Metal Gear Solid 4.
I've been a fan of the Metal Gear series for as long as I remember, having played from Metal Gear Solid 1 to 4 and loved every over-dramatic, yet entertaining and well thought out, bit of it.
I've been wanting to play Metal Gear Solid 4 since it came out a couple of years ago, but I never had a PS3 until this Christmas when my dad finally got one.. for some reason. Many a time I've been scrolling up and down the Wikipedia page, deciding whether to read the story or not, and finally tie up all the loose ends.
As I write this, I have just completed the game (I think..?), and some of the closing cut scenes are running. They're cheesy, but I love them. It wouldn't be Metal Gear without them. It's japanese after all. Anyway, enough about me. Into the game and what I thought of it.
The gameplay, in my opinion, is just awesome. The huge range of weapons, items, and innovative enemies and boss fights are great. Often there is a hidden way to defeat a boss, that requires some thinking and quite a lot of trial and error.
The game is mainly a stealth game, where camouflage plays a part in your survival. The ideal path in this game is the one that keeps you out of danger. But despite this, there is a huge amount of action in this game aswell, for example if you were found and the alert is sounding, you have to do what you can to get away, which usually involves blasting some enemies in the head and running to the nearest spot out of sight. There are tons of moments in this game that are reminiscent of the first three games, which I love.
The graphics have always been great for the time that they were released. The characters have a certain degree of realism to them, but at the same time keep the slick and stylish finish that makes them recognizable. The environments are well designed and visually, it ticks all the necessary boxes.
The story is possibly the best part, to me. Each character has had tons of development and thought put into it. There is a ridiculous amount of depth behind the characters and the plot. The patriots and all that. There are twists that you wouldn't expect and lots of things that keep you wondering. The voice actors and the script are also very good, and you can recognize the gnarly, american tone of snake from a mile off.
The soundtrack in this game is also amazing. Although sometimes cheesy, especially in Snake Eater, the mood is always set very well and the game is given the unique atmosphere that I love about it.
Overall, if you are willing to watch all the cut scenes, quite long but worth watching nonetheless, and you own a Playstation 3, you should definately get this game if you haven't already. I'm quite annoyed that I had to wait this long to play through it myself, but it was definately, without a doubt, worth the wait.
