Ever since the first MGS unfurled its tactical espionage action-self onto the first PS exactly 10 years ago, Solid Snake has been the unofficial mascot of Sony’s console. It was considered the first game where the objective of the game wasn’t simply to shoot the crap out of anything that moves on the screen, but to use subtler methods to avoid enemies; needless to say Splinter Cell et al followed soon after. The PS2 saw two new MGS titles for it, as the series also made forays into other consoles. But that said the Konami series has been synonymous with the Sony console.Fans have been waiting for the new installment of the series with baited breath ever since the PS3 came out. Rumour mills have been churning out continuous reports on the different aspects of the game, analysing each new image, video and interview that Konami provided with unrelenting anticipation. So much so that MGS4: Guns of the Patriot was already being hailed as the best game EVER by ps3fanboys even before they’d played the game.That puts a lot of pressure on the game itself. Not only does it have to live up to the MGS name and the production values associated with it, it has also has to deliver the goods on its next generation claims. The PS3 fans are tired of games written on the “old” DVD formats and hunger to show off the capabilities of their machines. MGS4, with its claims of using up almost the entire 50 GB of the Blu-ray format discs fits the bill.So now we come to the big question on every video-gamers mind on the 12th of June, 2008: does MGS4 deliver?Note on the Story:Okay, so I won’t be delving into the story in this review at all. Not one bit. The reason being that this game is pretty much all about the story. And it’s complex and deep and has a million turns in the middle. Plus it would take too much space in an already lengthy review. Plus there’d be a perpetual “Spoiler Below” warning all through these pages. Plus I’m lazy. So, with that in mind, let’s move on.Nice movie; where’s the game?:Before I move forward, let me say a little something about the cut-scenes in MGS4. Even before the game was released, some reviewers were quick to point out the immense length of these cut-scenes that you had to go through. And honestly, when I booted up the game for the first time, I had to agree with them. I didn’t do much for the first twenty minutes or so except guide Old Snake (yes, we’re talking about grandfather-old!) under a truck and through a couple of buildings. And soon after that I was brought into another cut-scene. Didn’t seem like quite a promising start to an “action” game, if you know what I mean.
In Kojima-san’s defence, they are really good cut-scenes! They’re rendered really well, the atmosphere they create is cool, and although there are options to pause and skip the cut-scenes, most of us would probably watch them all because of the depth of the story they give. The cut-scenes and the story make the person playing it want to find out what happened next. You really do in a way “become” Snake. It makes the game larger-than-life, an epic that begs to be seen and played till the end.And no, none of the cut-scenes that I encountered reached anywhere near the 90-minute mark that some game magazines had complained about. Although some of them do stretch out to the length of a regular anime episode. Which isn’t bad; gives you time to eat lunch and take a break.One little quip I had, which I know I shouldn’t, is that they’re a bit too anime-esque. They sometimes become extra cheesy, making you hope no one ever sees you watching them! There is this little bit where Snake meets Meryl for the first time in the game in the first act. She acts all nice and stuff, and then suddenly flips out! I mean, I know she might be angry at her dad, but seriously, who does that? And please! That Sunny character? Not cool at all. But I guess I’d be missing the point here. It’s a Japanese game; it’s got all the right to be as corny or melodramatic as it feels like it should be.
But all doubts soon left my mind by the time Raiden showed up for his over-the-top renewal in Act 2. Prepare to be amazed!Teaching an Old Snake new tricks:Anyway; moving on the game now. You play as Old Snake, that is Solid Snake who has started aging rapidly due to some anomaly is his genetic code. The age doesn’t hamper the godliness of the lead character in any way though; he can still take a bunch of bullets and leap through a hail of gunfire like the best of them. Just that he looks old.The first new weapon at Snake’s disposal is his new Octocamo. The Octocamo changes its colour and pattern depending on the kind of surrounding that it touches, and is portrayed in one of the cut-scenes in the beginning. This is indeed a cool new toy to play with. It makes sneaking all the more important and handy, if you’d like. As you’d notice, most of the game is played outdoors, with no dark corners to hide in per say. You can, however, use the Octocamo to hide in plain sight. For example, in the second act, you can change to colour of the Octocamo to match the grass completely in the South American local and be invisible to the troops on the look-out for you. In the later levels, you get access to the Octocamo face-mask, which not only adds to the original suit, but also lets you assume the facial features of people around you. So ten points for the Octocamo; an invention surely to make its mark in the annals of sci-fi really soon!The other new feature is the “Drebin’s Shop” item in the pause menu. You don’t unlock the undercover arms dealer straight away, but after you meet the man himself, you have the option open to you. The whole point of it is to make buying custom parts and ammo for your weapons seem more integrated into the whole game. The theory is simple; you can take weapons from the people you kill during the game. The weapons you take will automatically be sold to Drebin for “Drebin Points” that can be redeemed inside the game for other weapons, upgrades, unlocks and ammo. And according to me, it works like a charm. Gone is the need to scour around for ammo or guns, you can just purchase them whenever you need. And the upgrades are fun, making you customise your weapon to your liking. An assault rifle with a shotgun attached under the barrel? Why not! Plus it gives a new edge to the whole “war economy” story of MGS4; you’re part of the problem and the solution etc. Plus the Drebin Character himself is pretty cool.
You know, if you’re going to pay so much money for a game, you better get a great value out of it. I mean, it should provide you with a ton of gameplay hours. And I’m sure you won’t be able to put down MGS4 down until you end the whole game (I mean, don’t you want to know if Solid Snake dies or not?). So, what then? Close the game up and relegate it to the back-shelf?Thankfully, no!You have MGO to play!MGO is a third-person shooter in the simplest terms. The controls are all from the game, and so is the gameplay itself. I’m sure when you start the game for the first time; you’d be forced to download a new update for it via the internet. Then you’ll have to create you own Konami and Game IDs especially for the game. This all will take up a lot of time. And honestly, I do wonder why they couldn’t use the Sony Gamer IDs like most games do.But once you start, it turns out that it was worth the wait. You can create your character (be very sure of the name and attire; you can’t change much after the character’s been made once). Then it’s on to the game.You have your regular game modes here; free-for-all, team deathmatch, capture the base, defend the VIP and that sort. But here’s the fun bit; in one of the game modes, one of the people playing gets to be Snake himself! Isn’t that cool? While you’re hunting the members of the other team, you also have to keep an eye out for Snake, who’ll be using all the gadgets from the game (that includes the Octocamo) to elude the other players. Good fun, I tell you!People who’re fans of games like COD4 might think that the gameplay is rather slow and not enough happens in it. And they’re right in that respect. But they’ll be missing out on a lot of fun to be had here. Sure, the game is slower than most other shooters. But then again, it was supposed to be like this! You’re supposed to sneak around and camp out to get your kills. Running around aimlessly will only get you killed real quick.MGO will probably grow on people. It proves to be a real “thinking-man’s” multiplayer shooter. And Konami have said that they’ll be actively supporting it until 2011 at least. So, hopefully there’s a lot to look forward to.Well, people, I believe you’ll have to get your credit cards ready! Konami itself say that the MGO game inside MGS4 is only the “starter pack”. I’m guessing you’d probably have to pay some money in order to get the new features in the game. I know COD4 and Warhawk both have map downloads for cold, hard cash. But let me illustrate a point here. Among the two downloads inside the MGO shop available on release day was a Codec Pack. It contained a fun bunch of recorded commands that you have fun with and “be the life of the party” with during matches with phrases like “Oooh, my stomach!” and “I’m back!” Sounds fun? How about dishing out a cool $6.99 for it then?The way this is going, I do think Konami plan to make a whole lot of money with MGO. They probably will too, MGO is a nice game that’ll have people hooked onto it for some time to come.
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