28 August, 2008

"Metal Gear 4: Guns of the Patriots" Video Game Review

I recently finished Metal Gear 4: Guns of the Patriots, and it surpassed everything I expected from a metal gear game. Admittedly, I wasn’t fond of playing an aging war veteran, but still, it was a worthwhile game nonetheless.

Meta Gear 4: Guns of the Patriots, is a tactical espionage action game published by Konami. It is directed by Hideo Kojima, Yoji Shinkawa, and Shuyo Murata. Guns of the Patriots was exclusively developed by Kojima Productions. It is the 7th (and supposedly last) installment in the Metal Gear series.

I’m not going explain the plot of the game because it is just far too complicated for non-metal gear fans. I will say though, that nanomachines are pretty terrifying. Forget the fact that it can help synchronize team members, or balance human biological functions, it pretty much makes humans, inhuman. A scary concept, especially since its main aim is to improve people’s skills in war.

I’ve been a fan since the first game in the first playstation. Metal Gear 4 gives its fans some pretty cool throwbacks and memory flashes to the previous games, and it was just frickin awesome to see Shadow Moses Island in high definition graphics.

It was really great to see some of my favorite characters return and contribute in helping Snake, rather than have Snake save everybody, again. Raiden was still way too dramatic and exaggerated, but I have to admit that he’s become absolutely badass. Meryl was pretty cool too, and I loved her interactions with her Rat Patrol team, especially with Akiba. Nice to see her grow up and take charge. Mei Ling was way too young and cute to be seriously taken as a captain, but it was really great to see her. Her antics were hilarious. Campbell was pretty much the same, but he was a little more emotional.

Otacon is the real hero in this story. Without him, Snake would’ve already bitten the dust countless times. I didn’t like the fact that he was still a crybaby, and that all his female counterparts always died in one form or another, and that even without his eyeglasses he still looked awkward, but he’s got immense kudos for inventing the Mark II and III. Those were cute little things.

There have been talks about a possible Metal Gear 5, and I would love, love another Metal Gear. It may not have our beloved Snake in it anymore, but there’s still tons of possibilities for the other characters, namely, Otacon, Raiden, Meryl and Akiba, and of course, Sunny.

The Metal Gear 4 gameplay didn’t really change much from Metal Gear 3: Naked Snake. There’s a few additions in the crawl/roll (X) button, and you can’t interrogate soldiers anymore. But you do however, have Octocamo, which is an automatic camouflage suit that adapts to any surface. You can also now customize your weapons.

The thing I hated the most about Metal Gear 4 is the frequent loading time. Not to mention, the exasperating installation of every single Act. And even though the story was fascinating, some parts were still confusing, and it seemed that it was meant to confuse the audience just so that it can throw more twists after another.

Overall, Metal Gear 4: Guns of the Patriots is a brilliantly made game with a story that die hard fans would absolutely love.

For non-metal gear fans, well, thank Kojima for the skip button.

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