Snake may be old, but the gameplay is new and exciting and it mixes with the storytelling quite well.
On June 12th of 2008, millions of gamers across the globe cheered as the action packed, final installment of the Metal Gear Solid saga hit store shelves. The first trailer was shown in 2005, and the game has received a phenomenal amount of hype since then. Over the course of the series, many questions were raised, but most went unanswered…Until today. But, only one question still remains: Does this game live up to the hype? The simple answer is yes, it does. Four years of development on a next-generation console have done wonders for the series. Let me just tell you this: the mystery of the La-Le-Lu-Li-Lo has been solved, and boy, was it a shocker.
The following is taken from the back of the box:
In His Final Battle,
A Hero must Stand Alone.
Lead legendary hero Solid Snake in this final chapter of the Metal Gear Solid saga and infiltrate all new battlefields with all new gear. Experience a stunning cinematic adventure that will keep you hooked until the very end. Customizable new weapons and technologically advanced gadgets assist you in your missions.
Put it simply, the back of the box does not do this game justice at all. Just how good is this game? What could possible mar this eagerly anticipated masterpiece? Well, it's time you found out.
Graphics:
Metal Gear Solid 4 is one of the most stunning games in terms of graphics. Environments are fully detailed, right down to individual blades of grass. Weapon and character models are truly exquisite. At one point in the game, I swiveled the camera around to see Snake from his front, and I could point out individual hairs on his mustache, that is the level of detail we are talking about here. Bullets leave realistic holes in walls, and the blood is not just a red cloud anymore.
Despite all the positives of the graphics in this game, it DOES have its low points. Every now and then, you'll come across a muggy or low rez texture that is out of place. For instance, in the opening act, one of the walls looked very realistic with actual craggy surfaces and rugged deformities, except for one spot that did not blend well at all. And sometimes, the game won't register a certain texture at all. I found myself being launched by an enemy grenade right through a standing wall as if it wasn't even there. But, overall, the graphics are extremely well done and represent what a game should look like in this new generation of gaming.
Section Score: 9.7 out of 10.
Gameplay:
What makes Metal Gear Solid 4 such an excellent game is that it was given the push the series needed. The once clunky control scheme is now much more stream-lined and intuitive. In Metal Gear Solid 3, the square button was used for both aiming and shooting, which rendered moving while aiming nearly impossible. In Metal Gear Solid 4, however, the L1 button brings up your weapon into aim mode, and the R1 button shoots. R2 brings up your weapons sub-menu, where you change and equip weapons. L2 brings up your items sub-menu, where you can use things like rations to improve your health, a card-board box to elude your enemies, and yes, even an iPod to listen to your own music in game. Not once over the LONG course of this game have I encountered control issues.
The best thing that can be said about Metal Gear Solid 4 is that it cannot be described by one genre. What I mean is that it doesn't feel like a shooter with crappy stealth elements tacked on, and it doesn't feel like a stealth game with lame action sequences tacked on. This game let's your choose how you want to play the game, whether you want to be Mr. Super-Spy and kill no one, or you want to kill everyone, it's totally up to you. For the first time in a long while, I actually felt like I was in control of the flow of the game itself.
Every game has to have a boss fight or two. Right? Most games will usually have the bosses tacked on just to complete the game. Metal Gear Solid 4 goes above and beyond in this respect by creating some of the most memorable boss sequences ever. The very first boss in the game has you fight a master of stealth. He can make himself look like things in the room, he can jump like an acrobat, but, at the same time, he is flawed, just like every boss. Every boss has their weakness, but it isn't always a specific spot on their bodies. For example, one bosses weakness was being too powerful, in that he ultimately hurt himself. The bosses in Metal Gear have mostly been this way, with the most memorable fight being a sniper battle from Metal Gear Solid 3 where you were in the woods. If you hid and tried to avoid him, he would eventually die of starvation and old age, or you could hunt for him and steal his stuff. At no point, in either game, did the bosses feel like a chore to beat.
Section Score: 10 out of 10
Other:
Now, you may ask why I am not including a section about the story of the game in his review. The reason is because it is very difficult to NOT spoil things seeing as the story is a core part of the gaming experience known as Metal Gear Solid. With that said, the story is excellent. Let's move on.
The sound work in this game is truly well done. The voices are generally spot on, and a lot of scenes feature little extras, like flash backs to earlier games in the series, or alternate viewpoints. I have only three gripes with this game as a whole:
1) The cut-scenes, while entertaining, are usually long enough to take a shower and eat during.
2) Some minor slow down during both cut-scenes and gameplay.
3) This game requires a whooping 5 gigabytes of Hard Drive space to run. Coupled with the initial install, the game also installs between each act, totaling 6 installs at 23 minutes total.
Section Score: 9.8 out of 10.
Score: 10/10
Recommended: Highly