I started this review a couple of days ago and have had trouble finishing it. There is so much I wanted to say but was unable to... either because it was a spoiler or I just couldn't find a way to put it into words. Here is my best effort... I guess. It was started immediately after I finished the game and just wrapped up a few minutes ago. I stand by everything I have said 100% except for maybe the game captivating part. I certainly had been captivated by other games before, just not on such an intense level. There are also a lot of things I wanted to add but didn't. I love the plot twists in the MGS series. My grammar and writing is atrocious. Watching Snake get old is really hard to do (even my mom thought it was upsetting). A side note on that: My mother has watched me play bits and pieces of every single one. When she heard me talk about the fourth installment she brought up a story. She remembers watching a cut scene in one of the three previous tittles (we could not figure out which one) and thinking it was genuinely moving and she was surprised she could care for a video game character. Anyways, here is my review of MGS4. Lbeej's will probably be on the way soon because he's already started. Sorry if it's a little too melodramatic.
21 hours, 45 minutes, 01 second. That’s how long it took me to finish Metal Gear Solid 4. It’s 4 in the morning which means in the 51 hours that have passed since putting the game into my PS3, close to half have been devoted to this title... and for very good reason.
I could go into detail and talk about what the game does right and what it does perfect (oh so perfect). I could also nitpick on the ever so tiny flaws (they do exist but don’t amount to shit). I could even go on and on about how this is a fanboys wet dream (it’s great standalone but if you are a fan of the series… you WILL NOT be disappointed). Though, to be honest, after having just watched the credits roll, it wouldn’t feel right. This is going to sound over the top, but I don’t think my words could do the game justice… especially for fans of the series.
I know there are those who have played previous tittles and will pick this one up, play through it, and think that it’s not bad (if you are not a fan of the series, this one probably won’t change your mind… then again, it could), but I’m not talking to them. I’m talking about the people who have been huge fans of everything Metal Gear since the beginning. Since they were 12 years old in their friends’ basement, watching some guy shoot stinger missiles at a giant robot thinking “what the hell is this?” People who when they finally got the chance to sit down and play, were absolutely stunned by the sheer brilliance and badassery the game possessed. At the time, it was unreal to be so captivated by a game (for me at least). The unique gameplay, the suburb storytelling, the long list of jaw dropping “oh shit” moments (cyborg ninja intro, psycho mantis battle, Meyrl getting baited, rappelling down the tower, the fucking elevator with stealth guards… I could keep going), and the ability to not only draw you in, but make you genuinely care about the characters involved elevated my appreciation of gaming. I was instantly hooked and have been ever since… throughout the entire series (yes, even with that weird step mother seducing thing in MGS2).
Then I finally got to play the fourth installment. And after having finished it, I’ve decided not to say too much about the game. There are, however, a few things I want to touch on. First, it must be emphasized that Metal Gear Solid 4 is Kojima’s swan song that is sure to please the fans. Not only does it tie up all the loose ends (yep, every single last one of them), it is the most satisfying conclusion possible to this long-running series. More importantly, it is able to evoke insanely genuine amounts of emotion, more so than any other game I have come across. This is in part due to the excellent graphics and facial animations, as well as the superb delivery by the voice actors (props to David Hayter).
What stands out the most, however, is what the game was able to do to me. At one point while playing, I became 12 again. Without realizing it, I was screaming and yelling, wincing every time Snake got punched, and actually swinging my fists as he would throw one hell of a right hook (might have been left). Once it caught my attention, I embraced it and couldn’t have been happier. It was not a reliving of more innocent times (god knows I cursed like a sailor when I was younger) but a reintroduction to the unadulterated joys a video game can create. Granted, I’m specifically referencing one moment, but the game is comprised of nothing but instances like these (there were other times I was hooting and howling louder than a sane person should). Instances where you loose yourself and become so absorbed that, even though you realize you are playing a game, the line seems so blurred that you feel as though you are experiencing what you are doing first hand. It’s tough to describe and it is definitely something that needs to be experienced. I would even go as far as recommending you play it alone, so you can get the full effect… and not be ashamed to shed a tear or two (yes I cried… twice).
At some point during the final credits, it hit me: THIS IS MY FAVORITE GAME OF ALL TIME. Up until that point it had been Metal Gear Solid. So yes, take this big bold statement with a grain of salt seeing as how I am a fanboy (fuck you penny arcade). Just know this, Metal Gear Solid 4 is worth playing… worth owning so you can play it again and again (which I will be doing)… and most importantly, worth experiencing. There is not another game that I have come across which does such an effective job of pulling you in and not letting you go. It’s been one hell of a ride Snake. Thanks for the memories.There you have it, my review of Metal Gear Solid 4. Understand I am a HUGE fanboy but at the same time this is a superb game by its own merits. So what'd ya think? Love it? Hate it? Make you wanna play the game? Leave some comments because I don't write long pieces here often... and need to know if I should.
P.S. I fucking love that picture at the top
6 comments:
did i mention that the ending of the game is fucking epic?!?!? Actually the whole entire game is epic... really picking up about midway through. RIDONKULOUS!
Several hours in, and I can't remember a game ever making me feel this shitty. That deeply-effecting part just kind of sneaks up on you.
There were two other things I wanted to mention... shit bad review mannnn.
1)I kid you not, as the final credits started to rolling, I had the urge to stand at attention and salute the screen a la big boss at the end of mgs3. is that sad?
2)This game, to me, is another telling example of the games as art debate... in that i feel it puts the debate to rest. i think one things video games can really succeed at, as an art form, is evoke an even stronger emotional response than a novel, film, poem, or painting because you are actively participating in the work of art. not only are you critically analyzing it (passive) you are driving it to the ultimate conclusion and thus investing more than you would in any other art form. This makes the ultimate emotional impact resonate much more strongly
I like your writeup of it, it makes me sad I stopped keeping up with MGS after the 2nd was released. I really need to beat 3 at some point. It would be nice though it you discussed some of the gameplay. Mentioning what all is the same, what's changed, was it for the better and how it affects the flow of the game. Like, I heard that many parts of the game you can now run and gun through and I'm curious how that changes the flow of the game.
I realize that what I wrote is not much of a review. I'll put something together later today about ganepmay because there are a bunch of differences that greatly affect the overall experience.
gameplay. Autocorrect function blows.
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