Here it is then: it’s the big one. The review to end all reviews, the end to end all ends, the something to end all somethings, I don’t know anymore… Anyway, I’m just dropping a little notice or two now: this review will have no spoilers, save for a small discussion of the opening sequence. None, nada, zilch, zip. Feel free to read on, safe in the knowledge that I won’t be mentioning any of the storyline, but I’ll probably mention some of the things that Konami wouldn’t let the media mention before the street date.

I promise that I won’t reveal anything that’ll ruin the plotline, so you can relax.

Onwards then, into the mega Metal Gear review!

Metal Gear Solid 4: where to start? I suppose I could start by telling you that yes, this is the last game that will feature Solid Snake, but I wont tell you why he wont be seen again. We’ve got that clear, at least. You see, it seems that Snake is simply getting too old. We’ve seen the trailers of the white-haired, moustachioed agent snooping around in the Middle East, injecting himself with all sorts of things to keep his body going; we’ve seen him be told he’s only got months to live. Solid Snake is dying folks, his body ageing at an accelerated rate because the cells from which he was born were old to start with. Whether we like it or not, he’s gotta go sometime.

Of course, since we saw Revolver Ocelot (controlled by Liquid Snake, the ne’er-do-well brother of Solid Snake, killed at the end of the original MGS but living on through his own arm grafted into Ocelot’s body… it’s all a little complicated) escape from Snake’s grasp in MGS2 circa 2001, there’s been a nice big hole left in the plot.

Not even MGS3 was able to fill that hole; instead it simply introduced more characters and gave us a little bit of backstory on Big Boss, the genetic father of Snake. MGS4 is here to tie up the loose ends, and give Snake his final assignment. Ocelot’s been spotted out in the Middle East, controlling private armies the world over, and Snake’s recruited to try and take him out. I’ll leave the storyline at that.

Once you’re past the 8 minute initial install (with more installs to follow at the start of each Act in the storyline) and you’ve chosen your difficulty, you’re thrown straight into the defining icon of the Metal Gear Solid series. Nope, not stealth action, nor is it loud, all-out gunplay… it’s that timeless little thing known as the cut-scene. They’re back, bigger than ever, but at the same time they’re better than ever.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not being ridiculously biased here. I didn’t really follow the philosophical junk that Hideo (Kojima, head of the Kojima Productions development team at Konami and Metal Gear director) tried to mix in with the storyline either, and it became a bit of a confused mess. MGS3 players will have noticed the greater injection of emotion into the proceedings of the tale of Big Boss, and in MGS4 the prescription is even greater.

From the very start, Snake is weaker then he once was, and you can see this weakness in the way he grunts and coughs as he talks, and you can see it in the way the supporting cast (from technophile Otacon to Snake’s former Colonel) express their worries for his physical state, and for how long he will last in the battlefield.

Enough of the story though, time to get into the game good and proper. To the next page!

Popularity: 1% [?]

CONTINUE TO PAGE: 1 2 3 4 5