Metal Gear Solid 4
This Preview is based off every leaked piece of text, image and video to date, I have seen practically all of the game now, so I assure you this is accurate...
Now as with everyone other reviewer doing these early reviews I have to ensure I abide by the restrictions placed in its list... But since some facts have already come to light I will wave a few minor facts to you guys, but I assure you, I won't be spoiling the game for those egger to play the from Midnight on the 11th... So here we go.
This Metal Gear Solid 4 has been 4 years in the making, with over 100 people involved in its production its easy to see the love and care that has gone into making this the perfect end for Solid Snake and his 21 year saga.
You have 4.6 Gb to install on your PS3's hard drive, this seems to be becoming the norm now but since this results in bigger maps, faster loading and better graphics Im not one to complain. Now we get to the good stuff with the new intro sequence by Logan. It definately is like nothing you'll have ever seen but since thats off limits I can't say how it is portrayed.
The main menu is an image of the grave site as shown in earlier trailers, from here you can do a few things, look at the Mission Briefing, practice on the Virtual Range, Play the Game / Metal Gear Online or look at the Extras.
The virtual range is exactly what it says on the tin, like what was available in the MGO beta, you can practice all your items, weapons and moves on digital drones. However I can't say what the virtual range looks like.
So lets begin the game...
It begins with Snake in a transport entering a wartorn town under the control of Praying Mantis in the middle east, here you get your first taste of both the PMC forces and the now infamous Gekko patrol Mechs, the first time you meet these guys it certainly very terrifying with only a assault rifle to hand you feel helpless against these giant mechs, your only option for now is to simply run...
During this section your introduced to few of main characters. Otacons Metal Gear MKII (As I've said before it is both a remake of a project Otacon made at college and a nod to Kojima earlier work of Snatcher), the Rat Patrol aka The NEW Fox Hound & near the end of the chapter you'll meet Ocelot. There are more characters in this chapter but I sadly can't say who they are for now.
Metal Gear Solid 4's second chapter takes the player to South America to continue the hunt for Liqiud Snake, the maps here are alot more open and very remanisant of Metal Gear Solid 3, in these locations you truely enjoy both the stealth and combat because your method of choice is so great! During this chapter of the game the story goes up quite a few notches and information you have been supplied thus far is turned upside down to an extent but this is typical Metal Gear territory so you should be used to it by now.
From here you go to 3 other Locations Eastern Europe, somewhere cold (You'll probably guess this one) and Location X even I can't say where this one is...
The Game takes a memorable 48 hours! to complete on the first run, I took my time and enjoyed every single codec, mission briefing and cutscene that was available to me. After finishing this I felt emotionally exhausted but I have to say it was worth it.
Characters and their interaction
True to his word Kojima has brought back quite a few charaters from Metal Gears of old and introduced new characters your likely to fall in love with in an instant.
The events regarding the Rat Patrol especially Johnny's are as funny as ever and exactly what the fans have been crying out for.
The Beauty & the Beast unit have a major part to play during the game as you battle each of them more than once and each battle is different, they aren't as epic sadly as what the battle with "The End" was but that was the pinical of endurance battles.
Mission Briefing
Now interactive the player gets a multi screen display featuring Campbell via Video Link, the view from the Metal Gear MK II and a stats screen including information on your next mission. Taking place on board Otacons flying fortress the Nomad. Where Sunny and later Naomi will reside, the most fun part of this is using the MK II to go search across the 3 decks for batteries for the solid eye, ammo and other hidden treasure I can't say yet...
Graphics
As expected from Kojima the locations are brilliantly detailed and in all the time I played I didnt see one glitch! Comparing this to the build for the Beta for Metal Gear Online, the graphics have been improved again with better lighting. But the best effects are displayed during the huge gun fights, their is never a hint of slow down and the explosions in places are epic!
Gameplay
The controls for Metal Gear Solid 4 do take some getting used to but once you get a hang of how to crouch, lean shoot and aim the new system is very user friendly.
Stealth im pleased to say hasn't been lost in this chapter, but Kojima has the encouraged the player to use a wider selection of ways to get past the enemy, some of which are quite novel. For those hoping to complete this game guns blazing you'll become a corpse very quickly, because everything the PMC's use is ID tagged so you'll very quickly find your self either out of ammo or with a gun that denies your prints. This is where Drebin comes in, its kind of a side challenge to collect weapons from the PMC's in exchange for them being unlocked, from here you can purchase ammo and attachments, which for example a gun grip will greatly increase accuracy while decreasing recoil.
For Snake he's getting old now his stamina isn't what it was and he gets stressed, maintaining a balanced and calm progression is the key as the more stressful it becomes the worse you combat skills get...
Cutscenes
Yes theirs quite a few of them and they rack up a total of just under 10 hours! some of which are upwards of 90 minutes long, but I'll tell you now you would be hard pressed to skip them as their is so much content and event in each and everyone that its a must view or you'll be confused later scenario espcially when it comes to the meaning of Liquid's goals, the SOP system and of course the patriots.
Story
This is were Metal Gear Solid 4 shines but also stutters. the story for the most part is one of the best portrayed by Kojima to date, his unwavering desire for perfection and accuracy means that the dialogue and events are very well scripted. The let down is only in the fact that because this is last chapter of the saga, Kojima demanded that all the questions players had would be answered (Tho not every question was answered...) It resulted in the game near the end loosing some of its focus and charm but for all its content you could easily neglect this minor problem.
Replayability
Apart from the Ranking system their are a number of hidden bonuses that you can earn by replaying the game as you are very likely to at least miss a few things. As some of you know the ipod will be in the game, similiar to what they did in The 2nd Runner, tracks from the Metal Gear Saga are hidden throughout the mission and they can only be seen with your Solid Eye. But this is only One of the many secrets you'll uncover. Sadly I can't say what the rest are.
The End of Snake?
I can't say exactly what happens in the end but as you all may know Solid Snake is a clone and in the years running up to Metal Gear Solid 4 his aging has greatly increased dramatically, Snake is only 48, but he looks in his 60's.
What I can say is being the final mission it couldn't really have taken place any better, it is certainly something you will never forget...
