of Duty, but yeah, definitely there's an artist at work there.

1UP: And it just so happens those are some of the best games to have come out in recent years.

HGW: I think that's why I can't really comment on it. I've been fortunate to at least have had a look at the top end of this thing. I'm sure there's a lot of drivel out there as well, as with everything. It's a little bit of standing on your high horse, isn't it? I mean, I can imagine some people have a really compelling argument for and against that question, but I'm afraid I can't enlighten you any further. [Laughs.]

1UP: And maybe that on its own is enough to say it is art, that you can formulate that kind of debate around it?
HGW: Yeah, absolutely -- we care enough to want to think about it.

 

[23mcpizzle23]

As soon as i finish my final 2marrow im going to cop!!!

 

[03silverbullet]

is that "j" for medicinal purposes?

 

[iheartboost]

Originally Posted by GrizztheBoss

just picked up the game today its pretty cool

Son of a *#%#+,

 

[moneystackz]

I'm kinda surprised the hype isnt as big when Halo 3 dropped or when GTA IV (even tho the reason for that was cuz it was on both consoles) came out.

Is it really necessary to play MGS 3 before playing this?

Cuz i have MGS 1 and 2 and have it beat but slacked off on 3

Either way, I will be copping tomorrow

 

[NCtwin]

Originally Posted by MoneyStackz

I'm kinda surprised the hype isnt as big when Halo 3 dropped or when GTA IV (even tho the reason for that was cuz it was on both consoles) came out.

Is it really necessary to play MGS 3 before playing this?

Cuz i have MGS 1 and 2 and have it beat but slacked off on 3

Either way, I will be copping tomorrow

You don't need to play it in order to know what's going on, but it's still a great game that you should check out. At least play until youfight The End. It has to be one of the greatest boss battles ever.

 

[karebare518]

I just called my local Walmart and they said that the $100 rebate is only for the 40gb PS3 and not the 80gb. Anyone else having this problem????

 

[jayadict92]

im at the midnight release at a gamestop in north attleboro, ma. man, camping out for games is easy after having been in huge lines for sneakers.

 

[da xplicit one]

midnight is cancelled in omaha due to tornados and thundestorms, lol.

 

[mannish man]

The Associated Press is reporting that Konami is canceling its Metal Gear Solid 4 launch events after a deadly stabbing rampage. Tomohiro Kato, a 25-year-old factory worker, carried two knives on him when he was arrested. Kato used one knife to stab more than dozen people in Tokyo's Akihabara district, a popular destination for manga, anime and video games.

Kato began his rampage by crashing a rental truck into a group of pedestrians, killing three. He then jumped out of the truck and started slashing through the crowd, killing four and injuring ten.

Konami has canceled three launch events for Metal Gear Solid 4 in Tokyo, including a scheduled event in Akihabara. Konami stated the cancellation is for the "safety of participants." Other launch events in the US will be unaffected.

 

[da infamous jay]

I'm at the line for the virgin megastore release. The line is bananas. The first guy on line camped there at around 10:00am I don't care about theautograph. I just want a damn copy.

 

[NCtwin]

Originally Posted by Mannish Man

The Associated Press is reporting that Konami is canceling its Metal Gear Solid 4 launch events after a deadly stabbing rampage. Tomohiro Kato, a 25-year-old factory worker, carried two knives on him when he was arrested. Kato used one knife to stab more than dozen people in Tokyo's Akihabara district, a popular destination for manga, anime and video games.

Kato began his rampage by crashing a rental truck into a group of pedestrians, killing three. He then jumped out of the truck and started slashing through the crowd, killing four and injuring ten.

Konami has canceled three launch events for Metal Gear Solid 4 in Tokyo, including a scheduled event in Akihabara. Konami stated the cancellation is for the "safety of participants." Other launch events in the US will be unaffected.

That's crazy!!

RIP to those people.

 

[T0INE]

Originally Posted by Mannish Man

The Associated Press is reporting that Konami is canceling its Metal Gear Solid 4 launch events after a deadly stabbing rampage. Tomohiro Kato, a 25-year-old factory worker, carried two knives on him when he was arrested. Kato used one knife to stab more than dozen people in Tokyo's Akihabara district, a popular destination for manga, anime and video games.

Kato began his rampage by crashing a rental truck into a group of pedestrians, killing three. He then jumped out of the truck and started slashing through the crowd, killing four and injuring ten.

Konami has canceled three launch events for Metal Gear Solid 4 in Tokyo, including a scheduled event in Akihabara. Konami stated the cancellation is for the "safety of participants." Other launch events in the US will be unaffected.

R.I.P. to those people.

I preordered MGS4 from amazon, but cancelled my order yesterday.

I'm taking the CPA Exam in August so my PS3 is gonna be collecting dust for a while.

Enjoy the game fellas, I'll probably get it after my exam.

 

[dnaisdaillest]

ya'll lucky my damn gamestop doesnt open til 10am tomorrow. ill have to cop after work. oh also bay area heads kojima will be at the metreon on june 14thjust got the email.