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User Rating: 8 | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Greatest Hits) PS3

Summary:

Metal Gear Solid 4 does it again. It shows what a new (at the time) generation of consoles is capable of. It brings you familiar gameplay with more options and smoother controls. And of course it delivers top notch cutscenes filled with dense dialogue and dramatic flair.

You'll also find similar oddities. There is a very Japanese brand of humor and character traits. I found their attempts at levity clashed with the otherwise serious tone more often than they served as a refreshing change of pace. A complex plot is laid out through lengthy dialogue that can be difficult to follow, especially if you don't remember or haven't played previous games in the series.

Bottom line: If you've played MGS 1 through 3 and liked them, you'll find more of the same to enjoy here but this time with an even slicker presentation. Newcomers to the series are recommended to start with earlier titles as there are a lot of references to them in MGS 4.

Full review:

Playing Metal Gear Solid 4 for the first time in 2017 offers an interesting glimpse back in time to when cutscenes were more prevalent and gameplay tended to be more clunky. From a visual standpoint it really leaped forward with lifelike animations and rich detail. Gameplay very much stayed in the past though. Movement is comparably rigid, running and gunning is painfully imprecise, level designs are linear with many loading screens and health bars are still a thing. But the stealth is fun so it's easy to forgive an imperfect combat system.

Sneaking through many of the game's maps is a viable option. One neat new feature is the Octocamo that Snake is wearing. If you pause in one place for a few seconds, your camo will shift in color and texture to match the surface you are up against. This can be both a benefit and a curse. While you are crawling through terrain without much variation it can make you incredibly hard to spot. However, you'll stand out like a sore thumb if you don't pause to let your Octocamo readjust as you move into a new environment. It is also a technical marvel that your suit can sport so many different skins.

Guns of the Patriots progresses with the more linear approach that MGS 3 started. It's never unclear where you are supposed to go next and even if you get briefly off track there aren't any side areas to get lost in. I don't mind the more focused experience but those that prefer an open world will dislike this aspect.

Hideo Kojima must have set a goal to never let players get bored while playing. Whether you are being treated to a fascinating cutscene, stealthing through enemy lines, going toe-to-toe with a boss or riding high through one of several vehicle sections in the game, MGS 4 is packed with content that demands your full attention. There are numerous powerful moments that often combine big plot reveals with large scale action sequences. The great motion capture work really makes these scenes come alive and elevates them to a level rarely seen outside of blockbuster action movies.

The complexity of the plot and world of Metal Gear are a deservedly lauded part of the series. I'm not so sold on the dialogue writing though. I think the plot complexity gets magnified by verbose dialogue that could be more clear. Part of this could be from the compromises of translation, but I suspect the Japanese version isn't much better. I got a laugh out of each time Snake parroted back a word or phrase with a questioning inflection. Some things don't make the cultural leap very well like the sense of humor and some of the style. Smoking isn't very cool anymore but it is excessively featured in this game.

There are many returning characters so you should know what to expect from the familiar voice actors. They do a pretty good, but not great job. I like the effect they use with some of the bosses where they have both a male and female voice at the same time. This is disconcerting and makes their unstable mental state palpable. Sound effects are superb. Gun fire is impactful with a lot of variation in sound signature between the wide arsenal of weapons. The soundtrack didn't catch my ear as much as it has in previous Metal Gear games, but it still enhances the emotions of each scene.

This is one of the most technically impressive looking games that you'll find on this generation of consoles. The fidelity and realism level achieved is still remarkable over eight years later. The art style tries to be very realistic so it's not as noteworthy from an artistic perspective. There are some artistic liberties taken though. One of the more noticeable examples is the use color filters to influence the atmosphere of a scene or area . Unfortunately, this eye candy does come at a price in the form of install and load times. Each of the game's five acts begins with a roughly three minute installation. Loading screens are reasonably short, but they are frequent. They are particularly noticeable during a couple high speed chases.

My final playtime was 16 hours. The five acts are around three hours each with the extra time coming from the intro and epilogue.