Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is, in my opinion, the closest thing to perfection in a video game to date, and here are my reasons why. I will list it in the usual way with the categories of Sound/ Voice, Music, Visuals, Story, Controls and Gameplay.
Sound/ Voice: 10/10
Sticking to the Metal Gear Solid tradition of excellence, Metal Gear Solid 4 delivers some of the industries best sounds and voice acting to date. The gunfire sounds as expected because...well guns can't really sound much different from game to game but the voice acting is top notch. Old Snakes new "angry old guy on porch" sound can get grating from time to time, but it fits his character very well and ultimately works toward some sort of bigger picture. Great overall
Music: 9/10
Sticks to the formula of the rest of the series with great orchestral pieces. One problem is that the gunfire can overpower the musical score from time to time., which, of course, can easily be fixed in the menu's. Konami had the good sense to retain the iconic scores from the rest of the series which, for whatever reason, some series' choose to abandon or alter too much. Once again, while not PERFECT, shines when compared to many other games.
Visuals: 10/10
Absolutely gorgeous. No complaints. I've played nearly 150 hours of this game and have yet to experience a graphical glitch which, to me, is extremely impressive considering how good these graphics are. As an owner of all three systems and a fanboy of none, this game proved to me that the PS3, overall is the system with the most potential. While I love my Xbox I know it couldn't handle a game of this calibre, graphically. Incredible. Shows the potential of this generation of video games.
Story: 10/10 (if you've played the previous)
This will be a short section. Amazing if you've played the rest of the series but can get really confusing at points if you haven't. I highly recommend the other games but if you don't play those there is a download on PS Store that fills you in on the story of the entire series.
Controls: 10/10
Tight, Resonsive controls. Didn't experience any point where a button didn't respond. Great.
Gameplay: 10/10
The game continues to shine in the stealth-action genre by giving you the best of both worlds. One of the best parts about this game is that you can go through it with either strategy. After playing through using both strategies, Stealth is harder but much more satisfying but for those who don't have the patience for that, Gunning down everything is another option. The added ability to choose sides in certain acts is a nice feature as well, if you choose to help the rebels in one act, they'll react to it and will reward you with items (telling you this because its a good thing to know). Outstanding. 10/10
Bottom Line: If you own a PS3 why haven't you bought this yet? It shows just what the PS3 is capable of. A true gem of gaming and I hope to see more games of this quality in the future. One of the best games of all time, in my honest opinion. Buy it now if you own a PS3 and if not, pray Konami announces it on either of the other systems.
