'Metal Gear Solid 4' is a masterpiece despite a few flaws

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"Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots" has been hailed as the game that will make buying a PS3 worthwhile, and on many fronts it holds up to the hype.

It has some of the most amazing production values of any game ever created.

The "Metal Gear" series has created enough loose ends that it would take more than a few games to tie them all up satisfactorily.

Director Hideo Kojima has stuffed almost all the answers into one game. I would almost say that the developers were given too much creative control, as the game seems almost too full of plot.

The cut scenes range from intensely high action that rivals almost all the summer blockbusters to come out this year, to as mundane as watching someone fry eggs ... multiple times.

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This hinders the many advances made to the gameplay, because it's easy to ignore the advances in camera and control that make "MGS 4" a much more fluid and fun game to play when you are stuck watching, rather than playing, sometimes for what seems like hours at a time.

This is a shame, because "MGS 4" can be played almost any way you want to. Would you prefer to play the game as a run-and-gun action game instead of a stealth-and-sneak game? That is now a totally viable way to play.

The base of the game is still sneaking, and those who take the time to play the game this way will probably feel much more rewarded by a more in-depth experience.

You might think I am down on this game from this review, but you would be wrong in many respects. The game is flawed, but almost every masterpiece is when you examine it up close.

Metal Gear Solid 4
Platform: PS3
Publisher: Konami
Price: $60
ESRB Rating: M for Mature
Players: 1