Part anecdotal and part opinion: a perspective from a foreigner to this genre
Metal Gear Solid 4, to be sure, is easily the best and most overall polished game I have played on the PS3 to this point. The stealth dynamics are incredible, as too are the shooting mechanics, the story and characters are top notch, and the way that everything flows together seamlessly establishes MGS4 as a new "benchmark game" in the industry.
The game starts out in a Middle-Eastern war torn zone where the world of MGS4 is briefly explained to the player. It is a world in a perpetual state of conflict where governments and PMC's (private military company's) are constantly squabbling and thus the world is driven by a "War Economy" (maybe not so different than the way things are today if you think about it). For me, and keep in mind I have not played a game like this for over 10 years, it started out a bit slow and I was questioning the enjoyment I was getting spending so much time crawling on my belly. Of course, to even think this way proved almost embarrassing since as the game rolled on MGS4 proved to be anything but boring. I mention this only as a cautionary tale to someone who could be in a similar position as I was: you must stick with this game and see it through to the end, you will not be disappointed.
The gameplay in MGS4 is what really stood out to me. As someone who has played many games over the years it was very apparent just how polished the gameplay in MGS4 was. While the game can accurately be described as a stealth game I hesitate to call it that since the use of weapons plays a major role, but I would also be hesitant to call it a shooter since much of the game is done without the use of weapons: the best way to describe MGS4 would be to call it a stealth-based action game, heavily story driven, that uses realistic modern day weaponry as well as some futuristic weapons and technologies. There are 5 Chapters in MGS4 each with a variety of missions, special in-game action sequences, boss fights as well as loads of cut scenes and movie style mission briefings (the mission briefings are awesome by the way). All of the various elements of the game masterfully flow together and you will be amazed at how you can go from a cut-scene immediately into an in-game action sequence and barely notice the difference. To give a good example of this, there is a part in the game where one moment you are sneaking around a European city avoiding hostiles while tracking a person of interest. Then you are thrown into a long cut-scene after which you are then thrown into an action sequence featuring Snake on the back of a Motor-Cycle using a Sub-machine gun to keep the heat of your companions, and then you are thrown right into a boss fight! All of these sequences are quite different and yet they all blend together seamlessly to the point where even though you have multiple save points in between, you won't want to put the controller down until you see the whole chapter through. This may seem inconsequential but remember that video-games are first and foremost an escape from reality and a chance for the player to immerse themselves in a world of excitement and adventure. Poor transitions or dull spots, just as in a book or a movie, cause us to loose focus and get distracted which ultimately detracts from overall experience and takes away from the immersive quality of the experience. This certainly cannot be said about MGS4 as you will want to finish each chapter once you start it: it's that exciting, that intense, and that immersive.
The stealth aspect to MGS4 is truly incredible. You have a stealth meter that reflects how hidden you are from enemy sight, and it is mostly affected by the cover spots you pick, the amount of light, and your physical orientation (i.e. prone, crouching, upright). In addition to this, stealth is also affected by sound, so even if you are hidden visually, if you were to accidentally crawl over a discarded glass bottle the sound it makes would likely blow your cover. The night vision goggles you use are immensely useful and you will find yourself always wanting to have them on, yet they too might alert people to your position since they give off a faint humming sound that can blow your cover: so discretion is advised. Hand in hand with the stealth system is the tracking system. The physical environment is meticulously created with an attention to detail that is rare in most video games. This lends itself to granting you the ability to track footprints and survey your environment to see where people have been. Sometimes flattened grass or unique footprints are essential clues you must pay attention to in order to track your assigned person of interest. Even wind direction plays a role in the stealth / tracking system although truthfully I don't think I ever completely figured that one out (on the hardest difficulty level perhaps I would need to). This might be a good time to mention that there are 4 difficulty level settings and I would not recommend anything below 3. I was able to complete the game on 3 without too much difficulty and I am not a seasoned veteran to this genre.
While I have already mentioned how vital stealth is to your survival your "Psyche" is equally essential. Snake has a Psyche meter that basically represents the level of battle stress he has incurred. 100 percent would essentially mean you are experiencing full blow post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and this would render you pretty much useless as a soldier, while 0 percent means you are relaxed and calm and capable of performing at a high level. The subject of post traumatic stress disorder is discussed in the game and explained in detail, and things like being hunted by patrols (i.e. having completely blown your cover and being in "Alert mode") being subjected to temperature extremes, and even smells play a part in this. At one point I was completely hidden in a calm shady area and couldn't figure out why my stress level kept increasing until I eventually realized that taking cover beside a person you just shot in the head does not make for the most relaxing situation. So I crept up a dozen yards or so and sure enough my stress level started to fall. I couldn't help but silently applauding the game creators at that point for designing such a realistic simulation. Smoking some good old cigarettes (but don't smoke kids, just because Snake does it doesn't mean you should) or reading a play boy magazine will also lower your battle stress.
Certain moments in this game were so memorable that they have pretty much permanently imprinted themselves onto my brain. I don't want to spoil anything so I will be very general here but I need to mention two specific moments that were incredible beyond almost anything I have experienced in a game to date. There is a boss fight that takes place on Shadow Moses in the frigid arctic cold. The term boss fight really does it injustice because it felt so real and had so many layers to it. First of all, since it was so cold I could never venture out too far from my strategic natural cover spots for too long since they helped to reduce the wind and chill, and even then I usually needed a couple of cigarettes from time to time in order to keep Snakes stress level down. All the while there was a constant onslaught of elite soldiers who I needed to take down from a distance with my sniper rifle or I would risk getting overwhelmed. On top of all of that, the boss I was fighting would make strategic quick assaults on my position, chasing me down like a tiger hunting its prey and the only real warning I would get is that the camera would shift to a first person view from the boss's perspective briefly as it quickly came upon my position. This brief time would allow me to put away my sniper rifle and get ready with either some heavy ordinance or a least my trusty Assault Rifle. Since you could only take away a bit of health from the boss at a time this cat and mouse game went on for quite some time. To have so many nuanced things happening at the same time and to have so much freedom in formulating a personal strategy to deal with this fight was a truly astonishing feat and made for one heck of a gaming experience. The other memorable moment I need to mention is something anyone who has played this game will surely remember. You fight a certain someone near the end of the game in hand to hand combat, and the intensity, the raw emotion, and the edge of you seat action involved with this fight is absolutely breathtaking and left me with a sense of awe. Just when I thought the game couldn't get any better they threw this at me and all I could do was enjoy and revel in the intensity and awe inspiring magnitude of the fight and ensuing cut scenes.
Last but not least I need to comment on the Story and the characters in MGS4. As a newcomer to the series I first read plot summaries of the previous franchise entries in order to understand who the characters were and what the story was all about. Even then, the story was a bit tricky and convoluted at times, but in the end I did get the full picture. To someone who wants to play MGS4 but hasn't played the previous games I would recommend either to play them or at least do what I did and read up on what has happened so far in the series. The story is quite incredible. It's very conspiratorial and, for the most part, revolves around the idea of a group of people trying to establish a one world government that is self perpetuated by and funded by non-stop war. As Snake, you are obviously trying to stop this since your one of the good guys in this troubled world. There are a lot of twists and turns along the way and the story is very emotional as well as deeply satisfying on an intellectual basis. The characters are great, especially Old Snake. Old Snake may just be my new favorite video game character. His voice, his appearance, his bad-a$$ attitude and just his overall cool factor makes him hard not to like. But more than that, he is also a selfless soldier dedicated to a greater good who garners both fear and respect. He has aged rapidly due to reasons explained in the game that I won't get into here, and his age is reflected in his movements and the subtle actions he makes that happen automatically (like he may stop to rub his back, or let loose a sort of subdued moan indicating that he is obviously in a great deal of physical pain). This further strengthened the bond and the level of empathy the player feels for Snake and just adds that little bit extra to an already great character. As someone who mostly plays RPG's, I have always felt that characters and story are the backbone to any great game. In this regard MGS4 ranks extremely high and I can happily say it is on par with some of my favorite RPG's in this regard; and that says a lot for an action game.
So to sum up, all I can really say is that Gamespot wasn't exaggerating when they said that MGS4 is an awe inspiring synthesis of gameplay and dramatic storytelling because truly it is, and in fact it is much more than that too. I haven't even mentioned how great the sound or graphics are because this game just has way too many good things going for it to mention in one review. Everyone who owns a PS3 should have this game in their library and anyone who doesn't have a PS3 should get one so that they can play this game. I really could only scratch the surface in mentioning all the things I liked about this game and all of its memorable moments because from start to finish virtually everything about this game is great. The story telling may be a bit heavy handed for some people and the cut scenes a tad lengthy (not for me obviously) but other than that I don't know how this game can be called anything other than PERFECT 10/10.