Looking at: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

End of an Age

Age doesn't slow Snake down a bit, and he's still in fighting form.

Jesus fucking christ was that a long game to sit through.

I say "sit through" because the truth of it is, that despite being clocked at about 20 hours long, most of my time with MGS4 was spent in cut scenes, occasionally begging the game to let me play it again. Good god.

Regardless, MGS4 is the last of the Metal Gear games, chronically speaking, and serves as a way to tie up every loose end in the series. Does it succeed, or is this an OP not worth getting prepared for?

Endless War

Snake will routinely fight with companions against Liquid's insurrection.

MGS4 opens in a world that's been ravaged by almost constant war, to the point where war is no longer an isolated incident, but the driving force behind the global economy. Private Military Companies now employ millions of personal (the opening scene of the game reveals one company has more men then the combined population of Canada and Mexico) and battles are fought everywhere over anything. All of this is run by a complex system of AI that controls nano-machines in man and machine, making average soldiers super-powered and locking firearms to people's DNA.

Solid Snake returns to battle, now an old man, much older then he should be. As it turns out, while the FOXDIE virus he was infected with in MGS didn't kill him, it did accelerate his ageing ten-fold, and despite it only being ten years since the first game Snake now appears in his late seventies.

What follows is an incredibly intense and emotional journey as Snake hunts down Liquid Ocelot, a combination of Liquid Snake and Revolver Ocelot.

Ok, I'll be honest with you here, this game is fucking insane with it's story telling and script. Like, clinically insane. Probably best described as bi-polar, or even full on schizophrenic. It's like MGS4 is trying to be serious, much more serious then the previous games, and at times it goes to some really dark places, particularly Snake dealing with his age, or the various boss' back-stories. But there's still a sense of levity everywhere, constantly cracking jokes or doing dumb things. It's jarring to say the least.

In the end though, this is the most mature story I've seen in the series. It's a story completely and 100% aware of every moving part, even as it introduces new story elements. It wraps up everything, not only from itself, but MGS and MGS2 as well, and leaves nothing untouched. It's a dark story, dealing with the old VS the new, but it is a story worth listening to, as long as you have the patience.

Electronic Old Men

Drebin and his monkey, providing Snake what he needs, when he needs it.

MGS4's biggest strength is it's interesting wheelhouse of characters. Snake himself is probably the most interesting part, and this is the most interesting Snake we've ever seen. Not only is he dealing with his failing body, fighting against time, but it serves as a greater metaphor for Snake as a character. He's an old soldier fighting in a new soldier's war, and living in a world completely passing him by. It's an interesting deconstruction of the character, and it makes Snake actually interesting to pay attention to.

Not to say that any of the side characters are less interesting. Most of the cast is returning from the older games, like Meryl, Colonel Campbell, or Otocon. The new characters it introduces are great too, particularly Drebin, your personal gun launderer. All the guns in MGS4 are DNA locked to users, and Drebin can remove this lock, for a fee. More interestingly, he can sell you guns and ammo in the middle of a fight, reducing the need to scavange. Some people will find this distasteful, as it removes most of the need to avoid a fight, but his prices keep everything balanced, and you'll forget any misgivings when you order the silencer you need just in time.

MGS4 also carries on the series' tradition of character interaction, jilted and strange though it may be at times. Character talk to each other, and feel like real people with flaws. The relationship between the various characters is the most interesting it's ever been in the series, be it Snake and Otocon with their adopted daughter Sunny (don't ask), Meryl finding true love in the middle of a gunfight, or especially Snake and Liquid's strained and bizarre relationship the reaches a crescendo during the game's intense finale.

Grab the Popcorn

There is one major complaint I have above everything else in MGS4:

SIX FUCKING HOURS OF CUT SCENES.

True story, MGS4 broke and still holds a record for this, including two specific records: The longest continuous scene at 29 minutes, which itself is part of the longest sequence ever at 79 minutes long.
Simply put, MGS4 is not a game for the impatient, and admittedly I lost my patience with it during the overly long finale.

Most of the scenes are, however, not boring, which is a great far cry from MGS2's insane Codec conversations. There's things happening on screen that make watching it worth my time. The 79 minute sequence I talked about above features a great fight scene, and a scene that all but explains the entire game in a way that was interesting. Suffice to say, watching a man destroy an entire battalion of soldiers with his fingers is engaging to see. Even the finale, or at least the first part of it, features one of the most brutal hand-to-hand fights I've ever seen in a video game.

But it's not all great, and there were times where I stopped paying attention just because I wasn't engaged any more. When you're sitting there, not doing anything at all for forty minutes it can be hard to remember that MGS4 is classified as a video game for a video game console, something that people usually play.

Sneaking Mission

That's to bad, because the gameplay in MGS4 is the most refined it's ever been in the series. First and foremost is the camera. While MGS3 introduced a full 3d camera, that was added later, and it showed. MGS4, however, was built with the ground up, and its smooth and easy to use. Moving snake around too, is better then previous games, including the ability to crouch walk for added sneaking. There's no more dedicated sneaking controls like MGS3, but the PS3's controls handle better then the PS2, so it's not much of a problem.

The other major improvement is shooting. No more using a face button for firing your weapon, rather MGS4 plays like a more traditional shooter, and while the control change was jarring coming from MGS3 it quickly became a pleasant way to play. Aiming and firing a weapon felt good, especially with proper iron sights or scopes on all weapons, and it made combat engaging and fun.

Of course, combat is only necessary if you get caught, and thankfully stealth in MGS4 is at it's best too. There's a slew of tools you can use to remain stealthy, from an active camo-suit that changes dynamically to blend into the environment, to various items you can use to distract or knock out guards. All of it controls naturally and feels great to use.

Fading Sun

One of the Beauty and Beast boss battles.

MGS4 came out in 2008, but there's no doubt that it looks as good, if not better, then later PS3 releases. This is an amazing looking game, pushing the PS3 to it's absolute limits, and there were times where I forgot that it was animated.

Character models are stunningly good and detailed, from Snake's aging body, to Raiden's robotic ninja. Face animation is nearly perfect, making every character expressive and interesting. There's a million little details in everything, be it the environment, weapons, or characters, and it all looks great. The only problem is that the PS3 can't seem to keep up with everything all the time, and the framerate was as inconsistent as the story's tone. It never got to bad, but one scene looked like a slideshow, and another scene would be blazing fast.

Audio, however, never suffers, and it's the best it's ever been in the series. The music is amazing and matches every scene  perfectly, creating the perfect mood. There's even an in-game IPod (as well as a Mac Book. I guess Kojima likes Apple) to allow you to listen to music from the entire series.

Voice acting, and there's a lot, is great too. The cast is mostly returning from the old games, and they all give a stand out performance. Once again, top spot goes to David Hayer, doing his best work as Old Snake, and I have to imagine he was all but exhausted after all the recording he must have done. All the voice work is great, and the characters all come to life perfectly thanks to it.

Black Out

Liquid Ocelot, a clone of one of the greatest soldiers, in the body of another.

In the end, I did like MGS4. When I got to play it, the gameplay was amazing, and by far the best in the series. Despite the onslaught of cut scenes, more of them were interesting then those that weren't. And most importantly, it does tie up most, if not all, of the story threads weaved throughout the games. It's a mature and emotional journey through the past and future that demands patience to get through. I doubt I'll play it again, but I'm glad I played it through.

Next up: One more challenge from one of hand-held gaming's best, and a return to the past.

all images sourced from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmNpzP1JKvI

Looking at: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Old Snake

The jungle can hide you, or swallow you whole.

I've already played MG3, and my original thoughts on the game can be found in this article. While playing the game for a second time as part of my ongoing examination of the MGS series, I found my thoughts were mostly the same. It's almost a masterpiece in every way, and it holds up rather well, despite the age. There were some things different, mostly better due to playing it on the PS3 with updated graphics, but the game is still amazing and deserves to be played by any stealth game fan.

Rather than just review the game again, I thought I'd go over things about it I liked, and things about it I didn't like, point by point.

Revolver Ocelot

Ocelot and Snake spar for the first time.

All of the major characters and villains in MGS3 are amazing, probably some of the most interesting and memorable in the series, but Revolver Ocelot, much younger than the other games, is by far my favourite. He steals the scene whenever he's on screen and his presence is amazing. He oozes confidence and style like no one else in the game, and his mix of smarmy and stylish is great. Throw in his fancy revolver tricks and on-going rivalry with Snake throughout the game and he's at the top of his game.

All the other characters

Two of the Cobras, twisted super-soldiers.

MGS3 is so completely over the top, and the characters reflect this perfectly. Be it the insane, bisexual rapist General Volgin, the seductive femme-fatale EVA, the powerhouse legend Boss, or naked Snake, a man that would become a legend of his own. That's not even looking at the Cobra unit, the super soldiers trained by the boss that act as the boss fights. There's a man that controls hornets, a spider-man that fires exploding poison bolts, an ancient sniper that might actually be a tree, a crazed, flame-thrower wielding cosmonaut, and a ghost that controls the dead. Each of these have their own back story akin to the bosses of the first game, and drip personality out of every pore.

The controls

MGS3 introduces a host of new ways to use the environment.

The controls in MGS3 are terrible. I can't really tell who they were designed for, but it wasn't a human, that's for sure. My best guess is that they had to many ideas and the PS2 couldn't accommodate them all, but they tried anyway. Moving and interacting is fine enough, but the much touted CQC hand-to-hand combat system is a complete joke. Unlike MGS2, you can now capture enemies in choke-holds, interrogate them for info, and choose their fate. In theory, anyway. What will actually happen is you'll tap the button to hard, because for some fucking reason it's pressure sensitive, something I didn't even know the PS2 could do, and you'll either fling the guard to the side like a ragdoll, or you'll slit his throat. Either way you'll mess up, not get any info you wanted, and there's a good chance you'll alert his friends too.

God help you if you want to try and use a weapon in CQC. Ideally, you can use a one-handed weapon while using your captive as a shield, but the finger gymnastics you need to preform that are insane, and I only successfully did it once, maybe twice.

Aiming and firing in general are a bit of a hassle. First person aiming returns from MGS2, sans the laser-pointer on every weapons, since it's 1964 this time around. Once again, though, shooting is assigned to a face button, and weapons react differently based, once again, on how hard you hit the button. It's annoying and I never quite got used to it. Sniper weapons proved particularly tough, and if you wanted to aim a rifle while raising your view over an obsticle you had to hold down all four triggers, aim, then tap the square buttons just right to actually fire. It's aggravating and can pull you out of the moment in a second.

The Cut-scenes

The radio dialogues are kept much shorter, and usually more interesting then MGS2.

Cut-scenes in MGS3 are kept to a minimum, sort of, for the series. Make no mistake, there's still a lot of them, and they can get long-winded, but unlike MGS2 there's a much larger focus on the actual gameplay, and the super long cut-scenes are mainly kept to the end, specifically the half-hour end sequence.

There are radio calls again, but if I recall there's less then 20 that are mandatory, and these are usually pretty short explanations of game mechanics, or reminders of your objective. However, there are dozens of optional calls for everything from advice on your current situation, to run-downs of your equipment, and humours asides about your food. I genuinely enjoyed most of these and looked forward to the radio call any time I got a new piece of equipment or food.

The Setting

It's not quite the Vietnam War, and it's not quite James Bond. Instead MGS3 chooses to mix these two styles together in a mix that, probably, shouldn't work as well as it does.

The dense rain forest of Russia provide plenty of sights to see, even if they don't exist because Russia has no rainforests. It's stocked to the brim with animals to hunt, food to find, and Russian soldiers to stalk and take out.

Setting the game in 1964 was a great way to completely de-construct the stealth gameplay from the series and take it in a new direction. Gone is the radar in the corner, replaced with an unreliable motion tracker that can run out of batteries. You also need to utilize proper camouflage to stay hidden in the forest, and getting your camo just right can basically make you invisible.

You'll actually need to rely on classical stealth techniques too, and it's a good thing MGS3 introduced the 3D free camera to the series, because trying to get around without it would suck a tonne. Spot guards, recognize paths, and sneak around like a classic spy.

The Ladder

At around the half way mark of the game you need to climb a really big ladder. It's a completely magical scene.

The Escape

There's a section at the end of the game, right before the finale, where you and a female need to escape a never ending tide of soldiers. The problem is she moves slower then molasses, and can't really do anything useful whatsoever. This section actually goes faster if you knock her out and drag her body all over the map. Make of that what you will, but it stands out as the worst part of the game by a wide margin.

That's all for MGS3. It really is a great game and I enjoyed playing it immensely, even a second time. Next time: SIX FUCKING HOURS OF CUT-SCENES!?

all screenshots taken from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvebBY1DXlU&feature=iv&src_vid=8_jHpQW9QuI&annotation_id=annotation_694572

Looking at: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Ongoing Legacy

get used to this screen, since it's like 40% of the fucking game.

Continuing on my play-through of the Metal Gear Solid series, we come to my least favourite entry to the legacy, MGS2. My previous experience with MGS2 was only the first few hours on my PS2 before doing a proper play-through in the PS3 Legacy collection. I didn't enjoy it then, and I don't think I enjoyed it now.

MGS2 is... not that great, especially when compared to the rest of the series. It's a bit of a mess, both in terms of the game, and the twisted, convoluted tale that it weaves.

For Your Ears Only

Snake appears in the opening, to bait-and-switch players in the worst way possible.

The setup this time is... ok, here's the thing: it's been ten years, so if you haven't played it already there's a good chance this has already been said elsewhere anyway, but you don't play the game as Snake, at least not most of it.

You do play as Snake, for the first two or so hours, during which time you'll infiltrate a US Navy ship, gather data, have a quick boss fight, then everything goes to hell and you're assumed dead. Enter again two years later as Raiden, a mercenary hired to infiltrate an environmental cleaning facility known as Big Shell and free several hostages being held captive aboard. Along the way you'll have to battle an army of Russian special forces and a group of elite super soldiers known as Dead Cell, being led by the mysterious Revolver Ocelot.

If that all sounds eerily familiar that's because it's sort of supposed to. I won't really go into it, but there are some really, really big and hard to comprehend ideas tossed around in this game, probably more than should be put in a video game. It delves into the ideas of social constructs, virtual reality, and the nature of biology and technology in the 21st century.

It's goddamn weird, and really hard to pay attention to.

I complained that MGS used cut scenes to often, but I whole-heartily resend that accusation in the face of MGS2. Good God in heaven are there ever a lot of cut scenes in this game, especially at the end. The finally is a 30 minute movie, followed by a five minute fight, followed by a 15 minute movie. I got so bored during this I made lunch and cleaned my apartment a little, just to do something. Worse, much of that conversation is via the dreaded radio, meaning absolutely nothing was happening on screen.

It's not that the plot of MGS2 is bad, in fact it's amazingly layered and complex, greatly surpassing most other games on the PS2 and most games to come after it. But it's so fucking boring and hard to watch when you're not engaged at all. For whatever reason most interactions with people end in you talking to them via radio, even if you're literally a foot away. I suspect that's because the cut scenes were nothing short of taxing on the PS2, but it's really boring and takes me right out of the game.

Compounding this problem is the new main character of Raiden. Raiden is nowhere near as likeable as Snake was. He doesn't look like a good soldier, and he doesn't have the chops to be a great main character. He's a pretty boy and his emotions constantly bog him down. Snake was a cold, hard badass, and Raiden isn't.

Stealth Tactics

There's now a host of non-violent interaction options for dealing with guards.

Gameplay, too, is something of a mix-bag. On the one hand, it was great to be able to use my thumb stick again, something sorely lacking from MGS. MGS2 plays a lot smoother then the old game, and an expanded range of movement helps too. Most importantly is the addition of proper weapon aiming, allowing you to line up insta-kill head shots or target specific things in the environment. It's still a little awkward, but it does make gunfights that much more bearable.

The problem is that the game doesn't always play nice with itself. The camera is still locked, meaning that you have to hope you can see what you're doing. It wasn't much of an issue, but there were parts where I found the camera angle to be a hindrance. To further compound this is that you don't have a map for every area this time. You need to log into a computer node to get a map, meaning that you enter every area blind as a bat. That wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for enemies.

Guards in MGS2 don't fuck around, at all. If you're discovered you'll probably die, because they'll send endless waves of soldiers at you. Seriously, and avoiding them is damn near impossible at times. There's not good places to hide in Big Shell, and a minor mistake can turn into a twenty minute running battle as you pray they'll leave you alone. Combat is better, but enemies are now much harder to take down and it's just not an enjoyable experience.

Sea Worthy

Raiden plays exactly like Snake, except he's incredibly annoying.

Graphically, MGS2 is a damn good looking game for it's time. The original was straining against the PS2's limited capabilities, and it shows. There's minor details in everything, from the lettering on a uniform to the pieces of food on a plate in the mess hall. The HD version I played really didn't do that much, aside from update textures and lighting, as well as a widescreen resolution.

Character models specifically look great, with expressive faces during cut scenes. They might not have aged perfectly, looking like they're made of plastic now, but for the time these were amazing. I haven't seen characters this good looking on any other PS2 title, save MGS3.

Sound is equally great. Voice acting is an unparalleled level of awesome, and each of the characters is distinct and memorable. David Hayter shows up once again, along with Quinton Flynn as Raiden, Phil LaMarr as the mysterious Vamp, Jeniffer Hale as computer whizz Emma Emerich, and Maura Gale as the mercenary Fortune. Everyone in the cast is great, even when the stuff they're reading doesn't actually make much sense.

New Beginning

Bosses remain memorable and exciting.

MGS2 has the misfortune of being a middle child, trapped between the old-school charm of the original MGS, and the masterpiece of MGS3. It only barely has it's own identity, but it's mostly known for it's negative points, like a sequence where you flip around the level naked, it's overly complex plot, and incredibly long cut scenes.

I don't think MGS 2 a bad game, per-say, but were someone to ask me I don't think I'd recommend actually playing it. If you're just here for the story then read it online, or watch someone else's playthrough, one of which I've linked to at the bottom of this article. It's a convoluted game that tries to do to much within it's own space.

That's it for MGS2, thank god. Next up: I go back in time and revisit a cold-war classic.

All screenshots taken from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKbYxc_s0_g