The End (?)
I should preface this review with an admission. I never actually completed the original MGS completely (only about 3/4 as I never owned a PSX). I got in on MGS 2, and quickly caught myself up on the necessary details. However, since then I've been hooked by the boss fights, the stealth, the characters and the crazy ass story that MGS turned into. When it came time for Solid Snake's last adventure, I was excited to play the game but was primarily interested in how Kojima was going to tie all the plot threads together and how would it pan out for our beloved hero(es).
The combat in MGS 4 definitely is better than it's predecessors, in that it's less awkard to actually pull off. Previous MGS games reinforced the necessity of stealth by making it impossible to really aim well unless you were stationary. MGS 4 still contains mostly the same stealth gameplay but if you do find yourself in a bind, the over the shoulder view and the ability to strafe and move while aiming make the idea of combat less punishing.
**SPOILERS**
The set pieces in this game also caught my attention. The motorcycle chase in Act 3, the Metal Gear fight in Act 4 and the boss fights (who ever thought I'd be cheering on a geriatric fist fight) all meet MGS's high standard for great gaming moments.
**/SPOILERS**
Now it's time for the main event; the story. Although they occasionally relied too heavily on the dreaded "midi-chlorians" type of explanation for some of the fantastical characters, pretty much every MGS character/plot of importance from previous MGS games got a resolution. The only time my suspension of disbelief broke was at the very end.
**MORE SPOILERS**
Ok, so if I remember correctly Snake is at the graveyard at the end, realizing he has to die to prevent a disaster, he putts the gun in his mouth, fade to black and gunshot. The credits roll and in typical MGS fashion we get another cutscene where before he paints the trees with his brain matter, Big Boss comes out resurrected and finishes explaining the rest of the mystery for Snake before dying "for good" and Snake goes off to live his final days in peace (apparently no longer a threat). Some people hated that Big Boss was brought back again, and others thought to not have Snake kill himself is a huge copout since that's what the game has been building up to this whole time.
Although I agree that not killing Snake off was a copout, my biggest problem was that they clearly showed him with the gun in his mouth, you heard a gunshot, and then it turns out not to have happened. If they had just cut to black with him fellating the gun, and then came back to that same image without having heard the gun, at least it wouldn't present a contradiction. And the fact we only heard it and didn't see the shot doesn't mean anything since it is clearly implied that he killed himself, we are meant to think at that point that he is dead.
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The ending does turn out to be kind of only a minor point though as long as Old Snake stays inactive (aka no chronological sequels that feature him) cause retirement or death amount to the same thing for him as far as I'm concerned. My other problem is that I do wish there was more actual gameplay. I was fine with the very lengthy cutscenes and didn't need them shortened but I do want more actual game. It is a video game, after all.
Bottom line, I think a couple of minor flaws don't deter this from being an excellent conclusion to the Solid Snake iteration of the Metal Gear series. Although the gameplay is more accessible for new fans, the lengthy cutscenes and almost byzantine stories will somewhat limit it's appeal to established fans. But hey, I'm one of those fans so I'd say well done Kojima. All you need to do know is actually follow through on your promise to not make another game with Solid Snake.
