Kojima san, thank you for this masterpiece!
Alright, my first review for this truly new awesome site. Jeff, Ryan, Brad, Vinny, I salute you.
The first true great PS3 exclusive is a little late in the game, but it's finally here. Hideo Kojima sure kept us waiting, but Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is out, and it does not disappoint. For me, it's the most fun I've had on my PlayStation 3 this year.
Graphically, you've got to see it to believe it. Kojima went for a truly cinematic approach to telling the story, so most of the drama and action packed cut scenes were done with the in-game engine. The first time I saw the cut-scene seamlessly cut back to game play, I felt truly immersed in the action. It really is a technical marvel. All animations, textures, scenery, characters for both game play and cut scene were really impressive to look at. Everything runs smoothly, at 60FPS. Sometimes, when there is too much action, frames do drop, but nothing too excessive, everything is playable. In this department, I had absolutely no gripes about it.
About the story, it's still complex as hell. There are still a lot of things on the story that puzzle me. I know the story is complicated and there is too much information, but it all adds to the richness of the overall theme. Fortunately, there is the Metal Gear Database, that will help me remember some stuff. This game marks the end of the "Solid" series, good closure.
OK, how's the game play? Incredibly good! It's a combination of all the good game play mechanics of the previous games, and spicing it up with current popular ways of game play. Players can now shoot with more freedom, now that we have an over the shoulder third person aiming mechanic. Additionally, crawling, forward rolling, hanging off ledges, CQC and the rest of Snake's moves are still here, only everything just works together excellently. I know that for beginners, all the moves will be hard to learn at first, but for Metal Gear veterans, it will be nothing but fun.
Sound is excellent as always for the Metal Gear series. The soundtrack is a mix of Hollywood style orchestra mixed with a lot of techno and rock beats. When the drama kicks in, the appropriate music is played. But the real meat of the music is when the action gets intense, the music for these parts is awesome. Sound effects are as good as always. Voice acting is also high class. The random soldier's "What was that noise?" "Is somebody there?" are still there, and they are just priceless LOL.
Overall, this is a complete package of excellent game play, good (but complex) story, graphics and sound. Yes, most people argue that the cut scenes were too long, and, I agree that they are not short. But this was how Kojima decided the story should be told, with a ton of drama and over the top action. He could have opted for a fast quick way to end it, but remember, this is Snake's last mission, this is how MGS's stories have always been narrated. This is what makes MGS and MGS game. And I can not be happier with how MGS4 turned out. Thank you Kojima san, 10 years and 4 awesome games.
English is not my first language, forgive my spelling mistakes and awkward grammar.
