I know every one out there is expecting nothing but perfect scores for this game, but I am one of those who believes that once there is a perfect game there is no room for improvement and from there games will never get better, so as with all my reviews this is will not be a perfect 10, but I will explain my review.
Metal Gear Solid had a large amount of hype to it, and well, it lives up to that hype. Snake's reaching the end of a dynasty, his name engraved in the history of gaming just as much as Mario and Sonic. But unlike Mario and Sonic, it seems some one knows how to end a series before it gets ruined. So how is Snakes final war?
First, graphically, this game blows every other game this generation way out of the water. This game is going to do to graphics for this gen what Call of Duty 4 did to first person shooters- Revolutionize it. The cut scenes are the best looking to every be put in to a game. With a mix of real life video and amazing art, the cut scenes push the graphical envelope of this generation. The shadows and lighting give people the best realism yet seen in a game. The Playstation 3 handles it all perfectly, the frame rate holds solid the entire game. While certain environments aren't as glamorous as others, the game is amazing. The only thing about it is that some of the cut scenes can seemingly last forever. While the cut scenes perfectly tie in to the game and the series, more time is spent watching them than game play. This is one reason the game is not perfect. While story is hugely important, they should not use cut scenes to replace the game play. But the entire time you watch cut scenes you have the ability to zoom and challenge the development of this game to find something wrong, this is a challenge the developers will win every time. So for the area of graphics this game is a 10, perfect as in if every game could be at this level graphically and you would feel completely encompassed by the game. The negative is cut scene length, and now I know why they were withheld from reviews prior to launch.
So how is the game? Does it hold up to the series name? Yes. This game is a fitting end to the series, whether you've played none, one or all of the Metal Gears, if you own a PS3 you will be doing yourself a disservice by not buying this game. You can have no background of the story and still feel captivated by its story. The game puts you in many different environments around the globe and puts you in the position to fight your way to victory or sneak. You have the choice to do as you please, but the levels are very linear, you may have a few choices of how to get to a location, but when it comes down to it there is only one path to the entrance of your next location, which is usually done by cutscene. The weapons are numerous, you can upgrade each weapon. You pick up weapons from many locales along with the ability to buy them from an arms dealer. The gameplay is great, with some intriguing plots points, you'll constantly want to keep playing to find out what happens next. I won't go too deep in to game play because I feel this is a game everyone should enjoy and I don't want to ruin the experience.
As for sound tie in, its great, each weapon has there own unique sound, each persons voice actor did a FANTASTIC job. With Digital Dolby's help this game is a theatrical masterpiece in your living room. With the extended length of the cut scenes you often feel as if you're watch a CG movie. So it's kind of like taking the downside and giving that downside an upside. One of my favorite series of cut scenes is the first real Boss you play. With battle and cut scenes intertwined very well you are instantly sucked in for the whole event, and with the echoes of screams coming through surround sound its a series of events sure to entertain.
While I know this game includes MG:O, I feel it isn't a part of this review and for that reason I have left it out of my review. I feel that MGS:4 deserves it's own review. It doesn't need the addition of MG:O to aid or hinder it's review. Stay tuned for a separate MG:O review.
So overall MGS:4 a great addition of a gamers collection. It is a game that will be remembered and it well deserving of all its acclaim and sales. So to all PS3 owners out there, support exclusives, and definitely purchase this one, and to Snake, if this is truly the last time we see you, Thanks good friend for all the enjoyment.
The PlayStation 3 may not have been the strongest generation for Sony, but there were still some diamonds in the rough that deserve a revisit as PS5 remasters.
Even if they could just remaster and put on PSVR2, some would still look great as VR titles and could do a whole lot to bolster the headset w these exclusives! I'd imagine the investment of reworking these titles into VR would be way less than building new games from the ground up, and they could be amazing experiences, and VR often makes flat games feel fresh again. The Resistance and Killzone games are particularly what I want to see!!
I played killzone 3 in 3d and it really changed the game per being immersive.
In vr, that would be even more awesome.
Funny you mention that... my son wanted to play some PS3 games in 3d on my PS tv and he was blown away by how good KZ3 was. It really was a great addition to the game. Im surprised there have not been more 3d games from that era being ported to the PSVR/VR2.
resistance 1-3, killzone 1-3, uncharted 1-3, uncharted golden abyss, folklore, socom 4 , motorstorm, twisted metal, MAG, heavenly sword
Killzone 2+3
Sly Thieves in Time
Crack in Time
God of War Ascension
Motorstorm
Modnation racer
Infamous 1+2
Killzone trilogy in VR would be amazing bonus points if they offer shadow fall.
There was a psvr1 Killzone project that supermassive was working on at one stage which wasn't up to scratch and Sony brand it back in house I was hoping we would see that on psvr2 eventually.
Personally I'd love to see some more love or acknowledgement of psvr2 from Sony in general it was a expensive headset and Sony barely acknowledge it's existence
The amount of work needed to remaster these games wouldn't be beneficial on a financial and business sense.. MGS4 would probably be the best bet as it would need the least amount of work!
The time is perfect for a resistance fall of man game campaign coop multiplayer
The resistance series is str8 trash to me. Socom 3 I would welcome. Or killzone MP.
Resistance was ok but Warhawk and Starhawk was better and kept me coming back for almost a decade of fun and petty revenge on the loud mouth unskilled players 🤣
Edit I loved capture the flag dropping the pot on the flag carrier was extremely satisfying as well as transforming your plane in bot form and stumping them to death 😱
An article looking at the symbolic meaning behind the cigarettes in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.
Game creator Hideo Kojima is and probably will always be best-known for his creation and stewardship of the Metal Gear series at Konami, which since his departure has been more-or-less on permanent hiatus (don't mention Survive). In his almost three decades these games evolved to the point where they predicted certain problems of the information age (MGS 2), took aim at contemporary topics like Guantanamo Bay (MGS: Ground Zeroes), and ended on a profound sense of sadness about our species' inability to break the cycles of global conflict (MGS V).
It's not clear what sparked this reflection, but Kojima's been thinking about Metal Gear Solid 4, an entry that was (and unfortunately still remains) a PlayStation 3 exclusive. In that entry the player controls an aged Solid Snake in the year 2014, caught up in a civil war being fought between Private Military Companies (PMCs).
To this day, it's one of those games where I refuse to skip the cutscenes, no matter how many playthroughs I've done.
But if you ask me...MGS2 was bloody prophetic and has aged like fine wine. That game was blasted as the weakest entry, and yet it's so enduring. I replayed it some time last year and it was remarkable.
Heed not the lamentations of people that say that MGS2 is bad because of the Snake/Raiden bait and switch. Every MGS game has its own merits, and while most people consider 3 to be the best, they all shine equally in my opinion.
@sad
I would generally agree but with the exception of MGSV. It had truly excellent gameplay/combat, but dull and largely empty open world(s), and a narrative that is literally only half finished.
I really wish Kojima hadn't tried to go open world with MGS. It just wasn't right for the series. But I get it. He didn't want to make MG anymore but he wasn't allowed to make anything else. So he had to experiment within that franchise. Still, it was the wrong direction.
I have been thinking about this a lot, MGS2 being the weakest and getting blasted.
My conclusion, for some years now, it's my favorite game of the series.
Going from MGS1 to MGS2 was such a big leap, in graphics, mechanics, etc.
And now it's even more relevant for being 'bloody prophetic' as you stated.
Maybe dust of my vita and play it again...
It's a shame we never got a remaster of MGS4. The original game only rendered at 1024x768, and it ran anywhere from like 20fps to 60fps depending on the area. A remaster could have very easily cleaned up the visuals and performance. It's such a great game. I just want to play it again but in its best possible state.
I agree, but they did all sorts of tricks to make use of the ps3’s cell processor….they’d probably have to rebuild the game in order to make it run on another machine. And, if that involves remaking those cutscenes somehow, then itll never happen, unfortunately.
Nah. There have been plenty of remasters of PS3 games and they've turned out fine. It can be done.
War... war never changes. Or does it? The war has changed ...did it? The answer is no! Unless it is yes! No, of course it is! Is war! Yes! No! Yes?
He was always ahead with this series. MSG1 taught me about the importance of passing on our genes into future generations but in a responsible way, for they are bound to what we experienced in our lifetime. Sons of liberty taught me about global control and simulation runs to test society in a grand scale, the importance and dangers of control of information. MGS3 taught me about patriotism and how that can blind you into doing things you never would have otherwise, all for the sake of politicians who only see you as another pawn in their grand scheme of things. MSG4 taught me war is inevitable and always orchestrated because it's great for the economy. Soon simulation systems will start dictating who goes to war and why, all run through proxies. Privatization of military company are already here. We already started to see how a small group of elites dictates everything that happens. Nothing is done, nothing happens without strings being pulled.
All that was literally the themes and core story of each game, so not surprising he learned that from MGS. Metal Gear Solid 2 in particular is so relevant today, it was more than a decade ahead of its time and a work of genius. Kojima saw what the digital future was going to become when it was in its infancy. Even MGS 5 despite being unfinished and less of a traditional Metal Gear Solid game with regards to story, had a fair bit to say about language and control over it that is relevant today.
It's a highly acclaimed series for a reason, and one of my favourite.
I've watched my brother play the MGS games, but I only beat MGS1 myself on the PSP in 2014, and MGSV in 2016. I took the themes and plots as lore, tbh.. trying to piece together the story of MGS rather than relating them to our current times.
It's definitely social commentary, Eidolon. You should read the "themes and analysis" section of the Wikipedia page for MGS2: Sons of Liberty for a start! Game was heavy on this.
I'll take a look, thanks. Actually might pick up MGS2 again (PS Vita), It's been years since I last played. Might start a new game tbh.
MGS2 literally predicted digital manipulation of information that we see today all the way back in 2001. MGS2 became Zucc's playbook.
Yes back in 1998 when I was 13. Throughout the years more information has been shown on this subject matters, but go back to early 2000s and information wasn't as prominent. Kojima was ahead of the game
If it wasn't for the retconning of how FOXDIE works, including clunky scenes with Naomi and Liquid, MGS4 would be a perfect game. There are so many gameplay options. It felt like us PS3 owners got something truly unique and special.
Dude, 10/10 does'nt mean Perfect, because No, nothing is perfect. A 10 means it's a must-buy game, and close to the perfection. Why rating a game on 10 if you can't use the 10? I think MGS4 deserve the 10.
your a derf theres thousands of ways to beat that game you should try it
Actually there are a lot of multiple paths that you can take to go from point A to point B. I agree that it is from point A to B, but it's how to get there that makes it not linear. But yes, the cutscenes are too long for average gamers. I love MGS cutscenes so it was a treat for me, but my brother, who was watching me play, hated the long cutscenes. He called MGS4 a "long movie." And..yeah, it is a long movie.
wha the is trying to say is that you only have one choice, but you are able to change that choice, killing or sneaking, thats it, but with the way of the cutscnes, but codec says you must sneak... and to the guy who said there is a 1000, name ten and i will shut up, until you should shut up, and no game is a ten, not even GTA4 (and i loved GTA) or Zelda for that matter, i say this is not a game, but rather an interactive blu-ray disc..but this is all my opinion, bring the disagrees in