Metal Gear Solid 4 was never going to be a bad game. The games of the Metal Gear Solid series have been some of the highest rated, as well as best selling, games of all time, redefining the way that the medium is viewed by the mainstream. With their breathtaking scope, revolutionary gameplay and cinematic presentation, MGS games have shown how videogames can be thought provoking and philosophical while still being damned good fun. And yet, with the hype machine building towards a critical mass, it is very possible to be disappointed with MGS4. You expect it to be absolutely perfect in every way; the greatest game ever made and will ever be made. Judging any game by these standards will lead to disappointment. This review is going to leave out the superlatives, tell you about the faults (for there are indeed faults) and tell you why MGS4 is still one of the greatest games ever made and why you need to play it.
Some may argue that graphics are not the most important thing and that this generation is far too obsessed with lighting effects and textures than actual gameplay. Whether or not you think they matter, you have to admit that MGS4’s graphics are amazing. Watching the opening cut scenes, the graphics are indeed awesome, detailed and smooth. But these are pre-rendered, of course, they can’t compare to the actual gameplay, I hear you say. You are quite wrong. Snake jumps to the ground and picks up a gun in a seemingly pre-rendered sequence when suddenly you notice that a HUD has appeared on the screen. The transition from cut scene to gameplay is seamless. Metal Gear Solid 4’s graphics are probably best seen on the PS3 so far.
A review of the sound of MGS4 should really be divided into two sections: sound effects and music. The sound effects of MGS4 are superb. Utilizing the full capacity of the Blu-Ray disk, sound files are uncompressed and present exceptionally high quality. The roar of giant robots, the crunch of hand to hand combat and the crack of gunshots are all reproduced beautifully. Say what you like about the script, the voices in this game are crystal clear; it’s like having the characters in the room with you.
The musical score of MGS4, composed once again by Harry Gregson Williams is, in this reviewer’s opinion, the best soundtrack on PS3 and one of the very best in any game ever. Whether it’s a drum and bass lead piece during a firefight or a swelling orchestral section accompanying the game’s climax, the music is always just right. The classic Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 themes that moved this reviewer to tears may be absent, but Williams has once again succeeded in composing a score that can evoke genuine emotion.
High quality graphics and sound are nice to have and they certainly add to the experience, but the real meat of MGS4 is in its core gameplay. For the uninitiated, MGS games involve the player sneaking past enemy troops, avoiding combat where possible, to reach the objective. That is the simple way to describe it, but there is much, much more.
In true MGS style, the controls are fiddlesome, confusing and very complex, with actions like shooting in the first person requiring 3 different buttons and the right analogue stick. People new to MGS will find this very hard to get used to, and may be put off. MGS veterans, however, will recognize that by making the controls more complicated; the core gameplay has actually been refined. This may sound like a paradox, so let me explain.
Having these more complex controls allows the player greater control of their character, which makes sense. Having greater control of their character allows the players to approach situations in different ways. Do you run in guns blazing, with a good chance of dying but a possibility of punching straight through the enemy lines and escaping? If so, the new over the shoulder aiming mode and auto aim makes firefights much more fluid. If that’s not you style, you can sneak through, clinging to walls, hanging off of ledges and silently taking out guards with the CQC (close quarters combat) system. Levels are designed so that there is almost always more than one way through and you are rewarded for using your initiative. MGS gameplay has always been about being cleverer than the AI. In previous games, this meant figuring out where they would be, and sneaking past. Now that the technology has caught up with Hideo Kojima’s vision, this means figuring out where they are and using the environment to take them out or circumvent them entirely.
MGS3 introduced a new element to the series in camouflage. By changing their outfit to suit their environment in the menu, the player’s “camo index” (represented by a %, 0% being totally exposed and 100% being totally invisible) would change. The system worked, but it was clumsy and annoying to have to open the options menu every time you encountered a different type of grass. MGS4 retains the camo index, but introduces an element that totally changes the gameplay dynamic, Octo-Camo. Simply put, this is a special suit, which changes to match the pattern of whatever you are pressed against if you stay still for a second. It may seem like a gimmick when first used, but within a few minutes you will be using it without thinking about it and wondering what you used to do before you had it.
If this review has empathized the stealth aspects of MGS4 gameplay that’s only because this reviewer prefers to play that way, when the whole game is considered, there are only 3 or 4 sections where is really is impossible to progress any way other than by sneaking. During the first 2 acts of the game, you a sneaking through a war zone, where rebels forces fight against PMC’s (private military companies). If you kill PMC soldiers or give health items to rebels, they will side with you and help you fight through the PMC ranks. If you try to ignore both sides, you can just pass by while the fighting distracts them; it’s your choice.
MGS4 has most definitely got you covered when the question of firearms comes up. Early on in the game, you meet an “arms launderer” called Drebin. He explains how the guns used by PMS troops are locked, and can only be used by the assigned soldier. This means that you can’t use them. For a small fee, however, he will launder the weapon for you and unlock it. On top of this, weapons that you pick up which you already own are automatically sold to Drebin for Drebin points (DP). These DP can be used to buy weapons, ammo and attachments from Drebin’s shop in the game menu. The weapons available in the shop range from special silenced pistols to sniper rifles, shotguns and heavy machine guns. Besides the weapons themselves, there is a vast range of attachments like red dot scopes, silencers, flashlights and laser pointers to buy and attach to weapons. Some people may not like this system, arguing that it detracts from the core gameplay, making it far to easy to fight your way through, tripping alerts and blowing **** up. This is true, but letting people play how they want is not a bad thing. Take the M4, for example. The first weapon that Drebin gives you, this is an assault rifle with a good range and rate of fire. If you are a fighter then clip on an under-barrel shotgun, red dot sight, flashlight, and laser pointer. If that isn’t how you want to play, attach a silencer and a sniper scope and use the same weapon to take your enemies out from a distance.
When it comes to boss battles, MGS has never been afraid to plumb the depths of its creator’s imagination and come up with something that is bat **** insane. Whether it’s a guy who fires bees from his arms or a floating psychic who can read your memory card, bosses are colorful and insane. On this front, MGS4 does disappoint. The game’s 4 main bosses, the Beauty and the Beast unit, are women who have been psychologically damaged by war and for some reason now run (or fly) around in giant metal suits. The first 2 battles are simple shoot ‘em ups, the 3rd is an elaborate shoot ‘em up and only the 4th battle shows any real innovation beyond “shoot them until they die.” These bosses are supposed to demonstrate the effect that warfare has on non-combatants, but really they just seem like filler materials to prevent you from just strolling through areas.
Besides the boss fights, the only really issue that can be found with MGS4’s gameplay is that it is much easier than the previous games in the series. When playing on Solid Normal, which is the harder normal mode, the game is noticeably easier than MGS3 and there are very few sections where you will get bogged down and find it difficult to get past. This is a minor flaw, however. If the game is too easy, play on Hard!
You may have noticed that this review has not mentioned the story, at all. This is very deliberate. The plot of this game is complex, compelling and emotional. By talking about it in any kind of detail, the game would be ruined for you. Suffice it to say you play as an ageing super soldier, Solid Snake trying to track down his evil twin brother before he can take control of the world. There really is far, far, far, far more to it than that, but any more plot revelations would be just wrong. The plot touches on the nature of warfare, family, love, honor, friendship, the military industrial complex and ageing. I’d call it cinematic, but no film could possibly have time to go as deep as Guns of the Patriots does. Fans of the series will be pleased to know that MGS4 does indeed tie up pretty much every plot strand and character arc, explaining what were previously thought of as plot holes and making some pretty shocking revelations. The only real criticism of the plot is the fact that the ending takes a very long time, to paraphrase from another reviewer, it makes Gandalf sailing away at the end of Lord of the Rings look like a John Woo film. It will please fans, but some people may be slightly disappointed that it didn’t go out with a bang.
The question is not whether or not you should buy Metal Gear Solid 4, but when. If you have not played an MGS game before, the plot will make no sense, you will not get any of the in jokes or references. For at least 20% of your time playing this game you will be bored, even if the other 80% of the time is flawless gameplay. This is not a good place to start the series; new players should first play the first 3 games.
If you’re already an MGS fan, however, you should buy MGS4 right now, this very second. You will not play a better title this year, the ending isn’t perfect but the ride for the last 10 years has been so amazing you owe it to yourself to get to the end.
My score: 10.0
There have been many debates in various internet forums (including the Gamers Perspective one) recently about the nature of a score of 10, whether it really means that a game is perfect. For me, it does not. MGS4 is not perfect and makes no secret of that fact. However, I think that it is as perfect as it can be, it is my favorite game. I said earlier that this review was going to avoid superlatives, and you may wonder what could be more superlative than a perfect 10. This game gets a 10 because I love it. Looking at it objectively, I can see flaws and while it should still score well above 9.5, it isn’t a 10. However, when deciding on a score for Metal Gear Solid 4, I have to think about not just the way the game is, but the effect that it has had on me playing it. And that effect has been to make me fall in love with the characters, the plot, and the universe it creates. That feeling allows the game to transcend any of its little faults and become perfect in my head. I hope that you don’t think of that as being incredibly self-indulgent of me.
My Final Score is 10.
Snake_Drinker Contributing Writer Gamer's Perspective
|
