Kojima delivers an epic game which is spectacular in almost every way... But perhaps it tries just a little too hard?
Metal Gear is possibly one of the most well know, well received and critically acclaimed game franchises of the last 20-years. If you play games, you have either, played it and love it, or know someone who has and does.
Everyone expects BIG things from Metal Gear games. Each game bigger and better then the last.
Now, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of Patriots... Does it hold true to the Metal Gear tradition...? Does it live up to its expectations...?
Absolutely - Yes it does!
MGS4 is epic in every way. Story is detailed, complex, well delivered and plausible - with a decent amount of Anime fantasy thrown in.
Visually the game is stunning, again raising the benchmark for other games this generation. There are several locations that the story takes you to. Each location is unique and beautiful made ever more so by the little details that Joe-Average wouldn't even notice.
The same voice-cast reprises there legendary roles for MGS4 and deliver the same high-quality acting as in the past games. Also setting the benchmark.
Sound Effects and music - Again you don't find much higher-quality in any other game.
So all in all, presentation, scripts, effects and setting are excellent. Kojima obviously has very high expectations of himself and his team.
The most important part of any game, every game and all games is game-play. Is the game fun, interesting, entertaining and not overly repetitive...?
Unfortunately, MGS4 got so caught up in being epic and incredible, that it forgot to really add anything to the game-play formula that they have been using since the first MGS on PS1.
Don't get me wrong, MGS4 has best-in-class mechanics (Always has). But throughout the game I always felt that "I'd been here, done that".
MGS4 often felt like I was watching a mega-budget blockbuster movie that kept being "annoyingly" interrupted by 15-minutes of game. A game is a game and playing it should be the highlight...
In Metal Gear Solid 4 the highlights are the visuals, story, sound and cinematic sequences (That have no peer outside of Hollywood - Simply brilliant). The game-play is a distraction.
It's strange... you almost can't compare MGS4 to any contemporary computer game. Kojima is now competing with Batman Dark Knight, Transformers, Iron Man, etc, etc... Good on them! I think they have a shot... So maybe leave out the "gaming" parts next time?
If you have NEVER played a Metal Gear game before - Then you are in for a treat. Probably one of the best gaming experiences you will have.
Metal Gear Solid 4 is epic. Perhaps too epic... But definitely worth playing none-the-less.