Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3) - Review

Introduction

Solid Snake is back for his “final” mission, on Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriots. MGS is a series of stealth-action games, that focus on sneaking missions, boss battles and deep storyline. MGS4 brings new gameplay elements, a good Online mode, reunites characters from previous MGS games and answers most questions that MGS2 and MGS3 left in the air, concluding the main story.

Story & Characters

As in most MGS games the story is awesome! It takes place in 2014 (5 years after MGS2), where the world now is raging in war by PMCs (Private Military Companies) under the control of the Patriots, using their new ID control system. Liquid , now in full control of Ocelot, is trying to take control of the system for himself, and is up to Snake, now refered as “Old Snake”, due to accelerated aging problem, to stop this mess. Most characters of previous games are back like: Meryl, Mei Ling, Naomi, Otacon, Raiden, Vamp, Eva and it goes on. This reunion is something that I waited for a long time to see, because these characters are very interesting and cool. The cinematic cutscenes are impressive making the story even more cooler to watch, being very similar to good quality movies.

Gameplay

The game counts with some improvements, for example: now you have full control of the camera, aiming now feels really precise, the camouflage is a lot easier to use, thanks to the Octocamo suit, to have the best camo index just stay still on the ground and it will automatically change for you. Snake also counts with a great variety of weapons and cool gadgets, like the Mk.2, a little robot that Snake can use to get itens and even kcock enemies out. The CQC has improved too, now we are able to make new moves.In the campaing you have some freedom to chose if you will sneak or if you”ll take all enemies down, like some kind of Rambo. The controls are very responsive, both on MGO and the main campaign.  

Visuals

The graphics are amazing, having really detailed characters models, objects, beautiful locations and environments , that have really impressive textures. The opening cutscene makes me feel like watching a live action movie. The game is devided in 5 acts, each one is in a different location of the world, having different environments and styles, like the Midle East, South America and East Europe, this way you don’t get tired of the environments, since they are always unique in the Campaign mode. In the Online mode the graphics are not as good, but still very good.

Sound

The sound effects and the music are outstanding! The musics fits the situations very well and the sound effects are simply Perfect! The voice acting in the MGS series always impressed me, on MGS4 is no different , every actor is back to play their characters, and they really know what they doing. While playing you will fell that they really work hard to make an incredible audio for the game. You can enjoy even more the sound if you  play using headphones.

Replay

Even after beat the game, is fun to play a second time on the main campaign, you can try different level difficulties, alternative routes, use new weapons, that you can buy at anytime on Drebin’s shop, use the cool gadgets, because the campaign is really cool. But what keeps me coming back for more was MGO (Metal Gear Online),  this is a great extra on the game, and it’s pratically a game for it’s own, using the gameplay mechanics of the campaign mode. You create a character and goes to battle against real people, in lots of modes and 5 free maps, also there are 3 expansions for this mode. MGO is straight action with MGS elements like magazines, used for trap the enemies. But not all people will be happy with this mode, the traps and camping can annoy a lot of players, but it ‘s still a solid and fun mode.    

Good & Bad

-The Good: Interesting story, lots of weapons and gadgets, voice acting, Online mode (MGO) is solid and fun and great Boss fights.

-The Bad: Story brings too much information, making new comers really lost in the story

Conclusion

Epic scenes and dialogues, epic Boss fights, fun gameplay and a lot of replay value, I expected no less from Hideo Kojima, creator of the series, because this game is really a masterpiece, but it’s not for everyone, you can play as a action game, but it’s a game to play as a sneaking game, and those not familiar with the series will feel kind lost in the story and in the gameplay. No doubt that this game was better than I expected, it puts all pieces of the series together, making a really epic “ending” for the main story.