Customer Reviews

Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was the first game i beat on my ps3 and the first metal gear game i beat(except for metal gear acid!, which is non-canon and a card game). After beating this game i became a huge metal gear fan, and instantly dusted off my ps2 and beat metal gear solid 2, metal gear solid 3, the original metal gear solid on ps1 and metal gear solid portable ops on the psp. This game was so good i wanted to go back and play all the mgs games i had not played. Ive heard some people say if your not a metal gear fan steer clear of this game i disagree though. metal gear solid 4, was the first metal gear game i beat and the story made sense, the game play was so good i couldn't put the controller down. After i beat metal gear 1,2,3, and PO, I went back and beat mgs 4 again and picked up on a lot of mgs inside jokes i completely missed on my first play thru. So my advice is get this game. Prior metal gear storyline knowledge is not a must, but does enhance the game. This game is so good it stands on its own as a great game and more then likely will make you a metal gear addict and make you want to play the older versions to fill in all the gaps.

I'm writing this review for all of those out there who see the high ratings/reviews (and even the crappy reviews) and still wonder if this is the game for them. For some of you it will be, and for some others it won't be.

Let me begin by saying, if you don't like stealth-action games, then you won't like this game. Pick your genre well when playing games, and you'll be set. However, if you like being stealthy, shooting enemies from a hidden vantage point, and the like, then you get plenty of that with this game. You can (and sometimes have to) change your stealth tactics depending on your environment: middle eastern battle fields, jungle environments, sneaking through the rainy streets of western Europe... all those and others can be approached in various ways.

On that note, the sheer number of choices you get in the game really make for a robust and dynamic game play feeling. You can choose from a multitude of weapons and distances to attack from. You can even choose to go hand to hand if you like. You could go all Rambo on them and blast everything in sight until you can escape or you can go through the entire game without killing a soul, if you really want a challenge.

The amount of varied game play is also worth taking note of. This is going from one style (first/third person shooter from Snake running/sneaking around) to a completely different style (the obligatory off the back of a vehicle chase style of MGS) to others that are even different still. I won't purposefully ruin anything, but the final two types are pretty epic and wonderfully appropriate for the final type.

There are a lot of complaints that the game has too many cut scenes and a complicated story that is too hard to follow. This game is meant to wrap the entire MGS series up to an ultimate ending. That will require a decent amount of story presented in a series of movie style cut scenes (and near movie quality by the way). However, I can assure you that there is plenty of game play in the game to balance out the cut scenes (the quickest you can beat the game is apparently somewhere around five hours, though I haven't gotten under six... and that's almost just running through the game and skipping every single cut scene including the very long last one).

Lastly, the replay factor is pretty high as one can use entertaining ammo (won't ruin anything here), the usual stealth cammo for near perfect invisibility, special weapons, and a bunch of unlockables based on the ratings/achievements you receive at the end of the game. All that while being able to collect more DP (money) to buy tons of stuff from the weapons dealer.

This game caters to those who are more casual stealth gamers to even difficult enough to challenge the most hard core stealth gamers out there (some ratings require insane marks to be met such as never being spotted, not killing anyone including bosses, not using a single continue, not using a single health regen item, and all that while completing the game in a really short period of time... like 5 hours). That all leads back to the number of choices the player has in the game. Your choices dictate how hard the game is for you (even beyond the choice of easy, normal, and hard when the game is started).

Let me say again, if you don't like MGS, stealth games, or robust/complex game play and story, then avoid this game as it was meant for people who do like some or all of those things. If you do like some or all of those things, then, chances are, you'll love this game for what it has to offer.

All that and I didn't even talk about how awesome the graphics are or how varied the boss tactics are... just know that the game deserves the ratings and good reviews it got based on the type of game it is.

Outside of Uncharted 2, I dont really know of any other PS3 game that comes close to how good Metal Gear Solid 4 is.

Metal Gear Solid 4 is a story about an rapidly aging artifically created soldier by the name of Solid Snake, who is seeking to thwart the evil plans of a man by the name of Liquid Ocelot. Solid Snake goes through about 4 or 5 acts in the game, each scenery or locale drastically different from the previous one. Here are the pros:

1. You have control over what type of game you want: action or stealth. This game gives you a wide assortment of weapons, and you could easily go through it blasting away(of course, it depends on what difficulty level you have selected...you dont last long with this technique in "Big Boss" mode). You could also go through the game without a bad guy ever seeing you. What I love is that there are still are scene that require you to use weapons. For someone who wants to use stealth for the whole game with the exception of these mandatory shoot em up scenes, its sheer brilliance.

2. the visuals are spectacular, especially in 1080p. The visual transition quality from cut scenes to live game play are almost seamless.
3. Voice acting is above par, to the point where some characters are actually pretty annoying. (Snakes assortment of grunts, and Octacon being annoying as f***)
4. Not every act requires the same actions or goals. The game plays out like a movie, with different creative objectives in each chapter.

Cons:
1. I would say that the game feels short for being so epic.
2. Too many cutscenes. Sometimes it feels like half the game is just cutscene after cutscene, but thats inherent in any metal gear game.

This is a must have for any ps3 owner.

Do not buy this game expecting to control a character for extended periods of time. The best way to describe this game (and any Metal Gear Solid game for that matter) is that it's an interactive movie. It is a story driven game. That being said, this is a fantastic movie.

If you haven't played any other Metal Gear Solid games, I highly recommend you do so before buying this game. The story of this game is mind-boggling enough as it is. I can't imagine playing through this game without having played at least one of the previous three titles. It would still be somewhat understandable, but you would miss SO much.

I can't go into much detail about the story, but just trust that it is epic. If you don't trust me, look at any video game review site, and this will be ranked as one of the best PS3 titles. For a game that makes you watch cut scenes more than it lets you play the game, that's really impressive.

The gameplay is enjoyable as well, but it really shouldn't be the reason you buy this game, and it isn't the reason this game has such good reviews. The less-than-20-hour game is split about half and half into gameplay and cut scenes, and the gameplay is split about half and half between stealth and action. For the stealth parts, you are generally trying to get from point A to point B without being spotted. For the action parts, you are generally fighting a (weird) boss with your myriad of weapons. However, the boss battles sometimes incorporate some stealth into the mix, and the stealth parts obviously require some gunmanship if you get spotted. It's also worth mentioning that the game is played entirely in the third-person.

As I mentioned earlier, the cut scenes are of the highest caliber. The controller vibrates ever so slightly when your character, Snake, is touched on the shoulder. There are incredibly long scenes involving character development, such as the recurring scenes that depict a little girl trying so hard to cook eggs correctly, but failing to do so until a friend helps her out. And the ending of the game is more intense than most movies I've seen.

So in short, this is a great game and even a better movie. If you own a PS3, you need to buy this game.

Lots (and lots and lots) of reviewers have already covered Metal Gear's story, features, and gameplay extensively in the main product listing for this game, so I'm just going to talk about a few things I think potential purchasers will find useful.

Newcomers to Metal Gear Solid
*If you've never played any of the games in the Metal Gear Solid series, you really should find a way to play Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection before picking up MGS4. Each of the first three games contains important character information and backstory that is indispensable to fully enjoying MGS4 . Playing MGS4 without first experiencing MGS, MGS2, and MGS3 would be like seeing Star Wars Episodes 1-3 before seeing Episodes 4-6. In other words, a big mistake.
*MGS4 truly sets the standard for graphics, storytelling, and production values on the PS3. No, you won't be mashing buttons on your controller as much as you're probably used to, as many people here have noted, but you WILL become emotionally connected to the story and characters at a level of intensity that is usually only reached by books and films.

MGS Veterans
*Yup, the controls have changed AGAIN. But the overall control scheme is pretty close to Snake Eater/Subsistence so the learning curve isn't too steep.
*The default camera view is the same as in Subsistence. I find it to be much easier to use than the system in the first two MGS games, where one had to constantly switch between the fixed-perspective view and first-person view.
*As usual, Kojima Productions has baked in a lot of replay value. There are rewards for completing the game in various ways, such as no kills, no alerts, or in a certain amount of time. There are is also a ranking system (emblems) that provides incentives for playing through the game multiple times.
*Something that is very different from the rest of the series is the ability to purchase weapons, ammo, and other supplies at pretty much any time. This changes the dynamic of the game because foraging for items isn't terribly important anymore.
*I wish a cut-scene theater was included, like in Subsistence. There isn't any way to view cut-scenes outside of the regular sequence of events in the game.
*The game opens with a selection of faux TV shows and commercials. Watch carefully--many of the voice actors appear in these videos. Pretty cool, especially if you've ever wondered what the people behind the voices look like.
*Be sure to download the free MGS4 Database from the PSN Store. It is a comprehensive history of the complete Metal Gear universe. Best of all, it's MGS4 spoiler-free until you've completed the game at least once.

Bottom line: an essential, landmark video game that also serves as a stunning capstone to a legendary series.

Incredible game really enjoiyed playing this on my PS3 awesome gameplay immersive story, plus an addicting online multiplayer with expansion packs and now at $14 used its an incredible value!

Snake has become more than a character of the game but the man of legend I will never forget. Yeah I played his role but in fact he was living in the world out of my control.

I was first hooked with mgs when it first game on the demo disc of my new ps1 back in 1998. Bought the game and became one of my all time favorite games. Long about 2001 I bought a ps2, just to play mgs2, again was an awesome game. I had sold my ps2 due to money issues at the time and fell away from playing video games for a long time.

A couple years ago I picked up a slim ps2 dirt cheap on ebay and rebought my mgs2 game. Re played it, instantly became rehooked. I also realized they came out with mgs3 snake eater in the time I didnt have my system. I bought it a few months back beat the game and now wanted to play mgs4.

After acquiring a ps3 and buying this game off amazon. I'm amazed at the series in a whole. This game kinda fills in and concludes a very excellent story line from games previous.

I'd say if your new to the franchise, play mgs1 first and go from there. But I actually took it a step further. I still have my old NES system from back in the day, I bought Metal Gear for it. Granted the NES game wasn't backed by Hideo the creator of these games. The original game was on the MSX only in Japan. But in mgs1 they reference the zanzibar mission which took place on the nes/msx games from the 80's. Getting back to my point, if you want the complete story of these games. Play the nes ones and go from there. Me personally I started with mgs1 and worked my way through. If definitely one of the greatest franchises of all time and if they can make resident evil a game turned movie franchise, they ought to make this series into a movie as well.

With my review of mgs4, the only real complaint I have with this game is the camera toggle for the game being manual. In the previous games it was all self adjusting, this game allows you to control the camera. If there's an auto setting, i'm not aware of it. I also find that hitting l1 and r1 to fire a weapon is a pain. But those are minor complaints.

All in all its a great game. Again if you started with this game, you really need to buy the original mgs game and then work your way through 2 and 3 to get the whole story.

all of the metal gear games are fun to play with being able to use the differnt gagets and you get to kill people. what more can you ask for in a video game. I havent finished it yet but so far it's as good aas the rest of the metal gear games. I look forward to finishing this one and playing the next one in line.

Even though this game was one of the first to come out for the PS3, it is still one of, if not the, best game for the PS3. It rivals that of Oblivion.

Let's just get the bad stuff out of the way first. Hard mode is kind of hard, obviously, but the level on the ship where you have to get to that door secretly is just demonic. Absolutely demonic!

Now the good stuff!: Everything else.

The guns are fun to use. Confusing the guards is fun. I love wearing the alternate suits you get. Knifing and CQC is pretty accurate. You really do feel like such a ninja!

If you are looking to get a game, please either make it this one or Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. Those two games, even though older games for the ps3, are still the best on the market. All the other games WISH they were these two games!

5/5
John McAdam:
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