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This's been a long time coming-- I wrote it months ago but've only now gotten the chance to post it. Every one of the accompying screenshots was taken by me using the in-game camera item. Beware: it's long.
"I’ve never played a Metal Gear game before, this being my first go at the series. This is the hallowed game, almost guaranteed to become game of the year. A genuine system seller, and even more anticipated then the massive GTA IV.
I’m a better-than-average gamer, and have played many titles. Now, I’m not the type to get excited about games, but this one thoroughly surprised me, and there were moments where I couldn’t help but smirk at its cunningness.
First, your system gets an update to version 2.20 and can now move media straight to your PSP or some such. The game’s install time is around eight minutes, and while it happens there’s an animation of Snake and a few (somewhat ironic) health warnings.
Game starts, long cutscene. Be assured, this is the first of many. I don’t actually mind the frequency of cut-scenes, but I reckon a game’s story is equally important as its gameplay. There are certain button prompts during these, and pressing them will either bring up ‘flashbacks’ or different camera angles. Now, all this is great, but there are loading screens after almost every cutscene, and when you start the game up or begin a new act (of which there are five), there is an ‘installation’ screen just like the one when you first put the disk in. This is really the game’s only pitfall, and they’re easily ignored.
Ah. The first taste of gameplay. I spin the camera around to take in my surroundings. I notice that Snake has a cigarette in his mouth and is in disguise. He’s also old, but you already knew that.
I’m standing in the middle of a battle zone with Gekkos running about terrorising the militia. These are the ‘moobots’ seen in one of the game’s trailers. If one spots Snake, it’ll chase him.
Even now the sheer detail and scale of the environment is surprising. But it looks even better as the game progresses.
Later on Snake loses the disguise and you get to see the OctoCamo in action. This suit spontaneously changes colour to match whatever its wearer’s leaning against, and is rather effective until enemies come up close.
When I got hold of Metal Gear Mk. II, the first thing I did was test out its abilities on Snake. I knocked him unconscious with three electric shocks after noticing with a smirk that the ‘bot’s controller was no other then the DualShock 3. (Screen 3)
My point is; this game is packed to the seams with incredible detail. The aforementioned controller was basically an exact match to its real-world counterpart, and is just a tiny part of what the game has to offer. (Screens 7 & 8)
The AI in Metal Gear Solid 4 is nothing short of perfect. Enemy soldiers match real players in intelligence and behave realistically.
I was marauding about in the second level, focusing on a group of enemies, when I began taking fire from apparently nowhere. Looking around, I quickly discovered that one of the soldiers had used an alleyway between two buildings to sneak around behind me.
Some enemies, when injured, will cry and sob, and if they think you’re an ally, will ask for help. If you don’t shoot any of their comrades, they will assume you’re on their side. Later on in the game you can plant a Playboy magazine and distract enemy soldiers with it. They will crouch and read it while laughing with little pink hearts floating above their heads. (Screen 6)
If you rend one of your enemies unconscious and another finds him/her, they’ll wake ‘em up. If they see a body, they’ll instantly know that something’s afoot and start looking for danger. They will also get confused and freak out if you fire on them from a hidden position, e.g. the top of a building. Of course, this is only really effective if you have a sniper scope or really, really good aim.
Combat is fast and engaging, but in some cases extremely difficult. It’s almost essential to take out enemies before they have a chance to call for backup, otherwise, you’ll find yourself in the centre of a furious bullet-fest.
I’ve played many games but this is the first to simulate a war zone with pinpoint accuracy. Helicopters whirr overhead and soldiers shout orders at each other while countless explosions rock the environment. Almost endless gunfire can be heard in the distance. While exploring I’ve found a rare few places to take cover from the chaos.
The Psyche gauge affects almost every aspect of gameplay, from how good Snake’s aim is to how quickly his health regenerates. If it gets low, it’s almost impossible to snipe enemies, no matter how good your aim is.
The controls are fantastic, but the camera was initially a bit slow for my taste, so I doubled its speed and inverted the y-axis. Then everything was great. The system effortlessly switches between the semi-dominant third-person shooter style to melee and sneaking. There are limitless possibilities to how you can fight battles and make them your own. Sneak around behind a PMC squad, or spray them with bullets? Maybe I’ll just blow them up with my RPG-7 and move on.
Snake can play dead both on his back and on his stomach, and can fire a gun from these positions. If an enemy spots him feigning death, they will walk over and kick him to see if he’s really a corpse.
After an enemy has been knocked out/tranquilised they can be woken back up and searched for items. It was quite funny seeing Snake knock out an enemy, crouch, then pat him and saying “Get up.”
You can hide in and under certain objects, and fans of the series may be delighted to know that the infamous cardboard box has returned, this time accompanied by a barrel, dumpsters, lockers and anything that Snake can fit under.
There were several times when I was caught waddling about under the guise of my trusty cardboard box and stopped in hope of being ignored.
It didn’t happen. The enemies in this game are VERY smart and just as inquisitive. One decided to walk over and inspect the moving carton. First, he looked in the peephole Snake was using to see, realised there was someone inside and lifted the box away. They do the same thing for barrels but often walk right past lockers you’re hiding in. (Screens 1 & 4)
The barrel can be just as effective as any weapon in taking out enemies. Why, you ask? Well, with the slightest tap of X Snake flips the oversized tin onto its side and you can roll around, rending anyone unfortunate enough to be in your path unconscious. It’s like bowling, really. The only setback for this behaviour is that Snake needs to stop and throw up every now and then. This is probably motion sickness, when you think about it.
Any experienced gamer knows what Easter eggs are. The hidden, odd and often funny little things that developers put in their games for a laugh and sometimes to annoy the player. Kojima Productions has packed this game with heaps of them. There’s the aforementioned controller and random references to being on the PlayStation 3 system, to name a few. Another is Otacon’s Policenauts screensaver and Sunny’s PSP. Apple has nudged itself into the game, too. Apple computers are all over the place and Snake has an iPod that can be equipped in order to listen to yet more Easter eggs in the form of songs from previous games.
Speaking of retro, I was happily surprised and shocked but slightly disappointed when Snake was headed to a certain snowy island. After the cutscene, the screen fades to black as normal, but the next bit of gameplay is odd and confusingly random to people that don’t know the series’ history, whilst almost thrilling to those many veterans that’ve played all the games.
What am I talking about? One of the outstanding parts of the game: the part where you get to play the original Metal Gear Solid.
Yeah, it is only a two-to-five minute section, but it’s way more than enough. As soon as I seen it, memories of the days of the PS1 flooded into my head. The second console I ever owned, the one that introduced me to the world of PlayStation, and all the fantastic games that came with it.
I’m not going to tell you the reason why you get to play this exact copy of MGS1, because I’m trying my hardest not to reveal the plot twists…
Onto the plot, then. It is, in all honesty, then most thought-out and carefully executed storyline I’ve ever witnessed. It beats every movie, every game—even the likes of Final Fantasy—and every book, I’ve ever seen, heard or read.
But saying ‘plot’ isn’t enough. This truly epic story is basically two or three storylines conveniently intertwined. I now see why these games are so famous, just from playing this one.
From start to finish I was genuinely enthralled, wanting to know what would happen next. And the game never felt like I was running from one cutscene to the next instead of just playing it.
The ending is one of the best (and longest) I’ve watched, lasting around two hours in total and with many momentous plot twists and reveals, almost as many as the rest of the game combined.
In preparation for playing Metal Gear Solid 4, I learnt as much as possible about the previous games’ plots and gameplay. (Screen 10) Because of this, I was just as surprised as any series veteran would be at a certain point at the end. I implore you now: do not turn off the game when the credits roll—there’s more to come, both times. Just wait ‘em out.
Boss battles are among the best I’ve fought so far, and you mainly face off against the Beauty and the Beast squad, who you’ve know doubt heard of by now. There’s Crying Wolf, who is extremely agile and howls like her namesake; Raging Raven, who has the power of flight and constantly screams “RAGE!” (Screen 12)
Laughing Octopus has four robotic tentacles that move to her will and suspend her off the ground at all times; and finally, Screaming Mantis. Sort of the leader of the Beasts, she holds two ghostly puppets in her hands and her psychokinesis is extremely powerful.
When you defeat her, you’ll be asked to put your controller flat on the ground…
Anyway, the battle against the latter Beast and another boss I won’t reveal are the most vexing I’ve ever played. The way to defeat these two is very well hidden until you realise how insultingly simple it is. My siblings spent four hours trying to take out Screaming Mantis before I stepped in and solved the problem in fifteen minutes.
In conclusion, I’ve never played a game that had so many shocking moments, such realistic characters and graphics so incredible. No other game comes close to matching its depth and length.
MGS 4 filled a dual-layer Blu-ray but still wasn’t big enough for what Hideo wanted. It’s saved data takes up a massive 4,000 megabytes and reduced the available HDD space on my 60g PS3 to twenty-nine gigs.
This game was always going to be legendary, it was either going to be a mammoth success or a spectacular flop.
As it turns out, it’s neither of these things.
Metal Gear Solid 4 has changed gaming forever. The PlayStation 3 created a console revolution, but this game has raised the bar so high any game released for months after it will be hard-pressed to even be half the game it is.
I know I sound like an obsessed fan, but I’m not. I’m completely new to the series, and have been gaming for thirteen and a half years. That’s 90% of my life so far. I’ve never been so excited about a game, and I’ve played hundreds and owned a total of eighteen handheld and home consoles. This is the Playstation 3’s first genuine must-have, a game that people will buy the console for. If you’re a gamer who’s skill is worth anything, you will at least hire this game.
This game deserves the rating I’ve given it. The last game in the Metal Gear Solid franchise has given the legendary series a fitting final salute. For this reason I’ve given it infinity out of ten.
Oh, and… He’s back. That’s all I’m saying. See if you can figure out who I’m talking about."
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Last edited by Sadistic; Aug 22 2008 at 02:46 PM..
great review i've been a MGS fan for ages, i've played them all and will never forget the experience. I agree with everything you said, But i still think no words can describe this game because it is "That" good.
I finished the game 4 times so far, and got like 30 emblems (including the last one), Altair's costume, special items and all the weapons/items. I spent around 90 hours on the game and i still ain't done with it. I even watched all the cutscenes again on my second playthrough cuz they are amazing. I enjoyed every second of it.
MGS4 in my opinion is in its own league, you can't compare it to anything out there this gen. It's not much of a system seller though because it's a game for the fans. It's way too hard to take all that in and make sense of it when you're not up to scratch with the gameplay/story so people don't bother. it's a shame though cuz it has GOTY written all over it.
IMO this game is underrated and already pretty much forgotten. Oh well it still stands best game and best franchise on my list.
I first played the game about 2 months ago, and it's still the best action game I've ever played. It totally eclipses anything else, and I'm sure more experienced players would agree with me. I haven't even had the chance to try Metal Gear Online yet, but I hear it's fantastic.
I call the Gekko 'Moobots' more then their actual name O_o I'm on my second playthrough now, and accidently began a 'naked run' (as I've heard them be called) on The Boss Extreme mode. And I had the Johnny Rifle (another nickname...) too. It's not actually that hard, now that I've gotten the hang of it again.
Agreed on everything, it was so well done. I'm still astonished at how they managed to tie up every loose end at the finish line. Best action game I've ever played, and I am forever a Raiden fan. I remember not even able to be able to take down those Gekkos as Snake because I was too preoccupied with Raiden vs. Vamp
Best action game I've ever played, and I am forever a Raiden fan.
Raiden is definately my favorite character of the game, despite what I've heard about him being a sissy. He's just awesome. And he uses a sword
Quote:
Originally Posted by GarageBandNinja
I remember not even able to be able to take down those Gekkos as Snake because I was too preoccupied with Raiden vs. Vamp
Spoiler:
During the battle in the hanger with REX?
I allowed my younger brother to be the first to that fight so I could watch the Vamp/Raiden fight going on, but ended up doing it for him. I was also the one to figure out how to kill Vamp and Screaming Mantis, and I did those for him, too. Team effort, I guess. I'm on The Boss Extreme still (been concerntrating on other things) and plan on my third playthrough being an easter egg/hidden goodies/ghost photography run.
Also, I've been taking more screenshots with the camera, including the Screaming/Raging/Crying/Laughing beauty photoshoots.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Review
It's not actually that hard, now that I've gotten the hang of it again.
