In this game you play as Old Snake, an aging war veteran who sneaks, crawls and rolls (and shoots!) his way through the battlefield.
Metal Gear Solid 4 is the best single player experience I have ever had. Since you, who are reading this, is not me, and I am not you - I can't say whether you would like it or not.
What I can say though is that if you have ever played a Metal Gear game, be it old or new, and found it even remotely entertaining - you simply have to give this game a try. It builds upon all the good things about the previous games in the series, such as heavy story telling and well directed sequences (action and non-interactive scenes alike). I found myself constantly impressed by how this game flowed, despite the numerous loading screens.
Instead of interrupting the game play, the loading screens felt more like a much needed pause for you to take a breather and absorb all the action or plot twists you just had exposed upon you (as crazy as that sounds). There are also sections where the game needs to install in between every chapter of the game, that take about three minutes each, plus one initial install of about ten minutes when you start the game for the very first time.
If the Metal Gear series is new to you, this is still a good place to start. Be warned, this game is as mentioned heavy on storytelling and very self referential. If you are not familiar with the franchise you might not understand all of the in game jokes and references and that would indeed take away something from your gaming experience.
I will not mention the multiplayer part of this game, and did not take it into account in this review, as (to me) it felt tacked on from the start, and I am yet to give it a try.
If you are a fan of the series, you are crazy to not already own this game. If you are completely new to the series, consider for a moment what you want out of a game. Metal Gear Solid 4 will bring you plenty of action, stealth and otherwise, some of the most impressive action sequences ever made, superb directing and dialogue and a very compelling story. For the full experience, you should check out the previous games in the series either on Youtube or by actually playing them through.
If any of this sounds appealing to you, I'm sure you won't be disappointed. If you're the kind of gamer who tends to skip cut scenes in favor of advancing through the game - this is almost definitely not for you, despite the Solid game play.
Metal Gear Solid 4 has officially raised the bar for me, in terms of graphics, storytelling, and the overall gaming experience that I want out of a game.
