Solid snakes finest romp?
An interviewer once asked Producer/Director Hideo Kojima before the premiere of Metal Gear Solid – a decade ago now – if he named the new branch of the Metal Gear lore “Metal Gear Solid” because the protagonist’s name was Solid Snake. Kojima response was, “No, it’s Metal Gear Solid because it’s a ‘solid’ game!” Fortunately, that same cheesy statement applies ten years later to the final chapter of the canon MGS series.
MGS4 starts out in the ‘not too distant future’ (a.k.a. 5 years later) with Snake being briefed about his next mission. Snake, being a Foxhound guy, spy, military man, and philanthropist, is now adding hit man to his list. As the story is the bread and butter of Metal Gear’s fame, I will not delve much further into it other than to say that the story in this game is absolutely breathtaking and believable. There are very minor inconsistencies (i.e. certain background characters being female when in previous installments the character was male) but the overall packaging is amazing and this game encompasses all 5 previous installments into the storyline. That said, be prepared that you need 5 games worth of story under your belt or you can get lost really fast in the storyline. It’s rare to find a story with as much depth in video games as the one this series has, so sit down and enjoy the ride.
The graphics and sounds are absolutely amazing. To be honest, I’ve never seen a console game look as gorgeous as MGS4 does. Facial expressions, motion captioning, and visual effects in this game have no equal in comparison to any other console game to date. Every nook and cranny has heavy emphasis on presentation, and the seamless transformation from cut-scene to game play will often have you realizing you’re actually controlling Snake again only after a tank rolls over you. The sounds are top notch and have set new standards for future PS3 games to live up to. The narration and voice acting are also at the top of their games and at the top of my mind the only franchise that puts as much into the voice acting as this series is the Legacy of Kain franchise. Henry Gregson Williams certainly earns his keep yet again. The music encompasses past tunes with all new ones to create another score that is truly epic. The story/voice cast/cinematic combination is as strong in this game as it was in the original Metal Gear Solid – a bold statement indeed.
The gameplay is utterly outstanding. The developing really took a U.S. perspective on the battle system. The tweaked battle system is leaps and bounds above previous installments. The camera system is much more conducive to shooter style than any previous MGS, you can choose which shoulder you want to look over in third person when your weapon is drawn, you can easily switch to first person shooter with a tap of the triangle, and if knocked on the ground (or otherwise with your back to the ground) you can fire while on the ground. Close Quarters Combat (CQC) allows you many options of dealing with an enemy without gunfire for those who are of the Assassin’s Creed style of playing. Of course, as with any Metal Gear, the core to the gameplay is stealth. Ducking and hiding behind cover does not feel like “oh my god run!” like it used to, instead it feels more like “haha sucker, you can’t see me” like it did in the first MGS. Octocamo in this game is a major improvement over the various camouflage one had to constantly switch through in MGS3 and can be fun to play with. Wearing rebel disguises to fool the guerrillas is also fun to do as well; another option, taking a page out of Mission Impossible, allows you to wear various other faces with the face camo . Getting around unseen is as easy and fun as going Rambo on everything that moves. Of course, a new feature is the Drebin Points system. This feature allows Snake to sell used guns to a man named Drebin for points which can be used to launder guns, purchase ammo and new weapons, or customize and upgrade current weapons. With the sheer amount of weapons and all the customizable options, it’s hard not to have a good time finding the arsenal of weaponry that you simply cannot be on a battlefield without. With that said, the latter half of the game tends to revolve more around the story and cutscenes. Before you start groaning though, realize that you can offset this with the fact that each act has different gameplay emphasis, and during the cutscenes you can play with the Mark II for some gameplay benefits. The game is in no way lacking solid and heavy gameplay.
The replayabilty of this game is off the charts. With the previously mentioned weapon customization, variety of ways to play, 40 status emblems to unlock, and introducing Metal Gear Online, you have countless hours that you can plug into the game. Metal Gear Online feels a bit like Call of Duty 4 with the detail of a single player campaign and can bring countless hours of fun into your game – not to mention it has positive effects on the main game itself. MGO is currently in the works to be updated for up to a decade, so don’t expect things to dull out in that department anytime soon. I cannot foresee anyone not playing through the single player campaigns at least twice. I completed the game four times before writing this review.
The Breakdown:
+ Story and voice cast has never been better… period
+ Both single player and online play is outstanding and top notch
+ Graphics and visual design are simply amazing and support the full HD range from 480p to 1080p
+ Many hours of replayability and unlockables
+ Sounds and music are beautiful and gripping with Surround Sound.
+/- The latter half of the game switches from gameplay based to wrapping up the overall story, but there are many ways to enhance gameplay options and is thoroughly balanced out.
If this is the bon voyage for one of gaming’s most well-loved characters, it is an absolutely fitting end for the saga and for Solid Snake. This game is undoubtedly in my mind one of the greatest games ever made. Rarely does a game innovate or reinvent its genre, but this game innovates the genre and itself throughout the entire course of the game. The end may have come for the Metal Gear series, but a new era of the overall gaming experience and standards has just been born.
Final Score: 5 out of 5
