MGS 4 REVIEW BY IGN.COM

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/877/877611p1.html

The ultimate Metal Gear game. Without question.


UK, May 30, 2008 - In return for
letting us play Metal Gear Solid 4 before its release, Konami issued us
with a list of things that we're not allowed to discuss. This list of
prohibited topics is pretty long, and even extends as far as several
facts that the company itself has already made public. Regardless of
Konami's list of prohibited topics though, this review was always going
to be a spoiler-free zone, because part of the pleasure of playing Guns
of the Patriots lies in discovering everything it has to offer. MGS 4
is simply a game that you have to experience for yourself. Because the
one thing that can certainly be said, prohibited topics or not, is that
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is,
without question, the ultimate Metal Gear game. It represents the
pinnacle of Hideo Kojima's achievement, and it's undoubtedly one of the
games of the year.



Metal Gear... It can't be.

Surprisingly, it gets off to a pretty slow start. Oh sure, there is
something uniquely satisfying about the game's opening cinematic: the
gruff, distinctive tones of David Hayter's Solid Snake, and the slow,
measured edit. But there are various things that give the Metal Gear
games a distinct, unique 'feel', and initially, it is the absence of
those things that is most striking. The absence of fixed camera angles,
for example, or of extended Codec conversations, or of the distinctive
PlayStation 2 textures, making the game feel less like a Metal Gear
game and more like a typical action title. As the game starts, with its
fairly generic next-gen textures and desert battlefield setting, you
can't help feeling that you could be playing the latest Call of Duty,
or Assassin's Creed.

Play on, however, and you'll soon find yourself re-immersed in Hideo
Kojima's distinctive vision of gaming in what is the definitive Metal
Gear Solid – tying up every loose end, reprising every notable
character and location, and recasting the entire series as nothing less
than a re-telling of the Messiah story. If that sounds a little
grandiose, well so be it. If you've been following all of the twists
and turns across the series so far, you'll gain enormous satisfaction
from the multitude of cut-scenes in MGS 4 because they wrap up
everything you ever knew about the Philosophers, the Patriots, The
Boss, Big Boss, Solid Snake and his brothers. And if you haven't been
following? Well then it does a pretty good job of recapping the whole
thing: if you've never played a Metal Gear game, you'll still enjoy all
the overblown drama and intrigue. But the perfect preparation for the
release of Metal Gear Solid 4 would be to sit down for a week and play
through each game in turn, from beginning to end. It deserves nothing
less.



An older Snake finds himself tested by the battlefield.


If cut-scenes aren't your thing you can, of course, just skip right
through them all. You'll be missing out on a great deal, but you will
be able to cut right to the chase – or in this case, cut right to the
sneak. Metal Gear was the original stealth game, but here, the
mechanics of sneaking around and snapping necks are the most polished
they've ever been: a refined control scheme, new gadgets, and just the
sheer muscle of the PlayStation 3 take the stealth in MGS 4 to another
level. Blend into the background with the new OctoCamo – an extension
of Snake-Eater's camouflage system that obviates the need to mess
around with menus and consequently works much more effectively. Keep
track of threats with the stealth ring system (pausing or crouching to
get a bead on nearby enemies). Use your Solid Eye to switch to night
vision, or thermal goggles, or binoculars to spot important items.
Survey the battlefield with Otacon's new Metal Gear Mk. II. And use the
new Dreben Points system to scour the battlefield for salvage – salvage
that can be exchanged for ammo, items and new weapons.

Even if, after playing all of the other games in the series, you're
bored of simply sneaking around, MGS 4 still has something to offer,
because all of these refined stealth tactics are given a further new
dimension thanks to the battlefield context. As you find yourself
fighting through the abandoned streets, or the South American
countryside, you'll be able to interrupt gun battles or trigger
flashpoints to play off one side against the other, picking and
choosing sides as it suits, or ignoring the combat and using it as a
smokescreen. More than any other Metal Gear game, so much of the game
is full of emergent possibilities that open up like a butterfly's
wings: taking different routes or using different tactics and
strategies sets off a cascade of events that unfold in very different
directions.



Unusually for the Metal Gear series, one of those directions is
balls-out action. Unlike the previous games, Guns of the Patriot
actually provides you with a fair amount of leeway if your chosen
strategy is to shoot everything in sight. For a start, you can switch
to a first-person view and almost play it like a conventional FPS if
you so choose. More importantly, the Dreben Points system puts a much
more powerful and diverse arsenal at your disposal, and every weapon
can be upgraded in a variety of ways, from bolting on a grenade
launcher to improving the laser targeting system or loading it with
specialised ammo. Nevertheless, if you are going to treat MGS 4 like a
conventional shooter, you'll need to keep an eye on Snake's stress
gage. If it's not enough that extended gunfights with enemy snipers,
tanks and helicopter gunships are sufficiently dramatic to get your own
heart pumping, they're just as likely to send Snake's ticker into
overdrive, making him heal more slowly and function less effectively.
All that running round and shooting stuff really isn't good for his old
heart, you know,

Still, it is fair to say that sneaking around is just the tip of Metal
Gear Solid 4's Titanic-sized iceberg of action entertainment. Brace
yourself for a lot of variety as the narrative twists and turns to
catapult you across the globe in a flurry of game styles and approaches
to design. You'll find yourself climbing on car roofs to eliminate
shambling hordes, or donning a raincoat to evade security forces while
tailing a mark. One section requires you to use all of your wilderness
skills to track down a target, scrutinising the way ahead for signs of
your quarry. And, of course, you'll find yourself encountering
fiendishly devised bosses. Because where would Metal Gear Solid be
without bosses? As if to remind you, several of the bosses in MGS 4 are
brilliantly evocative of some of the more memorable boss encounters
from the series so far. They also prove to be pretty memorable
encounters in themselves, too; running for cover through a research
lab, while trying to locate a stealthily camouflaged femme fatale, for
example.



And then there are the Kojima moments: those moments of silliness, or
humour, or attention to detail, that just wouldn't make it into any
other game. Remember the codec on the back of the CD in the original
MGS? Or slipping over on seagull droppings in MGS 2? Or ogling women's
breasts during the cut-scenes in MGS 3? MGS 4 is just as full to the
brim with similar moments of seemingly inconsequential but still
sublime brilliance, and it's just as densely packed with secrets as any
one of the previous games. Look closely enough during some of the
cut-scenes, for example, and you'll notice the mild bruising around one
character's neck from where she's been spiking herself with
nanomachines, or you might notice Snake ageing subtly over the course
of the game. Away from the cut-scenes, listen out for birdsong and use
it to work out if there are any enemies around. Or listen out for the
various musical themes or melodies that evoke memories of previous
games – memories of places and people and events. Even the thumbnails
for your save games are first class.
Split-screen techniques add a new cinematic dimension – and the
literally strength-sapping climax in particular takes interactive
storytelling to new heights. Flashbacks tie into themes of
post-traumatic stress, as well as reiterating themes from previous
games, connecting Guns of the Patriots to the whole of Kojima's vision
for the Metal Gear series. And that, really, is what it boils down to:
Hideo Kojima's singular vision of gaming. One of those things that
Konami doesn't want us to talk about is the 'total length of
cut-scenes'. Hopefully it won't be bending the rules to far to reveal
that they represent about half of the content of the game. That, for
some people, will be too much to bear. But in many ways it's a
vindication of Kojima's unique interpretation of the videogame medium.



Because in videogames, Kojima has found the perfect medium for his
overblown vision. A narrative that encompasses nanomachines, premature
ageing, Liquid Snake's nefarious plans, and a whole host of familiar
faces and memorable places is every bit as silly and overblown and
hammy as any of the previous games. It's also every bit as compelling,
and stylish, and funny, and it encompasses large and relevant themes,
from post-traumatic stress to global warming. It's got corny love
interests, and Hollywood pastiche. It's a metaphor for the
Military-Industrial Complex, and a parable for peaceful action.

It's campy and sexy, with the lingering cleavage shots that you'll
remember from Snake-Eater (and the original MGS, if you insisted on
following Meryl round till she ended up in her underwear). But it also
recasts the whole story as nothing less than a retelling of the Messiah
story, with resurrection, sins of the father and all that (and surely
there's something admirable about the bravado – the sheer chutzpah – of
recasting something as trifling as an action game as the story of Man).
And it's a further restatement of the anti-violent themes that have
percolated throughout the series.


It probably wouldn't work as a film because it would seem both
overblown and trivial. But you could say the same about certain operas,
or novels. Fortunately for us, Hideo Kojima happens to be someone who
has found the confidence to express an artistic vision that is wholly
suited to his chosen medium – and a medium that is uniquely young
enough to bend to his will. It's not fair to call him a frustrated
film-maker. If he had been a film maker he might have been frustrated.
Instead he has found a medium large enough to contain his unique
artistic vision.

Which is a long-winded way of saying that this game rocks.

It is the ultimate in fan service, but it is also hard to see how
this could be anything other than one man's uncompromised vision of
what a videogame should be. The action sequences are faultless. The
cut-scenes – well, yes, you could argue that there are too many of
them, that they're too long, and that the dialogue is occasionally
leaden. Indeed many of the most dramatic cut-scenes might make you
crave action, or wonder why they couldn't have been turned into
interactive sequences. But that's because they're the work of an
auteur, and if you're going to enjoy the high points of Hideo Kojima's
vision, there has to be an acceptance of his excesses, too.

Because this is a return to and a best of and an everything you ever
loved about a Metal Gear game, all wrapped up and distilled into one,
undiluted vision of gaming. Closing Comments
If you’ve
ever loved any one of the Metal Gear games, or any moments from the
series, there will come a moment when MGS 4 will send your spirits
soaring. If you’ve loved them all, well then there’ll be many, many
more. It’s a masterpiece. But forget you read that. Go play it and find
out for yourself. Because it’s the kind of game that, if you play it
after being told it’s a masterpiece, might end up disappointing you
because of the hype. So forget the hype. Forget that it’s a
magnificent, ground-breaking, masterpiece. Just play it, and enjoy a
dazzling, heart-lifting, voyage of discovery.

10	Presentation From the opening videos to the end credits, the attention to detail throughout Guns of the Patriots is astonishing, setting new standards for production values in games.
10	Graphics The visuals in MGS 4 are as cutting-edge as you can rightfully expect from the latest videogame blockbuster, boasting as much style as technical expertise.
10	Sound The surround sound effects are stunning, having actual in-game effects, from using birdsong to detect enemies to choosing your own tunes.
10	Gameplay Guns of the Patriots is the definitive MGS, taking stealth mechanics to new heights and throwing in so much more that you just have to discover it for yourself.
9.5	Lasting Appeal Aside from the fact that the cut-scenes bear repeated viewing, you’ll want to play through MGS 4 again and again, simply to unlock ever more exotic weapons, items and player rankings.
9.9 Incredible	OVERALL (out of 10 / not an average)