Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

It's Kojima's last MGS (then so was MGS2 and MGS3), but is it a masterpiece or a convoluted mess?

	Version PlayStation 3	Developer Konami	Publisher Konami	Genre Action

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But the voice acting is generally top notch and the action in these scenes is pretty damn gripping, well choreographed and even pushing - dare I say it - 'emotive' at times. The attention to detail when it comes to the military aspects of the cutscenes borders on pornographic at times. Oh, and you can pause scenes and come back to them when you have a spare few hours (ho ho) to finish them off. And you shouldn't miss any of these cutscenes, lest you miss out on Raiden being a genuine badass, Snake continuing to be a badass, Geckos being downright frightening, the four bosses scaring the shit out of you when you first encounter them, the countless little nods to the fans here and there, the hardly zipped-up tops of every woman in the game and the is-it-a-cutscene-or-am-I-playing-the-game motorbike chase. All of which make for a very, very memorable, exciting and somewhat mesmerizing experience.

So, it's hard to talk about anything without really ruining everything. Needless to say - there is something after the credits, and this is one of the finest experiences you're ever likely to take part in. So long as you're a fan of the Metal Gear series. If you're not, you'll likely feel confused and alienated. But so you should, you big pansy.

And then you realise there's Metal Gear Online too. Which you didn't even realise was coming with MGS4, as you thought it was being released separately. 'You' meaning me, of course. Just keeping with the general feel of things by being thoroughly confusing.

MGO is more than just an online mode in the game, but at the same time feels like little more than that. It's a great addition and a hell of a lot of fun to play, but there are issues up the wazzo with it. Controls don't translate too well to a fast-paced online shooter, stealth confuses me as to whether there's any need for it or not, five maps isn't enough, having to buy extra character slots is dodgy and the general lack of headsets through the PS3 community means calculated strikes are hard to come by - something of a no-no in a tactical game such as this.

But that's just being picky and pissy - this is a fine extra on top of the main game and is sure to soak up its fair share of time. Character creation is nicely implemented and the progression of a character is well handled - though the player could be notified of things more directly, instead of having to check their own stats periodically. Games tend to be balanced, with players of similar levels occupying each battle and there is a decent selection of game modes to while away the hours. There's a certain something to MGO, it's definitely nifty, but it doesn't compare to more dedicated and refined online experiences.

So that's that. Masterpiece or colvuluted mess? A little bit of both actually - but in the very best way you can possibly imagine. If MGS has somehow passed you by until now, this is the installment you simply must experience.

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