Metal Gear Solid 4 - A Reason to Get a Playstation 3

Sure, the PS3 doesn’t have much going for it, since a majority of games are actually on both consoles, and the few exclusives that 360 has managed to incorporate (Halo 3, GoW 2) easily has made it the console of choice.  But there’s one game the 360 doesn’t have yet, and that is Metal Gear Solid 4 (MGS4), which I finally got to play and finish over a three-day Thanksgiving break.  It’s not the perfect game, but for fans of the series, this is it, the magnus opus of over a decade of gaming.  All the convoluted storylines that they’ve managed to insert over the years finally all comes together, the graphics are jaw-dropping and better than anything I’ve seen on the 360 yet, proving somewhat the still largely untapped potential of the Cell processor, and the gameplay is diverse and unique.  MGS4 is a gaming experience for the die-hard game type, the kind who doesn’t mind long tedious cutscenes in exchange for a bit of eye candy, crotch shots and a bevy of hot bosses, gamers that like eyecandy and don't mind putting up with a slight learning curve.  MGS4 is easily the game to show off to your friends who have doubted your PS3 purchase.  Here’s the full breakdown.

Snaaaaaaakkkkkkkkkkkeeeeeeeeeeeeee! – The Unconventional Plot

The Metal Gear Solid storyline has reached epic levels with a tremendously overwhelming backstory (so much so that they even released an add-on that includes an encyclopedia and relationship threads for every character).  It’s the kind of story that requires a lot of dedication to stomach, because most of the game is plainly self-indulgent, with the ever famous 20 minute cutscenes that can plague your social life.  Playing this game requires you to schedule a block of time off becuase you can’t merely pick up and play it, lest you be left hanging trying to finish the end of a long cutscene and late for a dinner date somewhere.

Although it’s quite clear the plot could have been condensed into much smaller bits by the overly verbose Kojima, MGS4 is still everything it promised.  It’s the last story of a hero who has made it through countless missions, who is now suffering from the advanced-aging effects of being one of the first nano-machine test users.  Sure the moustache is painful to look at, but once you get the Face-Octo mask that wear other faces (like Mission Impossible), you can change him back to the old Snake, or even Raiden if that somehow floats your boat.

The biggest detriment to the story is that it will only really captivate those who have been through all the games, and is not a game I would play if it were my first introduction to the MGS foray.  The sheer amount of inside references to the older games that include Sniper Wolf’s death and Psycho Mantis’ controller reference make this a game for the diehard.  It’s virtually impossible to appreciate how well the story gets wrapped up without having played at least MGS1.  

Clocking in at a whopping 17+ hours, some gamers might be a bit miffed to see that a large amount of this is from in-game cutscenes (maybe even up to half), but as I’ve mentioned before it’s gorgeous stuff, even though it very well could have been condensed to perhaps a half if they had a much more efficient director.  In part, it’s due to the hard work put in the visuals that seemed to have Konami desperately showing it off every second, which leads me to my second point.

Setting a New Graphical Precedent

The graphics beat everything else out so far because of the great level of detail they capture.  Facial expressions are rarely found in games at this level, and the game has an impressive amount of scale not seen before- with dozens of mechs and soldiers firing at each other, and camera angles that whiz and fly around beautifully.

It’s also male fanboy oriented, with more than a few less-than-subtle bouncing boob shots, and far too many lower crotch angles.  The game at least, manages to be consistent in the eyecandy, because you’ll also get a few of Snake’s hardened body to attempt to disguise up the obvious girl worship.  If you don’t believe me it’s much more evident in the fact there’s a secret photoshoot mode for some of the hot bosses...a strange distraction for an even stranger moment during the game.

In the end it’s all about details: the dust hitting the camera, the moving hair, the petals, the interactive animals (hamsters running around, crows), the Playboy magazine you can actually turn through and use to distract guards, the real-life modeled guns and their appropriate attachments, the usable iPod, complete with clickable wheel, songs and podcast.  I cannot emphasize enough just how much stuff you can find in this game, and fans of the former games knows that part of the fun of an MGS game are the sheer amount of easter eggs involved. 

Then there’s the wide variety of environments involved this time around, and rather than being stuck on an orange oil rig (which annoyed the hell out of me in MGS2, mind you), you actually get to travel to a different parts of the world in places that combine and add on gameplay elements from all the different games in the series.  Large open sneaking environments in Europe that the new Quantum of Solace Bond game should have included, detailed jungle environments similar to those found in Far Cry 2, classic environments remade, and the trailer bits that included complicated gunfights out in the Middle East.  MGS4 has a lot more going for it than all the previous games- in a sense, collecting the best of all Konami has done.

Kill, or Sneak Your Way Through

The beauty of this game is that now sneaking, while highly encouraged, is optional.  Thanks to new control mapping, things have been made far more efficient than they were, and while the game does take a while to get used to, and lacks a detailed in-game tutorial for, there have been a lot of improvements.  It took me a few hours to get the feel for Snake again having not played it in so long, but once you do, you’ll be able to execute a quite wide variety of stealthy moves again. 

The major difference is the FPS-mode that lets you hit triangle while aiming and play the game virtually like an FPS.  With accurate head-shots, FPS fans can easily sprint through this game by wiping out everyone, which while it goes against the conventional play-style that is meant to be tedious and thoughtful, is still a nice option in particularly difficult scenarios.  In the end, it’s all about choice; you can take your time and pick off guys with a sniper rifle, sneak up and knock them out one by one, sneak by them, or distract them with Playboys.  There’s a huge amount of different ways to beat “levels” and few games offer that type of range.

A Killer Soundtrack

Unlike a lot of videogames these days that draw audiences in with a great trailer soundtrack but then fail to live up to it throughout, MGS4 has not only one of the best epic military-soundtracks ever reminiscent of The Rock and Saving Private Ryan.  For starters, the score has plenty of tracks, some remade from old games, others newly composed for the new game.  It’s the music that makes a huge difference and really allows the game to tug on the emotional heartstrings just a bit, despite the often over-dramatic cutscenes, a few of them a tidbit retch-worthy (watching Octacon and stunningly hot Naomi go at it).  Few other games attempt to put this level of quality in their games, and Konami deserve another pat on the back for it.

Conclusion

MGS4 is the ultimate game for the PS3, sadly the only one that really justifies its existence next to the 360 so far.  Unfortunately due to the way it is orchestrated I cannot really recommend it to more casual gamers.  It’s a diehard gamer’s game, fueled off the years and years of nostalgia behind it, because without that, it edges a bit more toward the four-star category since the long convoluted plot might just be a bit tough to wade through.  Konami has packed this game with a lot of entertainment value into it, that I’d say it registers as a must buy.  The online play I glossed over adds some more life to gamers looking to get a bit more out of it, and a second-play through is definitely possible due to the game’s great unlockables and bevy of secrets.  Offering a huge bang for its buck, this is a must get for the fans.