Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Review

Kojima completes his masterpiece with the most beautiful MGS to date.

The Metal Gear Solid (MGS) series is tempting to promote in most gaming circles, but truth be told, very few gamers completed more than the first game and certain parts of the second. While MGS 3 had a huge number of sales on the PS2, I know a bunch of players who started and never finished the game. After four titles, more than 10 years and three consoles, Konami and Kojima productions conclude the stealth masterpiece with their best work yet.

MGS 4 is trying very hard to be an interactive film. From the moment you boot up the game and play through the prologue, you don't totally feel like you're in control. This remains consistent for a surprising majority of the game although I must admit I didn't have a problem with it. All MGS games have long cut scenes, but that number is relative only to the era they were released in; the original MGS had scenes that may be a minute or two whereas MGS 3 had a few that were close to twenty minutes. If you are not a fan of long cut scenes or have no interest in MGS lore, you can still get through the game, but it will cost you much of the immersion. For those that hang in there, rest assured, all plot points will be closed in a relatively upfront way that clears much of the confusion of previous titles. If you've never played an MGS game, fear not, because MGS 4 can stand alone by itself albeit that you won't recognize anyone you come across.

 
The control system has been yet again completely remapped, but thankfully this is an improvement as it now emulates basic FPS controls and makes Snake much easier to navigate than ever before. Previous games have had a slow and delayed feel to button commands, which have all been eliminated in this fast-paced newer iteration. Snake's options are also much larger than before with easy controls to knock out, hold up, stab and even shoot enemies. Gone are the days where Snake is encouraged to take no life and penalized for head-on combat, however it is important to note that those who can do it will yet again be handsomely rewarded. Also gone are the moments of accidental discovery now that the camera moves as easy as it did in MGS 3 Subsistance and camouflage is now a chameleon-like suit that Snake has from beginning to end.