I'm in the middle of playing Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots again (for the sweet, sweet trophies), and thinking about the news that MGS5 is confirmed, with a big announcement from Hideo Kojima in two weeks, and the question just hit me, "What do I want out of a new Metal Gear game?"

It seems like a common question, of course, since Kojima and the series have no shortage of rabid fans who eagerly anticipate and speculate about the next installment in the series.

What I intend to do in this post is take a good look at the series as it stands now, and project where, in my idea, Metal Gear should go next. We'll see in two weeks if I get any of my wishes!

METAL GEAR TODAY

Going through MGS4 in the last few days, I had newfound appreciation for several things in the game, and three things became clear to me. First of all, the game is gorgeous; an artistic and technical achievement that not only holds up but puts some newer games to shame. After 10 continuous months of Battlefield 3 and its Frosbite 2 engine, I can honestly say MGS4 provides an intense and realistic shooter experience well on par with anything currently on the market.

Second of all, MGS4 is a great game. This one may seem obvious, but given the mediocrity of most modern fare and especially their stale campaigns it has to be made clear that this is an entertaining game. The levels are unique, the boss fights are too. There is variety in weapons and tactics and consequences affecting both the story and your gameplay options. The challenge is generally fair, with clear objectives and available, optional, clues. In short, MGS4 creates an inviting experience that keeps you in the control seat, while using realistic touches to immerse you in its world. Not least, the game actually has replay value, which at least makes you feel like you didn't waste your money.

Thirdly, MGS4 is both helped and hindered by its place as the conclusion of the series. Before I get into the meat of this, I want to parse that controversial statement to make absolutely sure it is clear.

The first controversy I want to clear up is that yes, indeed, in the following paragraphs I will be posing MGS4 as both one of the best and one of the most flawed games ever made. I think I make a pretty good case for it, so I hope you'll read on. The second controversy is that MGS4 was the conclusion of the series. Kojima has always been iffy on the series' overall arc and backstory, and he always says each game is the last before returning yet again. Now we have an announcement of MGS5, so it seems the series isn't over. In any case, it doesn't seem too important now but keep it in the back of your head because I'll return to this when I discuss the future of Metal Gear.

MGS4 is definitely one of the best games ever made. In general, the polish of almost every aspect of the game is impressive, but perhaps most astounding is that it manages to take an already ground-breaking series even further in terms of novelty and innovation. But why is it, then, that I get embarassed playing it in front of most people?

The answer is a little complicated, but mostly it has to do with the big, fat "4" in the title. The series had a lot of baggage coming into this chapter, and unfortunately in lots of little ways it held the whole thing back.

And I really do mean little things. The nit-picker's list contains things like having to sit through Screaming Mantis re-enact Psycho Mantis' tirade from MGS. Yes, the first game. Sounds cool on paper, maybe, but hours into the game and its endless cutscenes, after a particularly difficult (read: cheap) boss fight, and given the cinematics' strange (read: Japanese) tone throughout the story, was anyone really impressed by this over-long encounter?

This was symptomatic of the game's general flaw, which was too much story. Too, too much. And then some.

Listen, I get it. You're wrapping up your series. You wanna tie up all the loose ends, and leave it nice and tidy. Maybe you'll pick it up again, maybe you'll let someone else do the heavy lifting. Believe me, I get it. Problem is, you lost us all a long time ago, with MGS2.

There's that controversy again. I'll put it to rest by saying this: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is a fine game, even a brave and visionary one, but it was not the sequel the series needed. And even if you can't agree with that, you have to concede that its ending concerning the Patriots and Raiden's fate is confusing. Worse, Kojima did not address it in the next chapter, which took us backward in the timeline. So going into MGS4 the audience had loads of pressing questions left hanging from MGS2, now muddied by the back-backstory provided in MGS3.

In any case, MGS4 found itself with a lot of story to cover, and collapsed under the weight. Not only does the story still not make any sense, or become comical at too many points, but even with brushing aside major questions the only way to get it across is by using what has to be a record-setting amount of expository dialogue.

Remember, I say all of this as an avid fan of the series, one who has sat through all this dialogue many, many times. I even enjoyed a majority of it, most of the times I was watching it. But I really cannot imagine what someone who never played the previous games thought of MGS4.

There's where that embarassment thing comes from: I wince at what people who aren't gamers think when they see MGS4. Which is really too bad, because when MGS4 is in your hands and in action, it is a glorious, exhilirating experience which in its own way justifies the application of the word "art" to videogames.

So Metal Gear stands today as one of the world's premiere video game franchises, known for pushing the boundaries of what gamers can do and what they will tolerate. Its creator is an eccentric man, whose aesthetic can sometimes border on the sadistic toward his audience, but who undeniably presents the most through-provoking and mature (not to mention verifiably prescient) themes in modern culture in products of astounding quality and, let it be said, **** coolness.

So what's next?