Developer: Kojima Productions
Producer: Konami

I’m going to cut the bullshit and get right to it: Metal Gear Solid 4 is easily one of the best games I have ever played. It is an incredible end to an incredible series, bringing the best elements from the previous games and improving them to create one of the most satisfying, intense, and downright emotional experiences with a videogame that I have had in a very, very long time.

The game is set up in a pretty straightforward fashion. The plot is complex and intriguing without being overly convoluted and ridiculous (though it has its share of “what the hell” moments, like any good Metal Gear game should.) It has more fantasy elements than the previous games, but they fit in well enough with the overall game world and situation, so they’re less crazy and off the wall when taken in context (though don’t expect things to be too realistic.) The story is explained through excellent cut scenes, a handful of Codec conversations and “mission briefings” that start off each act (there are five in total.)

While the story is excellent, tying up pretty much every loose end and leaving few questions unanswered, as with the other Metal Gear games, it’s the characters that really make this game the incredible experience that it is. The characters’ development is consistently strong throughout the entire game, allowing you to become more invested in each person’s story as it relates to the game as a whole. Some new characters are introduced, but for the most part MGS4 is a reunion of old faces. It was great to get to see some older characters who we haven’t seen since the first MGS; I’m still not sure why they decided to make Naomi and Mei Ling suddenly have American accents though.

Part of what makes the game so intriguing is how the line between “good” and “evil” is so often blurred. Rather than the game telling you what you should think about Bad Guy #4, it lets you make your own judgments based on the events of the game. It doesn’t preach to you too much, and it doesn’t shove any ideas down your throat (something MGS2 was rather guilty of.) It’s a smart game that requires intellectual and emotional investment on the part of the player.

The game is not without its faults, of course. The control scheme that was pretty consistent throughout the other games is tweaked a bit and it took me some getting used to. There are also some weird moments in the game that sort of interrupt the flow of the story, like a certain Codec call from Otacon in Act 4 that was supposed to be funny but I thought was rather ridiculous. Another moment that I wasn’t too wild about was a battle in which I was frantically blowing up enemies while the screen was split in half, with a supporting character engaging in fisticuffs with a bad guy on the other half of the screen. I get that they were trying to make it more dramatic by showing me the other battle at the same time as my own, but I was so focused on what I was doing that I didn’t have a moment to spare to glance over at the other half of the screen. It just became awkward and inconvenient to have half of my screen stolen from me. However there is another instance near the end where the screen is divided, but it’s done at a much more appropriate time and is in fact one of my favorite parts of the entire game. In so many words, your mileage may vary.

Something that’s usually cited as a “fault” with the series as a whole is the abundance of lengthy cut scenes. I personally don’t have a problem with the cut scenes, and while there are a lot of them and they do tend to get pretty long, the gameplay is so good and strong that it balances out pretty well. There are a couple “okay, enough already!” instances, but for the most part the cut scenes are good and interesting enough where I don’t mind setting my controller down for a bit and watching the story unfold.

Not surprisingly, MGS4 is extremely beautiful and polished. The soundtrack is just as good as, if not better than, any epic blockbuster movie score, and the graphics are some of the best I’ve ever seen (even on my sad little standard-def TV.) Everything is smoothed out and simplified (i.e. the OctoCamo is much simpler and easier to use than the camo system in MGS3, and you can buy weapons and ammo at pretty much any time, eliminating frustrating confrontations with little or no ammo.) The living, breathing environments are large and unpredictable, keeping you focused and on your toes.

Other than a few moments that felt contrived and forced, the game is extremely smooth and well-balanced. MGS4 might not change the minds of people who dislike the previous games, since in general it is the same concept, but for fans of the series this is definitely a worthy end to Solid Snake’s story.

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