Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot
Preview
Solid Snake is finally ready to finish up
by Chris Scott
previewed on PS3
More realistic gameplay elements
The storyline and locales are not the only things evolving though as Kojima has packed the game with many new gameplay additions. The word I am looking for to describe the new additions is realism. Don’t get me wrong, no one is going to mistake MGS 4 for a realistic war simulation but the new gameplay mechanics are less cartoony than in previous iterations of the series. For example, when holding up an enemy, you can now take his weapon and equip it and if they have rations or ammunition on them they will no longer drop floating ration boxes but rather a box and a clip of ammo. Snake’s movements, including a new Sam Fisher (Splinter Cell) -like running crouch make the overall feel of the game more realistic.
Of course you can throw that realism out the window when you use the evolution of the cardboard box, the oil drum. The drum provides some protection from bullets but the fun of the barrel will be derived from its alternate use of rolling to take out enemies. Of course, rolling in a barrel isn’t quite as much fun as having one filled with monkeys so Snake might feel a bit ill after his trip in it.
Kojima seems to have been keeping an eye on Western action games, as well as listening to fans because there are numerous additions that borrow slightly from other games (the Sam Fisher crouch thing) or directly from fan requests. One game it seems to borrow heavily from is the XBOX 360 hit Gears of War. Snake now has action commands, much like in Gears, that allow Snake to do complex movements with a single button press. The grenade mechanic also seems to borrow from Gears as an arc line is used to toss grenades.
Serving to the FPS fans
However, one of the biggest fan requests was the ability to play the game in first person mode. I for one was not part of this very vocal group as I am more of a traditionalist, but the popularity of the FPS genre is something Kojima could no longer ignore. He says that “[p]layers who like FPS games should play using this view point” and while that is up for debate as only Kojima and Konami staff have gotten to play it that way, I do like some of the mechanics that have been implemented into the mode. The FPS mode in MGS 4 will make use of the Six Axis functionality on the Six Axis Controller; most notably you’ll be able to tilt the controller to peek from behind walls. I don’t see myself playing the game through this way but I am sure there will be a vocal contingent praising this addition. The FPS mode is not the only part of the game to use the Six Axis functionality though, as you can also use it to shed your Octocamo or to control the remote controlled Metal Gear Mark II.
A lot of answers to give in a single game
With Kojima claiming that this is the last in the Solid Snake story I can’t see the development team not coming through with the must-have game for the PS3. There are a lot of questions still about the gameplay and story but as we get closer and closer to the eventual release the game continues to look better and better. Will the Six Axis work as planned? Will the questions about FOXDIE and Shadow Moses finally be answered? How about the existence of Raiden, will he be explained? We’ll have to wait and see in early 2008.
