I've been enjoying my Playstation 3 since I got it, but some people
insist MGS4 is the only game possibly worth getting the system for. It
is one of the reasons I made the purchasing decision I did, and I'm
glad I was finally able to play it.
Over the years, the Metal
Gear Solid story has grown and twisted itself out of control, and one
of the main concerns going into this game was that Hideo Kojima and
crew would be unable to wrap everything up in a satisfying way by the
time it was over. There were so many questions and characters to
resolve that they could have easily blown it, but they didn't. I still
think the third game had the best story in the series, especially on an
emotional level, but Guns of the Patriots brings everything together
and answers nearly every burning question I have. They even did a good
job bringing the third game's events in and integrating them, when it
would have been easy to just ignore them since they happened forty or
fifty years before the other games. I wasn't completely happy with
everything that happened, some of the action cinemas might have been a
little too out there, and I kind of wished some of the plot twists were
a little crazier, but it's hard to be down on the way they ended the
saga of Solid Snake.
Unfortunately, the large plot issues they
had to deal with caused some ramifications with the gameplay. The first
two acts are amazing and easily the most fun I've ever had with the
series. But after that, the story takes over quite often and the last
few acts spend too much time explaining things and not letting you
play. The game is still fun in those areas, but often breaks a little
too far to the formula when I just wanted more of what I had already
played. The new stuff is fun, and interesting playing through the first
time, but I definitely think when I play again the first two acts will
hold up much better. The success of the game hinges on the new
controls, which are much friendlier to the average user while still
feeling like a Metal Gear game. Everything feels smoother, and it's
always fun to either sneak past difficult situations or face them,
either quietly using the now-less-intimidating CQC techniques or the
actually enjoyable shooting mechanics, especially with the plethora of
weaponry available. There's a new system for acquiring guns, ammo, and
upgrades, and it makes it a lot easier to blast your way through the
game if you want to. The boss fights are still fun and often unique,
especially the one at the climax of Act 4, but my favorite is again the
one that encourages sniping from afar, which seems to be the best in
every game that's had one. The main bosses seem pretty extraneous to
the story, but fighting them can be an enjoyably creepy experience. I
haven't played the online with the game but I played the beta a couple
months back, and if it was any indication of the final experience,
which it should be, it's a bit quirky but can be a very addicting,
satisfying, team-based shooter.
I would be lying if I didn't
admit some of the enjoyment of the series came from it's amazing visual
and audio prowess. The games have always been the best looking on their
system, and this is no exception. The textures aren't the best I've
seen, but the models, animation, effects, and direction of the
cutscenes are incredible. The voice acting is usually good, except when
they get a bit long winded and sound like they're reading from a
script. The music is entertaining as always and the sound effects,
regardless of whether the scene is calm or a huge battle, are terrific.
One of the best looking and sounding games ever, to go along an
extremely fun game and wrapping up one of the more enjoyable stories.
Even if you don't like previous games in the series, you might enjoy
this one just because of the friendly advances the controls have made.
If you have access to it, play it.
