Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
November 7, 2008 • written by Gerard Van Wijk
In the year 2014, the world’s economy feeds on warfare. With the introduction of Privatized Military Companies (PMC), wars are no longer fought for nationalism, but for profit. The five largest PMCs have gone so far as to become major world powers, and all five are owned by the same person. Your mission as Snake (the main character) is to take him out, and put an end to his monopoly of destruction.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (MGS4) is a “tactical espionage action” game and the most recent installment in the video game industry’s most prolific franchise of the stealth genre.
Upon starting the game, you are required to go through a lengthy installation process, once that is done, however, you are tossed directly into the conflict between the PMC Praying Mantis and a local militia from the Middle East. Shortly thereafter, a troop of Metal Gears (rather large, bipedal mechs) attacks, and you escape to safety.
As sneaking around is an integral part of the game, there are any number of sticky situations, with an infinite amount of tactics to get through to the next challenge. If and when you are seen, the pace suddenly picks up, and you become completely immersed in the action. In order to help prevent this, however, Snake is equipped with a suit of OctoCamo. When you stay still for a short amount of time, the suit takes on the appearance of nearby textures, providing you with camouflage. Throughout the course of the game, you might stumble upon some disguises, allowing you to go by relatively unseen by certain groups of people.
Within the first level, you receive the Solid Eye, an electronic “eye-patch” that lets you see tags on guards, and items, as well as providing you with night vision and binoculars. You also obtain Metal Gear Mk.II, a tiny Metal Gear directly connected to you main base. You can take direct control of it (until the batteries run out) to take a look around corners, distract guards, grab items, among many other uses.
Eventually, you will meet with Drebin, an arms dealer who as adapted to the new styles of warfare. You can buy weapons and parts from him whenever, even in the middle of a mission, via Mk.II. The price of his services depends on the region you are currently in.
The story takes you all around the world, from the deserts of the Middle East, to the lush jungles of South America. The cut-scenes are long and drawn out, but they provide you with a wealth of information, and they are highly interactive. Some of them even allow you to take control of Mk.II and pick up various rare items, such as battery packs for the Solid Eye and Mk.II.
The option exists to download different OctoCamo skins and music for you in game iPod for free via the Play Station Network. These downloads allow you to customize Snake’s missions to fit your playing style, by changing the background music, and adding nifty effects to your OctoCamo.
The controls aren’t shown to you unless you look in the “Briefing” option of the pause menu. Although the controls are a bit difficult to get down at first, it becomes second-nature after about an hour of playing. Once you master them, the control interface is especially convenient, and runs like clockwork.
MGS4 is certainly an amazing experience and one of the best on the PS3 so far. The stealth missions are engaging and draw you in almost immediately. However, it takes a little bit to get in the flow of things, and if you’re a gamer who hates cut-scenes, those will prove to be a nuisance (but you can skip them if you want to). MGS4 gets a 9.5/10.
If you would like to request a game for me to review, shoot me an e-mail at tehrealgerard@gmail.com!
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cool..looks fun!
cool…looks fun!
BEST GAME FOR PS3
MGS4 is a great game, but konamis decision to make it a ps3 exclusive was not an intelligent one. I own both systems, the ps3 is a great system, the xbox 360 is just more approachable: it’s cheaper, has more games, and a much larger live community. This game would have sold much better had it been ported to the 360 as well.