Before I even start with this review I'm going to state this clearly. Metal Gear Solid 4 is easily one of if not the best game of all time. Metal Gear Solid 4 is everything Kojima-san promised it would be and proves to be a fantastic ending to one of the most memorable saga's in gaming history.
There is no hiding that Metal Gear Solid 4 is the best looking game of all time. The graphics really must be seen to be believed. There are many times throughout the game in both game play and in cut scenes where the game looks photo realistic. In fact there are many occasions in which the HUD pops up as a cut scene is coming to an end and looks out of place because it looks like you are watching a CGI movie.
MGS4's game play while similar to older MGS games has evolved and allows for alot more freedom in how you do things. In the past you would really need to sneak around or face certain death. However Snakes new arsenal of CQC moves, Octocamo, a new Weapon customization system and far more freedom of movement makes fighting a far more viable option. Another option for FPS fans allows the game to be played almost entirely like a FPS although I found this is not as fun or engaging as playing the game normally.
No longer are you limited to cramped hallways when sneaking as this mission takes place in a many war zones across the world. While previously you may take on 4-5 enemies at once you will now find yourself up against much more enemies and fighting in full scale wars between PMC groups and the Rebels that are trying to stop them. These battles aren't merely superficial either. Helping one of the factions will align you with that faction and they will not attack you and may help in your mission by attacking the enemy and distracting them so you can get where you need to go.
Also no longer will you be limited to finding your weapons on the battle field as early into the game you meet up with Drebin a gun launderer that allows you to purchase guns, ammo and custom parts for your weapons. When finding a gun on the battlefield you won't be able to use it right away in most cases as they are ID locked. Drebin can unlock these ID's for a price and allow you to use them. You get "Drebin Points" by selling weapons that you already have found. For example when you pick up a AK-102 it will go into your inventory but every one you pick up from then on will be sold to Drebin for points allowing you to purchase things to help you on your mission. While this is a great addition to the game and the weapon customization is very fun I found that being able to purchase ammo whenever you need it makes the game a bit to easy. But that is a minor complaint.
Throughout the game there are also many event's that are played very differently then the rest. Such as riding on the back of a motorcycle while being attack in a city at war or trying to escape a ton of gecko with the help of a armored carrier. All of these control very well and are extremely fun and a spectacle to behold visually. There are more game play variations later in the game but I won't spoil them as they are very fun to see as they take place and one of them is kind of a spoiler.
Now I'm not gonna get to deep into the story as I don't want to spoil anything for anyone. Many faces from the past appear in the game such as Naomi, Meryl and Mei Ling among others. There is also alot of fan service in many forms such as jokes and whatnot from the MGS series that only fans of the MGS games will see and find funny. Such as Otacon calling you via Codec and telling you it's time to switch to Disc 2 before realizing that MGS4 is on Blu-ray. You will also see flashbacks as well. Many times during cut scenes there will be a prompt to press the X button doing so will trigger flash back like imagines showing many things from the past, the significance of the events going on or showing something you may not find a link to just by watch what is going on. It's a very cool way to get refreshed on certain events from the MGS universe. I will also say that the cut scenes are 90 minutes long rumor is not true. While some of the cut scenes are quite long especially the mission briefings between acts none are 90 minutes long. The ending however may be close to the 90 minute mark but I didn't care to time it as I was to enthralled with the ending to one of the greatest saga's in all of gaming history to care about something so trivial.
On the bad side there really isn't much to say. There are a few animations in the game that look a bit odd or out of place but that's a very minor complaint as for the most part the motion capture is excellent. Some will say the installs between acts is a negative however they are very short only taking about 2-3 minutes to complete and they only occur every few hours of game play so you can use them as an excuse to get up and have a break or make a snack or something. The main install isn't anything to complain about either it takes about 8 minutes to install which is about the same that other games requiring a install take.
All said Metal Gear Solid 4 is easily the best game on the PS3 if not the best game of this generation or all time. If you own a PS3 you owe it to yourself to own Metal Gear Solid 4. It would be a shame to miss the ending to one of the best Saga's in all of gaming history.
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.
The graphics are good but I wouldn't say they challenge Crysis.
good Review
Drebin's shop makes the game a bit to easy.
try to play it in extreme