Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Konami
• Released on: 2008-06-12
• Platform: PLAYSTATION 3
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 2.20 pounds

Amazon.co.uk
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, is a next-gen experience complete with top-of-the-line graphics and surround sound designed for the Sony PlayStation 3. Featuring the most revealing display of Kojima Production's premier title, MSG4 details the world where Snake must under go his final mission. In a world overrun by private military companies (PMCs), wars are no longer fought over nations or ideologies. Instead, the wars of the future are micro-managed by overarching PMCs, right down to the bullet. New gadgets and abilities fuel Snake's journey deep into the enemy domains of the Middle East, South America, and beyond. New gear includes "Metal Gear Mk. II," the ultimate reconnaissance tool, and "Solid Eye," which gives Snake real-time information on enemies and his surroundings.

Old timer Snake returns for what is slated as the final installment in the Metal Gear series. View larger.

New and old characters abound in MGS4. View larger.

PMCs have run amok and the world is at war. View larger.

Octacamo will help Snake blend into surroundings. View larger.

Joined by a familiar cast of characters, Snake must once again return to the battlefield to confront his lifelong rival, Liquid Ocelot, who is manipulating the world's wars from the one world where soldiers will always have a place. But Liquid Ocelot is not the only one who will be able to manipulate the world's wars--Snake can destabilize opposing forces by working behind the scenes, supporting the local militia as they fight PMCs, creating a smokescreen that allows Snake to move freely within the war-zone.

MGS4 is a next-generation adventure set in the aftermath of MGS2: Sons of Liberty. The concept behind the latest Metal Gear Solid project is "no place to hide," and this edition in the series will force Snake into unexpected circumstances with an all-new storyline that breaks away in some ways from the previous MGS franchise entries. We don't want to spoil it for you, but, producer Hideo Kojima did reveal some very juicy bits about the game and the storyline when it was first announced at E3 of 2006. "Until now," said Kojima, "we've released two entries of the MSX2 Metal Gear series, and three entries in the Metal Gear Solid series. Add to this Portable Ops, and you get a total of six titles. All mysteries will be cleared up in Metal Gear Solid 4."

Kojima was very clear about the finality of MSG4, leaving gamers to wonder, "Will Snake die?!" When asked if the story will come to this sort of an end, Kojima responded without the slightest bit of vagueness, "It will come to an end." The MGS4 E3 trailer showed a number of characters from the Metal Gear and Metal Gear Solid histories. This final instalment is sure to deliver loads of cameos, in fact, it is rumoured that nearly all the characters from the series will make an appearance.

In addition to a return of classic Metal Gear Solid characters, the gameplay systems from part three are also expected to make a comeback. The camouflage system from part three will make it into MGS4, with the addition of "OctoCamo," Snake's most advanced stealth suit to date. The name appears to be formed from the words "Octopus" and "camouflage," and players will be awestruck by the chameleon-like camo that changes with the surroundings. OctoCamo allows Snake to blend in with his environment as it digitally manifests nearby textures in real time. Think if it this way, if Snake is standing next to a wall worn out with holes, he too will appear to be riddled with holes. It has also been revealed that MGS4 will have online play, but no specifics have been released. Although very little information is known about the game's visuals, rumour has it that MGS4 is expected to be the finest representation of console graphics on the PS3, and it is expected that they will just get better and better as the game nears its release date.

Customer Reviews

A Textbook Example of Taking Your Audience For Granted
First off, I am a fan of the series and generally favorable to anything Mr Hideo Kojima is involved with. Metal Gear Solid 4 (MGS4) is considered his 'greatest achievement yet', but the jury may still be out on that, as far as I'm concerned.

GAMEPLAY wise, MGS4 is a step ahead of its predecessors. The control system is slightly tweaked to take advantage of the PS3's functionality and it works like a charm. Whether DualShock 3 or the SIXAXIS, the game uses both the rumble function and motion sensing ability. The new 'free rotating' camera takes some getting used to, however, and can literally mean the difference between life and death during a fight, or sneaking part. This is especially pronounced in MG Online, which can seriously detract from the experience. 9/10

GRAPHICALLY, MGS4 takes total advantage of the PS3's hardware and renders everything in near photo-realism, especially evident in Act II and III. I personally believe that MGS3 had the best graphics of the series, 4 just manages to trump its predecessor. You certainly cannot complain in any sense. The graphical effects are also as spectacular as ever. 10/10

STORY wise, I now caution you, is where the whole game falls resoundingly flat. Yes, it does wrap up Solid Snake's saga, yet uncharacteristically for Mr Kojima, in the most contrived manner possible. Imagine an episode of Star Trek The Next Generation and you'll know what I mean.

If MGS1 was a Die Hard-esque 80s action film, MGS2 a thinking man's adventure epic and MGS3 a absolutely exhilarating old school spy thriller, MGS4 seems to borrow all of the worst traits of modern commercial trash cinema and wrap up the culmination of 3+ games in a utterly inexplicable, unforgivably convenient manner. MGS4 is clearly (sadly) a game of the times - soundbites, instant gratification and MTV style overkill editing. Leave your brain, and your dignity, at the door.

Raiden's inclusion and subsequent story arc in the game is definitive proof of the lazy, contrived vein, as is the utterly asinine (cop-out) handling of his fate in Act IV. Rose, Colonel Campbell and even Meryl fall victim to similarly contrived arcs. There's even a few characters who are given great fanfare and their own voice over credits, but never have any (marginal) development until the ending scene!

Put another way, if MGS1, 2 and 3 were Terminator 1 plot wise, MGS4 is Terminator 3. An utterly shameless obliteration of everything MGS had promised and had given to its fans. A betrayal of the wonderfully grandiose president defined by the earlier game, MGS2. How could Mr Kojima do this to a series he professed to love? 4/10

(And don't get me started on the colossal waste of the much loved CODEC...)

With that in mind, I cannot in good conscience give MGS4 5 stars. It deserves 5 stars for fun, but perhaps only 3 overall.

Hideo Kojima's greatest game was MGS2 in terms of plot and the sheer scale of it, and MGS3 trumps all of its brethren in terms of fun. MGS4 is thoroughly eclipsed by its predecessors and blights Hideo's once flawless series.

To those new to MGS, I recommend you play the first three games before touching this, if only to make sense of the story and the entertainment factor, and those already fans, this serves as a good example of how to squander a legacy even if it is fun for a time.

All that said, I still hold MGS1, 2 and 3 dear and will probably still play them for years to come.

What the hell!!!!
This is not a game, it's a darn movie made by mental cases. If you want to play a stealth game then get Splinter Cell. Jeez!!!!

A game or a movie?
The online game is superb but the regular game has far too little game play and 90% of it you just have to sit back and watch the countless cut-scenes.