Metal Gear Solid 4
ActionReleases: 06.12.08
Kojima Productions
Konami
ESRB: Mature
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Snake! Snaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!
by Sarah Schutz 
A game like Metal Gear Solid 4 on a console like the PS3 - rife with potential, but so far missing the mark, creates all kinds of high-flying expectations. I am pleased to say that it is a game like Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots that emphasizes my disdain for the game review scoring system, because a 10 just doesn't cut it. What every other "perfect" game has done, MGS4 has done better. Play it through the first time to uncover the expansive story's twists and turns and revisit the game to perfect your skill within the impeccable gameplay. Play it through a third time to perfect your Solid Snake impersonation. I have fallen in love with this series all over again and my nostalgia is only superseded by what this game will undoubtedly give to the future of the industry.
To prevent being the the spoiler of one of the greatest stories ever told through a gaming console, I will watch my words. But I will warn you that if you are unfamiliar with the series, most of the plot's stunning reveals won't mean much. Thankfully, you can now download the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Database, which includes an encyclopedia, timeline and character relationship diagrams explaining the convoluted plot of the series. The Database smartly blocks out anything you haven't discovered in MGS4, so you are free from risk of ruining the game for yourself, but if you have any desire to play the older Metal Gear games, the surprises will be spoiled. But wouldn't playing the fourth game first do that anyway?
Without giving away too much, Guns of the Patriots takes place nine years after the Shadow Moses even. Solid Snake has grown older, though obviously exponentially as compared to his peers. Snake has endured accelerated aging which has left him a a wrinkled, decrepit resemblance of the very Solid Snake we once knew. Old Snake is being sent on one final mission to take out Liquid Ocelot for good. But Snake now lives in a very changed world. The world has been entirely consumed by war. Private Military Corporations (PMCs) will fight whomever for the highest paying dollar. Guns and minds are controlled by the Patriot system, so ammunition must be unlocked in order to be used. The game's overarching theme provides a commentary on our own day in age. Snake's first weapon is no longer a silenced pistol, but a semi-automatic weapon. War has no obvious purpose and no one really knows anymore what they are fighting for. War has become a game and cause and consequences have fallen by the wayside. Characters you meet along the way will have their own stories about the way war has affected them and you will gradually learn that a tactical espionage action game has more to say about peace than war. The cutscenes are the most beautiful you've seen, some lasting up to 45 minute, every moment worthwhile. The story is as important, if not more, than the gameplay and only supplements the desire to revisit Old Snake again and again.
This new world offers Snake a new form of fighting. Where most of the Metal Gear Solid games have focused on stealth, Snake now has the option of fighting levels through with guns blazing. Each method offers its merits and true MGS aficionados will no doubt attempt to go through the game without any alerts, but for those who are not the sneakiest gamers, you can still make it through the game without wanting to throw the controller through Snake's head. To unlock those Patriot locked weapons I mentioned, you are connected to Drebin who will unlock weapons or sell you new ones for a price. Prices of weapons and ammo changes depending on the war economy of the game, how many weapons you purchase and your locale in the game. Weapons can be purchased at any time, which can be a savior when you're smack in the middle of a boss fight without any ammo. Weapons are also customizable offering attachments and alterations to work best for how you play. The vast arsenal combined with ability to play stealth, action or otherwise offers replayablity and variation. Snake is also equipped with the Mark II, a robot given to you by Otacon, which lets you check out the scene ahead of Snake or perform a few sneak attacks of his own. Perhaps the coolest addition to gameplay in MGS4 is the camo suit. The camo suit allows Snake to literally blend in with his surroundings to avoid detection by enemies and is quite satisfying when used effectively. Snake's enemies act and react as you would expect them to, shooting the shit while patrolling their areas and snapping into search mode when alerting. They can find you where you'd expect they would and lose you when you've found a realistic hiding place, so you no longer have to think how a mediocre AI system would think. When surrounded by various factions and resistance against the PMCs, you can win friends, allowing you to gain fire power and an extra advantage when navigating enemies, making that whole stealth thing a whole lot easier.
Sometimes hardcore stealth leads to killing.
Since my words are limited to that which won't burst your bubble, I will lonely say in closing that not playing Guns of the Patriots is a crime to yourself as a gamer. Those that think that games are not art or that they lack cultural context, offering no insight to past, present or future generations need to experience the story of Snake in all his sexy stealthiness.
Shut up
IGN
GAMESPOT
PLAY
1UP
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