Metareview (US Edition) -- Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)

by Justin McElroy { Jun 18th 2008 at 9:20AM }

So, here's the thing about a metareview for Metal Gear Solid 4: You probably don't give a crap. Well, let us rephrase that. It's not that you don't want to hear what people are saying about the game, it's that it's probably not going to effect your purchasing decision one way or the other. But it's rare, seeing a game that garners so many 10s while scoring as low as 8 with some outlets, so we figured it was worth taking a look at. Polarization ahoy!

Game Informer (100/100): "For a game as ambitious and groundbreaking as Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, sticking to the formula simply isn't good enough.As the crowning achievement of the series' 20-year history, Hideo Kojima's final Metal Gear Solid title may not be what you expect, but it is everything you could hope for in a video game."

1UP (91/100): "The MGS4 conundrum is this: The further you play into the game, the less you actually play. Surrendering so much control to make way for movie sequences is galling, especially when the dialogue makes such a big deal about freedom and free will. And it's frustrating that this final chapter of the series begins so well, but ultimately fades -- because once the shock of the nonstop plot revelations wears off, the vanished gameplay leaves a nagging sense of disappointment. Despite this gradual decay, though, MGS4 is absolutely a great game."

GameDaily (80/100): "Snake's epic, final act just isn't the triple A extravaganza we expected, and it's clear that if Konami intends to continue this franchise or spin off into something new, it needs to study its competition and evolve, delivering shorter cut scenes and superior shooting. But for now, this is one of the most important games in history and you'll dig its cool boss battles, at times witty dialogue and unrivaled sneaking mechanics."

Tags: metal-gear-solid, metal-gear-solid-4, metareview, mgs4

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Jun 18th 2008 9:25AM

Oh Game Daily is going to get it now.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Jun 18th 2008 9:33AM

Also I highly recommend reading the comments on Gamedaily, as they provide some lol worthy moments. including this gem:

"U know that they gave this an average review because this site is microsoft loyal. But they can't get it through their thick skulls that the ps3 is the better console with better more quality games ala MGS4."

Shit like this reminds me that most gamers are incredibly retarded.

Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ Jun 18th 2008 9:35AM

Yeah, this will be funny to watch but... on the other hand, there is this blurp...

"it needs to study its competition and evolve, delivering shorter cut scenes and superior shooting."

How can you study competition when the ONLY competition in it's field on next gen consoles is Tenchu Z (godawful) and Assassin's Creed? Tenchu did everything wrong and Assassin's Creed was about crowd control and blending within shadows. The only other competition is Splinter Cell Conviction and that's what, 2010? 2011?

Short Cut-scenes I could agree with, but I won't. It's a staple of the series and despite the claims, the only cutscene I saw go over one hour was the final. The cinematics practically make the game as Raiden vs. Vamp Round 2 was such a great sequence.

Superior Shooting... oh, wait. Now the above statement makes sense... This guy thought he was playing Gears of War or Rainbow Six. MGS isn't a shooter. They've made massive improvements to the game but there is a reason why the game has such an elaborate CQC system and that's because shooting is supposed to be a rare situation.

ThePerfectCompanion @ Jun 18th 2008 9:36AM

Well that is is M$ solution to everything...throw more money at em...

God forbid that this game in truth does seem like an epic movie.

I'm watching the cutscenes on Youtube and it interesting in a sort, "OMFG what are they talking about" and "Woah thats some deep philosphical shit you got going on there" type of way...

xFenixKnightx @ Jun 18th 2008 9:40AM

Getting it manana since its payday and I'm off work on Fri. Question, can I at least pause the cutscenes?

baby sea tuna @ Jun 18th 2008 9:45AM

@ Perfect Companion

Said it before, but it bears repeating:

You do realize that every time $omeone type$ M$, it make$ them look like a $hithead, right?

Ju$t $ayin...

Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ Jun 18th 2008 9:45AM

Yes, Fenix, you can pause during cutscenes.

Perfect Companion, No company pays for reviews, period. The reviewer has issues with what makes Metal Gear... well, Metal Gear. Reviews are based upon an opinion and if he doesn't like the franchise and what it does, he is entitled to that opinion.

Robert @ Jun 18th 2008 9:47AM

@xFenixKnightx

you mean "mañana"? yes you can pause and skip cutscenes

ThePerfectCompanion @ Jun 18th 2008 9:49AM

Lol baby sea tuna I was just kiddin/being sarcastic

I'm a 360 fanboy...not a totally blind one mind you. MS is far from perfect and I highly doubt they pay for reviews...

Now paying for exclusives is another matter and to be honest I don't care if they do or not. Its business and its competition. To win you have to be willing to spend a few bucks.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Jun 18th 2008 9:52AM

Well apparently this guy isn't right because MGS4 is the greatest game of all time and anything below a 9.5 obviously mean the reviewer is stupid and expected a mindless shooter.

sigh, people need to fucking realize that not everyone thinks this franchise(or any other game) is god's gift to to the gaming world. Sometimes I think that it isn't reviewers that are the problem, but gamers in general.

rc @ Jun 18th 2008 9:55AM

Nah, nobody cares. We're playing it for ourselves and see what a great game it is. The review is terrible anyway, he basically wants it to be COD 4 or something. COD 4 is a great game, so is MGS 4 and it doesn't need to be a typical shooter to achieve that. Nice of joystiq to pick the more obscure sites like game daily, one of the few to give the game an 8 instead of the gamespot and ign reviews that were 10's. Keeping up the good work.

xFenixKnightx @ Jun 18th 2008 9:56AM

@robert

Yeah I try to add the (~) to the (n) but it doesn't work here at my job for some reason. Wierd. =S

Fernando Rocker @ Jun 18th 2008 10:01AM

Fenix

My keyboard doesn't have an ñ character. =(

You can use ALT+164

=p

ViagraFiend @ Jun 18th 2008 10:01AM

@vegeta

I dont think its gamers that are the problem, its people. I have learned that at least 75 percent of people are stupid which means if 100% of gamers are made up of 75% of stupid people then yeah...

And how can gamers be the problem when gamers = people that buy games? If it wasn't for "gamers" there would be no game industry. I think its cool that this industry causes people to be so blindly faithful to a brand. Yeah, youre going to have to deal with a lot of pricks but thats just people for ya.

So quit being cynical, pick a side, and argue with the rest of 'em. :D

xFenixKnightx @ Jun 18th 2008 10:05AM

Fernando

ñ!!!

Thanks that worked, sweeeeet! :)

FOXHOUND @ Jun 18th 2008 10:16AM

*****SLIGHT SPOILER WARNING:*****
*****REFERENCE TO ENDING DURATION*****

I know for a fact none of the big-time reviewers mentioned this... but on the back of the case for MGS4, it does state that the game is a "cinematic action title"(paraphrased, I don't have it with me at work). So why would any of them review it with a slight angle of 'surprise' that there are so many cutscenes? Let alone the last one clocking in at over 30mins?

Actually... now that I think about it, the last game I remember being blatently referred to a cinematic gaming experience on the game description/box was NINJA GAIDEN II on NES. Hm.

*****SLIGHT SPOILER WARNING:*****
*****REFERENCE TO ENDING DURATION*****

The1 @ Jun 18th 2008 10:28AM

The game was very good but I would not give it a 10 based on the fact that the game was very short and the cut-scenes were tooooooooooooo darn loooong, especially at the very end.

Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ Jun 18th 2008 10:59AM

The game was 20 hours! How is that short?

bm @ Jun 18th 2008 11:09AM

The "game" was 20 hours, really? ;)

Fernando Rocker @ Jun 18th 2008 11:12AM

Vegeta, add me to Live, please.

Gamertag: Fernando Rocker

arrrgh @ Jun 18th 2008 11:29AM

20 hrs incl cutscenes?

how much of the game do you actually play?

Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ Jun 18th 2008 12:28PM

At least ten considering the speed run emblem (usually a third of completion time) is 5 hours.

bigsofty @ Jun 18th 2008 12:33PM

"The MGS4 conundrum is this: The further you play into the game, the less you actually play." ... like most Japanese games today, there all CGI and very thin content... how long are people gonna keep buying this kinda crap, sequel after sequel, each one pumped with more CGI than the last but retaining the same ancient gameplay as the first... Zzzzz!

Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ Jun 18th 2008 2:03PM

bigsofty, you act as if western developers are known for their variety and creativity.

mr mobius @ Jun 18th 2008 2:08PM

There are cutscene nearly an hour long? Wow. Not sure if thats good or bad. Does it not make things feel really split up unless they use the ingame engine for the cutscenes and even then is it not more an interactive film?

I haven't played it so this isn't a flameworthy comment, just an observation.

I know in Resi Evil 4 (currently my game) the cut scenes quite frequently help break up the gameplay but don't go on too long.

NATO_Duke @ Jun 18th 2008 4:19PM

I just don't get people who bash a game or its cutscenes when they haven't played the damn thing. You can watch scenes on youtube, that doesn't include what happens in between, or the flashbacks.

Play a game before you talk about what crap it is.

drdre74 @ Jun 18th 2008 9:26AM

The game is great and I love it. Just got to act 5 last night which is hard as hell as soon as you pop in. You don't even need to read a review to know to get this game. How can you call yourself a gamer if you don't own this.

Aus_JD @ Jun 18th 2008 7:28PM

The game is so boring I hate it. Just got to act 1 last night which is dull as hell as soon as you pop it in. You don't even need to read a review to know to stay the hell away from this game. How can you call yourself a gamer if you own this?

SoulBlade @ Jun 18th 2008 9:38AM

Didn't IGN give it a 10?

Jhongerkong @ Jun 18th 2008 12:07PM

That was the UK review

Kodros @ Jun 18th 2008 12:29PM

Nope, IGN US gave it a 10.

horngreen @ Jun 18th 2008 9:42AM

"How can you call yourself a gamer if you don't own this." It's quite easy actually. I simply don't want to spend $400 on a console just to play the one game it has.

Farseer (GDI) @ Jun 18th 2008 9:45AM

lol, and it makes it even harder if you don't enjoy playing stealth games...

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Jun 18th 2008 9:45AM

That's pretty much the same reason I have to. Apparently I'm not a gamer then.

PojoMofo @ Jun 18th 2008 9:49AM

Yeah saying that about ANY game is pretty ridiculous. Especially a game that is pretty niche

Hala Madrid!! (Madrileno hasta la muerte!) @ Jun 18th 2008 10:16AM

I actually own the game but, I just got bored after the second cut scene
I started playing COD4 on my 360 after that.

The game is not bad, but the cut scenes are making the game really boring for me.

xGeneral DEATHx @ Jun 18th 2008 10:33AM

I remember taking Final Fantasy VII out of the disc tray back in the day because it felt more like I was watching a movie than playing a game. Nowadays I don't really mind, so long as the story's intriguing. MGS4 is not for everyone, but it does have me intrigued.

Eggy @ Jun 18th 2008 11:09AM

Are you 360 fangirls still going on about the lack of games on the PS3. It was so 2007.

arrrgh @ Jun 18th 2008 1:45PM

You're right! There's mgs4 now....and....and.....haze? yeah, no thanks I'll still keep my 5 bills for now

vannyx @ Jun 18th 2008 8:22PM

I paid 450 dollars just to play halo 3, i then bought Mass effect soon after.

Pedobear @ Jun 18th 2008 9:41AM

They want MGS to have shorter cuts cenes? That's a little ridiculous, I think the cut scenes are one of the things MGS is know for.

Bad Mojo @ Jun 18th 2008 9:49AM

Anyone here have any opinions on the online part of this?

I'm tempted to pick it up, but a but confused. Is online a partial/demo with this game or a full featured part of it?

PojoMofo @ Jun 18th 2008 9:52AM

The only thing I have done is register, to make sure my name doesnt get taken (Im looking at you, Pojomofo playing Battlefield 2 :/ )

I will tell you to make 6 sandwiches during the registration process, which is the most ridiculous thing I can think of.

ViagraFiend @ Jun 18th 2008 10:04AM

Its a full game. Its ok. Just dont think its going to replace COD4.

John McPoop (PSN:johnnynumber5) @ Jun 18th 2008 11:51AM

@Bad Mojo

Metal Gear Online is a full featured game within the blu-ray disc that MGS 4 comes on. It is certainly a different type of online shooter that makes you focus more on teamwork to be successful. If you are playing with random people who run and gun the game is not as fun. It has a different pacing to it but there is tons of customization and you select 4 skills out of around 20 to give your character.

I love the game but I am not very good at it so far. If you can be sneaky then you will certainly own everyone.

rc @ Jun 18th 2008 9:51AM

It's funny that Vegeta mocks fanboys at the beginning of the post and then joins in with the typical PS3 haz no gamz !!!! crap below. Seems he only mocks certain fanboys.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Jun 18th 2008 10:05AM

And can you please tell me where I even said that.

Oh you're obviously referring to that post I made about not wanting to spend $400 on just MGS4. That's basically where I stand. Are there good games on the ps3 that people will enjoy? Yes. Does that mean I'm interested in them? no. I don't care if you disagree with me or not, but I really don't care for most of the franchises on Sony platform. I never cared about Ratchet and Clank, ever since FF10 I stopped caring about the Final Fantasy Series, and MGS(while a decent series) has never been a system seller to me. So why in heavens would I need a ps3?

I'm perfectly satisfied with my Wii60 combo, and have access to all the games I'll ever want. So what would be the point in investing in a ps3 when all the games I would ever want are on the Wii and 360? Will I invest in a ps3 or any other sony platform in the future? It depends on the content. But right now, I don't need one. And MGS4 isn't going to change that.

Dave Wakefield @ Jun 18th 2008 9:53AM

"How can you call yourself a gamer if you don't own this."
If a given question doesn't have a question mark at the end (?), you don't have to answer it!

baby sea tuna @ Jun 18th 2008 9:54AM

Almost finished this already after playing for like 4 days straight. Shit is amazing...if you're a fan of the series. It's like a big sloppy fan-blowjob. However, if this is your first Metal Gear game...well, good luck. While it's definitely more accessable than the previous games in the series, it's a bit clunky, bloated, and not exactly what I would call "user friendly."

Fantastic game, but not a "10". 9.3-9.5 seems about right.