Not Now, I'm Busy

First off, let me start by saying how sincerely grateful I am for even being given the opportunity to play this game. During the middle of 2009, I was conflicted on whether to purchase the Xbox 360 and the PS3. While the PS3 possessed the better exclusive titles (in my opinion) such as Heavy Rain and Little Big Planet, Xbox on the other hand had Mass Effect and Left 4 Dead. Quite frankly, the only title that the PS3 had going for me was Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots that was released back in 2008. Much credit for this goes to one of my roommates who purchased a PS3 for himself late last year.

Since its initial release back in 1998, Metal Gear Solid has been exceptional in bringing a captivating plot, action-packed and stealth-oriented gameplay as well as delivering character development on an unseen cinematic level. Much credit goes to the founder of the MGS series himself, Hideo Kojima who seems to be brilliant at bringing more plot twists than any other trashy E! or Vh1 trashy reality show. Hideo deserves to be in line as one of the best storytellers in recent gaming memory.      

Metal Gear Solid 4 requires that players be familiar with its already in-depth plot and characters. For this reason, it is highly recommended that players play the previous franchise titles before going out and purchasing this one. If you haven’t done so already, I strongly urge that you give this game a chance. I believe these games are still made available on the Playstation Network.

You play as Solid Snake or ‘Old Snake’ as Hideo now likes to put it. Set six years after the Big Shell incident (as seen in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty). The world of Metal Gear Solid predominantly revolves around the concept of a ‘war economy’ involving needless conflicts and weapons armaments. In short, if there is no war, then there is no means of a moving economy. War has become the sole means of profit and contracts for private military corporations (PMCs) worldwide, courtesy of the Patriots.  

Presentation:

The initial setting takes place in an undisclosed location within the Middle East. As a so-called ‘UN Inspector,’ Snake has been called from retirement to save the world (again) from one last threat, locating and eliminating Liquid Ocelot, the one responsible for the foundation of the PMCs. But as can be expected, Ocelot isn’t without his own group of cohorts; Snake must also battle against the Beauty & Beast Corp (B&B). The result is a 15+ hour single player game with extremely lengthy cut scenes and a third-person perspective game that requires players to utilize both stealth and action to complete missions.

Unlike the previous titles, MGS4 is divided into a total of 5 acts with each act situated in a different setting and environment throughout the globe. This ranges from the Middle East to as far as Alaska and requires that players adapt not only to the changing environment but in changing their gameplay accordingly (i.e., stealth à action and vice versa). As players slowly delve into the game’s intricate plot, you’ll learn not only about Snake’s accelerated aging process, you’ll meet numerous characters along the way of which all contribute to the gameplay experience.

The biggest complaint amongst gamers here are the cut scenes, and yes, they are lengthy. My game completion results were a good 17 hours and 30 minutes. I know for an honest fact that a good 7-8 hours involved nothing more than listening and viewing cut scenes. This isn’t to say that this hampered the gaming experience, it merely added to it. However, it requires that players not only be patient but also be willing to listen. MGS4 plot-wise has a lot going for it. So much that it is impossible for me to explain the plot in its entirety given the level of complexity.

While this game may have been released in 2008, the graphics and the meticulous attention to detail is still spot on. The menu interface, the look of the cut scenes, the in-game humor, character designs, Hollywood calibre acting and even the music blends together exceptionally well making you all the more immersed in the decrepit and rugged world of Solid Snake.

The only fault that I can give with this game’s presentation is with the framerate issues that may occur during select scenes, while this doesn’t affect the gameplay experience, it hampers on the performance of the gamplay somewhat. Another issue that I found annoying was the incessant need for installation. You are informed initially that this game needs to be installed onto the hard disk in order to be played. While this is understandable given the amount of cutscenes, it is really annoying when you need to do so again between acts. Couldn’t you install everything in one go?

Graphics:  

Metal Gear Solid 4 was released on June 2008, the same year for games such as Dead Space and Gears of War 2. It has been nearly 3 years since its initial release and MGS4 still looks great to look at. Given that there is much emphasis on the plot and the supporting characters, graphics were essential. But in MGS4, you could say that their almost life-like. Characters models and animation are both polished and smooth throughout which wasn’t the case with its predecessors.  

Particle effects, textures, shadow effects, background settings, facial expressions were all in perfect unison. This may have been the first PS3 game to fully utilize the graphical features of the PS3 console. The cost of Metal Gear Solid 4 was a whopping $60 million!! In the end, the final product is nothing less than awesome. My only wonder now is how much Konami made back for such a pricey PS3 exclusive. 

Sound:

It’s not only the graphics that were top-notch, the background music and acting is among the best I’ve ever heard. In addition to the return of ‘fan-favorite’ characters, we also have music composed by Harry Gregson-Williams. Gregson-Williams jas been responsible for numerous blockbuster films such as Armageddon, Shrek, The Rock and also composed the music for Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. I think you get the idea.

As you can expect with any other MGS game, you can always rely on A-list calibre acting. You have David Hayter returning as Snake, Christopher Randolph as Otacon plus returning characters like Raiden (Quinton Flynn) and Meryl (Debi Mae West). While this may bring a great load of ‘fan service,’ Hideo Kojima does a great job in tying up loose ends and incorporating the predecessors with the final product. The end result is a plot that not only makes sense (MGS2 has been debatable among many) but helps bring much needed closure to the MGS series.

Gameplay:

As a fan of the previous MGS games, upon trying it out within the first 10 minutes, I noticed a few number of changes. For one, the camera angle is no longer an overhead view but more of a third-person view.

MGS4 strongly emphasizes the use of both stealth and action but requires players to know when to use either. As far as sequels go, Konami seems to get a better hand on balancing both those acts. With stealth, players will rely on their OctoCamo, a camouflage uniform that adapts and changes with environment. This is greatly determined by a stealth percentage, the higher value, the least likely that you’ll be seen. Another additional feature is the threat ring that helps in determining where the potential threats are and to strategize accordingly.

It is evident that Konami went out all the way to really give players a feel of that ‘espionage’ simulation.

The action sequences have also been upped and greatly coincide with the premise. As this is now a ‘war’ economy, guns are strongly relied upon as a means of providing service. Therefore, Konami decided that having 20+ guns weren’t enough as seen in the predecessors; they upped the ante to 70+. Players also have the luxury of customizing their weapons. This can range from adding suppressors, a laser sight or customize their automatic rifles with a built-in shotgun pump. Weapon chioces can range from pistols, sniper rifles, grenade launchers to even laser cannons.

But here’s my problem with this concept. For one, why is there a need for so many weapons? Given that stealth plays an important role here, why would one want to ‘run-and-game’ enemies with a grenade launcher? It’s just not practical and there isn’t much need for it. During my initial gameplay, I greatly relied on a silenced pistol and a modded M16 rifle. That’s it. You don’t need anything else so why is there over 70 weapons for 15+ hour game? You won’t even have time to try it all out.

In order to purchase guns and upgrades, players rely on Drebin points and are given the option to allocate these changes at any time but I found upgrading not all that necessary either.  

In addition to stealth and gun gameplay, players will be required to be familiar with Close-quarter combat (CQC) in dealing with foes. CQC can range from choking an enemy to holding them up. CQC is key to completing this game and this requires firm controls and smooth gameplay.

Overall, Metal Gear Solid 4 is an exceptional game and is definitely one of the best games of this generation. By the time you reach the end, players too get the feel of resting easy knowing that Snake’s journey finally comes to an end. What is particularly interesting about MGS is that you get to see Snake go through this long and tiring journey, it felt very much that you too were a part of that journey. Really, to see it finally end was both fulfilling and bittersweet.

Konami and Hideo Kojima have my sincerest thanks.

My rating: 9 / 10.