It ain't the movies, but it's close. This is one of those 'oddity' games....people who've played the other MGS titles will understand, but for someone new to the series it's kind of hard to categorize this. First of all, the game's 'director' is just that; a wanna-be movie maker, and you'll see what I mean after your first FULL LENGTH MOVIE CUTSCENE. Seriously, be prepared for a number of loooooooooooooong drawn out but beautifully rendered in-game videos. As pretty as they are, you can do little more than just sit back and watch (except for the 'mission briefings', but more on that later). Therein lies the rub: is this a movie that lets you play from time to time, or a short game with ungodly amounts of filler video? Some people are seriously turned off by this, and understandably so. When you buy a game, you want to PLAY_IT. When you go to a movie, you WATCH_IT. When MGS 4 LETS you play, it's awesomely great and full of treats for the ocular nerves. Otherwise, get set to sit back and watch, but DON'T RELAX! Because just to see if you're still awake, the devs threw in some random button pressing which treats you to alternate viewpoints as long as you haven't slid into a coma and missed the brief opportunity. Speaking of 'brief', the mission briefing vids between chapters actually do have a minimal amount of interactivity, and it is worthwhile to explore and check out the options (any more hints and I'd ruin the thrill of discovery). At any rate, there is the trademark MSG humor moments, (including some hilariously memorable albeit disgusting scenes) and the usual banter from the various members of your backup team which adds to the immersive feel of the story. All in all this is a beautiful, engagingly epic adventure that makes you really care about it's various characters, and I came perilously close to having something in my eye at the end....but fear not. I am sure there will be another iteration of MGS at some point in the not too distant future. Anyway, I give this a 9 instead of 10 just because there is WAY too much non-interactive video. Personally, I like my popcorn buttered...
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