Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Reviewed [PS3]

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is one of the flagship games for the Playstation 3. One of the few remaining franchises exclusive to Sony’s console, it was widely touted to be a system-seller and Sony wisely announced a couple of bundled systems, complete with vibrating Dualshock 3. At time of writing, MGS4 has shipped 3 million copies worldwide which is impressive, but even more so when we stop to remember it’s only available on one console.

The Metal Gear series has always been known for having brilliant gameplay and a convoluted story line. MGS4 has the important job of tying up nearly 20 years of games and 10 years of solid story. It does so admirably and doesn’t disappoint on the gameplay, which for a game subtitled “Tactical Espionage Action” is surprisingly varied and does allow for significant flexibility.

There are very few sections in the game that actually force the player to actively use stealth, although it does make it easier. If you really want, it is possible to run-and-gun until your heart’s content.

It should be advised at this point that the run-and-gun is possible on lower difficulties but is a surefire way to get Snake riddled with bullets on the higher echelons of achievement.

The sneaking around is made much easier with the addition of ‘Octocamo’ which automatically does what having to manually change camouflage from MGS3 did, by logically making Snake harder to see. It’s easy to use and cool to watch.

The weapons are another matter – rather than just picking up anything, Snake has to use ‘Drebin-points’ to pay an arms dealer named (you guessed it) Drebin. Drebin unlocks them for you because the nanomachines in Snake’s body are of an older design than those that his opponents use. Meanwhile, our protagonist is running around the globe, shooting at waves of enemies, and since all guns are ID tagged … see what we mean about the story?

The story is still convoluted, especially for those of us that started the series by playing MGS3: Snake Eater, which involves a different Snake than the one found in MGS, MGS2 or MGS4 and takes place in Russia during the 1960’s.

That may sound like an unnecessary addition to the story, but it’s all-but required if you want to understand what’s going on but it still only gets you the big picture, not the minute details.

The game operates admirably without alienating less well-versed players, but some of us never felt as truly immersed as those who were more familiar with the games.  We understood what was going on, but there were still some significant questions.

‘Old Snake,’ as our hero is now called, is sent to the Middle-East to take care of Liquid-Ocelot and the Private Military Contractors (PMC’s) he controls (directly or indirectly). Snake and the militia he’s with are ambushed by a PMC and Gekko’s, pilotless walking mecha which evoke the notion of MGS’s previous big weapon systems, the Metal Gears.

Snake then spends the rest of the game gallivanting all over the world looking for Liquid and his PMC’s, fighting the all-women FROG Soldiers and the Beauty and the Beast Corps, female evocations of the original MGS boss-fights.

The graphics are excellent and certainly above par, but simply put they’re not as good as we were hoping they’d be after all the teaser trailers MGS Director Hideo Kojima popped out a couple of E3’s ago. It’s a beautiful game and all the cutscenes are rendered in real-time (try shaking your controller during a cutscene!), shadows are drawn almost perfectly, and there’s no clipping that we could tell.

The skin is realistic, which is the best achievement. Many current-gen games have skin that looks like everyone’s running around either sweating constantly or lathering their faces in baby oil, but MGS has flat, perfect skin tones and stubble (and there is lots of it) making the characters look realistic and almost freakish to behold.

It’s a blast to play.  Anyone who owns a PS3 owes themselves at least a rent and most should probably buy it. The game can be completed in as little as four and a half hours, but if you really want to savor and enjoy the experience, plan on at least fifteen.

A particular highlight is the level that takes place on Shadow Moses Island, the settings of the original MGS. It even whips into PS1-era graphics for a moment which makes one really appreciate how far we’ve come in a decade.  The level is full of all sorts of references to the original game: some are useful, and others are simply annoying.

The Metal Gear franchise has also been known for long cut scenes, and they could have included an entire disc with just movies on it if they wanted. Though there are some exaggerations out there on the Internet, you’re in for at least as much watching as playing. Luckily you can skip every single one.

The inventory system is somewhat odd in a game that prides itself on its level of realism and plausibility. Snake can unlock weapons any time, use any weapon, and modify things while the game pauses. It’s not unappreciated, since without the ability the game would be significantly more difficult. However, there is some form of disconnect when Master Chief can only carry two weapons and some gear, and Altaïr can only carry what you see on his character model.

A very, very minor nitpick.

The game is almost perfectly constructed. While there are some minor points that really are just nitpicking, it’s hard to deny that MGS4 exists as a perfect example of a game that’s well conceptualized, well thought out, well produced and well presented. With that in mind we can’t give it anything but a perfect score.

[Rating: 5/5] 5/5