War May Have Changed But Kojima's Vision Sure Hasn't
It was once said that video games are not works of art, nor could they ever hope to be considered as such. These naive individuals have obviously never seen a game made by Kojima Productions. Hideo has been pushing the bounds of the story driven genre since his first introduction into the field. His works are truly a testament for just how blurred the line between movie and game can be pushed. The latest example, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, has truly become the definitive interactive film experience. It has been argued that the lengthy cut scenes that have been the backbone of the series have gone to far in taking away from the actual action of the game itself. The only person who would lead you to believe that is the one who doesn’t understand Hideo Kojima’s true vision in the first place. MGS4 is the complete package and truly is worth the long and agonizing wait.
Snake embarks on his final venture to slay the evils of modern times. For the first time in the series the game is composed of different chapters or acts. Throughout the story’s five acts you will see your typical MGS style story driven gameplay along with a helping of boss fights. Not much can really be said about the story aside from the fact that it is truly awe inspiring how the entire franchise rolls up. The only way to really appreciate everything Kojima does is to have played the first three (four if you count Portable Ops) games in the series. It could be argued that the story is short, about 20 hours, but in that twenty or so hours you will experience one of the greatest single player campaign that has ever been made. The fantastic story tops off with the single greatest boss fight of any video game ever.
Mechanically, the game is true to its roots sticking with your classic stealth and evade gameplay that you would expect. The only difference is that there are points when you are actively engaging in firefights with enemies during a war setting. In these areas, you can choose to either support the local militia by hammer on the PMC, gaining favor with the resistance at the same time, or brand yourself a loyalist and hunt the resistance. Each side has its advantages as far as helping you reach a certain area. The unspoken option is of course “trying” to stay out of the war completely and not shoot either faction, but that option is more challenging and overall not as fun. Luckily, you have your trusty tranquilizer to help ease your conscience.
There comes a point when you have to wonder just what is a perfect game? On what bounds do you mark a game with the highest score you have available? Is MGS4 perfect? No. At least not technically speaking. Sure there are minor things that could be tweaked here or there, but then again you will never find a game that fulfills every desire of every single video game player out there. That just isn’t going to happen. However, there are games that come along every so often that distinguish themselves higher then any game before. Guns of the Patriots is one such example of this highest caliber and elite group. In a world created by Hideo Kojima, the players learned of war as it could have been in a strange and different place, and of a soldier forced to live out his fate time and time again. You can’t help but feel the raw emotion put into this title. Only true fans of the series will understand everything that transpires through Snake’s final mission, but that is not the extent of those who will find this title enjoyable. An unfamiliar to the series perhaps wont feel the same strong emotions as the Metal Gear vets will, but they will take note of the true cinematic gaming experience as it was meant to be experienced. Revolutionizing what was once thought impossible, MGS4 is one hell of a good game and will deliver on all of its promises.
10 out of 10 > "Revolutionary" (The ten point scale equals out to a 5 in Giant Bomb stars)
