Note: This was written (and was supposed to be posted) when the game actually first came out. But I accidentally left it in the draft section and I just realized it.
Okay, corny attempt at trying to make a pun in the tittle aside, this game really is astonishingly good and, just as the Dark Knight, it really did live up to all the hype and expectations. Gorgeous, addictive (i played through it in one day), and fun.
Although I said I was able to beat the game in one day, that is only because I'm a freak and didn't stop playing pretty much for the whole 16 1/2 hours it took me to beat it; there is ALOT to this game. There's still plenty of secrets, easter eggs, and special items to acquire in later playthroughs. Sadly, i don't own a PS3 because (compared to the 360 and wii) they suck such fat dick head and I only borrowed one from a friend, so I won't be able to go in deeper into this game secrets wise.
Now, even though there is alot to this game, there really isn't THAT much gameplay however. A VERY large portion of the time you spend playing this game is watching cutscenes, and no, that is not a complaint, far from it. Yes, there are some that exceed the 45 minute and even hour mark, but all of them are so stunning and well done, that you don't even realize how long they are. The motions of the characters and they way they interact with each other, thanks to next-gen hardware and graphics, along with the dialogue, the acting, the grand setting and the characterization make them incredibly entertaining to watch. Kojima has REALLY improved as a cinematic story teller over the years.
However, alot of the cutscenes involve alot of dialogue, alot dealing with things that happened in past Metal Gears. Now, I was only able to enjoy all of these sequences as well only because I'm an overly obsessed Metal Gear fan and have been for years. So obsessed in fact that I've read the script to the other ones so I could better understand the plot (thanks Document of MGS2). So because of this, anything that was involving the storyline I welcomed with open arms. But for those with less obsessive tendencies, and low attention spans, these sequences may prove to be complete bores.
The gameplay is solid, realistic, and has been tweaked to perfection. Every camera angle that you use works...perfectly. The 3rd person running camera, the resident evil 4/gears of war style 3rd person for shooting, and first person for shooting as well (if fpses are more your thing). Sneaking is of course still the norm around the mgs4 world. However, there are a number of "war zones" in which you are in the middle of a PMC vs. local militia battle. Here you have the option of just staying out of the battle all together, helping the militia force back the PMC soldiers, or attacking both of them and having everyone shoot at you. I highly suggest helping, it's alot more fun that way.
Spoilers (don't be a bitch if you read something you didn't want to, I warned you. Just skip the following paragraph):
There are two parts/moments in this game I want to bring up simply because they were so astonishing. One being the entirety of act 4, in which you go back and visit Shadow Moses, the original location of MGS1. I was, for lack of words, creaming my pants from nostalgia traveling through the nuclear weapons disposal facility as audio clips from the original MGS began to play in snake's mind in their respective places. ANY Metal Gear fan needs to play this game simply for this act alone. The second part I want to talk about, that has been dubbed as: "the microwave scene," was, for me, singlehandedly the most heart wrenching, and painful scene to play through/watch in the entire MGS series. Involving snake crawling on the groud while everything around him seems to be falling apart, I could feel a tear streaming down my face as this scene was playing out infront of me. Any MGS fan will be able to relate.
The boss battles against the Beauty and the Beast unit were astonishingly fun, unique, and strangely disturbing. Period. However, unlike the previous installments, where the boss battles (and the characters you were fighting) were part of and even developed the plot further, these seemed completely detached from everything else that was going on all together. Don't get me wrong, they are amazing, but if these characters were not even in the game, the plot would have been completely unaltered. However, I did love how they mirrored the Foxhound members from the original MGS.
Sadly, this really is the final chapter in the MGS series. EVERYTHING is wrapped up, EVERYTHING is answered, and ALL the characters (yes, even the ones from 3) have their own conclusions. Now all we have to do really is keep our fingers crossed for remakes of Metal Gear 1 and 2. I mean, what the hell else is Kojima going to do? Move on!? PPPSSSHHHH!!!
