Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Developer	Kojima Productions
Publisher	Konami
Platforms	Playstation 3
Released	June 12, 2008
Genre(s)	Stealth Action
Mode(s)	Single Player Multiplayer
Input	SIXAXIS, DualShock 3
Review Scores	10/10 from IGN ^[1] 10/10 from GameSpot ^[2] 10/10 from OPSM U.K. ^[3] 94/100 from Metacritic ^[4]

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

^{The bundle that caused PS3 sales to rocket.}

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (MGS4) was supposed to be the final game in the Metal Gear series (or so they claimed, but talks of Metal Gear Solid 5 are already rife on the internet as well as a lot of hints being dropped by Kojima Productions main men) and wrap up the Solid Snake story.

The game has shipped around 4.5 million copies worldwide to date and has been the biggest console seller to date. The game was bundled with consoles on its release and sold very well, with the PS3, which usually sells nearly 10,000 units in a given week, going on to sell 77,208 units in MGS4's debut week.^[5]

Plot & Influences

The main plot for Metal Gear Solid comes only from the great mind of Hideo Kojima, the story is like no other game or movie and is unique in every aspect. The character Solid Snake comes from Snake Plisskin many believe due to his similarities in looks, attitude and personality, not to mention the fact he goes undercover in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty as 'Iriqous Plisskin'.

The game takes place in 5 different areas, including some nostalgic ones.

None of the areas are modelled after a real city (as far as we know), but look realistic and believable for the region they are meant to be in.

Middle East - The starting point of Liquids war, just an average middle eastern war-torn city.

South America - Home of a scientific research lab, and a (freaky) boss!

Eastern Europe - Where Snake meets his mother after an enjoyable sneaking mission, almost Sam Fisher like.

Shadow Moses - Where the Metal Gear Solid series begun, revisited, this is extremely nostalgic to anyone who has played Metal Gear Solid, the original as a kid, brings back some great memories.

Outer Haven - Also quite nostalgic as it marks the return of Psycho Mantis, who starred in the original Metal Gear Solid on Playstation 1.

What is fun about this game?

AI is good. AI reacts to items like magazines, sound and unusual objects. They will inspect foreign objects that are out place and most likely find you hiding under them. There are emotion rounds as well as emotion magazines. The AI in our opinion is the best we have seen in any game to date. The reactions are funny, yet accurate to the situation.

Novelty items - guns that make tornadoes, funny face camos, customisable guns (with a massive amount of attachments), emotion ammo (see video section), funny cutscenes which refer back to the previous MGS games (a personal favourite is when Otacon tells you to change disk only to be told to pull himself together by Snake (check the video tab at the top of this window to see what I mean)).

A really good story. Keeps you baying for more. Interactive cut scenes and the ability to pause cut scenes is a great addition meaning you never need to skip them, and the interaction keeps you interested, as you are always watching for the next interaction warning.

Return to Shadow Moses. The same locations as the first game, only this time it is derelict and lets just say, the janitors moved out a long time ago, but it is in glorious High Definition. The sense of nostalgia to return to the places in game you played in when you were younger is a great feeling.

Literally, a return to Shadow Moses - The game makes you replay the first stage of the original Metal Gear Solid in all its glory - Same Graphics, Same Controls, Same AI. It truely is excellent to anyone who has played the original Metal Gear Solid. Although some new players who picked the series up just at Guns of the Patriots or Sons of Liberty/Snake Eater may have problems understanding its relevance.