This post relates to: Soccer Ball, Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, FIFA Soccer 09
This post relates to: PlayStation 3, PlayStation Home
This post relates to: Sackboy, LittleBigPlanet
This post relates to: Master Chief, Solid Snake
This post relates to: Left 4 Dead, Dead Space
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It’s hard to believe, for a franchise running for over 20
years, so many innovations and controversial changes have made its way,
but…..it only grew and grew and became the grand daddy of AAA games. Metal Gear
Solid series have gone through dramatic changes since it’s debuted in 1988 as
“Metal Gear”. Back then, it was the first game of its kind, in introduced a new
element to the gaming world…Stealth. Yep… you might say that, if it weren’t for
Hideo and his Foxhound team, Sam Fisher wouldn’t have been lurking in the
shadows and snapping necks to this day. If I dive into MGS 4, let me give brief
intro of MGS franchise; when I say brief, I meant compared to the amount of
things you can talk about in MGS. You might notice that I hardly talk about the
story, it’s simply because it’s probably the best thing about the franchise, and
I don’t want to ruin the experience for anyone.
The majority of the games in the franchise (except 1 in particular) made you play as a Stealth Operative, Solid Snake- The Clone of the legendary soldier, at one time called as Naked Snake, but now known as The Big Boss. The game started its life as 2D game, even then the franchise made a good name for it. But not until 1998, things really started, when Metal Gear turned into Metal Gear Solid; by making a huge jump from 2D action to 3D cinematic experience on the original PlayStation system. Because of new found processing power, Mr. Kojima was able to unleash his vision to some extent. The game comprised of cut scenes which were awesome in both length and quality, had fantastic original score to go with it, the story was way above anything released in that era and the stealth game play we came to know and love are all intact and made a fantastic transition. To many of us, this was the actual “start” of the franchise. Metal Gear Solid is considered one of the two best games of that system. It wasn’t long until the sequel came in, called MGS 2: Sons of Liberty. It was on the PS2 system, and the bump is visual quality was really apparent. The game took all the stuff which made MGS awesome, polished it and added more to the mix, end result was an awesome experience. The story was made even more complex than MGS, but to those who actually paid attention to the codecs and cut scenes, were rewarded with a thrilling narrative. The only blemish of 2 was the fact that during some point in the game, you had to play as a different character other than Snake, which was not appreciated by the fans, also not me. But the good news is the two other games that followed didn’t make the same mistake. In 2004 came Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. It was a game with a big twist, instead of moving forward with the franchise, it was moved way back, in fact chronologically speaking it’s the 1st game of the series. You played as Naked Snake (Who later became Big Boss), is the “father” of Solid Snake of the previous two games. Set in 1964 in the Jungles of Russia, the game was stark contrast to the indoor urban areas of the first two, it was a refreshing change. The game also introduced CQC (Close Quarters Combat) and bumped the production quality even higher. Finally came 2008, and the final chapter in the Metal Gear Series (Chronologically at least), Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Again I am saying that, while I won’t spoil the story of the game, but you assure yourself that, its one experience you are likely not to forget in your entire lifetime. The game pretty much ends the story of the legendary hero, Solid Snake indefinitely. As far as game play goes, it’s been revamped and improved a lot. While this is a stealth game through and through, you can still play with all guns blazing… at least on easier difficulty settings. The game consists of over 70 weapons, most of them are customizable. You can buy off weapons anytime from a guy called “Drebin” by pulling the menu in exchange for “Drebin Points”. While this might sound to make things a lot easier, but actually it makes things even more convenient and fun. Since you can buy weapons and ammos anytime, you can try a different tactical approach to see where it takes you, it also means that you don’t have to start from a very old checkpoint if you run out of vital ammunition during the Boss fight; also you can skip the system all together and go like a true espionage hero, the choice is yours. Speaking of boss, MGS is famous for its quality of boss fights, and MGS 4 is no exception: you will never see such bosses in any game. Since this game takes place in a distant future, there are lots of high-tech gadgets to help you along. Lets start of with Octocam- it’s a suit that just works like a chameleon, it matches with the texture you are leaning against, and makes it harder for enemies to detect, you can also save textures if you want and use it later. Next lets talk about Solid Eye- Its an eye patch like device fits on your right eye (perhaps a tribute to a certain hero?) and have loads of function like Zooming, Night Vision, it can also pin point enemies and which weapons they are carrying to give you the tactical edge. Finally after all these years you got your trusty geeky buddy Otacon in the battlefield….well… sort of in the form of MK II: Its like a miniature metal gear robot with cloaking capabilities, even though its controlled by Otacon throughout the game, Snake can also control it using the PLAYSTATION 3 Dual shock 3 controller and use it in conjunction with the cloaking to procure weapons I the battlefield for Drebin Points. Being a Metal Gear Solid game, the game is full of cut scenes and some can be quite lengthy. While cut scenes may tend to take you out of the experience of the game, but the thing is, Metal Gear Solid series houses perhaps the best in-game cut scenes with great attention to detail. The cut scenes are the key to drive a game’s story, and Metal Gear Solid 4 has one of the best story in a videogame and the cut scenes are breathtaking beautiful thanks to fantastic graphics and sound. MGS 4 is a stone cold killer when it comes to graphics and sound. Its hands-down the best looking game out there and more likely in a longtime. The textures are crisp, the lighting is ultra-realistic. The animation is life-like thanks to advancements in Mo-cap technology. The game practically begs for you to view it in a HDTV. The game is equally outstanding in the sound department. One of the first game to boost uncompressed sound data and next-gen Dolby Digital certification meaning its by far the most realistic positional sound there is in any form of entertainment media, you will greatly do injustice to yourself if you don’t have a surround sound setup. The voice-acting is best there is, David Hayter puts an Oscar worthy performance for Solid Snake. As the series tradition, the game has a lot of quality blood-boiling music to accompany this stellar game. I should mention that the story is so awesome, you feel really sympathetic for Snake that I shed some tears for the old man during some points in the game. Hideo Kojima made an icon out of legendary Snake, as simple as that. He may not be as powerful as…say Master Chief. He may not have more firepower as Marcus, but one thing he has that puts all those to shame….a true hero’s trait, the power of will. Although like everything in the world, MGS 4 is not perfect. Some of the things I didn’t like is the installation. I don’t mind 1 time installation of games, it just the fact that MGS 4 requires you to install upon every Act (total of 5 Acts in the game), while this is to ensure to take no more HDD than 4.7 GB or so, it’s also more pain in the *** for those of us with bigger HDD. It would have been better if there was an option to install the game completely on the HDD, I would take 8 GB anyway over installing the game every Act, even if its only 3 minutes tops. I also don’t like the fact that the game loads very frequently during some chance instances of the game, some sections like after only 2-3 minutes, it loads for another 5-6 seconds or so and it just takes out of the experience. Last of all, some cut scenes feels a bit…well…cheesy. Those were the only problems in the game for me, but on the bigger scale of things, can be easily ignored. Well there you have it; I want to end my review here as I don’t want to spoil the story for you. Metal Gear Solid 4 is a masterpiece and will be remembered for years. If you have a PS3 or don’t have a PS3 yet, it’s definitely a time to get one, even only for playing just this game.
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Back in 2001, the world experienced a new type of game. It’s a game that couldn’t be categorized (as there was nothing similar) at the time. It was a game that was a blend of everything that was out now, with one new addition….freedom to do whatever you want, how you want, when you want, that came to be known as Grand Theft Auto III, or GTA 3 for short. GTA III created the “sandbox” genre, such a genre in which the key gameplay is “freedom”. GTA games allowed you to play as an antihero in fictional city based on real life, with unprecedented freedom, humor on mocking the American culture of that specific era, radio station boasting terrific soundtracks, humorous DJs, memorable downright weird companions, lots of weapons.; and of course to hi-jack vehicles to get where you want as fast as possible. GTA III spawned 2 main sequels, Vice City and San Andreas. Both improved on what made GTA III tick and expanded in both depth and quality, although the core gameplay and engine remained the same, it was not a “true sequel”. However, it was not until April 29th of 2008, we got a true sequel to the GTA III, appropriately titled Grand Theft Auto IV. The game may not look like another revolution of the series like GTA III, but rather an evolution. But………..as soon as you put your foot down on Liberty City (no relation to the Liberty City of the first game), you’ll know……………”things have changed”. There are just so many stuff you can talk about in GTA IV, you can't list them all, and simply you can’t. I’ll try my best to be as detailed as possible. As…believe me, the world of Liberty City is unlike anything you’ve ever seen in a videogame. You put on the boots of Niko Bellic, Eastern European former military personnel who wants to escape his horrific past, and what better way to start a new life than America? After all his cousin Roman sent countless letters and emails of how he made it big. Niko upon the request of his cousin arrived in Liberty City, only to find out that his cousin was in serious debt, the sports car he promised was a mere taxi cab and girls he was living around were just posters. Welcome to Liberty City…..where dreams are shattered… The previous games in the entry didn’t feature any original captivating storyline, heck…. The storyline of GTA was always been the weak link of the otherwise, a strong franchise; and because of this, many people didn’t even finish the story missions, also add the fact that how awful the shooting mechanics were and how you were punished when you died. Thankfully….all those problems are fixed and improved so much that, now it’s literally became the part of the franchise’s story. The game borrows some of the best elements of third person shooters in the market, specifically Gears of War. The game employs cover system and over the shoulder view while shooting, not unlike Gears of War. The game has also a new semi-auto aim function. Holding down the L2/Left Trigger button goes to auto-aim mode, and slowly moving the right analog stick you can target specific parts of the body, like the legs or going for the head. Holding the L2/Left Trigger half-way engages the in manual shooting, good for targeting explosive barrels and tires. Previous GTAs had been criticized for the lack of shooting from car, well that is fixed in this installment as well. While the game is still all about grand theft auto, stealing vehicles this time around is riskier than ever before, as police are almost everywhere and now you need to kick out drivers who are “unwilling” to lend you their vehicle and sometimes requiring you to break the glass of cars which are parked and hot wiring it to start, during which anything can happen. That’s why it’s sometimes best to go by the taxi, new to the franchise. You can whistle for the taxi using the L1/Left Bumper and go anywhere designated in your GPS by you. While you are in the Taxi, you can tell the driver to switch the tunes and look out of the window and enjoy the living breathing world of Liberty City, you can tell him to put the pedal to the medal or you can pay him double the money for quick transport (teleport), it comes especially handy when you want to retry your missions. GTA IV is a much more realistic than the previous GTAs, while it still has some arcade flavor to it, but it’s definitely darker than before. The cars physics are much more realistic with real weight to them, the way Niko walks and places one of his feet on a higher level is very realistic, the animation never seams to break, mostly due to the fact that, other than the cut scenes, nothing is pre-canned animation. The game uses a new type of simulated animation technology called Euphoria, which is unexplainable until you see it with your own eyes, because of this; no two animations or “accidents” are the same. Now integral part of game play is your cell phone, it’s the central hub for communication. Now not only you can receive phone calls as before, but you can call your contacts as well, you can for example, ask your gf on a date, call your cousin for a good game of bowling or get drunk (which is really entertaining and fun, especially to drive) or you can call an underground arms dealer for a car loaded with weapons. Its best, though not necessary to keep good relationship with your friends or gfs, as they often come up with their own perks. Oh yeah, just so you are wondering, it does not include any hot coffee scenes. The story is far more human this time, unlike previous GTAs, its not but coming to the town and taking over, it’s all about survival. And the way Niko behaves and talks, he will instantly be a very likeable character surrounded by a full cast of interesting characters, like his cousin Roman. As the game takes place in modern times, so with it comes things which we use everyday, like the internet. Yes, GTA IV has its very own interweb, with surprising debt to it, from blogs, emails to online dating service. There are also usable TVs in the game with good amount of programming, some of them are really funny and amazing, you’d wish they aired it real-life. Like the previous GTAs, the radio stations are back with new DJs. The soundtrack in the radios covers almost all the modern genres, so there is bound to be something you’ll like, although the quality of selection is still not on par with Vice City, it had to be said, than again, its mostly to blame the modern era for its diverse genre. There is also a load of cool min-games, which are almost as good as games on their right, like bowling, darts, pool. There is even live comedy shows you can attend or watch in the TV. The graphics is vastly improved with much detailed textures, new realistic lighting that produces great shadows and changes realistically as the day progresses and night falls. When you fly high, the city is undistinguishable from New York City. The character models and animation are as detailed as ever. From artistic point of view, the developers at Rockstar North did an amazing job to capture the look and feel of New York City. The sound is on par with graphics. Backed up by solid soundtrack, the game is also superb in the other areas as well. Just stand your character for a minute, close your eyes, and just with the sound, you can picture what is going around you, provided you have a 5.1 sound system of course. The game has also immense replayablity, so when you game finishes. You can go for the 100% completion, acquiring you to do things like killing all 200 pigeons/ “flying rats”, making all the unique jumps, etc. You can also play the story again, as it never gets old and try to take different paths in the game to see what is the outcome (there is a degree of decision making in the game, like who to kill or not, though not as deep as Mass Effect). Or a very popular practice is to just mindlessly cause chaos with your RPG. Or you can hop onto the multiplayer. There are loads of modes to choose from and most of them are pretty unique and fun. While the game has some multiplayer issues when launched on the PS3 version, the latest patch as of writing for PS3 (1.02) fixes most of them, and I personally didn’t experience any problems until then. You can also check various stats at Rockstar online stat tracking website, called Rockstar social club, here you can also preview the track marked in the game and buy digital download from Amazon. Both the PS3 and 360 versions are amazing, this can hardly be said as a lazy port for PS3 (Xbox 360 was the lead platform for the game). Ironically, in some cases the PS3 version tops because of its Initial 8 min installation prior to starting he game for the first time. Because of this, less data have to be streamed from the optical disc, and so when you are driving at high-speed, the pop-up, yea its still there, not a big issue on the PS3 version compared to the "old versions" 360 version, as on some of the 360s with older Disc Drives, the read speed cannot always keep up and a result, you’ll sometimes find a car or a wall suddenly pop in before you can react. While most new 360 models (my friend), don’t have much of a difference. Well there you have it, it’s the longest review I’ve ever done, by a long shot, but this game deserves it. I still left a lot of details about the game, this game is epic huge. You will soon realize that, all the small things which happen in the world of GTA IV merge and form a much bigger picture which really sucks you in the game. There is simply no immersive game than GTA IV……perhaps GTA V?
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