In regards to the MGS series, I loved MGS but I haven't played a MGS game since the mess (IMO) that was 2.

What a great year for games! Fallout 4 has it's work cut out.

I have a solid week in playing MGSV now, and I have to say I think it beats Witcher 3.

And the Fox engine is the one to beat too! I have not encountered any bug yet in MGSV, large or small. Very good experience. Hideo Kojima is a fantastic designer.

Konami is trying to take Electronic Arts position as most hated publisher. How bad do you ding the game because of who published it?

I will be rooting for Fallout 4 - but mostly I say: What a great year for games!

Yes, it kind of svcks that this game got such nice graphic and such bad protagonist. They could have made much more money if you could choice another protagonist.

The series from MGS 1- 4 was in essence a melodrama one could play, an experience predicated on a liberal usage of cutscenes and codec calls (basically phone conversations) and plot moments.Now MGS V:TPP is an experience almost exclusively centered on gameplay and little of the story and drama that the series is vaunted for.

A typical hour in MGS 1 - 4 consists of sneaking to an objective, fighting a boss and, then a lengthy cutscene (from 5 minutes to an hour long).

While MGS V is almost exclusively confined to gameplay objectives with a tenuous narrative imperative (extract this guy, he'll be great for motherbase), and upon completion of said objectives you'll receive praise from Kaz.

Basically there's very little story and character in comparison to the earlier games, largely due to cutscenes being a sporadic experience rather than a customary one.

lol, just ignore people who disagree eh?

There have been improvements to be sure, but there have also been some major design decisions that have been a step back.

Maybe from Morrowind to Oblivion but after Oblivion (Fallout 3, Skyrim, etc) has been overall improvement and much greater/better games overall to play... That's what I mean by improvement, I wasn't talking about specific design choices but the overall games themselves being an improvement from the previous titles.

Now, specific choices? Ye'h... There are some bad choices but they don't have a huge effect as previous errors/bad choices has done, so from the looks of it... Bethesda is working on it.

being bad on one of the platforms didnt stop Skyrim from winning a GOTY award.

This is a very competitive year in which it has to compete with Metal Gear Solid: Phantom Pain and Witcher 3

Ok, i know Im not supposed to feed the trolls but where are the design decisions that have been a step back. Keep in mind this means going back to where a design was used earlier, scrapped then then used again, hence the step back.

Streamlining, or making design decisions that are not in your opinion "good" do not really count as a step back.

Yeah, to be honest the story seems really convoluted in V. I'm having a hard time following along and the pacing seems extremely weird going from cutscene to gameplay to cutscene.

I have a friend who is really into MGS and gave me the entire backstory to the MGS universe. It involves multiple heart attacks at dramatic moments, a CIA agent named "Hot Coldman", and a place called "Zanzibar Land" seceding from Russia...

Maybe it makes sense when you're heavily invested into it, like the crazier parts of TES lore, but it just seems like a giant ball of insanity that humbles even the 36 Lessons of Vivec.

MGS is only complex in the way LOST is, in that they just [censored] their way through everything to make it seem more complex then it is.

-After WW1, a group of the richest people in the U.S., China, and Russia come together to form a group, The Philosophers, that will control the world's future.
-After the founders die, the group breaks up into smaller groups each fighting each other over control of "The Legacy", a microfilm that contains the location of the group's money.
-MGS3 is a plan by the American philosophers to regain the Legacy for themselves. The plan involves The Boss, the greatest American agent, seemingly defecting to Russia, so she can get close to Colonel Volgen, who has the Legacy, and Naked Snake being sent after her, so she can pass it off to him. Snake doesn't know its all a big ruse, and honestly thinks The Boss defected until the end when EVA reveals the truth to him.
-After MGS3, Snake is given the title of Big Boss and forms an organization, The Patriots, with various people he worked with in MGS3, to try to bring about The Boss's dream of a world were soldiers no longer have to die for causes they don't believe in. However, Big Boss, Eva, and Ocelot eventually leave the group because they find Zero, Paramedic, and Sigint's methods too extreme.
-Zero has Big Boss cloned, thus creating Solid, Liquid, and Solidus Snake, in an attempt to keep an "icon" for his group.
-Peace Walker and MGS5 are about Big Boss and Zero coming into conflict as Zero tries to force Big Boss to come back to his side.
-Sometime during this, Zero creates several AI to continue his vision into the future. However, he slowly becomes a vegetable, thus allowing the AI to do whatever they want, and eventually stop following his path.
-Metal Gear 1 and 2 take place years later, and deal with Solid Snake being sent by The Patriots, though he just thinks its the government, to kill Big Boss, who was trying to take down The Patriot AIs by using Metal Gear to nuke the crap out of them.
-Metal Gear Solid 1 is about Liquid Snake trying to do the same, with Solid Snake once again being sent by The Patriots to stop Liquid. During this time, Sigint and Paramedic are killed by EVA and Ocelot, along with help from Naomi Hunter.
-Metal Gear Solid 2 is about Solidus snake trying to do the same as Liquid and Big Boss, except it all turns out to be one giant ruse by The Patriot AIs to test their SSS system, which allows them to manipulate and control the world's population, with Solidus' and Raiden's actions being one giant test to see how well they could control people. Snake and Otacon have formed thier own anti-Metal Gear/Anti-Patriot orginization between MGS1 and 2, though at this point they don't know that the Patriots are AIs, or that The Patriots are funding thier orginization as part of thier plan.

-Metal Gear Solid 4 is about Ocelot, who was on Big Boss's side the whole time, but pretended to work for the Patriot AIs, starting his own plan to take down the Patriot AIs, while using Snake to help complete his plan. In the end, the Patriot AIs are brought down via a virus Ocelot had made, and then "delivered" to Snake/Octacon via Naomi Hunter for them to complete. Big Boss shows up at the end, having been revived via body parts of Liquid and Solidus, and explains the whole thing to Solid Snake. He also reveals he used the AIs death to find Zero, and kills Zero in front of Snake, ending the whole thing as now Zero, Paramedic, Sigint, Eva, and Ocelot are dead, and he is about to die himself because of the FOXDIE virus that was put into Solid Snake.

-After MGS4, Snake dies of old age due to the advanced aging he suffers since he is a clone.

-After that Raiden goes off to do the stuff in Metal Gear Rising.

the end

I'm not a troll for one, and I don't appreciate being called one either. That was rude.

I believe there have been some improvements and some step backs with their games. This is true for all games. I'm really just stating the obvious here. One game seeks to improve on the former, and then offers a whole new set of things people don't like, depending on whom you ask. Not everyone agrees on what is a fault and what is not, what is a "step back" and what is not, but that is all opinion in any case, and better left to petty internet conversation.

I'm thinking Witcher 3 has it sewn up. Will be interesting, FO4 has a chance I'm sure as long as the game isn't broken on release or has game breaking bugs.

I need an advil after reading that. [censored] me.

Alright, but that still doesnt answer the question I proposed. What is the step back in terms of design. A step back is a definite loss in quality due to the fact they went back to a design choice that was used before. Ill give you an example of a step forward. The weapon modding system, this has not been seen in a fallout game, allows for a lot more customization and user choice and adds depth because you can choose how you want to attack a situation and gives you meaningful choice on how you want your weapon setup to be.

I think we have different connotations to that word, unless their is some official definition somewhere related to game development.

What I meant was that there are faults with their games that have continued to be faults as far as I can see them -- poor writing, undeveloped characters and storylines, no meaningful choices and consequences, a static world not responding to the characters actions, ect.

That I wont disagree with. I rarely find the main quests of any bethesda game fun, never even finished the main quest of oblivion despite putting in a couple hundred hours. But that really isnt a step back, its always been a problem with bethesda. However, if I want a great world to get lost in, Ill go with any bethesda game over anything.

As for GOTY, I feel like FO4 has it sewn up, but Ive never liked the witcher series. The combat just doesnt grab me and the world was always too cookie cutter to me, it never felt unique.

I imagine fallout 4 will be my goty, just something about bethesda titles i haven't seen a company replicate. However i love the witcher 3, and it would definitely be my second choice (unless fallout 4 is just terrible, then it would obviously be my goty).

I think the real truth of it is that no-one has anything sewn up.

• Witcher 3 has the Hearts of Stone expansion out shortly so will be fresh in minds,
• MGSV has deep enthusiasts and the game has the Kojima effect,
• Fallout 4, 7 years in the making has the potential to win, but now everything to prove.

Personally I loved The Witcher 3 and I've just downloaded MGSV (didn't play 1-4), but I'm hoping for FO4 to be awesome.

I have a feeling Metal Solid 5 will take the GOTY this year, and rightfully so. This is the final installment to a franchise many of us have grown up with. The end of a generation so to speak. It was finely crafted and well done. If Fallout 4, somehow takes the cake, then I owe everyone here a fishy stick.

Except it isn't

Konami has already said they are planning to make more Metal Gear titles.

It ostensibly is with Kojima gone, and Konami also planned to make a game called silent hills... to trust Konami is to dupe yourself

i cant said anything bad about Witcher still playing it and waiting for the DLC (hope is good)

Fallout 4 i know i been waiting for it for a long time so yeahh.

but MGS 5 good lord that game isnt a MGS i was hoping i get a good game like the old MGS but noooooo i got a horrible open world that is super bored, that after chapter 2 im force to do side missions or redo old ones with Dificulty modifiers to keep going trow the story.

MGS got alot of really devoted fan love on the website, lol u can go check a website like IGN and u can see how bad are the review of the game.

Metal Gear Pachinko.