The PS3Hyper Review is finally underway! Having only recently got my official Malaysia PS3 console, this reviewer is hard pressed for some next-gen gaming experience and what’s better than to start off with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (MGS4) – one of my most beloved franchises and unanimously the Number One choice, as recommended by game enthusiasts, to savour the power of the PS3. And having played it now, I finally understand why…

It’s Been One Heck of a Party

MGS first appeared on the PSone some 10 years ago, and its second and third episodes subsequently on the PS2. Prior to MGS, Metal Gear (without the Solid) already existed in the pre-PSone era. And in between MGS1 and MGS4, there were also numerous spin-offs on handheld consoles. So, it’s not an exaggeration to say that the franchise is BIG. For the record, MGS4 is stated officially by Konami as the last episode of the Metal Gear Solid storyline.

In the MGS saga, the story revolves around the protagonist Snake, a war hero who is famous for defeating Big Boss – a defected soldier and arguably the most perfect killing machine on earth. In addition to ending Big Boss’ life, Snake also went on to save the world several times from war machines known as Metal Gears (basically mobile units with nuclear-firing ability) as well as from his evil twin brother Liquid Snake. Unfortunately, Snake was ultimately forced to go underground after realising he was nothing more than a pawn in a game of war played by a mysterious organisation known as the Patriots.

In MGS4, Snake is now an old man (despite being only 30 something) and things could not be worse. His body is bending rapidly to a virus implanted within him at birth, and his supposedly dead brother is now making an insurrection. So, fighting his ailing body with his will alone, Snake puts on his gear for the very last time and sets off to end his brother’s life, and probably his own…

Stealth at Its Best

MGS4 is essentially a stealth-based game. Your primary task is to sneak through the game levels, killing perhaps 2 or 3 sentries or guards along the way, and ultimately confront the boss characters at the end of the levels. Moving away from the top-down perspective in earlier MGSs, you now do this through a closer TPS perspective and it can cause a headache or 2 for people with extreme motion sickness (ie. yours truly). But the smooth camera angle does make it manageable so people like me don’t have to go puking every half hour or so.

As a stealth game, MGS4 is extremely engaging, though challenging. Unlike some of the earlier episodes of MGS where you can realistically sneak past a guard in front of his face as long as you are beyond his “radar zone”, the enemies in MGS4 are smarter, faster and co-operate to take you down by surrounding your parameter. Sometime, even footsteps caused by running is enough to make the enemies turn your way. Having said that, enemy AI is still nicely programmed so that it is difficult but not too difficult. As long as you keep your eyes open and study the enemies’ patterns, any seasoned gamer should be able to get past most of levels without problem.

In addition to the stealth element, one of the true joys of MGS4 is the boss fights. Throughout the game, you will meet half a dozen boss characters each with his or her strength and weakness. Some will require you to go all out in their faces whilst others might require you to snipe from afar. But one thing’s for sure: before you see through their patterns or weaknesses, all these bosses will seem downright impossible to defeat. So when you finally take them out, I guarantee you the feeling of joy is unrivalled.

Back on the gameplay. If you are one of those gamers who prefer to go all out with your guns blazing, MGS4 does cater to your taste by giving you an array of machine guns, rifles, shot guns, bazookas, grenade launchers, bombs to do the damage. What’s more, you’ll also get the chance to purchase more weapons and bullets (ie. the first in the MGS franchise) just in case you’ve really gone berserk on the battlefield. Generally speaking, I wouldn’t really recommend going this way as it is not really what MGS is all about. But you have to praise Konami for giving you this option at all, and doing a really good job at it.

My Eyes! My Eyes!

I haven’t really had that much experience with the PS3 just yet, but something tells me it would be a long, long time before I see such wonderful graphic in a game even on the PS3. Simply put, MGS4 is a graphical marvel. The character facers look like actually human with wrinkles and scars and hair, the trees look like actual trees instead of cardboard pieces on 2D stumps, and the environments are so wonderfully created I could swear they actually exist in the world somewhere. As a gamer, it really is a privilege to be able to see something like MGS4 unfold before your very eyes.

In the sound department, Konami has really outdone themselves this time. Stray bullets hitting wall, exploding bombs, soldiers shouting commands or screaming in pain, shattering doors and windows… the sounds are so real you’d think they went and recorded it from actual battlefields! Voice-wise, Snake sounds exactly like an aging soldier and all other characters (except Raiden, in my opinion) are nicely portrayed. You really couldn’t find much to complain about.

Moving on to the cut-scenes; they are really excellently directed, especially the battle scenes which are so good they really bring shame to some of the Hollywood directors. If you pay careful attention, you may even find hidden perspectives and flashbacks by pressing certain buttons during these scenes. It’s really quite fun.

However, I must say that some of the cut-scenes suffer from over-commitment and can last up to 30 minutes long (ie. the ending itself is over an hour long). Whilst gamers do have a choice to skip the scenes, most probably won’t do so for fear of missing out on vital storyline. As a result, you could be cursing your heart out while some weapon seller used up 25 minutes of your precious time to explain that he is, in fact, selling weapon. Duh!

You WILL Replay This

In terms of replay value, MGS4 is indeed second to none. After finishing the game, you might want to try going on a second run using nothing else but the tranquiliser gun. Or blasting everything sky-high with your newly acquired rail gun. Or how about going for a real challenge and going by only your army knife? The sky’s the limit here. What’s more, it helps that Konami allows you to save ALL the weapons and special items you accumulate from your previous run. I assure you that you’ll be replaying MGS4 again and again just to try out the various methods you can adopt to win this game.

For people with high-speed broadband connection, there’s also the online mode which allows you to pit your war skills against gamers all over the world. With this, the replay value of MGS4 is practically limitless.

Simply Perfect… for War Gamer

When it comes to crunch time, giving MGS4 is score is harder than I thought. For a start, this game has the most gorgeous graphic and sound I’ve ever experienced in a game. Gameplay-wise, MGS4 gives you everything that you expect from a stealth war game, and possibly a lot more. From a plot point of view, everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) is answered… including all the unexplained plots from the previous instalments. Simply put, MGS4 is the most complete gaming package I’ve ever seen.

But judging this game not from a fan’s point of view, I see how this game has the potential to alienate gamers who are not into war and guns and stuff. The overly-lengthy explanation of the war economy and war technology throughout MGS4 will undoubtedly induce sleep faster than Snake’s tranquiliser darts. If you are not into action games, playing MGS4 can also be a chore because this game does has a steep learning curve (ie. I died shortly after the credits in my first run). In fact, my gut feeling is that this game might not be a good choice for casual gamers.

Taking all these into consideration, PS3Hyper reluctantly gives Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots a real solid 4.5 out of 5. The half mark deducted for being a bit too hard for non-war gamers or casual gamers. For war gamers and MGS fans, however, rest assured that this game deserves a Perfect 5 in every way imaginable

Posted in Reviews on Thursday, October 30th, 2008 at 9:34 pm |
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