Overall 9.1 Graphics 9 Sound 10 Addictive 9 Story 9 Depth 8 Difficulty 6
9.5
An Epic Conclusion to one of Gaming's Most Beloved Sagas mariomon64
This is the first game that I ever played on the Playstation 3, and boy was it a great one to start off with. I had recently got into the Metal Gear franchise, and when I found out that we were getting a PS3 for Christmas, this was the first game that came into my mind. I had just beaten Metal Gear Solid 3 (my first M rated game) and was ready to see what was next for the saga.
Story/ presentation: I believe that with this game, it would be appropriate to start off the review by talking about the story. When it comes to Metal Gear, one of the biggest things in the games is the story, and that is truer nowhere else but here. In fact, there is more story here than in many games. Depending on how good you are at playing Metal Gear, you might spend up to half of the time watching cutscenes. There are approximately nine hours of cutscenes within this game. If you were to watch all of the cutscenes here, it would take longer than watching the extended version of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. When playing this game, you are going to need to accept the fact that for much of the time you are going to be watching a movie. Some cutscenes take an hour to watch, and the ending cutscene was even longer! I remember when I was playing the game through for the first time, I would finally beat a boss I was stuck on and then convince my mom to let me watch the following cutscene before I quit, and then I would be sitting there for an hour with an impatient mother near by. There are actually save points within the cutscenes, they are so outrageously long!
Thankfully, the cutscenes are not a bore to watch. In previous games, many of the less important cutscenes would be told through Codec or radio conversations, which would go on seemingly forever and just not be all that interesting to watch. In this game, though, they cut down the number of Codec conversations a lot. Most of the dialogue actually happens between two players that are in the same room talking to each other, which sometimes wouldn't even happen in older games. In Metal Gear Solid 2, I remember some scenes where two people in the same room would take over Codec, which while the explanation of not wanting to be too loud and attract guards made sense, it just seemed unnecessary. The action sequences are also exciting and very well choreographed, It really is almost like watching a good movie.
The story itself, in my opinion, is very good. It takes place in the near future of 2014 (about a year away now) in a time where the economy is run by war. All across the globe, countries are enlisting PMCs to take care of rebel factions. Liquid Snake (or should I say Liquid Ocelot) is the ring leader of the whole scheme and it is up to Solid Snake to stop him from being one of the most powerful people in the world. Throughout the game, Snake will travel across the world chasing down his arch-nemesis, and battle him face to face in an epic climax. The dialogue is very well written and you really get to caring about these characters (if you didn't already). From Snake's resignation to his fate of an early death due to his rapid aging, to Otacon's dismay at the condition of his friend. It really does wrap up well, too, answering many questions while opening up new plot points to be focused on in later games in the series. A word of warning though; the plot will not make sense at all to you unless you have either played all the other games in the series prior to this, or if you are at least familiar with their plots.
Addictiveness/ Gameplay: Metal Gear Solid 4 has some of the best controls in the series. All of the combat actions have been relocated to the R1 button; if you hold down L1 and then R1, you use your equipped weapon. If you hit R1 without L1, then you perform some CQC. This is a lot smoother than in previous games, where the weapon and melee attacks were relocated to different buttons. Also, this is really the first game (other than Subsistence) where the camera is over the shoulder. Now it is easier to survey the surroundings and you don't have to worry as much about enemies waiting beyond the screen. The can also use your weapons while walking around, as well. This makes combat smoother when you need to get out of a pickle.
The stealth in this game is just as satisfying in this game as in the other Metal Gears. There are a variety of weapons and items to help you sneak your way past the enemy, ranging from the classic cardboard box to Playboy Magazines, which you can lay on the ground in order to distract enemy soldiers in a rather humorous way. There are many guns to obtain in this game as well, including a tranquilizer gun and rifle. If you pick up a gun on the battlefield that you already own, then that gets sold automatically for points in order to buy different guns and items. This gives more reason to inspect the unconscious or dead enemies on the battlefield.
Graphics: This game really does look great. The visuals are very crisp and the characters look pretty realistic. There are nice little touches, such as Snake's bandanna blowing in the wind and obscure little Easter eggs sprinkled throughout the game that show the level of detail that was put into it. The lighting is great in this game, whether the intense Sun is igniting the desert in front of you, or you are fighting flying robots underneath the pale moonlight. My only quarrel is that sometimes in cutscenes the framerate can slip up a little. Other than that, the game looks great.
Sound: The voice actors for this game really bring the characters to life. David Hayter (Solid Snake veteran) puts on a convincing elderly Snake voice and the rest of the cast does a great job as well. All of the returning characters are voiced by the same voice actors they have had for years and the advances in technology bring the characters to life more. The delivery of dialogue is as good as ever, with many of the emotions sounding truly genuine.
The music is quite fantastic as well. The soundtrack is composed by Harry Gregson-Williams, who is a veteran Hollywood composer. The pieces of music really fit the scenarios, whether it is a slow Spanish-guitar piece that plays while the game is letting it soak in as to how old Snake has gotten, to exciting, fast paced horn music played in an action scene. If you're not really in the mood for the normal background music, there is also an IPod that Snake carries around that you can use to listen to songs that you have picked up around the game.
The sound effects are great as well. The gun shots sound real and the sound effects that play when doing melee attacks are nice and satisfying. There is also the iconic exclamation mark sound effect, that sounds just as good as ever and really wakes you up when an enemy has seen you and the time has come to fight.
Depth/ Difficulty: There is quite a bit of stuff to do in this game. There are multiple ways to get through each level, which adds to the replay value to see what happens when you go a different way than the last time you played. There are also collectible items around the stages, such as IPod songs, and Easter eggs that you have to look pretty carefully for that encourages exploring the game to its potential. You can also look around to collect guns to trade in for points to buy more powerful weaponry and other assorted items.
The difficulty for this game was a little hard to grade. On the more normal difficulties, if you get caught you can easily arm yourself with an assault rifle and get out of there violently, but on the higher difficulties if you get caught, it will be pretty difficult to shoot your way to safety. In these higher difficulties, you really have to look around the environment in order to see what you can do to sneak away from the enemies. I personally suggest the higher difficulties, as this makes the stealth of the game feel much more satisfying.
Conclusion: This is an excellent game that puts an epic end to the Metal Gear Solid saga and the story of Solid Snake. As long as you can come to terms with the fact that this game is half movie, it is a truly enjoyable experience. The scenery is beautiful, the combat is fun, and the stealth is satisfying. If you are a fan of Metal Gear, this is not a game you can pass up.
Graphics 9 Sound 10 Addictive 9 Story 9 Depth 8 Difficulty 6
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 06-13-13
Review Replies: 1
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