Metal Gear Solid 4

Review by Jason England

So here it is. The final chapter in this epic story; twenty years in the making. Hideo Kojima’s ‘last’ hurrah, available in a bargain bin in my local Gamestation for fifteen pounds. As a real geek for the Metal Gear Solid adventures I dived at the opportunity to give my newly purchased PS3 it’s killer app (yes I bought the fat version of the PS3; the slim line is ugly as sin)! The question in my mind being can it justify the unnaturally high critic and metacritic scores that have launched this game into the stratosphere like the iterations before it?

To put it simply; yes.
I could rabble on about the amazing attention to graphical detail that this game presents, or the pitch perfect soundtrack that follows every emotion almost effortlessly; or even the finely tuned gameplay which is much less cumbersome than some of the earlier titles let on to be. But the best way to tackle a game like this is to gaze upon it with one word in mind.

Synergy.
To dissect a game like this and clinically inspect the workings would be criminal in my mind. You have to take a look at what the game invokes within yourself; what kind of link is created between player and game. The synergy of it all; and this looks to be both the realisation and death of something that has been striven for since a video game has had a plot.

From the start, Hideo Kojima’s razor sharp storytelling creates an atmosphere that draws you in from the first second, all the way to the final credit. A truly amazing thriller plot which revolves around war control through nanomachines, patriots and some of the most developed characters in any video game of this generation. I would love to delve into the specifics of this epic storyline; talk about all the mythological and moral influences of the Beauty and the Beast unit, and the underlying social commentary made about a sense of overrunning control in war. But this is more something that can’t be explained; you just have to experience it yourself.

Something that has been preserved which I’m really happy about is the meeting of cultures in the game. Many other Japanese titles have lost this since essence since they got passed over to Western development teams (Silent Hill to name one). It’s that unexplainable ‘X-factor’ that you get when a Japanese developer makes a video game embedded in western culture. The subtle nuances of a fairly Eastern ‘feeling’ game shining through to make such an original blend; something that has been sort of missing from games nowadays. Publishing companies take the seemingly logical step to give titles in this same predicament to American publishers; not knowing the fact that it’s the Eastern origination that gives these games the particular flare.
However I wouldn’t entirely call this game perfection. The controls at some stage do become quite cumbersome, making Snake attach himself to the wrong surfaces. Plus if you’re looking for a more ‘hands-on’ playing experience, Metal Gear Solid 4 isn’t the game for you. If you thought that the previous iterations of the series relied too heavily on story and cut scenes, then your really not going to like this game. These are the classic misfortunes of the games; their not going to win any hearts, and neither is the title going to lose any since this game is epic in every sense of the word.

As I watched the final credits roll, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of it all coming to an end. Not just this fantastic saga of Solid Snake, but also the notion of a very tightly written plot told through extensive cut scenes and some gameplay. As the mainstream video game public move to a different section of the market, I can’t see there being much room for games that swell and fade like Metal Gear. Its either games where players can create their own stories through a sandbox formula, or more immediate action through little explanation of a generic plot that are most sought after. The time to savour a truly in-depth video game storyline has dissolved about as quickly as the casual gaming revolution has grown.

It is something that will, in my mind, be truly missed from the mainstream public stage; and what many others will miss. However if this game is to be the final chapter of the heavily story-laden class of video games, then it is a true swan song that we can all be proud of.

A real killer app for the Playstation 3, Hideo Kojima’s most ambitious work to date, and a truly unforgettable piece of entertainment.