Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008) (VG)

Director:

Hideo Kojima

Writers:

Yuichi Abe (scripter: Metal Gear Online unit)
Kenichi Akamoto (scripter: Metal Gear Online unit)

Release Date:

12 June 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Mystery | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Evil is Powerful. But Courage Is Solid

Plot:

"MGS4" brings a totally new concept and situation, resulting in the toughest "Metal Gear" infiltration mission ever devised. The game is set after the events of "MGS2" and players will reprise the role of top secret agent Solid Snake.

Plot Keywords:

Snake | Metal Gear | Marine | Machine Gun | Cigar Smoking

Cast

David Hayter	...	Himself - Celebrity Moralist / Old Snake (voice: English version)
Christopher Randolph	...	Hal 'Otacon' Emmerich (voice: English version)
Cristina Pucelli	...	Sunny (voice: English version)
Paul Eiding	...	Roy Campbell (voice: English version)
Khary Payton	...	Drebin / 7th Circle - Avatar (voice: English version)
Debi Mae West	...	Meryl Silverburgh (voice: English version)
Beng Spies	...	Johnny 'Akiba' Sasaki (voice: English version)
Patric Zimmerman	...	Liquid Ocelot / Revolver Ocelot (voice: English version)
Jennifer Hale	...	Naomi Hunter / Little John (voice: English version)
Quinton Flynn	...	Raiden (voice: English version)
Phil LaMarr	...	Vamp (voice: English version)
Lee Meriwether	...	Big Mama (EVA) / Celebrity Moralist - Host (voice: English version)
Kim Mai Guest	...	Mei Ling / Body of Armor - Satisfied Customer A (voice: English version)
James Sie	...	Jonathan (voice: English version)
Dave Fennoy	...	Ed (voice: English version)

Also Known As:

MGS4 (USA) (promotional abbreviation)
Metal Gear Solid 4 (USA) (short title)

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:M | Australia:MA | UK:15 | South Korea:18

Company:

Kojima Productions

Trivia:

This is the first and only Metal Gear Solid (1998) (VG) video game series where reoccurring character Johnny Sasaki completely reveals his face later in the game.

Goofs:

Continuity: In this game, we're told that Para-Medic, the female doctor from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, was Dr. Clark, who Naomi mentioned several times in Metal Gear Solid. However, Naomi always referred to this person as male. This is an unfortunate translational error: the Japanese language provides many gender-neutral terms, so Clark's gender was never specified in the Japanese version of the first game. The "Metal Gear Solid Database" which Konami have released fudges this by claiming Dr. Clark was secretive, and Naomi mistakenly assumed she was male as a result.

Quotes:

Crying Wolf: Cry for me. Cry until your eyes turn red!

Movie Connections:

References Metal Gear Solid (1998) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Metal Gear Saga

The Longest Movie I've Ever Seen...

The idea of whether games should be classed as art is a cop-out that makes people discuss the irrelevant points raised by this supposed game.

People ignore the fact that when people buy a game, they expect to play it. This "game" has more cutscenes in it than gameplay. Kojima has ended the series with something that will satisfy many people, but not me. The kind of gamers who game lying down, or roll up all the time will probably like this, as there are so many breaks in the gameplay, that one could easily go to the toilet, wash the dishes or go to the shops. One cutscene is an hour-and-a-half long, which means you could watch a film between gameplay. This is the fundamental problem with Metal Gear Solid 4. It is an incredibly long interactive movie.

Hideo Kojima indulges himself, by starting the game off with a bizarre scripted interview with David Hayter (the voice of Snake), then takes us through a million different weapons, an i-pod, and Metal Gear radio. Many of the concepts are completely ridiculous, and add nothing fun to the game. What Kojima should have done is let the gamer game. Sounds stupid, but it's a fundamental thirst that is not quenched by this long-winded, unnecessary excuse for a video game.

With this flagrant disregard for the intelligence of the gamer, Kojima has created a new sub-genre of games - Hideo Games - long, long, long, with the occasional tap of a few buttons to perform the next act that will take you into another half-hour of yawn-worthy, pixellated acting.

I know this review will find its way to the end of the comments, because most people will disagree with me. I just wanted to make people aware that some of us have seen this game for what it is - a movie.