Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

[Queeaqueg]

Set to be the biggest game for the PlayStation 3 this year and according to the reviews well worth the hype. The game review I have seen has given it 10/10 and the ever critical Edge Magazien has given it really high reviews.
It has good graphics and lots of action. Snake has lots of new staff such as a suit which blends with the environment, a little Metal Gear which acts a drone and a special eye with nighvision, scope and other functions.
Snake can also mod weapons and buy new stuff from a weapons dealer. The game is similar to the other titles such as similar lay accpet that they have changed to the 3rd to 1st person view and now the camera can be chnaged(unlike others where the camera was fixed). Snake even has an iPod where ingame music can be changed.
The story is menat to be ever confusing just like all the other previous MGS titles mixing action, political, sci-fi and supernatural elements altogther.
The only really criticism for the game is that the CutScenes are really long and so are the Codac conversations which go into great detail to describe the story but the CutScenes are meant to be full of action and well worth watching because it is like watching a movie.
There is an online mode but they didn't go into that but I have seen online mode and it reminds me of Counter Strike a bit.

Metal Gear Solid remains my fav title of this series but this game comes out soon and I hope it is well worth the wait.

[Worm of Despite]

If MGS4 is the true masterpiece of the series, as people say, then Kojmia's cut scenes will be among his best. I probably won't notice how long they are.

Also: they introduced the full 3D camera in Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, which is an enhanced version of MGS3 (the original had the old, top-down camera).

[Nav]

MGS has become famous for it's long cutscenes. I find I enjoy them as the FMV and voice acting is excellent, but the codec sequences are often overly long. I find myself bashing X to skip through them, which is a shame because you miss the subtle plot points and humour that way.

I've heard that MGS4 will take cutscenes to a whole new level, with on in particular clocking in at an incredible 90 minutes! I thought it was strange to hear that Kojima's team were struggling to fit the game onto a BR disc, as it came only shortly after some developers were having a hard time with the Xbox's DL-DVD capacity. I think we can categorically say that these huge cutscenes are responsible!

I didn't really get into MGS3, mostly because I found that the awkward camera angles combined with not having a scanner made gameplay too random (I love stealth gameplay, but I hate having to let myself die every few minutes because I've been caught) and I also have misgivings about the franchise being taken online. Despite that, MGS4 is officially the first game that's made me want to buy the system.

[The Dreaming]

MGS3 Is by far my favorite in the series! Of course, the MGS package is a hell of a lot more than just a stealth action game. (There are plenty of better straght S/A's out there, my favorite of which is the Thief series.) What really makes MGS unique is the fresh way they play with the medium. They don't just break the 4th wall, they break the 5th wall. The games totally play with the way people interact with the video games, and the world. What makes MGS are things like the Psycho Mantis fight. ("I've got it Snake! If you plug the controller into the player 2 slot, he wont be able to predict your movements!)

[Queeaqueg]

Well the fixed camera has now changed with MGS4 now using a camera which is able to rotate.

MGS unique is the fresh way they play with the medium

Reason why MGS is good, the ability to mix sci-fi, politics, actions and supernatural altogether and the way they interact with the game. You go through the game learning about genetics and governments... then suddenly a bad guy who can talk to the dead appears.

[Fullmetal660]

A rotatabel camera??? Now it's gonna be perfect!!
I got it on order so it's gonna drop on my doormat the morning it comes out, I can't wait!!

[Queeaqueg]

Got MSG4! It is as good as I thought it would be. The story can be confusing at times but it is really good and the is tehr ight balance of action, seriousness and humour.
I feel though that B&Bs are not as good as the FoxHound Unit or The Cobra Unit as bosses.

[Worm of Despite]

I agree with you on the bosses, Quee. They were rather easy and straightforward. Then again, Metal Gear has some of the best bosses in video game history, so I'm not surprised they were hard pressed to top their own legacy.

But yeah, great game. It really surpasses the hype and doesn't dissapoint. It seeps into you and stays for months and years. There are some intense scenes, my favorite being:

Spoiler

Snake crawling through the microwaved hall, toward the GW A.I.

[Queeaqueg]

The thing is, that was the real problem with the B&Bs... that they were far too easy. They were cool and I liked the back story they were all given. The Cobras were the best bosses but they lacked a story or character. FoxHound had too much story to them.

Best part of the game

Spoiler

Getting control of MG REX, I have always wanted to control that thing

My only big criticism is that the story can be over dramatic sometimes i.e.

Spoiler

When Raiden says 'it even rained the day I was born

Also the mission in Europe... for the beginning part it really didn't feel like Metal Gear Solid.

[Worm of Despite]

Yeah. There were some melodramatic moments, and the Europe mission seemed to be padding, though it got good after you finished tracking down that guy through the city.

[Queeaqueg]

Just finished the game and well... gets my vote for game of the year. It had everything that I expect from a game and which I have seen so many recent games lack i.e. Devil May Cry 4, Haze, etc.

Spoiler

The final battle with Liquid was awesome. My Dad was watching and at one point we forget that it was a game and thought it was a movie

Excellent game to finish off a wonderful series. Well done Metal Gear.

[Worm of Despite]

My favorite scene:

Spoiler

Snake crawling through the microwaved hall was the most intense thing I've seen in a movie or game. I hardly paid attention to the split-screen on top, showing the battle outside.

[Fullmetal660]

For me, its the ultimate culmination of the story line. I only have one problem with it, I think it could have been longer with more gameplay like in act 1 & 2.

[Worm of Despite]

For me, its the ultimate culmination of the story line. I only have one problem with it, I think it could have been longer with more gameplay like in act 1 & 2.

Amen. Act 1 & 2 was the easily the best gameplay in a Metal Gear Solid. The nostalgia was fine in the second half, but I would have loved to seen the intensity of the Middle East + South America slowly ratcheted up.

[Queeaqueg]

There are some things I would like to be added and removed:

Added:
More stuff about The Sorrow and relation to Ocelot. The Sorrow obviously makes an appearance in this game but more history about his character.

More Codac people. I always found it funny calling multiply like from previous games.

Removed:

Spoiler

Stupid bit about Liquid not processing Ocelot. In MGS2 he clearly processed Ocelot, The Sorrow had similar abilities and it would make sense that Ocelot would have similar spirit abilities, EVA said his spirit had taken control of Ocelot and the Metal Gear Database said that he processed him as well. That whole bit about Ocelot pretending to be Liquid was unnecessary