The Metal Gear Solid games have been one of the honored franchise’s in the video game industry. Starting with Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, both for the MSX2, the gameplay was like nothing anyone has ever done. Instead of running left to right, shooting everything in your path, you would try sneak your way through the game killing nothing if you were good. This awesome gameplay was carried through all of the next games in the series like Metal Gear Solid for the Playstation, and the sequels: MGS 2: Sons of Liberty, and MGS 3: Snake Eater for the Playstation 2. Some of the gameplay however, started to become dated by the time of Snake Eater. Every game, though set in different times and locations, all revolve around one core story that becomes more and more confusing as time rolls on. Sadly, the series eventually has to come to a close, and even though it’s as satisfying as ever, you are always sad to see the series have its final chapter. This final chapter is Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of Patriots, and is easily the best Metal Gear Solid game, and one of the best games I have ever played.
Metal Gear Solid 4 is the exclusive game that Playstation 3 owners have been waiting for. Uncharted was good, and Ratchet and Clank was okay, but Metal Gear Solid 4 just blows both of them away in the production values, the overall feel, and just the game as a whole. There are many elements of the game, more than just the graphics, that will just make your jaw drop in awe. Metal Gear Solid 4 really is the ultimate Metal Gear game, from start ti finish. The sneaking is still here, and made even better with new gameplay elements like the Octocamo, which lets Snake blend into any surface by leaning against it, and the Solid Eye that uses different functions like Night Vision and a Scope. Enemies have also change, and now will sometimes be fighting in a war while you sneak around them. They can still be alerted however, and the game is overall harder to escape when in the alert phase than previous game, making you never wanting to get alerted. There are also new types of enemies. One type are called Haven Troopers, they’re a new enhanced female soldier that can jump and latch onto walls, and jump around like frogs. The other new enemy is the GEKKO, that is like a miniature Metal Gear, but it’s half organic, half synthetic.
Like past Metal Gear Solid games, you will probably see more cutscenes than actual gameplay, and it’s no different here, and is actually more frequent in MGS4 than in past Metal Gear Solid games. Most of the cutscenes are never boring however, and they usually just throw information at you over and over again, which is pretty awesome, and are sometimes filled with some pretty sweet action sequences. Everything is also rendered in real time, so cutscenes will end unexpectedly when you start playing as Snake while the action is still going on. In Metal Gear Solid 4, there are different acts that take place in different locations. Each location has it’s own mission briefing before the gameplay begins, and this is where the length of the cutscenes come into play. At the end of chapter 3 for example, there’s a 15 to 20 minute cutscene, then a mission briefing that is up to 40 minute long, then another cutscenes at the beginning of the 4th chapter. Sometimes it can feel like the cutscenes are too long, but if a fan of the story, you’ll need to pay attention in order to understand. Cutscenes are also interactive, sometimes a button will flash on the screen like L1 or X to look in first person, or view a flashback. Because the cutscenes are so long, pausing the cutscenes may need to be done, and you can in MGS4 by pressing the start button. Skipping is also done with this method, but you have to select “Skip” on the pause menu in order to do it.
The story is straight-up concluded in MGS4. Writing about the story for a Metal Gear Solid game in a review is very difficult without giving away any spoilers, so I will keep the story telling to a minimum, but all I can say is that Metal Gear Solid 4 easily has the greatest gaming story I have ever experience. Any confusion about anything in the series is talked about from the origin of Big Boss, to the Les Enfants Terribles Project, to just about every character like Raiden, EVA, Naomi, Ocelot, Meryl, and yes, Otacon. New character are introduced in MGS4 like Sunny, the daughter of Olga from MGS2 and is a whiz at computers and technology, Drebin and his little Monkey friend named Little Gray. Drebin’s an arms dealer that can sell guns to Snake, and can release the lock off certain weapons you collect throughout the game. Each gun you collect has an ID Code attached to it, meaning that only the soldier that was holding it can shoot it. Drebin can get rid of these locks for you, but it can only be done for a small price. You will earn Drebin points by collecting weapons off downed enemies, and once you finish a chapter you will be rewarded with points for killing as many soldiers as possible, or not using any healing items.
Attacking enemies in past MGS games have usually been a hassle. You either had to see Snake from above, or you would have to aim in first person. In Metal Gear Solid 4, you can now aim over-the-shoulder, and fight your way through enemies this way which a huge step forward in the franchise. You can also do the classic first-person aiming by pressing the triangle button while aiming, but after playing with the shoulder view, the first person mode is only good for sniping. The camera is also manipulative, so you can now see all around you instead of having to aim in first-person to see what’s next. The map is still a necessity however, but while looking at it in the pause menu, you can press the triangle button to see the map in 3D, making the area more accurate.
Past Metal Gear games have always had memorable boss fights throughout the game, and MGS4, it is no different. Most MGS games have a squad of bosses to fight over the course of the campaign, the squad in Guns of the Patriots is called the Beauty and the Beast Corps consisting of 4 beautiful females that are still tortured from their brutal past. Laughing Octopus, Raging Raven, Crying Wolf, and Screaming Mantis all consist of a trait that they can’t stop to do while they kill. Laughing Octopus laughs while she kills her enemies, Raging Raven kills her enemies with Anger, Crying Wolf cries whiles she tears apart her foes, and Screaming Mantis screams like mad while she controls her opponents with her mind. All of the beauties seem to have a strange resemblance while they fight to old bosses from past Metal Gear games. Screaming Mantis for example, fights extremely similar to Psycho Mantis of FOXHOUND from Metal Gear Solid for the Playstation. All of the boss fights are extremely epic, having you fighting not only the bosses, but also other soldiers and machines at the same time.
Remember the end of Metal Gear Solid 3, when you’re on EVA’s motorcycle going through the forest killing as many enemies as you can? Yeah, those are in MGS4 too. What the really impressive thing about them however, is the variety, and the fast intense action they possess. One of them for example, has zombie-like soldiers climbing on the vehicle trying to attack you while you’re shooting your way through hoards of GEKKO.
If you haven’t seen Metal Gear Solid 4 in action, it is a must, because it is easily one of the best looking games ever made. The environments arrange from the Middle East, to the forest areas of South America, to even a nostalgic area for series veterans. All of it looks real. Every building have their own unique look, some with bricks falling off, some decaying from age, and some being eroded by plants. The characters models are some of the best yet, with all of the characters having unique looks with facial features down the the wrinkles on their face, and the strands of hair on their body. The lighting is also top notch, making everything look even nicer, and making the day areas like the Middle East look as real as ever. There are even weather effects, like walking through a snow storm at one point in the game, Snake will have snow build up on his mustache, and seeing through the storm is almost impossible. The frame rate is also flawless, never dropping even in the most intense of moments making the game silky smooth no matter what you’re doing.
As with everything else in Metal Gear Solid 4, the audio is perfect. From the voice acting, to the incredible sounds of the guns and explosions, to the amazing soundtrack, everything is top of the line. David Hayter does another amazing job of the voice of Snake with all of grunts and screams the series is known for. Don’t worry, all of the other characters like Naomi (Jennifer Hale), Ocelot (Patric Zimmerman), Octacon (Christopher Randolph), Meryl (Debi Mae West) and Raiden (Quinton Flynn) have the same actors and actresses from past games, so no one will sound differently. The soundtrack will again give you chills because it is as epic as ever. Even the ending credits song will make you want to just cry because of the quality and the originality of the music. The overall quality of the audio is really just astonishing, and mixed with the graphics, Metal Gear Solid 4 is one of the best built games of all time.
Even with everything being as close to perfect as possible, there are still some annoyances worth noting. First of all, before each chapter, the game installs the whole chapter onto your PS3 to reduce the length of load times, so you are going to have wait for it to install instead of changing the disk. It usually doesn’t take very long, mostly around 2 to 3 minutes, but it can get annoying after a while, especially when someone on your PS3 is playing the beginning of the game, and you’re at the end. The controls can also get pretty confusing, especially if you’re at the start of the game, but you usually get used to it after a while. Series vets wont have any problems with the story, but newcomers to the franchise will have no idea what is happening. Other than that, the game is absolutely perfect in every way.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots also comes packed in with the online portion of MGS4: Metal Gear Online. MGO is a squad based, 16-player online game where you can play a regular deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture mission, rescue mission, base mission, and a sneaking mission. The only modes that sway from the norm are Rescue, where one team tries to protect a certain object, while the other team tries to capture it, and Sneaking mission where someone plays as Snake and the Mk. II, and the other two teams fight each other while trying to avoid Snake from killing you. Adding Online to the package wasn’t a necessity, but a great addition none-the-less. The only downside to MGO is actually playing it because playing the same way you play the single player doesn’t go well when playing against actual humans. The set-up is also tedious having you set up two login ID’s for god knows why, and the overall feel of the game is clumsy.
There’s just so much of the game that revolves around the story still to talk about, but without giving it away, this is the best that can be done. But with that said, I can’t stress it enough: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is one of the best games I have ever played, period. Games can tend to have too much hype by the time of release to live up to, but Metal Gear Solid 4 not only lives up to said hype, but absolutely crushes it. Games like Ocarina of Time are remembered for its timeless gameplay and a slick transition into 3D, and some games like Resident Evil 4 are remembered for flipping itself over and starting fresh, but Metal Gear Solid 4 will be remembered for the amazing conclusion to one of the best franchises in the industry, and flat-out being one of the very best games ever produced. It’s simply flawless.
Metal Gear Solid 4 is the exclusive game that Playstation 3 owners have been waiting for. Uncharted was good, and Ratchet and Clank was okay, but Metal Gear Solid 4 just blows both of them away in the production values, the overall feel, and just the game as a whole. There are many elements of the game, more than just the graphics, that will just make your jaw drop in awe. Metal Gear Solid 4 really is the ultimate Metal Gear game, from start ti finish. The sneaking is still here, and made even better with new gameplay elements like the Octocamo, which lets Snake blend into any surface by leaning against it, and the Solid Eye that uses different functions like Night Vision and a Scope. Enemies have also change, and now will sometimes be fighting in a war while you sneak around them. They can still be alerted however, and the game is overall harder to escape when in the alert phase than previous game, making you never wanting to get alerted. There are also new types of enemies. One type are called Haven Troopers, they’re a new enhanced female soldier that can jump and latch onto walls, and jump around like frogs. The other new enemy is the GEKKO, that is like a miniature Metal Gear, but it’s half organic, half synthetic.
Like past Metal Gear Solid games, you will probably see more cutscenes than actual gameplay, and it’s no different here, and is actually more frequent in MGS4 than in past Metal Gear Solid games. Most of the cutscenes are never boring however, and they usually just throw information at you over and over again, which is pretty awesome, and are sometimes filled with some pretty sweet action sequences. Everything is also rendered in real time, so cutscenes will end unexpectedly when you start playing as Snake while the action is still going on. In Metal Gear Solid 4, there are different acts that take place in different locations. Each location has it’s own mission briefing before the gameplay begins, and this is where the length of the cutscenes come into play. At the end of chapter 3 for example, there’s a 15 to 20 minute cutscene, then a mission briefing that is up to 40 minute long, then another cutscenes at the beginning of the 4th chapter. Sometimes it can feel like the cutscenes are too long, but if a fan of the story, you’ll need to pay attention in order to understand. Cutscenes are also interactive, sometimes a button will flash on the screen like L1 or X to look in first person, or view a flashback. Because the cutscenes are so long, pausing the cutscenes may need to be done, and you can in MGS4 by pressing the start button. Skipping is also done with this method, but you have to select “Skip” on the pause menu in order to do it.
The story is straight-up concluded in MGS4. Writing about the story for a Metal Gear Solid game in a review is very difficult without giving away any spoilers, so I will keep the story telling to a minimum, but all I can say is that Metal Gear Solid 4 easily has the greatest gaming story I have ever experience. Any confusion about anything in the series is talked about from the origin of Big Boss, to the Les Enfants Terribles Project, to just about every character like Raiden, EVA, Naomi, Ocelot, Meryl, and yes, Otacon. New character are introduced in MGS4 like Sunny, the daughter of Olga from MGS2 and is a whiz at computers and technology, Drebin and his little Monkey friend named Little Gray. Drebin’s an arms dealer that can sell guns to Snake, and can release the lock off certain weapons you collect throughout the game. Each gun you collect has an ID Code attached to it, meaning that only the soldier that was holding it can shoot it. Drebin can get rid of these locks for you, but it can only be done for a small price. You will earn Drebin points by collecting weapons off downed enemies, and once you finish a chapter you will be rewarded with points for killing as many soldiers as possible, or not using any healing items.
Attacking enemies in past MGS games have usually been a hassle. You either had to see Snake from above, or you would have to aim in first person. In Metal Gear Solid 4, you can now aim over-the-shoulder, and fight your way through enemies this way which a huge step forward in the franchise. You can also do the classic first-person aiming by pressing the triangle button while aiming, but after playing with the shoulder view, the first person mode is only good for sniping. The camera is also manipulative, so you can now see all around you instead of having to aim in first-person to see what’s next. The map is still a necessity however, but while looking at it in the pause menu, you can press the triangle button to see the map in 3D, making the area more accurate.
Past Metal Gear games have always had memorable boss fights throughout the game, and MGS4, it is no different. Most MGS games have a squad of bosses to fight over the course of the campaign, the squad in Guns of the Patriots is called the Beauty and the Beast Corps consisting of 4 beautiful females that are still tortured from their brutal past. Laughing Octopus, Raging Raven, Crying Wolf, and Screaming Mantis all consist of a trait that they can’t stop to do while they kill. Laughing Octopus laughs while she kills her enemies, Raging Raven kills her enemies with Anger, Crying Wolf cries whiles she tears apart her foes, and Screaming Mantis screams like mad while she controls her opponents with her mind. All of the beauties seem to have a strange resemblance while they fight to old bosses from past Metal Gear games. Screaming Mantis for example, fights extremely similar to Psycho Mantis of FOXHOUND from Metal Gear Solid for the Playstation. All of the boss fights are extremely epic, having you fighting not only the bosses, but also other soldiers and machines at the same time.
Remember the end of Metal Gear Solid 3, when you’re on EVA’s motorcycle going through the forest killing as many enemies as you can? Yeah, those are in MGS4 too. What the really impressive thing about them however, is the variety, and the fast intense action they possess. One of them for example, has zombie-like soldiers climbing on the vehicle trying to attack you while you’re shooting your way through hoards of GEKKO.
If you haven’t seen Metal Gear Solid 4 in action, it is a must, because it is easily one of the best looking games ever made. The environments arrange from the Middle East, to the forest areas of South America, to even a nostalgic area for series veterans. All of it looks real. Every building have their own unique look, some with bricks falling off, some decaying from age, and some being eroded by plants. The characters models are some of the best yet, with all of the characters having unique looks with facial features down the the wrinkles on their face, and the strands of hair on their body. The lighting is also top notch, making everything look even nicer, and making the day areas like the Middle East look as real as ever. There are even weather effects, like walking through a snow storm at one point in the game, Snake will have snow build up on his mustache, and seeing through the storm is almost impossible. The frame rate is also flawless, never dropping even in the most intense of moments making the game silky smooth no matter what you’re doing.
As with everything else in Metal Gear Solid 4, the audio is perfect. From the voice acting, to the incredible sounds of the guns and explosions, to the amazing soundtrack, everything is top of the line. David Hayter does another amazing job of the voice of Snake with all of grunts and screams the series is known for. Don’t worry, all of the other characters like Naomi (Jennifer Hale), Ocelot (Patric Zimmerman), Octacon (Christopher Randolph), Meryl (Debi Mae West) and Raiden (Quinton Flynn) have the same actors and actresses from past games, so no one will sound differently. The soundtrack will again give you chills because it is as epic as ever. Even the ending credits song will make you want to just cry because of the quality and the originality of the music. The overall quality of the audio is really just astonishing, and mixed with the graphics, Metal Gear Solid 4 is one of the best built games of all time.
Even with everything being as close to perfect as possible, there are still some annoyances worth noting. First of all, before each chapter, the game installs the whole chapter onto your PS3 to reduce the length of load times, so you are going to have wait for it to install instead of changing the disk. It usually doesn’t take very long, mostly around 2 to 3 minutes, but it can get annoying after a while, especially when someone on your PS3 is playing the beginning of the game, and you’re at the end. The controls can also get pretty confusing, especially if you’re at the start of the game, but you usually get used to it after a while. Series vets wont have any problems with the story, but newcomers to the franchise will have no idea what is happening. Other than that, the game is absolutely perfect in every way.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots also comes packed in with the online portion of MGS4: Metal Gear Online. MGO is a squad based, 16-player online game where you can play a regular deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture mission, rescue mission, base mission, and a sneaking mission. The only modes that sway from the norm are Rescue, where one team tries to protect a certain object, while the other team tries to capture it, and Sneaking mission where someone plays as Snake and the Mk. II, and the other two teams fight each other while trying to avoid Snake from killing you. Adding Online to the package wasn’t a necessity, but a great addition none-the-less. The only downside to MGO is actually playing it because playing the same way you play the single player doesn’t go well when playing against actual humans. The set-up is also tedious having you set up two login ID’s for god knows why, and the overall feel of the game is clumsy.
There’s just so much of the game that revolves around the story still to talk about, but without giving it away, this is the best that can be done. But with that said, I can’t stress it enough: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is one of the best games I have ever played, period. Games can tend to have too much hype by the time of release to live up to, but Metal Gear Solid 4 not only lives up to said hype, but absolutely crushes it. Games like Ocarina of Time are remembered for its timeless gameplay and a slick transition into 3D, and some games like Resident Evil 4 are remembered for flipping itself over and starting fresh, but Metal Gear Solid 4 will be remembered for the amazing conclusion to one of the best franchises in the industry, and flat-out being one of the very best games ever produced. It’s simply flawless.