Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the fourth and final instalment in the Metal Gear Solid franchise. The game was developed by Kojima Productions, the development studio started by Hideo Kojima the creator of Metal Gear Solid, and the game was published by Konami.
Story and Characters:
Arguably the most memorable thing about Metal Gear Solid 4 is its story. The game opens with a cut-scene showing a war-torn Middle-Eastern environment, into which a truck full of militant soldiers arrives, and in the truck is Solid Snake disguised as a militant. However a couple of minutes into the game Snake takes off his hooded disguise to reveal a weathered and horribly aged face. A cut-scene later and we learn that Solid Snake, or Old Snake as he is now known, has an unknown disease which is causing the premature ageing and that he will be dead within a year. In this same cut-scene we are told by a familiar character from a previous Metal Gear Solid game, that Liquid has been sighted in the Middle-East, and so Snake heads off to the Middle-East in the hope of finding Liquid and killing him.
As the game unfolds we discover that Liquid is has devised a cunning plan that will allow him to, essentially, take over the world. Snake’s efforts to put a stop to Liquid’s plan and kill him see Snake travel to different parts of the world such as South America, Budapest and Shadow Moses, the place in Alaska in which the original Metal Gear Solid was set. These locations offer a host of extremely varied gaming environments to which the player must adapt. These drastically contrasting locations prevent the scenery from getting too familiar and dull as it had in previous Metal Gear Solid games.
One of the hallmarks of previous Metal Gear Solid games where the interesting bosses and Metal Gear Solid 4s bosses prove to be no exception. The first four bosses you fight are part of an army unit known as the Beauty and the Beast Unit (B&B unit). Their four names are; Laughing Octopus, Raging Raven, Crying Wolf and Screaming Mantis, they all wear suits that make them more like the animals they’re named after. The story that surrounds them all is that they are all attractive women who have been mentally scarred by war and who have been led to believe that only by killing Solid Snake will their tortured and fragmented minds be healed, so they are seeking to kill him. As fan service they are all recreations of previous Metal Gear Solid bosses, The extendable bionic arms that are attached to Laughing Octopus’ suit are very similar to those on the suit of Solidus in Metal Gear Solid 2 and Screaming Mantis looks like Psycho Mantis from the original Metal Gear Solid and she also has similar powers to control peoples actions. Crying Wolf is very similar to Sniper Wolf from the original Metal Gear Solid.
There are really only three new characters in Metal Gear Solid 4; Drebin a weapons wholesaler who provides you with info as well as weapons and custom parts for your guns throughout the game. Sunny, who is the daughter of Olga Gurlukovich from Metal Gear Solid 2, Otacon takes care of her and she has become an amazing hacker and programmer under his care. Lastly there is Jonny, who has appeared in other Metal Gear Solid games but only as a sort of extra but never as a fleshed out character. However the lack of new characters isn’t necessarily a bad thing as many of the most interesting characters from previous Metal Gear Solid games have important roles in Metal Gear Solid 4, these include (WARNING!! Potential Spoilers); Naomi Hunter and Meryl Silverburgh from the original Metal Gear Solid, Vamp from Dead Cell in Metal Gear Solid 2 as well as Solidus (in corpse form) and Colonel Campbell, Raiden and Rose also from Metal Gear Solid 2. Eva from Metal Gear Solid 3, as well as another two surprise characters from Metal Gear Solid 3.
Graphics:
Metal Gear Solid 4s graphics are outstanding and they push the Playstation 3s hardware to its limits. There is a terrific amount of detail in even the smallest items in the game. However the most outstanding thing about Metal Gear Solid 4s graphics are the unprecedented levels of detail in characters faces and the superb facial animation. Metal Gear Solid 4 relies heavily on the drama of its story and every emotion is clearly visible on a characters face and you can notice even the subtlest changes in expression this helps you understand the characters personalities better and makes the story even more meaningful and gripping.
Game Play:
It is evident from the very beginning of the game that the game play underwent a massive overhaul and redesign in order to provide the player with a more enjoyable gaming experience. Metal Gear Solid 4 plays differently to previous Metal Gear Solid games and yet it stills feels very familiar, it seems that a lot of thought was spent not just no the storyline and the closure it provides but also on streamlining the game play. You no longer press up to the wall when you run up to it and push against it instead you have to press triangle, it’s a small difference but it really seems to improve the game play.
The shooting mechanics have also been drastically redesigned, a new over the shoulder shooting mechanic has been included which feels quite similar to the shooting mechanics in Uncharted: Drakes Fortune. The player can also choose to play through the entire game in First Person which would be foolish as although the First Person view certainly works it does not provide as enjoyable an experience as the game does when played in Third Person.
A new duck and cover system has been included, this allows player to take cover behind low walls etc. and pop up from behind them and firing before dropping down behind them again or you can blind fire from behind cover. This again feels very similar to the cover mechanics in Uncharted: Drakes Fortune or Gears of War.
Weapons and Drebin’s Shop:
There is a huge and varied selection of guns and weapons in Metal Gear Solid 4. The guns range from your average semi-auto pistol to assault rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers and you even get a huge bad ass rail gun that shoots charged bolts of electricity at an object. The reason you have access to the largest selection of guns in any Metal Gear Solid game is all thanks to one man; Drebin. Drebin is one of the only new characters in Metal Gear Solid 4 and apart from supplying you with information on other characters back stories he also can remove the ID tags from any gun Snake comes across meaning you can use any gun an enemy drops. He of course charges Snake for his services and that’s where Drebin’s Shop and Drebin Points come into play. At Drebin’s Shop which you can access at any time during the game from the pause menu, in Drebin’s Shop you can buy new guns, ammo, grenades etc. as well removing ID tags from guns you’ve found on the battlefield. A new feature in Metal Gear Solid 4 is the ability to customize guns, most guns have a number of slots on them into which you could fit a grenade launcher, a scope, a dot sight, a torch etc. The currency that you use to pay for these items and upgrades are known as Drebin Points and you earn them throughout the game every time you kill an enemy or sell a weapon you pick up that you already own.
Metal Gear Online:
Metal Gear Solid 4 ships with Metal Gear Online. This is basically the multiplayer version of Metal Gear Solid 4 and it allows you to play with up to 16 players online in various multiplayer modes on numerous different maps. Players can customize the appearance of their character in the game. However the game requires you to create a Konami ID on their website and you have to create an in game ID separate to your PSN ID, this is very tedious and somewhat detracts from the experience. The Metal Gear Solid game play mechanics of stealth kills and sneaking around levels don’t translate very well into online multiplayer either. While Metal Gear Online was
certainly a nice bonus the game play isn’t very fun and the different log in Ids are very annoying, it’s really the single-player experience that you should buy this game for.
Conclusion:
Overall Metal Gear Solid 4:Guns of the Patriots offers a fantastic single-payer experience, it combines enjoyable game play with a brilliant story that provides excellent and emotional closure to the Metal Gear Solid storyline. This game is definitely the best reason to own a Playstation 3 so far.