Metal Gear Solid 4
Damn!
That was pretty much my initial reaction to playing Metal Gear Solid 4. I was all hyped, but I had it in the back of my mind that I might be disappointed. We all remember that first demo, where Kojimi showed off the infamous ball-grab in the heat of the Middle East. By the time I got to the first big battle, I was floored. The intensity of trying to stay hidden in the midst of massive explosions had absolutely astounded me. From then on, I knew I was right where I wanted to be.
The game controls the best of all the Metal Gear games. MGS4 takes the third person camera from Subsistence and modernizes the shooting controls with an updated aiming system and the addition of Octocamo. Octocamo fixes one of the main problems from MGS3: having to pause the game to change your camo. This way, it's easier to get the camo you want and stay hidden from the enemy.
The story is the best it has ever been. The cutscenes are absolutely stunning, featuring some of the best graphics we have ever seen on the PS3 or any platform that isn't the PC. The camera cuts and the presentation are very cinematic, but it's so much more than that. The cut scenes are long, but not 90 minutes as some had claimed before the games release. But, if you've been a fan of Metal Gear, you come to expect, and appreciate these epic cutscenes.
The game is split up into 5 acts, each taking place in a different area. This way, the game stays visually fresh, as well as keeping the gameplay fresh. You'll get the building infiltration of classic Metal Gear as well as the outdoor areas of MGS3 as well as some other suprises. The boss battles are intense and play heavily on your knowledge of the previous games, as does pretty much everything else in the game. This is the ultimate fan service, but it's also the ultimate Metal Gear experience.
