User Review : Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

A masterpiece, not.

There's been so much hype about this game and so many perfect reviews, and having already seen some of the amazing trailers, I did not hesitate for a moment to think that this game was going to be absolutely fantastic.

But I was terribly wrong, and these are the reasons why.

The gameplay is horrible. The motions of Snake are stiff and rigid, which is not at all what you'll expect of a stealth character. He moves in a rather clunky and slow manner, he cannot jump and he's not very adept at moving while shooting. There's little fluidity in his transition from one action to another. This problem becomes particularly accentuated when you find your cover compromised and you are forced into close combat with several enemies. You will find Snake to be an awkward and clumsy combatant, unable to switch from melee to guns quickly, unable to recover from being knocked down with any agility, and very slow in response time. Thank goodness however that the enemies' combat AI are on the very low side, so you should still be able to prevail despite Snake's limitations. Essentially, as a shooter, the game engine is light years behind.

But wait, you say MGS4 is not a shooter? Really? Playing the game, it seems to me that Hideo has designed this instalment such that you have the option to play it Stealth or Rambo style, because it certainly is possible to blaze your way through each play scene to get to the next cut scene (more on that later). If so, one would expect a whole lot more effort into the level of sophistication of the shooter mechanics in the game.

But assuming that's true that MGS4 is not a shooter. Let's examine the stealth aspects. The enemy AI on the stealth detection front is just about as woeful as on the combat front. They walk in short fixed paths, doing practically the same thing each round. They can be waiting there to ambush you around the corner and you're standing up in plain sight but they do not detect you. Or you can simply crawl (a long and torturous process though)right under the feet of a group of stationed guards and get past them. It is that easy. Erratically, at other times, the enemies will detect you no matter what your level of camouflage is. But when they do detect you, there's always a long pause before they take action, allowing you to take them out before the place goes into alert. And so what even if the alarm is set off? Just go to a corner and put your suit on auto-camo, it is that easy. There is absolutely no real sense of danger or challenge in the stealth game, and no real consequences even if your cover has been compromised. Again, a very unsophisticated system that has quite clearly been overshadowed by Splinter Cell.

Unsophistication is not just confined to gameplay mechanics because it rears its ugly head in various other aspects of the game too. I hate the Drebin game element in particular. Effectively, it allows you to instantaneously transform excess weapons picked up from enemies into money AND it allows you to instantaneously, at any point in time of gameplay, use that money to purchase weapons and ammo. For all practical purposes, there is absolutely no need to worry about running out of ammo or gear. And worse, Hideo introduces this game element through a Drebin character clothed with an awkwardly elaborate and unconvincing background and a silly monkey wearing pampers, as if all that would mitigate how backward and unrealistic the whole concept is.

Ironically, it is obvious that Hideo wanted to make this game a highly sophisticated one. The presentation is Sony slick no doubt, the music is beautiful, and the cinematic action sequences are artfully done. But in other respects, Hideo has faltered terribly even with the cinematics. The most apparent are the horribly contrived scripting of dialogue, the convoluted contents of the dialogue, and the long-windedness of it all. The length of the cut-scenes are already a problem in itself, and is compounded by the fact that a lot of the cut-scenes are comprised of uninteresting or unintelligible and poorly executed dialogue.

And let's draw a line here. This is supposed to be a game. Hideo has plainly overdone it with the gratuitous and self-indulgent cut-scenes. Playing MGS4 is like playing mini game segments to get to a long cut-scene. And there are parts where it is one long cut-scene following another, following another before you get to play Snake again. This cannot be anything other than ridiculous.

And is the game really such a technical wonder? Every segment of the game requires substantial load time. Every Act requires at least a few minutes of installation followed by load time. If you played up till Act 3 and wanted to go back to Act 2, installation is required again. This game has more load times than any other that I have encountered so far. You might as well switch discs...

So I ask myself, what really is so good about MGS4? It is neither a good shooter nor a good stealth game. The remaining outstanding feature about it are the cut-scenes. But while the cut-scenes are excellent in parts, most are dull or even irksome.

People will insist I'm either biased or I just don't get MGS4. Well, really now, tell me what it is I do not get about MGS4, because I'd really like to hear it being articulated in the context of what has been said above.

Score

4.0

Graphics

9.0

Sound

8.0

Gameplay

5.0

Fun Factor

Overall

7.0

[meepmoopmeep]

play a harder difficulty level for better A.I.
go for no alerts and no kills for stealth.
much like in the real world army, guards are posted and patrol a predefined area.
set the "Recall" function for the weapons/items buttons for quick switch from melee to weapon.

[InMyOpinion]

Everybody is entitled to their opinion. You backed up your criticism well. I've played the game myself and I had the same experience. I loved the past games but this is next gen and the stiff gameplay haven't evolved. Great review.

[socomnick]

at first I though it merited a 9.0 but now that Ive beaten the game in under 6 hours after skipping the cutscenes It does deserve a 7 or 8.

I dont understand why there are more cutscenes than gameplay time in a VIDEO GAME. Its a video game not a movie.

[sonarus]

lolz. But on your first play thru did you beat it in under 6hrs. Once again i like your style

@The reviewer, YOU DO NOT GET MGS4. How many stealth games have you played. All stealth games feature guards that walk in a fixed path. Its the basic common sense for a guard. Even in real life when guards patrol they just walk in a fixed path. I'm sorry they don't have super sensitive AI in real life.

As for snake being slow that is the set pace for the game. Were you expecting ninja gaiden. MGS4 is a stealth game at heart and a stealth game it is. You are just one of those people that doesn't get this particular franchise and just point at silly things because you can't find enough genuine fault with the game. You complaining about snake running slow is like me reviewing Halo and taking points off because master chief jumps too high.

You talk about the stealth element being lame compared to splinter cell. I have been saying this for a long time but no one seems to want to give me a reasonable answer. This is chaos theory the best in splinter cell series. It was also first splinter cell i played and was the first game i beat in a single seating probably took me like 6 or 7 hrs. You shoot the light guard comes what was that sound. Must have been my imagination that someone shot the light (excellent AI) Make a whistle and he comes to check the exact spot where the sound originated from. All you do take 2 steps back when he turns around grab him from behind it works every time. Beat the fvkin game in 6hrs first time playing SC in my life. Now that is just sad

[Veryangryxbot]

To play it first, requires a PS3!

This user review is a load of bullocks. Snakes movements are rigid? Wtf, you know it might just be you. Running and gunning like in Halo or COD4 is not what this game is about. The controls in MGS4 are PERFECT. But for the noobs, you can actually use auto aim. That way you can RUN and GUN to your liking, noobs. Of course, it requires you to actually find out about it first. That means spending more than 5 minutes of the basic controls!!!!! OWNED!

The reason for the installation times is because its not actually installing on your harddrive. Its loading up on your RAM. That way, every time you switch the PS3, its wiped! Why? So it doesnt take up your HDD space, noob.
The downside is that you have to wait for "installing" again next time you go through it. Why? Because like I said before...it didnt install on your harddrive the first time! Noob.

People like you complain all the time about the HDD space games take up so Konami is doing you a favor and yet you complain. You are clueless, you are immature, you are ignorant and you are 14 years old.

AI? Lmao, its painfully clear how you played the game on easy and still complain about it. How else can you finish the game under 6 hours. So your AI argument is BS to begin with.

And the size of the game? Its well over 20 hours first time through. Well over 15 hours second time through. Well over 20 hours for all the easter eggs through. Add another 40 hours (3 play throughs) for 90% of all the emblems and secrets and weapons through. And finally Boss Extreme requires you to finish the game in under 5 hours on hardest difficulty level which NOONE can do unless they have done all the previous runthroughs I mentioned above! So you owned yourself just now. 6 hours lmao. Try again. 20+15+20+40+5 = 100 hours average for 100%. And thats just the SINGLEPLAYER. Havent even spoken about the multiplayer.

You are obviously a poor delusional fanboy who either borrowed a PS3 to play the game or rented one and went through a speed run just so you can say you "played the best game ever" (because yes, this game is exclusive now and forever and you swallowed your words and had to admit that it would never come out for the 360 so you had to rent a PS3). But did you really "played through the game". You skipped all the cutscenes, played on super easy, skipping every experience, missed 90% of the gadgets and weapons, missed 90% of the locations, havent spotted a single easter egg. You didnt play shiat, fanboy!

And your rant is delusional. Rofl like as if your score means anything when 95% of all the reviews out there are 9 and higher and the majority of the that 95% are PERFECT 10s.

[-Maverick-]

"Indeed, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots shatters the proverbial bar, becoming a technical, cinematic and gaming standard that future action and stealth titles will be judged by. It's been a long time coming, but this game is a true classic and a masterpiece from Hideo Kojima, Kojima Productions and Konami."

"All of these features contribute to an excellent gameplay experience, but additionally striking are its visuals, which make MGS4 one of the best looking titles to date in gaming history. It's apparent that Guns of the Patriots squeezes every pixel possible out of the PS3 and renders them beautifully. As a result, players are witnesses to one of the finest games ever created on any console or PC. Character models are large and impressively rendered in real time, and transitions between cutscenes and gameplay are seamless and natural. What's more, certain action sequences are just as sharp and framed as well as many Hollywood action movies, and there are some moments in particular which surpass film in the way the story is told."

"Is it possible to give a game an 11? If so, this would be the game that would merit that score. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is a title that exceeds all of the hype that was attached to the title. Regardless of whether you've seen every trailer and screenshot, read every preview and heard every interview, you won't get a full sense of how phenomenal this title is unless you sit down and experience it for yourself.

Legends die hard and deserve a heroic story that lives on when they are gone. Metal Gear Solid 4 is such an ending for the legendary warrior Solid Snake. Not only does it sum up the full franchise of Metal Gear, its depth and its complexity, coupled with its technical prowess, make it one of the best games of the year and, indeed, one of the best games ever made. Get some well earned rest, Snake. You've earned it. We salute you."

- Ign

'Nuff said little kid. Go play your Xbox 360.

Metal Gear Solid 4 is the best game on either PS3 or Xbox 360. PERIOD.

[WIIIS1]

Apart from the generality of praise, does anything in the quotes you have given tell you anything about how the game actually plays?

The Gamepro quote that proclaims that you can play MGS4 Gears of War-style and is one of the best shooters out there is an outright and blatant lie.

[NO_PUDding]

Your are right.

It is better than gears.

You can prone you can crouch, you ahve a multitiude of weapons, and melee combat (extensive at that). And with the multitude of weaposn you can execute a multitude of attacks.

You can plant C4 on an enemies ass, for christ sake! This game is continually showing me new things and I have played it through 5 times now.

It deserves the 10's.

[felidae]

okay. MGS4 is a very good game but it never is as good as Half Life 2, Gears or Bioshock.

for me the best game of them all is Bioshock. PS3 users should be really happy to get this game for their system. it's way better than MGS4.

[juuken]

This game is ten times better than Gears of War. You have two options of playing. You can either use stealth OR you can play aggressively. But I guarantee that if you DO try playing aggressively in the first part of the game, soldiers won't hesitate to put a cap in your ass.

Quit crying. This game deserves as many 10's as it deserves. This is just your way of downplaying the PS3. Your hatred for the PS3 is so visible that it's despicable.

360 fanatics like you make me absolutely sick to my stomach.

[REDZEV]

your comparing MGS4 tO GOW??? thats like comparing Apples to BOWLING BALLS!!! you are either really stupid or you are talking out of your Big HoHo eating A#s again. first there completly to different types of games there is no comparing gameplay. I can also tell your not a big multi-player type gamer are you??? name me one game that you play online with friends and you can talk to them and invite them that is a true multi player expierence on the POS3??? theres no comparing these to games. Now if you want to compare them on which one is more a movie than a game you got a true topic there Junky.

[juuken]

....Zzzzzzzzzz...what was that REDDEV? I couldn't quite hear you. I just fell asleep from your bullsh*t. Zzzzzzzzz...back to sleep now.
Zzzzzzzzzz...Greys of Bore....zzzzzzz....*snore*

Your so-called reviewer was the one who mentioned MGS4 being juist like Gears of War based on the review from Gamepro. I said that MGS4 is better than Gears of War because you have two options of playing. With Gears of War, all you do is run & gun, run & gun, cover, run and freakin' gun. Can the protagonist use camouflage? Nope. Can he use stealth? Nope.

Shut up RED.

Seriously.

And your insults don't bother me one bit.

[LastDance]

your hell funny...."he moves like an old man"......funny that...i didnt even bother reading the rest after i picked that out the text.

[Gish]

Very true, who expects an old man to move like an old man??

[Bubble Buddy]

haha, i think he took that part off.

[drdistracto707]

i feel bad for snake, he is probably dead by now and this maniac is dissing his existance

(and if anyone says im being melo-dramatic, its a joke *hint hint*)

[WIIIS1]

Where did I say that Snake moves like an old man? My complaint is that as a game, the motions are slow and rigid and does not serve very well at all the purposes of combat or stealth. Does making the protagonist an old man justify such unprogressive gameplay mechanics?

[LastDance]

well..yea...old men are...slow and rigid..lol (the fluidity in some moves wasnt as good as it could have been).

you see.. in gears of war, they handle like a mac truck but i find that it works well because they are full to the tits in armour.

Sorry if snakes a bit old for ya. Maybe sam fisher will have a double jump move?

[1stKnighT]

This is the best well thought out review yet on here. All the other reviews posted here look like they were done by 12 year old fanboys. I would love to see somebody try to argue your points. But most likely they'll just verbally attack you with childish comments like Mavericks earlier comment.

[-Maverick-]

Fail.

Gamepro:

"The cinemas in Metal Gear Solid 4 are utterly magnetic and, with only one or two exceptions, devoid of the bewildering and bloated lectures that weighed down the earlier games. Voice acting is another strength here, with David Hayter's role as the gravel-throated Solid Snake being a performance for the ages. This is video game storytelling at its absolute best, and represents a new high water mark for the craft, easily surpassing the superb BioShock and the subversive Grand Theft Auto IV."

"There's no "wrong" way to play MGS4. If you want to play the game as a Gears of War-style shooter, prepare yourself for one of the best shooters you've ever played. If you'd rather creep and crawl to avoid enemies as in the earlier Metal Gear games, you'll be overjoyed by the game's tactical depth."

"Metal Gear Solid 4 renders some of the finest-looking graphics ever seen. Its visual variety is a major high point - just wait until you see some of the later acts."

"But if you have access to an HD TV, MGS4 will show you the bleeding edge of video game graphics. Leveraging the power of the PlayStation 3's octopus-like Cell processor, MGS4 renders some absolutely phenomenal environments. The first act takes place in the dusty slums of the Middle East, and the second act moves to the sweltering jungles of South America. Visual variety is a hallmark here, and thanks to Snake's globe-trotting journey, the game never repeats the same look twice. The environments are not only shockingly detailed, but also massive in scope: when you see the soaring peaks of South America, you'll swear you're watching archival film footage. MGS4 has that effect on players, effectively blurring, if not erasing, the line that divides games and cinema. It's absolutely remarkable."

"Mastered by Skywalker Sound, the experts behind George Lucas's Star Wars films, the in-game audio is endlessly varied: it paints a rich sonic palette that heightens the intensity of the action and the emotional resonance of the storyline. Gunshots sound eerily realistic, explosions rumble with low-frequency reverberations, and wildlife chitters nervously in the background. It's a feast for the ears and, like so much of MGS4, a new high water mark." Pwned

[Phenomenon]

My god are you in every thread that bashes a game you dont like?

[Bubble Buddy]

I beat Gears in less than 5 hours...so what? Still an amazing game, especially co-op.

"unable to recover from being knocked down with any agility, and very slow in response time."
Let's see you get up when ure 70 years old after being knocked down and gunned down.

Let's see you get the big boss emblem. In one try.

Also seeing your comment history, it's safe to say you're a fanboy. o_0. I bet you never even played MGS4.

[drdistracto707]

I agree, this is one of the most well thought out reviews, and as i said before, i respect his opinion, but the fact is, this review is much more of a fanboy trying to dis a game of the year contender because its not multiplatform

[steck67]

"All the other reviews posted here look like they were done by 12 year old fanboys." LOL, the irony.

[Mwaan]

It's kinda sad. The only motivation I have to play this game is to form my own opinion about it. Not because I'd be excited to play it. At the end of the day, I think it's just a game for the fans.

[heyheyhey]

a typical comment from this reviewer:

"@ Darkwolf
I'm near speechless that you'd admit you wipe your arse with piles of sh1t. That's a pretty filthy thing to do to put it mildly, even for a Sony fanboy."

now, everyone is entitled to their opinion- but it's pretty obvious what's going on here.... just like PS3 fans rushed out to give the game a 10, 360 fans are rushing to give this game a 7 or whatever

the guy is nit-picking, focusing on negatives, over-exaggerating and generally being desperate to find a fault with the game

this would've have been credible coming from someone like MK Red or BeaArthur

the stench of fail is strong for this one

[-Maverick-]

You cant cahnge what already been said and what the game is.

MGS4 owned everything. It set a new bar for action games in general.- fact.

[necronzero]

Your review is worse than gametrailers's ones on crack... YOU FAIL

[Phenomenon]

Evey time we get a game that your 360 can never have you whine about it saying its overhyped and it sucks. How about you go back to playing Halo 3 on your 360 if the game is so damn perfect. Are you just bored? 360 not enough to keep your entertained during the day so you have to get your kicks by writing bad reviews about games you havent played (friends house doesnt count)?

Get a life.

[apoc615]

If you hate this game you hate Gears of War because snake moves just like Gears does.What do you like then ?

[Elvfam511]

wtf last time heard metal gear came out first and snake been running like that since forever

[OmegaZeroX]

I played BioShock,Gears Of war,Splinter Cell,Mass Effect,GTA4, and most of the highest rating games.
Metal Gear Solid 4 is in fact the best game I have ever played.
Bad controls you say? The controls in metal gear solid are great any player with some level of skill would use it well.
Too many cut scenes its telling a story as you play, Not like gear of war where story was a simple as bomb bug hole.
Gear Of war was a great TPS, but was hardly a story to it.
Snake cant jump? you clearly lack common sense, Jumping it self is not stealthy. The idea of jumping lacks any real purpose metal gear solid, you can dive/roll to dodge bullets and you have to ability to climb over things already. The movements? would the idea of stealth work if you moved fast, made a lot of sound and weren't blended into background. The logic behind Metal Gear Solid stealth is far more realistic then any other stealth game.

[drdistracto707]

I respect your opinion, and i understand why you would dislike the game, but the thing is, to a LARGE majority of people, including me, we unanimously agree that the game is a masterpiece, but you only seemed to like its slick graphics and sound. But you just cant dis the cinematics, to me and many others they are cinema worthy and define the genre. And come on, Gamespot gave it a ten, and gamespot is so critical and hard it might as well have a rod up its ass, and yet it gave the game a ten, just like that. Maybe you just dont like the series perhaps? But i can tell you, you just gave MGS4 the lowest score its got. And compared to all the other reviews, its a definite outliar, so either way it wont impact anything.

[WIIIS1]

I didn't write this review to impact anything. I wrote it to highlight a lot of glaring faults with the game that nobody seems to want or dare to talk about. These faults are crippling in my opinion because they relate to very fundamental aspects of the game, whether gameplay or cinematics. Not only did MGS4 not bring anything progressive to the genre (whichever it purports to be), the gameplay mechanics are in fact quite backward. Strip away the impressive action bits in the cinematics and there really isn't very much to shout about for this game.

[Veryangryxbot]

You dont have a PS3, you either rented one or loaned one from a friend. Why else would someone run through MGS4 on super easy setting so he can finish it in 6 hours the first time through.

Why else would someone skip through all the cutscenes even though those are one of the best ever seen. You were probably worried about your wallet and just wanted to beat this game ASAP so that you can say that you at least "played the best game ever". Even though you never did.

Skipping all the cutscenes is not playing the game. Skipping all the easter eggs, secrets, and other playthroughs is not playing the game.

I already explained in my above comment that it takes on average 100 hours to get 100% of the game. I am someone who finished MGS4 in 2 days (see my user review all the way below). I know what I am talking about. Its on average 100 hours for 100%. Your 6 hour runthrough is a frikkin joke. People can finish the game in 5 hours on boss extreme. But only if they know every spot, every location, every weapon, every guard, and are skilled in stealth movement. Which NOONE is unless they played the game several times. You fail on an epic scale.

And all your so called "criticisms" are epic failures. AI is slow because you played on super easy. The very fact that you even complain about that when it is you who played the game on super easy, is almost too ridiculous for words. You have no credibility on these forums, fanboy.

You fail on a epic scale. 95% of the all the MGS4 reviews scored 9 and higher. Of those 95% the majority are PERFECT 10s. You are obviously a fanboy. All the USER reviews are 9.5 and up and then comes a user review (the only user review) with a 7. Riiigggghhhhttttt...fanboy much?

Your user review is a joke and is truly meaningless. You are so out of touch with reality that the only conclusion must be that you are a fanboy in disguise. Someone who is too poor to afford a real next gen console and had to resort to loaning/ renting one. FAIL.

You are in pretty massive denial kid. You think MGS4 is the only reason to own a PS3? When in fact, MGS4 only marks the beginning of all the Triple A games set to come out one after the other.

if you dont own a PS3 now or soon, YOU ARE FKED. Its that simple. Renting a PS3 to finish MGS4 as soon as possible only means you are the one missing out in the end. Missing out on the unique experience that MGS4 brings to the table and missing out on the new golden age of gaming. This golden age is only on the PS3. Nowhere else.

[Richdad]

Very good review indeed. Haha ha

[PimpHandHappy]

gameplay a 4

i guess you stunk

Here is what you do. First run you watch everything. 2nd run you focus on gameplay! the gameplay is perfect! You can attack it in MANY MANY ways

what a sh!t review and yet we have ppl, who havent played it let me add, saying its a great review!

you say this
"Unsophistication is not just confined to gameplay mechanics because it rears its ugly head in various other aspects of the game too"
Snakes movments in the field are brillant! You call them clunky so im thinking you never played it already and if you did your the kinda guy that gets frustrated when the toaster doesnt toast that bread fast enough....do you get mad when ppl let other ppl merge in traffic? Are you even old enough to drive?

i bet you suck at most games you play. Do you use cheat codes and walk throughs to get by games? I bet you do

why didnt you just go all out on your review and give it a 4?

Every point you make is wrong. Be it Snake is clunky! His movemtns are butter smooth after you play it on harder levels...it makes you really learn how to move when its hard!

or

And is the game really such a technical wonder? 50GB and uncompress awesomeness!

maybe im wrong but i think your just getting what alot of gamers and gaming websites do. They just want hits or in your case FIRE

[kornbeaner]

Crap review. You either never played the game or played it on easy. A.I. in the game is some of the best on "Big Boss Hard" these will note that something is out of position come over to you and if your lying "Dead" on the floor proceed to kick the sh!t of snake. Gameplay weak? are you kidding carry up to 5 weapons and 7 items. Equip one and with R2 and L2 you are able to toggle between equipping said Item or firearm or putting it away. Sneak around make sure your not spotted, if you are you better know what to do cause you will be mowed down in no time. Or how about the fact that depending on the level of Snake's psych meter not only does snake just look tired, but his aim gets all out of whack, he has trouble tumbling, it takes longer for him to recover health. Psych meter? you ask, exactly! You have not played this game and writing a "Review" doesn't change that fact.

What about the boss battles? You didn't mention anything about them, or the characters who fight at your side. Your Review was very generic and vague and was mostly likely written up after watching a few gameplay videos on IGN or Gamespot. You have no idea what the game is about. You didn't touch on anything specific even the combat, you claim gunplay is weak, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, well sorry this isn't CoD4 or Halo3, that has little to no plenty for moving and shooting at the same time.

All and All your review was a joke and a complete waste of my time. If you want to be a soley twitch gamer by all means there are games out there for you, two of which I mentioned in this post. You didn't mention anything concrete on what issues you had or even on MGO, all you did was fish around for negative comments from other users and decided to write a "review" based on that.

Nice try though, Maybe I'll write a review on Gears of Wars 2 based on what all these PS3 trolls will say, cause as we all know misinformed console trolls are always correct, even if they have never played the game. Your review proves that.

[steck67]

This review is just as worse as the gamedaily review, it's unprofessional. Another useless atempt by a fanboy, and by looking at your previous comments it's not that difficult to know that you are an xbox fanboy... so sad. My friend bought a PS3 for this game and he was glad he did, he said it's one of te best games he played, and he owns all three platform.

[NanoGeekTech]

Playing again on Boss Extreme....but everyone is entitle to his or her opinion...

[NanoGeekTech]

My buddy kornbeaner makes a great point how come you did not mention any of the boss battles?

--MGS4 has some of the coolest segments in gaming boss battles and Europe(has to be one of the best things done in gaming)

--Playing MGS4 is akin to reading the Da Dinci code or Angels and Demons..versus COD4 or H3 which is more like reading Dr.Seuss

Some people may find the Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons a little too complex and threaten were as Dr. Seuss anyone can pick it up and find rather fun....

So to the reviewer I see that you prefer to read Dr. Seuss

[WIIIS1]

Predictably, we have numerous fanboys, unable to accept differing views of their favorite game, who would allege that I don't have a PS3 and/ or haven't played MGS4.

What is shocking is how some, like one by the name of "Closing", are so determined to make this point they would go the extra mile and make it their life mission to repeatedly report and challenge ad nauseum my assertion that I am a not-so-proud PS3 owner. And also stupidly accuse me of using an alternate account to make this review when quite obviously this review was made under my name.

I have given enough specifics in my review to show that I have personally played MGS4. If you are too blinded by your fanaticism to see that, too bad. It is utterly ludicrous that my review has to touch on issues and describe matters that you fanboys dictate are necessary before a seal of Sony legitimacy can be granted.

I should add that the hypocritical fanboys should go through all the other approved MGS4 reviews (hell, all the other reviews in fact) and see how generic and unspecific the contents. Yet I do not hear these witch-hunters cry foul in those reviews.

I could say things like, in MGS4, at the end of each long load time, there is a whistle sound to alert you to press START. Also during the long load times, there will be messages on screen (which I don't really bother to read), one of which tells you to be considerate to others if you choose to smoke. And in the battle against Laughing Octopus (which is pathetic), she tries to camouflage herself against the painting on the wall at one instance. Or when tailing some resistance member in the opening of Act 3, he will hum an annoyingly silly tune every now and then.

Or I could say tons of other specific stuff about MGS4, Heavenly Sword, Uncharted, Singstar, Hotshots Golf, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ratchet and Clank, Motorstorm, Lair, Dynasty Warriors, World Championship Snooker, Genji, Motorstorm, Pain, Tekken 5, Loccorocco and others which I just can't recall off the cuff.

But the narrowminded fanboys will still say I picked them up from the net, watched my friend play the games or some other stupid thing.

I have had all 3 consoles since September 2007 and I am in a much better position to talk about how each console compares to the others than most of you. Prove it? I will. But only after YOU have proven to me that you are a person with a modicum of intellect and reasonableness.

[Closing]

You talk a big talk, but we all know you'll never prove yourself.

"I am in a much better position to talk about how each console compares to the others than most of you."

It's a fact that all 3 consoles have their strengths, and their weaknesses so why is it you're always trying to bash Sony, and hype the 360 since day one? Not one positive comment in the past year you've been here but to belittle Sony. I mean that really says something. It shows you're either illogical or a liar.

[juuken]

Just because you own all three systems, doesn't mean it doesn't make you any less of a douchebag. I'm about to own three consoles myself and I can see that ALL of these consoles have their strengths and weaknesses. I just tend to support Sony more because they've come a long way since 2006-2007.

Based on your review there, I can tell that you've never played the game. You don't know about it's storyline, the elements, or why Snake is the way he is now. I may be semi new to the series but I know a lot more than you. I know that Snake is a genetically enhanced soldier. I know that something within those genes caused him to grow old quickly. I know he's out to terminate his twin brother Liquid Snake. I know that this is the end of his journey.

Let me tell YOU something. When you review games, you should know what the hell you're even reviewing. You should know a bit of back history behind each game, that way you don't end up sounding like a freakin' douchebag when reviewing it. You're just knocking off this game because you have this sick, SICK hatred for Sony and the PS3. Like I said, if this game was ALSO on the 360, you would have praised it as if it was Christ's second coming. But since it isn't, you want to call it crap. You want to call Kojima's work crap. You want to say that this game didn't deserve 10's.

Did GTAIV deserve a 10?

Hell freakin' no.

Rockstar tried way too hard with this game and it's not the same GTA I remembered playing. That's why I'm selling it for a PS3 exclusive-Uncharted. Yes, that's the same game you're always hating on as well.

This is a game of which overstepped EVERY boundary in gaming. I am AMAZED by how much work this game received. I'm only in the beginning stages of the game because I'm pretty busy these days but I think this will be a game that I will constantly play over and over so I can improve my stealth and gameplay. Once I master that, I'll give Metal Gear Online a whirl.

AND I'M A FREAKIN' GIRL.

You guys can hate on the PS3 as much as you like. You can call it trash, call Sony trash, etc, etc. But to hate on a game like THIS...you are just asking for your asses to be handed to you on a platter.

GOTY.

Go cry some more.

[Closing]

Even on the off chance that you did happen to play it your criticism is the of the upmost unjustified defamatory. I see you've not once touched upon the content of the actual story, and yet you've managed to down play every aspect without depiction. Basically everything the game does right, which is a capacious amount for even the greatest of titles you'll still try to discredit without justification. Lets break it down using your own benchmarks shall we?

You call out the gameplay mechanics as unsophisticated when that couldn't be further from the truth. Maybe it's that you most likely didn't play the game or you took absolutely no time to diagnose it. First off there is an insane amount your character is capable of much more-so than any other title on the market. The entire system is pressure sensitive to an exact preciseness from sprinting to just barely inching forward. If you want your character to duck, roll, crawl or even turn on his back to defend himself from assault he can do so. The combat is also extremely deep to where you can knock weapons out of enemy hands, throw enemy's to the ground, cut their throats, use them as shields or choke them out. Also it's funny you said he can't jump, which is a pointless action when the character can roll much like Gears of War.

As for your choice of how you play the game there is such a great amount of variety. If you want to play it as a stealth game you can. If you want to play it as a shooter 1st or 3rd you can. If you want to set traps you can. If you want to listen to music on an ipod to level or even look at a mens mags to ease the stress of your character, which effects the way he plays you can. If you want to use the MK II robot to navigate your way or even as a combatant you can. If you think the auto camo makes the game too easy you can put it on manual. If you want a bigger challenge with the guards then there are 5 difficulty levels from easy levels where the guards aren't even capable of even the basic awareness of your existence to the extreme level where guards can hear you inching forward from a mile off. As for the bosses they are outstanding because they're about finding creative ways to defeat them using your wit to defeat the odds. From using your Solid Eye to detect their camouflage, to using the injection of nanomachines to either break their invincibility or their control to a number of other things. The bosses go from mech fights, to long distance sniper battles, to arial assault, to rail shooter, to close quarter combat.

Next onto the story which you failed to go into the slightest detail about. It's an in depth look at what was, what is, and what's to come. There are esoteric political, religious, scientific, and sociological issues here. For creativity purposes sometimes the most abnormal things can happen in the game, but they are never without a reasonable explanation no matter how profound they may seem at first. The whole moral of the story is to show how people who start out with good intentions can lose sight of the meaning, and turn into everything they've tried to avoid, and the characters in this story are put up against the greatest odds to atone, and rectify that very cycle. The story has an extreme amount of dynamics from deceit, to comedy, to tragedy. As for the characters each plays their roll perfectly, and there is a vast array of them. Snake is a character who is thoughtful, and lets his actions speak rather than worlds, thus the "hmmm's," which is what people tend to do when they're in deep thought, and on-top of that they make him identifiable to where you truly do care about what happens to him.

Lastly I wanted to point out how the art design is imaginative yet still retaining sensibility . They've gone to great lengths to study the workings of every aspect. On the documentary it shows how they even took training from an ex military personnel to make sure all the movements were befitting. Even down to where the gecko robots excreting toxic waste. Locations go from the dusty Middle East, to the greenery of the jungle in South America, to the musty streets of Europe, to the snowcapped plains of Alaska, to the vast ocean on Outer Haven. It's truly astounding the detail in there.

Now I have no real way of telling whether you really played it or not, but from the sound of things you either didn't or didn't take the time or have capability to fully realize any of it. Either way your score of 7 out of 10 is obnoxious.

[Closing]

Also let me add I've never played a campaign all the way through more than once, but I'm already on my third time through, and ready for my 4th. First time it took me roughly 22 hours with while watching cutscenes on normal. Second time I went through on easy, and played it as a shooter, and that took me about 14 hours with cutscenes. Now I'm on The Boss Extreme mode, and already around 4 hours with only having cleared the second level, which means there's still 3 more levels to go without watching the cutscenes, and this time I'm moving straight from point A to B. The whole beat it in 6 hours your first time through thing is total bs unless you played it on easy. The insane replay value with an online mode will keep me racking in the hours.

[2FootYard]

ignore this comment please. i'm in the wrong place frucking link.

[iGrenade]

Your ignorance is remarkably overwhelming for a 12 year old. Write a review when you hit puberty kid. You obviously have no idea how to play this game, or how it's meant to be played. It's quite apparent that you're just an xbot with an agenda, and whom doesn't want to believe that MGS4 is indeed a masterpiece. Congratulations, you've set a new low standard for video gaming reviews and reviewers on the net. Simply put, you had one sad, sad afternoon in your parents' basement and decided you should bash on something you could never touch. Sorry, but you deserve something more than hate mail for this one. Calling this "horrible gameplay" and "lightyears behind"? Seriously? Oh yeah. It's quite obvious you've played on Liquid Easy. (Very Easy) If you've ever played at all, which no one apparently believes. You CANNOT walk through the streets or crawl around enemy soldiers, it's called Sound Detection. Look, I don't believe MGS4 should be a perfect rating either. But I'm not going to just bash it just for that reason... IMO it's a 9.9

But this is quite... sad... I can't believe someone would waste a whole afternoon on something that no one would believe in, only to conjure up hate for himself...

[juuken]

Full of sh*t as always.
You call that a review? You didn't review this game fairly first of all. Second of all, I can smell BS a mile away. And finally, you're just upset this isn't on the 360. If it WAS on the 360, your ass would have given it a 9.9.

And you don't even know the damn story behind MGS4. The reason why Snake is old like that is because of a genetic disorder in his BODY. If you would have known that, you wouldn't be making fun of the protagonist of the game.

I won't even go much further because the others pretty much pwned you.

GOTY.

Go cry some more.

[REDZEV]

There you go again Junky. Sticking up for a game you havent even finished yet or any of the MGS for that matter. yeah I know your "TAKING YOUR TIME". And stop taking the 12 year olds hostage in the forum just beacause they played it and didnt like it oh well life gos on Junky. by the way, have you smelled yourself lately because I smell B.S coming from your direction.

[juuken]

"There you go again Junky. Sticking up for a game you havent even finished yet or any of the MGS for that matter. yeah I know your "TAKING YOUR TIME". And stop taking the 12 year olds hostage in the forum just beacause they played it and didnt like it oh well life gos on Junky. by the way, have you smelled yourself lately because I smell B.S coming from your direction."

And there you go again, hating on a game YOU'VE NEVER PLAYED OR EVEN TOUCH WITH YOUR OWN DAMN FINGERTIPS. Just because I haven't played the game as a whole, doesn't mean I don't know what's going on. Like I've mentioned, ignorant jackass, I'm still new to the series so that's why I'm doing some reading/playing the past games. Have any of your 360turds bothered to do that? Have you? Or did you hate on this game without even bothering to do that?

Please, don't come here with your bullsh*t because I will put your sorry ass in your place.

Have YOU smelled yourself lately? I smell a lot more BS coming from your buttcrack!

GOTY.

Go cry some more.

Despicable cretin.

And good GOD! You can't even spell for beans! Why don't you head back to grammar school before you try to ridicule others!

[Niclas]

hahahahahahahaha LMAO you made me laugh so hard there dude! .. ooorr wait!? this is not a f*cking joke?

Retardet. <---simple as that

I actually own a 360 and a PS3, and while we probably both can agree that the 360, does have the overall best games. ;P (no offense sony fanboys, that just my opinion/taste in games ;P i love my PS3) MGS4 is defenetly one of the best games EVER, on both consoles.
Your points in this review just fails. And after reading it, im not even sure that you played it?, but okay.. lets asume you did.

Snake runs akward?.. no he dosnt? the animations is slick and perfect, wtf are you talking about :O

The AI is bad ? .. yep that just confirms that you probaly played it on easy, and therefore its plain retardet to jugde the games AI based on that.

I spend 15 hours on it on hard (first time lol).. that you completed it in 6 hours, AGAIN confirms that you either rushed it pretty bad, or played it on easy. you SKIPPED the cut-schenes !?!?!?!?! OMFG YOU CANT JUGDE THE GAME THE OMFG.. one the things that makes MGS so good is the cut-schenes FFS.. how retardet are you ? ooor should i say how old are you ? 10 ? 12 ?
Those are the best video-game Cut-schenes i have EVER seen ? and yea i have seen alot (Hal3, gears, Uncharted, devil may cry 4, God of War, Resident evil 4.. Which all have stellar cut-schenes, but they are not half as good tbh)

And btw? have you notices the thing called MGO? its pretty cool, i recommend you checking it out :D (retard)

Wheres all the good stuff in this "review" btw?.. like MGO?, the amazing grafix?, The fanatastic story?, the enourmos amount of different weapons?..

Dude .. this review fails big time sorry..