A system seller. That’s what many are calling, and have called, Metal Gear Solid 4. And well, it seems that it is. As we are all now well aware, Sony bundled in MGS4 with PS3 systems this summer and it has payed off. According to NPD data the PS3 outsold the Xbox 360 in the month of June… no… it demolished it.
Metal Gear Solid 4 is the fourth game in Konami’s Metal Gear Solid franchise and is considered to be director Hideo Kojima’s game magnum opus, but does the game deliver on all the hype that has followed it? Yes, yes it does.
This review is a long time coming and is now out of date in the ever moving games industry, but it must be done. MGS4 has received a lot of perfect scores, and sure it’s a great game, but it is not perfect. Please do not interpret those scores as perfect, cause they don’t reflect that. What they reflect is the overlooking of issues in the grand scheme of things.
First, the cut scenes in MGS4 take a looong time to wade through. This is not a game you pop in to quickly play a level or finish a boss. It’s literally impossible. You’re going to need at least 30 minutes, maybe longer, to set aside to play this game. As most have said, it’s like playing a movie. In fact, the final cutscene may qualify as a short film… running at around 30 – 40 minutes long.
Second, there’s quite a length install time before you play it. There are also small install times in between each act. Though I feel that this is a small issue. Sure, it was annoying as hell waiting to get to the next part in this grand tale of Solid Snake’s final mission… but it was forgotten soon after I got to playing again.
And oh boy, it is good when you get to playing again. The controls are smooth, the graphics are amazing, and everything just feels so right. If there was a game that simulated real life well, it could be this. Interacting with objects and the AI of the guards all earn high marks and are great fun to play with. The cut scenes thrown in between gameplay bits… or maybe gameplay thrown in between cut scenes… just add to the bad assery, especially since they’re all done with the in game engine.
There is one major new addition to the series though, and that comes in the form of Drebin. He’s an arms dealer that allows you to basically buy ammunition and guns for all your weapons at any point in time. Though some may feel that this is cheap, it allows you to attack any scenario in the game any way you wish. It opens up choice to each and every player so that they are not forced to beat the game or go through levels in one particular way.
That’s the major addition, but the major evolution is presentation. This game truly does lift the bar for presentation in a video game. The musical score, the direction, and the cinematics are all of Hollywood quality. It truly is amazing to see how far this medium has grown in the past 10 years. It’s just mind blowing.
The story may be a bit mind blowing as well, sure it’s a bit convoluted but it ties up most, if not all, of the loose ends in the first three of the series. Oh, and don’t worry, for those that are new to the series it does a good job of summarizing past events, though you won’t get all the nitty gritty details that many fans of MGS love. If you are a fan of MGS though, you will love this game. There are so many hidden easter eggs and and moments that are referenced from past games it’ll make you giggle with glee. And there’s one moment in particular that bring nostalgia right to your front door.
There’s only one way to summarize this game, for both fans of the series and people who haven’t yet checked out the series, for both PS3 owners and non-PS3 owners, and that summarization is simple: system seller.
Rating: 5 out of 5
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