There are three questions that a gamer needs to ask him or
herself regarding Metal Gear Solid 4. The first is whether you enjoy
stealth-action games. The likes of Splinter Cell and Assassinâs Creed have set the
bar high in the past few years, largely inspired by this series. Fortunately
unlike previous games the rigid enforcement of stealth has been relaxed in all
but a few places and a player could quite happily charge through most of the
game, guns blazing and not be penalised for it. Unlike Sam Fisherâs previous
outings where being spotted results in a mission restart, MGS4 gives you room
to breathe and make mistakes. Itâs a completely new engine built with the Call
of Duty crowd in mind and it genuinely makes a difference in how you play as
Snake.

The second question is whether you have played the previous
games. You could probably get by on a thorough perusal of Metal gear history
online but this is a game built upon a foundation of dense characterisation and
vividly realised set-pieces designed to evoke emotion. This cannot be swiftly
assimilated in a few pages. To get the full effect you will have at least had
to have finished Metal Gear Solid on the Playstation. Sons of Liberty and Snake
Eater add texture and history to the saga, which then fully enables the player
to feel the true sense of completion in Guns of the Patriots. If you havenât
played any of them, track down Metal Gear Solid on the PS1 or if you own a Wii
or GameCube find the remake; The Twin Snakes. It hasnât been played by many and
both have their strengths and weaknesses but the improved graphics may make the
transition smoother.

Final question. Do you own a Playstation 3? If the answer is
no, does this single game truly warrant the hefty investment? Going back to
question two; if you have completed the first three and thoroughly enjoyed them
and are hankering after this final instalment then this could indeed be the one
killer app to convince you. It is a fantastic game in itâs own right. Almost
every facet from previous instalments has been polished up and perfected from
the once-fiddly camouflage to the cluttered item selection. Now your sneaking
suit mimics your surrounding environment with a single prompt and the in-game
menu gives full interface with a vast arsenal of weapons and gadgets, siphoning
them into handy quick-select packages. The photo-real graphics and
awe-inspiring soundstage push the PS3 to new heights of excellence and the new
third-person camera finally makes hunting down enemies a joy rather than a
chore. It is in short, everything Metal Gear could and should have been. It
will remain Sonyâs flagship game for quite some time.

It isnât without its flaws. Half the game is spent sat
passively watching lengthy cut-scenes which will become tiresome if you donât
know your history. Even if you do, in fact even if you have loved every
previous moment of Kojimaâs unusual blend of melodrama, action and oddball
humour you might wish heâd had a better editor to trim a few of them down. The
crawl mechanic is still broken and clumsy and you will often hit the deck and
struggle to get back up when you are being attacked. However, long-time fans
will forgive these as eccentricities of the series and will most likely be
glued to the screen in rapt attention as the ghosts of previous adventures are
evoked and explored.

In summary, this is so far, without a doubt the best game on
Playstation 3. If the clumsy, archaic online mode is anything to go by, the
future of the series will NOT be spent there. So whether we see any more from
Snake and friends, this moment, frozen in time will mark the noble death and
rebirth of the stealth action game.

Rating: 5 Stars