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| Game Details | Released
12 June 2008 | | Format
PS3 | | Developer
Konami |
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Metal Gear Sold 4: Guns Of The Patriots
 Review
After 20 years of espionage action, Guns Of The Patriots is being billed as the final instalment in Konami’s million-selling series, and an explosive farewell for the surly Solid Snake. Yet while previous Metal Gears have been criticised for focusing too heavily on the muddled plot and not allowing fans to actually play the game, it feels as if technology has finally caught up with digital auteur Hideo Kojima. The PS3 delivers the muscle needed to bring his violent visions to life and refines the experience so it doesn’t drive impatient players to distraction.
While the action is still riddled with confusing movies and bewildering conversations - each seeped in the macho nuttiness that has defined MGS and makes it feel like a cross between Andy McNabb and a Manga movie - welcome tweaks such as the ability to skip cut-scenes and optional flashbacks to earlier Metal Gears help make the labyrinthine story more engaging. It also allows Kojima to convey a strong anti-war message that’s sharply poignant in today¹s political climate and adds a sense of gravitas to the testosterone-pumped tale.
Using the PS3 to bring this latest instalment to life has also given Kojima the opportunity to create the most detailed and stylish world MGS aficionados have ever seen: from the sun-baked streets of crumbling middle-eastern cities to frozen arctic bases and steaming jungles, all the environments are brimming with detail and convey a unique atmosphere. This time Kojima has also been careful to make the experience less linear and offer players multiple routes through the levels, which provide a deep sense of satisfaction by finding your own way through a maze of war-torn streets, rather than being forced down a narrow path peppered with set-piece challenges.
Also making the traditional MGS experience friendlier are the game’s stripped-down controls. Whereas earlier episodes saw players tangling themselves in a jumble of thumbs while attempting advanced moves, hiding in the shadows or targeting enemies is now as simple as tapping a button, allowing players to execute split-second decisions. On the flipside, the enemies in Guns Of The Patriots are much smarter than the grunts found in previous Snake fables, the streamlined controls coming into their own as you roll between patches of darkness, snuggle against walls or hide inside abandoned oil barrels and inch your way across hostile territory.
Like all Metal Gear titles, the intense stealth action is an acquired taste and players more enamoured by the gung-ho heroics of Halo or Call Of Duty will probably want to drop a star from our final score. Even fans of console sneak-a-thons such as Splinter Cell will find Guns Of The Patriots hard going, the game requiring you to find a skittish rhythm, where you slip between stealth techniques and defensive action in the blink of an eye, and have the imagination to use spy gadgets in unorthodox ways. But as the swan song of a series that defined a genre, Guns Of The Patriots should be cherished as one of the PS3’s greatest achievements - and because Metal Gear is the only place where smoking and pornography are actually seen as good for you.
Reviewer: David McComb
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Average user rating for Metal Gear Sold 4: Guns Of The Patriots
| Solid | | | Giv it under 5 stars and ur the devils son/daughter ... Read More
| | | BRADENGUNNY About me | | 23:40, 28 October 2008 | Report This Post | |
| | | | Simply The Best | | | Okay, anyone on here with the audacity to give this game one star, is obviously a jealous 360 fanboy or a microsoft employee, so get out now. This game is past amazing, the story, if slightly complex, is genius, and it doesnt get old. Ive finished it, ooooh, 6 times I think, and I swear im getting closer to the stealth camo! I CAN FEEL IT! So, boo to you, you sony haters, this game is better than anything on the crapbox 360! ... Read More
| | | RandyChimp About me | | 23:35, 09 October 2008 | Report This Post | |
| | | | Phenomenal | | | The entirely new gameplay and stealth approach takes some getting used to, but this is a fantastic game. the graphics are beyond belief, the score is, as ever, marvelous and the entire package reeks of individuality and fresh ideas. Best game to come out on PS3 thus far ... Read More
| | | blaud About me | | 13:25, 21 July 2008 | Report This Post | |
| | | | Solid Gold! | | | This has been the event of the summer for me, granted I've only been a Metal Gear Solid fan for a few years but like many the games have had a great impact on me, the uniqueness of the games is not just the fact that each game has something new to offer, but have a complex yet superbly writtin plot, and unlike most games makes you care for the characters, MGS4 does what the previous games acommplish and better, I can't say much that EMPIRE has already said, except that as a fan the game succeded... Read More
| | | dgribble About me | | 15:00, 17 July 2008 | Report This Post | |
| | | | RE: best game ever | | This is a superb game.....when you get to play it.
By far the best bit was returning to the scene of the first game and fighting Metal Gear RAYE from the comfy seat of Metal Gear REX ... Read More
| | | Lang About me | | 00:13, 11 July 2008 | Report This Post | |
| | | | best game ever | | | What a game, finished in in 24 hours of game time, and now im playiong again, ... Read More
| | | sithlord24 About me | | 13:20, 01 July 2008 | Report This Post | |
| | | | Wept like a baby.... | | | Absolutely amazing game. By the end, the word 'epic' flashing in your brain becomes a cliche. Utterly amazing. So damn good, I HOPE they don't make the prequel that's been discussed... ... Read More
| | | MovieMogul About me | | 12:03, 01 July 2008 | Report This Post | |
| | | | | | most likely the best game i've ever played, great story to finish off the series, best graphics i've ever seen, amazing replay value multiple ways to complete a mission, at last a true next-gen game ... Read More
| | | foxyiam About me | | 03:16, 01 July 2008 | Report This Post | |
| | | | Brilliant | | | If you have never played the other three games in the series, this game will be a bewildering experience. For those who have, it is a thrilling finale to the series. Dislikeable characters like Raiden are given greater personality this time around and the climax is brilliant. Game of the year(sorry, GTA4) ... Read More
| | | Ace Rothstein About me | | 18:49, 28 June 2008 | Report This Post | |
| | | | Great | | | ... ... Read More
| | | indysid About me | | 18:33, 26 June 2008 | Report This Post | |
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