In depth review for Metal Gear Solid 4.
Snake's adventure begins in the war-torn Middle East, where he slithers through battles in search of his evil twin, the nefarious Liquid, who inhabits the body of MGS villain Revolver Ocelot. In order to kill him, Snake must sneak past or engage hundreds of foot soldiers, as well as vanquish expertly designed boss characters, including Vamp (from Metal Gear Solid 2) and the twisted Beauty and the Beast Corps, four terrifying ladies with signature abilities. He gets help from his friend and techo genius, Otacon, who provides Snake with advice and equipment, most notably the delightful OctoCamo, which changes color in real time and blends into the environment. Along the way, he runs into old friends, makes new ones and uncovers more plot twists than a daytime soap. Despite having one foot in an old age home, Snake doesn't move any slower, nor is he inept at using a weapon. He creeps on his belly, leaps over things and flies through the air, so it's good that Konami elected to make his appearance central to the plot and not the action. Even better, MGS4 has the most stacked armory in franchise history. You'll acquire numerous weapons early and often, including the MP7 Submachine Gun, Tanegashima Assault Rifle, an RPG-7 Missile Launcher, the M870 Custom Shotgun, grenades of all types, claymore mines and C4, most of which are upgradeable via Drebin, an arms dealer that exchanges weapons for points you acquire during play. Picking up guns you already own automatically earns points, and you can access Drebin's shop via the Start button and sell unwanted equipment. This will allow you to purchase more exotic guns as well as scopes, fore grips, bullets, laser and dot sights. Drebin also comes in handy when you need to unlock weapons; outdated nano machines in Snake's body prevent him from using certain guns.
Gunning is fun, and close range combat is even better. Sneaking up on a enemie, then taking him out from behind is great fun, and never gets boring. Most enemies hold valuable items, so it pays to check them before moving on. In fact, Metal Gear Solid 4 has numerous goodies to collect, including ramen noodles, rations, bullets and even Playboy magazines, which Snake can admire. In series tradition, he can slip underneath a cardboard box to avoid detection, but now he can also hop into a rusty barrel and roll around (doing this for too long makes him barf). And despite his age, he's hip with an iPod (characters have Apple computers in cut scenes), which you can equip and then listen to soundtracks from previous Metal Gear video games during play. There are also references to producer Hideo Kojima (a box says "No Room for Hideo") and his video games (Otacon has Zone of the Enders wallpaper on his computer screen).
The best thing about this game, has to be the cutscenes and graphics. One cutscene could go on for 40 minutes, while the final after the game ends lasts for around a hour. They are really enjoyable to watch, and the graphics are very good indeed. All of this combines to form a powerful game that's just as thrilling as the summer's best movies, but like all Metal Gears, there's a bitter sweet ingredient that at times makes the game hard to digest. Confusing commercials, I.E. mission breifings.
Overall, Metal Gear Solid 4 deserves the 10/10 mark, and gets 5/5 of all my ratings below. The best game ever? I think so!
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Graphics: 5/5
Gameplay: 5/5
Sound: 5/5
Enemie AI: 5/5
Replay Value: 5/5