Metal Gear Solid 4 review

I’ve been waiting an age to play MGS 4 and finally I have it in my sweaty palms. Well now it’s permanently sitting in the sweaty PS3 but you know what I mean. So, Solid Snake’s now older than his peers thanks to his genes and he’s been sent to go after Liquid who’s now Liquid Ocelot. Cue lots of lengthy cut-scenes, some surreal humour and some of the best game presentation you’ve ever seen. Also, strangely enough, less sneaking than you’d expect.

This time around you’re caught in the middle of a warzone so you’d better stay out of sight as the soldiers on both sides will see you’re not dressed like them and assume you’re an enemy.

MGS 4 actually plays more like Splinter Cell. Gone is the top-down view and radar which shows where enemies are looking. You walk around using your eyes to spot where your enemies are looking and try to move through the conflict unnoticed. This time though, if you do get spotted it’s simpler to run away and hide so it’s tempting to run and gun a bit more.

Snake’s got a funky new camo suit too. Simply walk up to a wall or lie on the ground and press triangle to blend in like a chameleon. You can lie out in the open and hide as long as no-one steps on you. Of course favourites like the cardboard box along with a barrel are also available for hiding in.

There’s also a trading element to the game where you can collect weapons and sell them to a geezer called Drebin in exchange for upgrades and other goodies.

I’m sure you’ll agree the game looks fantastic. Hideo Kojima’s excelled himself with the direction and it’s even fun watching those long cutscenes thanks to some simple interaction with viewpoints and flashbacks with a press of a button. David Hayter seems to have got even more gravelly too as an aged Solid Snake.

You’ll also meet some old favourite characters along the way such as Naomi, Meryl, Raiden and even a soldier called Akiba with a bit of Delhi belly.

So much love, care and attention has been put into this game and everything oozes quality, it even convinces you it’s cool to smoke as Snake puffs at a cigarette whilst the game takes 20 minutes to install to the PS3 hard drive. NB: Don’t smoke - it causes cancer and ages your skin - look what bad shape he’s in.

I feel like I’ve only touched the surface but I have to keep this podcast short. Safe to say if you like a bit os Snake you’ll also love this. Just make sure you’ve got some popcorn to eat during the cut-scenes. Metal Gear Solid 4 gets a groovy 9 out of 10.

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Related: Metal Gear Solid 4 YouTube review, Free Metal Gear Solid 4 encyclopaedia, Metal Gear Solid 4 Xbox 360 version