gamesecosse

Metal Gear Solid 4 - My 180 degree turn around

After completing MGS 4 a few days ago, I have to admit that I was a little hasty about praising it. This blog is going to represent my complete change of heart about MGS 4.
I really was mesmerised by it after about the half way point, and was expecting much more to come. progressing through the game, drawing towards a dramatic conclusion, hopefully with a number interesting plot twists. Guns Of The Patriots did not deliver at all.
My first point I'd like to mention, I imagine to the surprise of no one, is the fact that there is more cutscene than game (well, almost). Many gamers see cutscenes as a thing of the past - I am not included. I'm not against set pieces, but these cinematic sequences in MGS 4 were a little mind numbing to say the least. The problem the series has had in general, is that it talks its way through the story, as opposed to acting it out. This is largely down to the complexity of the plot. But I think it'd be better if the game lost the ego trip and just simplified matters.
The ending was actually terrible. An hour and a half of reminiscing, and of course Meryl's wedding... Apparently, there were 'answers' in this game. I didn't see too many. I feel that they could have done far more with the story.
On the note of the wedding, it was preceded by a ridiculous cutscene during the final chapter - A romantic fire fight starring Meryl and husband to be Johnny, against a continuous stream of enemies. He proposed to her in between shooting the bad guys. I won't say any more...
In terms of gameplay, it was good but not great. The octocamo was very cool, but each short section between cutscene felt like a chore, rather than a challenge to be enjoyed.
In many ways, modern action adventure games are falling into the trap of trying to attract gamers with many bells and whistles, while forgetting intuitive gameplay. I'll give you an example: MGS 4 features a plethora of weapons - rifles, SMGs, rocket launchers, explosives, etc as you would expect. Each with a detailed 3D model and description. The problem is that it is easier to simply run through the game with one automatic weapon. In fact, there are many situations where any other approach is suicidal!
The game boasts all this potential choice but never really lets you choose. I would rather a game featured only 5 weapons, but encouraged the player to use all of them in elaborate & varied ways.
If you remember the original Metal Gear Solid, every item was required at some point in the game. The C4 explosive charge was needed to destroy the walls. The Nikita remote controlled missile launcher was also called upon. These are simple examples, yet this basic creativity is not seen in Guns of the Patriots.
There are many gameplay elements that could have been included - an underwater section anyone?
I just wonder why the review scores are all so high? The reviewers must be seeing something I'm not...

posted by qmchaz64 @ 4:57 pm