Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots


Metal Gear Solid may not appear to be a series you’d expect to see a multiplayer aspect from, but MGS4 changes that with the Metal Gear Online Starter Pack. Featuring five maps, six gameplay modes, and support for up to 16 players, MGO is a great addition to the single-player experience, especially with that newly-reworked control scheme. MGO joins Warhawk as another great online game for PS3 owners to play, though it’s certainly not an experience that’s widely enjoyable. MGO has its rough spots, such as extreme requirements to create clans, the need to pay $7 for additional character slots outside of the initial character you’re allowed to create for each PS3, and the complicated Konami/Game ID sign-up process that non-beta players have to trudge through, but it’s merely a somewhat minor inconvenience for a multiplayer experience that can be addictive enough to suck away hours of your life in no time.

It’s no surprise to say that Metal Gear Solid 4 is a visual feast. The environments of each act are greatly varied and large enough that it’s amazing to see how much detail Kojima Productions was still able to add to the levels. The cutscenes feature some amazing action sequences and jaw-dropping moments that almost make you wish that the game offered a demo theater that allows you to check out all of the cutscenes outside of the game, The game handles installs in a unique manner, with an eight minute install at the beginning of the game and three minute re-installs between acts that at least give you the chance to take a quick break between acts. Reports of 90 minute cutscenes are greatly exaggerated, with the longest cutscene coming in at a hefty 60 minutes once you’ve finished off the gameplay portion of the final act.

As much as MGS4 is a visual treat, its audio easily matches the visuals. Not only did Harry Gregson-Williams do a great job with the soundtrack of Guns of the Patriots, but the addition of the in-game iPod gives the players the chance to build their own soundtrack out of Metal Gear music and music from other games that Kojima Productions has made in the past. As you play through the game, you can find iPod songs amongst all of the ammo and items that are scattered around the environment as well as through other means. The voice actors have done a great job with their characters, bringing all of them to life that just adds so much to the cutscenes and codec conversations. The sound effects have been taken care of in such detail that MGS4 may be one of the main reasons for gamers to upgrade to 5.1 speaker set-ups just to experience this feast for your ears.

When it comes down to it, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots provides what may easily be the most memorable experience of this generation so far. Despite being one of the most hyped games of this generation so far, every Metal Gear fan has no reason to not get Metal Gear Solid 4. If you’re one of those people that wanted to get into previous Metal Gear Solid games, but found the gameplay to not be accessible enough for you, MGS4 should be the game that welcomes you with arms wide open. If the cutscenes and story were what kept you from jumping in earlier, MGS4 most likely won’t change your mind.

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