Customer Reviews

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides)

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3 star:		(1)
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Piggyback Interactive doesn't release a lot of guides within the United States, but when they do, it's a treat. Their guides are far more detailed and organized than BradyGAMES or Prima. In the past I've described Piggyback Interactive guides as being a companion rather than just another guidebook. The same is true of the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Strategy Guide. Developed on site at Konami studios, this is easily the best Metal Gear Solid 4 resource you can find, and it ensures the game is still fun to play.

The guide begins with a heartfelt foreward from Kojima himself, ensuring that the guide will help any gamer to understand the game better and to make sure the gamer enjoys the game for himself. The collaborative effort you get in the end shows that Kojima and Piggyback Interactive, kept their word.

After the foreward there's an exhaustive "How to Play" section which will showcase some of the tactics you can perform. Not only that, but it gives you a complete overhaul of the game basics. Complete with clear screenshots, diagrams and some fantastic explanations. Whether you're a Metal Gear Solid veteran or a newcomer, this guide will help you adjust to Metal Gear Solid 4.

After that, the guide wastes no time jumping into the walkthrough and this is where the guide becomes your best friend. It's very well organized and easy to use. The walkthrough is divided into the five acts of the game. When you dive in there's a distinct format used for the guide. On the even pages (the left handed pages) you'll see the map with call outs and captions. This is all the basic stuff that's needed for those who want to go through the game with as little interruption as possible. This doesn't hold your hand, but it's also meant to be used with the lower difficulty setting. On the odd numbered pages (the right hand side), however, is a step by step process of everything you need to do, but much more in depth. The odd numbered pages are meant to be used on higher difficulty levels, as it details how to go through the game without killing anyone and will even give you strategies for bosses that will help you get the best rankings. You can, of course, use the odd pages if you decide those strategies will work better for you.

The odd numbered pages also utilize the "A, B, C" method found in a few other guides. That is to say that you look on the map for the letter "A" and then find section "A" in the text and see what you have to do there. It makes for a well organized guide that lets you consult it when you need it rather than page flipping and trying to find your place all the time. Another great aspect about the guide is that it doesn't just cover one difficulty level. It covers ALL of them.

The maps are also very detailed. Showing the traps, where your enemies will hang out and just how severe the population of an area is. Another good aspect of the walkthrough is how detailed and crystal clear the screenshots are. But there are also other goodies found within the walkthrough such as alternative strategies where they are needed. Mission briefings that spoil absolutely nothing, as well as flashback moments that will remind you of the significance of other games in the series. Again, while it may seem like it, there are no spoilers. The Flashbacks just serve as a helpful reminder. After all, Metal Gear Solid 4 has a lot to swallow. All this is done without spoiling any of the game. Any spoilers found within the walkthrough are things that have already been touched upon in previous games in the series

After the walkthrough we get into the Inventory. This is where the guide begins to warn you of possible spoilers. While there's nothing big spoiled here, there are a few surprises that may end up being not so surprising to curious eyes. There's a lot of detail here just as well.

Metal Gear Online is also a very good section. Just as detailed. Giving you tips for all the different types of matches and for whether you're playing single or multiplayer. While most guides usually just have a mention of what you get from an online mode, Piggyback really digs into Metal Gear Online. No stone is left unturned.

Once we get into the extras this is where that SPOILER warning comes in handy, and yes, Piggyback warns you. Several times. The only thing I will mention here for anyone who wants to know is that it'll tell you all you need to do the obtain all the different rankings (with subsequent tips for The Boss Extreme mode). I'll mention nothing more to those still trumping through Metal Gear Solid 4. I'll only tell you its an exhaustive section that spans more than fifty pages.

Lastly, and this is a big spoiler, but a nice little bonus that the guide showcases. In past Metal Gear Solid guides, Piggyback has always summed up the story and helped the player understand it better if they feel a little confused. It's never anything the player has the view and here they even warn you that you are NOT to read this section before you complete Metal Gear Solid 4. So if you do read it, you were warned. Not once. Not twice. But three times. And just like other Metal Gear Solid guides produced by piggyback, they give their own interpretation. Once you complete Metal Gear Solid 4 the first time, you might want to check out this little extra as it opens the door for discussion over Metal Gear Solid 4's incredible story.

The last tidbit is simple. With so much detailed packed into one book, there's bound to be a lot of page flipping right? Wrong. The very last page is an index that helps you pin-point whatever it is you need. And for the fourth time, the guide warns you of any possible spoilers.

Metal Gear Solid 4 is amazing game and it's given an amazing guide! Everything you ever wanted to learn about Metal Gear Solid 4 is here. Not just everything you wanted to learn about Metal Gear Solid 4 is here, but also everything you ever wanted to know about the Metal Gear Solid series. It not only gets you through the game, but will help you understand the story better if need be. This is the perfect example of a perfect guide.

I typically do not buy video game guides. My previous experience with Brady guides for Unreal Tournament and GTA IV, left much to be desired and are collecting dust on a shelf. My iternet research indicated this guide was different because it was published by Piggyback and was drafted in-house by Konami. After reading and using the guide, I agree. The writing is interesting, the inforamtion is helpful and the illustrations are great. I would highly recommend getting this guide. FYI, unless you are a MSG fanatic, I would avoide the deluxe hardback edition, the paperback has all of the same game information which is what I was looking for. Good luck to all the Snakes out there.

The short story: If you're new to MG, BUY THIS BOOK. If you want to completely* understand this game, BUY THIS BOOK. If you want to have a book that you can be glad you spent every penny for, BUY THIS BOOK. :D


MGS4 is my first experience with the entire Metal Gear 'saga.' Since MG has such a complicated storyline, my first playthrough involved a whole lot of listening to the cut scenes.

However, despite all that, I was still a bit lost.

Not only does this guide cover 99%* of the game, but it also contains a very readable synopsis of the entire story. (WARNING: Be careful if you read it before you've finished MGS4. You can get away with reading a lot, but ...) This is what really made this book worth it, to me.

Of course, the rest of the book helped a great deal as well, and is what I'll be consulting during my future runs through the game (one of which started the day after I completed MGS4).


*: This guide doesn't cover the passwords that Konami hasn't released yet. Oh well.

First of all, if you're not interested in the additional features of the Collector's Edition (MGS4: Limited Edition Collector's Guide), then save yourself the money and get this standard edition. It's significantly cheaper, and is exactly the same with the following exceptions:

- The Collector's Edition is hardcover.
- Collector's Edition includes an additional chapter detailing some of the great Metal Gear artwork.
- Collector's Edition includes a numbered lithograph by Yoji Shinkawa.

Either product will be worth the money to anyone that wants to get the most out of the game. I purchased this guide after I had completed the game once already, and I'd recommend this to anyone interested in the guide. Don't use the guide on your first time through, or it may inadvertently ruin some of the surprises and fun bits that pop up throughout.

The thought that the maps are too hard to read, as mentioned in another review, seems ridiculous to me. The maps have been of great help when determining shortest routes, or finding items that you may need. Granted, it may sometimes take a minute of staring at the map to determine your current position, but I don't think they could have done much better than they did.

You will get a TON of advice every step of the way. It will tell you the best way to get through the each map normally, as well as how that strategy must change if you're trying a no-kill playthrough. It will also give you adjustments that you may need to make based on the difficulty setting that you're playing on.

The guide includes a listing of every weapon in the game, along with a description, how to attain it, and its characteristics. There is a similar listing for items available in the game. There's a full listing of available Face Camo and how to attain them, and another for iPod tunes.

There's a full listing of available emblems that you can earn upon completion of the game. There are also strategies on how to get as many of these emblems as possible in the shortest number of playthroughs.

And of course, one of my favorite parts of the guide, is the summary of the entire MGS story, from beginning to end.

Overall, the guide is fantastic. If you don't care about the 3 differences stated above, then I'd recommend the standard edition guide. Either way, you're getting a LOT of guide for your money, and you're getting a LOT of extra value out of your game purchase as well. For example, I doubt that I would have played through this game more than 2 or 3 times without the guide. But with all the information presented in the guide, I'm currently finishing up my 6th run, and I already have plans for my 7th.

I just received this book from Amazon two days ago, and I've only had perhaps 30 minutes or so to look through the book.

A book like this for less than $14??? Finely printed, and chock full of help and background information on characters, tactics, weapons, etc. I'll purchase another copy to keep as a collector's item. Yes, this paperback book is that good!...and definately worth the money! If you have MGS4 for your Playstation, this is a MUST have.

This game guide was perfect. It's easy to understand the game. This game guide was describing well. You can't miss anything. I like this game guide.

It's really awesome guide; although I've just played once MSG2 it makes me feel that I've played the entire series. It's a comprehensive game guide for who wants to play and master MGS4.

perfect, prompt and exactly as I expected thank you. I would defiantly purchase in this way again in the future

If it wasent for the sticker on the back that said (Used,like new)you wouldnt know that I didnt just unwrap this,not a single messed up page,not a single bent up corner.When they said like new they werent kidding.Now if only I could get used to the game so I could put this book to good use.

The war has changed. An old soldier with a pending account, in a battlefield that no longer recognizes. Snake and the modern war that the Patriots has created. A unique title in a while of uncertainty for PlayStation 3. The first sensation that Hideo Kojima makes us experience in the first minutes of Guns of the Patriots is the sadness; the hero Solid Snake, ' Enfant Terrible' generated with the best genes of the legendary Big Boss, it undergoes premature oldness and he is very ill. Recalling memories that are not his, we see how it presents/displays its respect before the tomb of a heroin that gave its life to save to the world when it had still not been born. Then, when their thoughts impel to him not to continue living, it is recruited by Otacon and Campell for its last mission. It is difficult to write an analysis for a title like Metal Gear Solid 4. Still more when Kojima Productions imposes restrictions that limit the argumentation that can be realised. From I shared the fervor that Hideo Kojima in protecting history has put and the numerous surprises that Guns of the Patriots lodges. He is something that must solely be lived in first person, without interferences beyond necessary the retrospective one crossing 20 years of history of videojuego, and of the antecedents that have been put on the table by means of trailers and presses. Whatsoever and within those margins, many elements exist that will miss in this first critic, more in the habitual line of the cinema that of the videojuegos, doing honor to its philosophy. They are not involuntary omissions, if not that will have their place in this review when the moment arrives, that is not this one.
The fusion of two arts Metal Gear Solid 4 approaches a land common and shared between electronic leisure and the cinema. Few games lay the foundations the experience that offer to the player in an almost proportional distribution between hours of game and sequences kinematics being these pure gold. It is a formula that few titles can include, that few creative studies and are able to rise, but with this great conclusion it has obtained that their vision is totally sustainable; addictive like videojuego and exciting like the best film. The script has been the element that more occupied has been to Hideo Kojima in the last years old, in that has invested more energies within all the series. It is logical concerning the conclusion of a history that whenever it had to respond, formulated new questions. But there is no place for evasive here. All the answers to enigmas Gear the Metal are answered with dazzling clarity. And as anticipated, these are not indeed foreseeable. From the philosophers and their legacy, to the foundation of the Patriots and its political and economic dominion of the world. And more. MGS4 is also the culmination of the series in many other forms, not only at narrative level. The sort coined by he himself, ' Tactical Espionage Action' , it arrives at his maturity since the own Snake does; improving its previous abilities along with innovations that take to the experience juiceable to new limits. Famous ' It does not place to Hide' that it takes the infiltration to a zone military, the Octocamo, the suit of dynamic camouflage, the support of the android Metal Gear Mk II, the system of improvement and acquisition of the armament, the new cameras, stress and the mental condition, the improved tactical IA of the enemies, or the extended movements of Snake. All of them, along with the base that the series has been leaving fallow, constitute a new mark in the sort. And this without speaking of the way online, that by itself is the game totally independent.