Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriots

Articles

Event Coverage | Editorials | Guides

Author:
Editor:
Sponsor:
Published:

Kurtis Kronk
Brian
N/A
Jul. 8, 2008

Article

Specifications

Images

User Reviews (0)

Comments (0)

<< Previous

Next >>

Gameplay

My first impressions of the game left me thinking MGS4 played like Gears of War meets Call of Duty. As the game progressed, it felt more and more like Metal Gear Solid, but looking back, I now realize that I continued to play it as if it was Call of Duty.

I found myself shooting guns more than in any of the prior MGS titles, completely neglecting stun grenades, mines, anesthesia rounds, and a bevy of other cool toys. I don't think I even grabbed and choked more than one or two enemies. Part of the reason, I think, is that Brian and I always played it together, taking turns (neither of us wanted to miss out on any of the game), and ultra-sneaky action is not a spectator sport. [Brian: Not that much of the game encouraged sneaking to begin with. It was much easier to go out guns blazing.] After finishing the game, I was excited to give it another run-through, by my lonesome, to bask in the full glory of my sneakiness - you might consider doing the same.

As someone who's played the other games in the series, I thought the controls and interface were very intuitive. I was initially disappointed by the lack of a radar - remedied by the acquisition of the Solid Eye after the first couple of areas. Once equipped, in normal mode, the Solid Eye shows blips on a radar where enemies, or rats, are moving. While I desperately missed the line-of-sight indicators in the beginning, I forgot about them after a while. The Solid Eye also sports binocular- and infrared modes. As useful as it is, you can't just use it 100% of the time - there's a battery which depletes slowly, and it doesn't recharge much faster. I appreciated the idea of limiting its usage, but I found myself just using it almost all of the time and then hiding in a safe place while it recharged.

Around the same time you get the Solid Eye, you meet Drebin, a gun-laundering, monkey's uncle. That is to say, he has a pet monkey. When you kill enemy soldiers, their weapons are linked to 'the system' via ID chips, so you can't just pick them up for yourself. Instead, they're automagically sold to Drebin, with the assistance of the MG Mk. II, for Drebin Points (DP). Think of DP like a gift card to Guns-R-Us. In the middle of the game, no matter where you are, you can purchase weapons, ammunition, and custom parts for those weapons, including suppressors, grips, and flashlights, to name a few... It's really convenient, and the way it all works doesn't seem clunky at all (which it easily could have). But don't expect to purchase things like rations, you'll have to find those lying about - you didn't expect it to be that easy, did you?

An interesting element throughout the game is the existence of rebel forces which are fighting the same enemy soldiers as you. I had a lot of fun helping the rebels kill baddies, and there were also times when they provided a wonderful distraction so I could sneak undetected. Not that I took advantage of those opportunities - I was having too much fun killing everything in my path to just sneak past.

Level design, for the most part, was very good. Brian felt pretty strongly that a couple of areas were more annoying than anything, but I actually enjoyed those areas - though I will agree that they could be mildly aggravating. The transitions between levels aren't really seamless, as you fly from place to place, but as a result you get to play in a variety of environments, which is nice.

At one point in the game, there's a great throw-back to the original Metal Gear Solid for PS1 - fans of the series will appreciate the game so much more because of this. I won't give away any details, but this was the highlight of the game for both myself and Brian.

<< Previous

Page 3 of 6

Next >>

Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: First Impressions - Wait, is this MGS?
Page 3: Gameplay
Page 4: Gameplay, Continues...
Page 5: Gameplay, Redux
Page 6: Conclusion

Subscribe to Editorials [more info]

Add Comment

0 User Comments

Add Comment

To add a comment without being a member, you may omit the password field, but you must enter your name (or nickname) along with your comment. * Denotes required fields.