Ender’s Games

“Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots”. The title that was heralded as the system seller for Sony’s Playstation 3. And for all intents and purposes, it did just that. MGS4’s release day saw 1.3 million copies sold, and the week of the game’s release saw PS3 system sales jumping up 180%. As I wrote before, I jumped on the bandwagon as well, and this morning I finished the game. So, without further adieu, I give you Ender’s MGS4 Mini-Review. (Spoilers Ahead!)

Metal Gear Solid 4 is called a “stealth-action game”, and for the most part, that’s pretty accurate. Thankfully, the game skews more towards the action than the stealth, probably with the intention of widening the game’s appeal. Us Americans, we likes us some violence! You’re really given a great deal of freedom as to how you might want to approach any given encounter, so if you want to sneak around and not kill anyone, that is a viable option. However, you can also go in guns-blazin’ if you so choose, and the game will work just as well. The game offers a large assortment of guns and items, more than you’ll really use or need, and in my mind, this lends itself to more of an action-based approach.

The action is well-executed for the most part. I will say, though, that MGS4 has one of the most convoluted and unnecessarily-difficult control schemes known to man. To fire a gun, you first must ready the weapon by pressing and holding L1, then you can look down the sights with the Triangle button, and finally you fire with R1. When you’re sneaking and sniping, this is not so much of an issue. However, in the heat of battle, specifically close quarters situations, your first instinct is to fire away with R1 without hitting the setup buttons first. This got me knocked on my arse more than once, and was pretty frustrating.

So, what about the story? After all, the Metal Gear series is known for it’s epic (some call it ridiculous) story; depending on your stance, MGS4 will either delight you, or piss you off to the extreme. Once again, the story is very complex and hard-to-follow, so much so that Konami released a freely-downloadable database on the PSN to help fans understand the finer points of the story. While something free is always nice, I think the fact that there is a need for such a database indicates that this story is probably a bit much.

For me, the story is a bit of a problem. Now, first off, I understand the story. I’m not confused by it, I get all of it, and so I can speak without ignorance on the topic. It just seems that Kojima (the producer/director of the MG series) takes his own game series a bit too seriously. The scope of the story is so epic and huge, it almost swallows the actual game alive, and holds it hostage. To call the themes “heady fare” is a complete understatement, and I don’t blame anyone that skips the cutscenes to keep the action going. And that brings me to my next point……

If you’ve been following this game pre- and post-release, you’ve likely heard a great deal of talk about the length of the cutscenes, especially in proportion to the actual gameplay. Having just finished the game, I can give you the truth here: there is an absolute crapload of cutscenes. I mean it: hours and hours worth. In fact, out of my total playtime of 22 hours and 33 minutes, I’d say that at least 15 hours of it was all cutscene. Oh, and the much-discussed long ending cutscenes? 56 minutes long, I counted it. From the beginning of the Epilogue to the final credits, it was 56 minutes of cutscenes. It was brutal, believe me.

When I was actually playing the game, it was totally awesome. Honestly, the combat and gameplay is a blast! But that made it all the more difficult to watch all those hours of cutscenes, begging for some action or interactivity of some kind. Each of the 5 acts is preceded by a very lengthy “Mission Briefing”, and the end of each act is packed with more cutscenes. There are also cutscenes in the middle of each act, and pretty much anywhere else Kojima could fit them in.

Let’s move on. The graphical quality of the game is almost unparalleled on the PS3. The game looks great all the time, and the frame rate is rock solid. You also get some nice variety on gameplay with on-rails shooting missions, as well as a mech portion. There’s also a well-implemented gun shop system. which lets you purchase new weapons and ammo anytime you want to. I really liked that feature, and I hope more game devs take note of it.

How about characters? MGS4 has a slew, and all of them possess well-developed storylines and personas, complete with background, motivation, and believable voice acting. From Vamp to Naomi, Raiden to Otacon, Meryl to Akiba, and Liquid Ocelot to the “BBs”, this game is packed with memorable heroes and villains. I was not disappointed with the cast; on the contrary, I loved learning more about each person and what their deal was. I especially liked hearing the heart-wrenching backstories of the 4 female villains: Laughing Octopus, Raging Raven, Crying Wolf, and Screaming Mantis.

(Spoilers Below)

Now for some small spoilers:

• Vamp is back alive in the game, but is finally killed for good later on.
• Naomi dies of cancer.
• You finally kill Liquid Ocelot.
• Big Boss is not dead, but he dies at the end of the game.
• Eva, Big Boss’ spurned lover, turns out to be your mother, and dies in the game.
• Raiden is not dead, almost dies like 3 times during the game, and ends up living in the end.
• Otacon nails (yep, that kind of nail) Naomi before she dies.
• Meryl gets married to a nerd named Johnny.
• Yes, Snake dies, but you don’t actually see it. It is, however, understood that he dies shortly after the game ends.

MGS4 also comes packaged with an online component called Metal Gear Online. I played a few rounds, and it’s actually pretty fun. The gameplay and setup is identical to the action of the single-player game, so it would probably behoove you to play through the storyline first, and then try going online. Not much else to report there; it’s Metal Gear Solid 4 with other live opponents.

Even with the frustratingly long cutscenes, poor control scheme, and confusing storyline, I can still fully recommend MGS4 to any PS3 owner. The game is so good, so polished, so well done, it must be played. I paid full price for it, and would again. It was awesome!! Worth it, worth it, worth it.