Head to Head: MGS vs Splinter Cell
September 4th, 2009 | 
Author: 
I have feeling I’m not going to win this head to head, but whatever, we’re all about opinion on this site and I’m going to put myself out there anyway. I am a self-confessed fan of stealth games, however one of the major stealth-based franchises you’d automatically think I’d adore because of that statement, I can safely say I don’t. I’m talking of course about Metal Gear Solid, and this week’s head to head came about during a discussion with our very own Shaquil, who told me he couldn’t believe for a second that I put it well behind Ubisoft’s Splinter Cell series. It’s true, I have come to really dislike the MGS series over the years. Now before all the PS3/MGS fanboys start flaming and giving me hell, please let me explain.
Not that I should feel I have to dignify any shouts of ‘fanboy’, the first accusation about being an ‘Xbot’ can be dismissed; I have a shiny new PS3 slim sat proudly next to my 360 as I type this, and yet MGS4 sits very much at the bottom of my want list, though I will probably give it a rent at some point. That’s right; I haven’t yet played it and therefore have no right to comment on it. Nor do I have much interest in it doing so. Sure, it might prove to be an amazing game; I’m objective enough to recognise any titles merits and faults, even in games I adore. No, my problem with Solid Snake began waaaaaay back before MGS4 was even a twinkle in Kojima’s eye. When the first MGS title appearing the PSOne, I loved it, and that’s the only iteration in the series you’ll find me say that about. It was way ahead of its time, had a brilliant story and some of the action was incredible. I still love this game; even now I still own and love the remake on the Gamecube. So where did the wheels begin to fall off?
Sadly to say, that was with MGS2. After a suitably impressive opening sequence, the prospect of playing as Snake was cruelly snatched from my hands as we were offered a paltry ‘hero’ that even other characters in the game thought was female. That was the first warning sign. What followed next was a playable game, but with it came an unintelligible mess of a storyline. Disappointed, that didn’t stop me from eagerly anticipating MGS3, and when it came I spent half of the game feebly trying to convince myself I was having a jolly good time before accepting that the game was just an abortion, and I gave up on it. The story over all of those three games was a complete and utter disaster. Even people now who argue to me that there’s all kinds of websites that help you tie it all together, I have to think that Kojima should be feeling very ashamed of himself if people have to double check exactly what it is he’s trying to tell us, because it’s not a sign of good story telling. It’s not even as if the story is up for interpretation, it just ends up that way because it’s impossible to understand every facet first time around.
That said, even if I had thoroughly enjoyed all of my MGS experiences, I would still be firmly in the Splinter Cell camp. If I was to tell you I prefer hardcore shooters like GRAW to the vastly more popular Call of Duty’s or Halos of the world, you would probably get an idea of what I like from gameplay and storyline; a bit of realism. That’s not to say I don’t like those other games, hell, I like Halo 3 as much as the next man, but I know what I prefer. So using that as a basis for my argument, putting Splinter Cell up against MGS to me is like comparing The Godfather with Roger Rabbit. I mean, how many spies in real-life do you think hide in cardboard boxes that fit in their pockets? That constitutes as stealth apparently.
To me the Splinter Cell games have the edge; they have a harder but believable storyline, far more urgency and a focus on remaining invisible; that is exactly what a stealth game should be. There are moments in the Splinter Cell games that are so tense that MGS can’t begin to touch it. For example in Double Agent, cracking a safe to steal plans while the owners are sat unsuspecting in the next room and could walk in any minute. MGS has none of this. That’s not to say that it can’t still be a fun game, but personally the general quality of the series has definitely shifted downwards in my opinion.
I’m going leave you guys to tell me what you think now, and I’ll be honest; I’m expecting a backlash. I am however, going to depart with a pretty exaggerated statement that I read on one of the major UK games websites, but in my experience even the most hardened of MGS fans will crack a little smile to it; ‘MGS is nothing but Pacman with cut-scenes’. Seriously, think about it… it’s true!
Hate me and hit me with it guys.
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Guess it’s me to start…
Metal Gear is not purely a stealth game however it does have stealth elements. This gives you the choice you can stealthily take down your enemies or you can run in all guns blazing depending how the mood takes you.
In my opinion games that are strictly stealth based are just plain boring. Realism is fun to an extent as we see in driving games also. Would you rather play on a driving simulator in a VW Polo that tops out at 100mph or burn up the streets in a Ferrari that dose more than double the speed with the ability to go sideways at will? I prefer NFS over GT for that reason. Same goes for this you can have too much of a good thing.
I played the first Splinter Cell reached a certain point got a bit stuck and lost interest incredibly quickly.
I believe the cardboard box thing is a bit of a joke. MGS isn’t a realistic game at all if you think about it – You don’t heal yourself by eating food, an arm cannot alter your personality and nor can you engage in a phone conversation that stops time. There’s a million other things but it’s just not important when the game is so much fun.
As for the story line it’s a bit of a mess but I can’t help but like it there’s just so many elements to discover. Snake is so much more of a likable character compared to Sam Fisher. If I’d played SPlinter C
While splinter cell games are good the daddy of stealth is Snake
Thats the biggest load of crap thats ever been said. MGS… Stealth… complete rubbish. MGS is a good game if you ignore the cutscenes, story and political statements. Is it a stealth game? NO! Tactical? NO! The only thing that MGS is the daddy of the most confusing storyline in the history of gaming.
Prefer splinter cell as you ‘actually’ have to hide and be tactical when going through the levels. As opposed to MGS where you just run around and kill people.
Well you obviously did not play MGS right then did ya
MGS is far better than Splinter Cell. No offence to Tom Clancy. And yes Simon, you didn’t play MGS. In MGS4 you can actually go and shoot everyone in your sight or just make your tactic and get through the game without being spotted, but you being such a MS fan, you can’t find the difference. Sorry.
You’re all looking at this in the wrong light if its a steath game then thats what it should be or if its a shooter then its a shooter not a steath game thats actually a shooter. The biggest issue is that if you are seen you can run and hide or kill everything, that is where the bad design comes in, you make a mistake but it don’t matter because you have choice of what to do and you aren’t penalised for it. You don’t need tactics for metal gear at all. I have played all the MGS except for 4 which hasn’t appealed to me in the slightest but I will get around to it eventually. As I also stated they are good games but they aren’t really tactical. By far the best is the PS1 MGS to which I have had well over 400+ hours on.
The other thing that is annoying about them is that they haven’t upgraded the format (except for the first person shooting added in one of the later games). They are constantly trying to create the same experience that the original MGS brought. What they should be doing is creating a new experience and upgrading accordingly making it a better experience.
Lets move on to the story, well in 1965 there was a….(20 minutes later) nuclear… (10 more minutes)150,000 people killed…
That’s just the history lesson. The story is very random and so confusing that there was a book written just to clarify a few things… like the whole of the story.
So who are you a fan of is another thing Snake obviously. Is it Solid Snake or Naked Snake. Who is good and who is bad? Big Boss is apparently the antagonist in the first game (Naked Snake, the hero in a majority of the games). So is he good bad or indifferent? Sorry but MAKE YOUR MIND UP!!
I voted Splinter Cell cause it is what it says on the tin, you don’t deviate and you cant go in guns blazing. You have to be logical and explore your surroundings and take your time. You cant play it like you would if it was MGS. They also improve the gameplay and add new things to it and have a very straight forward plot that isn’t like the likes of MGS.
In all fairness the modern day MGS is in a category of its own its a stealth shooter with more emphasis on the shooting than the stealth which has just been made into a running joke. For a game that brings to light serious political issues and warnings its not taken serous because of the piss taking that they present in the gameplay
Splinter Cell is a hardcore stealth game that abuses you like fuck if you get caught and that’s what makes it a better game. The story is good and still puts the same points across that MGS does but they don’t over-think it and add the 8hrs history lesson on munitions productions and mishaps. Its a lot more grittier than MGS.
They are both equally good games and I would recommend playing at least one of them on both accounts but for me I prefer Splinter Cell.
This debate is awesome, can’t wait to see Shaq get in on it!
Well, first and foremost, I don’t think it wise to enter an arguement between which is better at such a biased standpoint, Simon. OBVIOUSLY you’ve never even given the game’s story the slightest bit of respect, seeing as the difference between Naked Snake and Solid Snake is made painfully clear in the ONLY SINGLE GAME where Naked Snake appears (MGS 3). In fact, Hideo described MGS3 as a prequel in which you’d play as Big Boss before he was Big Boss. Anyway, no more fan-talk.
You also obviously have neglected to play all of the games in full, as each game re-invents the gameplay of the series EVERY SINGLE TIME starting with MGS2. And that’s a fact, not an opinion.
Snake is a dynamic, cool, and unique character. Sam Fisher is Jack Bauer, James Bond, and Jason Bourne after 30 years of re-runs. He’s done. A grizzled vet on the edge looking for revenge? If that’s a unique and interesting storyline, I need formal training in distinguishing the two.
And really I’ll just end this post before it becomes an article itself. I wish Andy had made this article into two short ones in which we argue both cases, sorta like in court. Ah well.
And, sorry for the double post, but just because you play a game on Very Easy or Easy and run through it doesn’t mean it’s not a stealth game. It just means you’ve chosen difficulties so pathetic the game could only make it easier for you if they gave you god-like attributes. MGS is hardcore stealth. Memorizing patterns, using the elements; I’d rather be shooting out cameras and tossing chaff grenades than watching my character as he hacks into computers for fifteen minutes.
Sorry Shaq, those things you’ve mentioned don’t make me think stealth. They’re are part and parcel of a lot of shooters these days.
Splinter Cell is hardcore stealth to me. Not MGS’s cartoon approach to proceedings.
As for Snake being a better character? That’s debatable. I have no empathy for Snake because for most part, him and his comrades are hammy as hell. It’s almost a comedy to me. Such as the speccy freak crying like a baby because Sniper Wolf bit the bullet in the first one.
Secondly Shaq, the story. It’s a convoluted mess. Cinematic camera work in cut-scenes does not good writing make. It’s poorly written.
You dont know me well, i dont do easy.. hardcore all the way baby
MGS is NOT HARDCORE. There is more Hard Core in a soft porn movie than there is in that game. Even on hardcore you still don’t need stealth. Come to England and I will show you how to play the game as it seems you don’t know
Right let me clarify something… I have played and completed all the MGS games (except for MGS4) more than once including the PSP games.
Secondly Splinter Cell’s Sam Fisher was in no way shape or form even related to James Bond, Jack Bauer or Jason Bourne. For one thing it came out way before 24 did
The games style was influenced by MGS (the first one), Tenchu and Thief: The Dark Project.
As for the storyline lets get one thing clear Tom Clancy wrote the very popular books that later became some of his games and lets face it, his way of story telling beats Kojima’s story telling hands down. Metal Gear Solid is whats known as the clusterfuck of story telling and you would get more sense and logic out of a 1 year old baby than you would from that story line.
MGS has improved each time, Splinter Cell has declined rapidly and the new one looks a bit like a version of Assassins Creed.
MGS4 itself is the greatest single player game if this generation of consoles so far.
MGS4 is the greatest single player game of this generation?! don’t make me laugh. I cannot deny that its an ‘good’ game but that’s just milking it a bit. The only thing that’s improved over time is the graphics its the same gameplay from the first game.
There are loads of games I would rather play than that.
See I see it the opposite way Steve, MGS has declined rapidly, at least up until MGS4.
Where as is Pandora Tomorrow better than the first Splinter Cell? Yes. Is Chaos Theory better than PT? Yes. The new one is looking fucking stunning, and nothing like Assassins Creed in its current guise.
Where have you seen this declining rapidly in MGS?
I haven’t played SC series at all, only a bit of the first and it was a MGS wannabe be in my opinion.
And sorry but this is still a fanboyish debate for me. Some people (who are many in my opinion) like MGS and some like SP. Just like everything in life.
About SP being more tactical, I don’t know, maybe I will try it one day. But isn’t this make it more like strategy? And MGS is Tactical Espionage ACTION game.
I was clear in my article about where I saw the decline Vradj.
Fair enough if someone doesn’t like something or another, there are various reasons and it’s ultimately opinion, but complaining that the storyline was somehow difficult to follow is just ridiculous, given that it is at first difficult to follow when new things start happening that you aren’t aware of, they eventually fall into place when playing the game for the second time.
You talked a lot about “objectivity” yet you also say some moments are “tense” in Splinter Cell that MGS can’t touch, to me that looks like opinion there, I’m sure fans of MGS over Splinter Cell have a different viewpoint there, there’s a lot of talk about fanboys as well, seems like you’re pretty much another one, albeit in a very carefully constructed way.
I personally have never liked Splinter Cell, to me much of it has seemed like a rip-off of MGS, and trying to counter the MGS elements introduced with one better, and thus have never really been impressed by it, as the MGS creators have more or less gone with doing with what they’ve felt like doing rather than attempting to compete with other titles.
MGS is a stealth action game yes, and it’s also very far from reality, but that doesn’t take away anything from the game, I quite like the purely fantasy elements, and that being said Splinter Cell is far removed from reality as well, as much as people like to dream, Special Ops and Special Forces never operate like that in real life, so the point of Splinter Cell being exactly what a stealth action game is meant to be like is redundant, it’s opinionated and faulty since stealth action games are based on stealth action reality by the armed forces.
I think you missed the point a little!
What good is a story that you have to play through several times over? kinda defeats the objective of the exercise!
Splinter Cell is more tense than MGS always has been, but then SC doesn’t try to be funny. MGS makes light of serious issues but then ends up deflating the point they are trying make by taking the piss. Why are the moments more tense? well for one thing you can run about and go all stupid crazy killer and forget about being tactical.
All games compete with one game or another, MGS competed with Thief and Tenchu when released. Later it competed with SC and Hitman. Before anyone starts saying MGS is the original stealth game it wasnt, that was Castle Wolfenstein so it would be fair to say MGS is a rip off of that
.
You missed the point on Splinter Cell being exactly what a stealth game is meant to be. It is because you have to sneak about and be very careful and tactical. Its not meant to be like real life therefore your statement is obsolete
MGS is that complicated that even a full fledged fan still cannot explain the story properly they can however explain points of interest. Its so complicated that someone wrote a book explaining the story cause the original storyline deviates from the what its supposed to be doing (telling a story) in tangents or fits and starts.
infact whats really funny is that MGS is classed as the first stealth game in the guiness world records gamers edition yet its not at all.
I would say its more the game that sparked the modern day stealth shooter.
First of all, welcome to the site buddy, glad you’re getting stuck in to the debate!
Secondly, you are exactly right, what I put in the piece IS my opinion, I gave my objective reasoning for that opinion, but it’s only my opinion. You gave your opinion (not fact) and I understood beforehand that I was going to be somewhat in the minority. I certainly never dressed it up as fact or anything else.
The point of these head to head pieces in particular is to encourage debate and find out where peoples opinions lie. We give our opinions on something, and we want people to come on and tell us what they think. It’s exactly what we’re about. We concentrate on opinion pieces, not fluffy bull giving lip service to games we don’t like.
We are all real gamers, and our site stance is to cut out the bull, get to the point and express what we think no matter how contentious. At the end of the day as with all walks of life, people will have different views on games. Our staff disagree on games all the time, and I 100% absolutely encourage that individuality to shine through in their work. This might help explain it a little.
In this case I don’t really have any affection for the MGS series, does my reasoning make my view any less valid than yours, should I feel obliged to hide that opinion because some might disagree? Why would I when I can open up a good debate?
I have absolutely no problem admitting I’m wrong, so if when I play MGS4 I think it’s the greatest contribution to human culture in the last decade, I will come back here and say so. I really have no problem doing that. It doesn’t however change my opinion up to this point. I’ve in no way inferred that Splinter Cell is perfect either, I’ve simply stated which of the two I personally prefer, and I’m not talking for anyone else on here either.
Hope that helps, and hope you enjoy the site and stick around mate. You’re in for a treat if feel compelled to add your opinion to these sorts of things.