Review - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

9.5 out of 10

Not often enough does the work in any medium transcend the barriers and laws foreboding others within its realm and reach a level clearly and unarguably known as art.

That is where a masterpiece is born.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is one such masterpiece.

MGS4 is a masterpiece in visual display, sound design, music quality, and overall mastery in storytelling.

This is not a standalone story however, but a culmination of one of the greatest video game franchises to ever be released. This is the final chapter of that epic saga, because of such, one of the most unique experiences I have ever encountered.

Never before has there been such as well-crafted video game franchise have a definitive end and having that knowledge, I literally felt anxiety about playing and completing this game.

I would purposefully limit my time playing - and at times to once a week. I simply did not want the journey to end.

Nevertheless, I completed the saga 20+ years in the making and I have found that this is truly a masterpiece worthy as a work of art.

However, the merit of this title can only be judged within the constraints in which it was created: a video game.

All too quickly do we forget that this is first and foremost a video game and should judged as such. It is far from perfect and even falters where its predecessors shined so brilliantly.

As I have said before, all games within the Metal Gear Solid franchise have been about the overall experience and not just simply gameplay, and MGS4 takes this to an extreme.

If we only viewed this game as an interactive film, it would truly be hailed as one of the greatest ever made because MGS4's presentation is second to none and truly inspires its viewers.

Director and Producer Hideo Kojima unveils a final chapter that wraps up every loose end and resolves every question you had from the series - However, the gameplay suffers because of it.

Sneaking missions are overly generic, feel overdone, and are simply an inconvenience between bouts of spectacular cinematic sequences.

The environments are rich and vivid and range from a war-felt Middle Eastern surrounding to a nostalgic walk through some of the series' classic locals.

However, little is done with these areas aside from simply traversing from point A to point B. Highly uninspired and disappointing from a series that previously provided unique and imaginative gameplay sequences.

The boss battles also seem to lack the same charm of previous titles. There is little imagination aside from the latter battles. Nevertheless, much like the rest of the title, these sequences are rendered masterfully and with pizazz. You will re-encounter one of the cleverest boss battles in video game history in one of these epic struggles.

One area where MGS4 stands up its predecessors is the realm of the cathartic impact you have as a player. Some of the game's more well-designed sequences toward the latter half of the game really make you feel the pain and agony that Snake faces. The shear feeling of desperation, fatigue, and suffering is unparalleled. These unique sensations add another dimension of connection you feel with the game itself.

The full integration of cinematic sequences and gameplay take you from one to the other seamlessly helps to bring the two halves together, but one seems to be more well thought out and polished than the other. That is the greatest dissappointment in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

Throughout my journey into MGS4 I kept hoping for more from the gameplay, but was disappointed in every one of the five chapters encompassing the game.

Having said that, MGS4 uniquely brings some of the most diverse settings of any video game to date. Each chapter provides a new locale which really brings a sense of scope to the title. All of this made possible to each chapter being individually installed on the Playstation 3's hard drive.

This is also a title so graphically intense and massive that it could simply not be reproduced on any other console.

This means that this is a crowning achievement of the Playstation 3's capabilities and is a definitive exclusive title.

Is it system seller? Would you purchase a $400+ machine for one game?

Once again, it is the experience of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots that make this a masterpiece for electronic media and perhaps the only one of its kind for this generation of consoles.

This title is filled with some of the most deep and complex characters in video game history with an equally deep and enriching story to match. However, the story in MGS4 is only as good as its predecessors because there is little by way of new developments in this title, only the tying of loose ends.

This is where I reiterate my initial point I made in my preview-review: DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME IF YOU HAVE NEVER PLAYED ANY OTHER METAL GEAR SOLID TITLE.

This would only dilute the experience, and being privy to the franchise's past titles enriches the experience as a feeling of "being in on" the whole story.

I simply did not want it to end and was thankfully surprised with the finale especially with the final ending which had eliminated my preconceptions to how Snake's fate would stand.

The finale itself is an incredibly long venture with as many possible ending points that it rivals that of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and rightly so.

This marks one of the only solid endings in any franchise and one of the few that should simply never end.

No need to fear as I did, it is a happy ending and I felt satisfied with my time with Solid Snake and crew.

This work of art should only be recreated in the eyes of other game developers, but the limitations of the standards of its medium is it's only downfall.

Congratulations Mr. Kojima for a job well done.