METAL GEAR SOLID 4 SPOILERS
I finished Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots a few days ago and wanted to let the experience soak in for a while before commenting. Like the best entertainment works, it stays on your mind well after completion. That might be more for the gameplay upgrades and knowledge that it's Solid Snake's last adventure (barring prequels or some wild explanation for his continuing survival) than necessarily being the hammer blow that was MGS 3 with its powerful ending for the Boss and Big Boss.
The Bosses
I enjoy the whole MGS series but looking back on Guns of the Patriots, I am surprised by how much referencing of the past was done. Every boss pays homage to previous games' characters to the point that some of the fights felt a little too much as though they were remixes of fights versus characters I'd played before instead of being something new. Raging Raven was my favorite of the four beasts and the only one that didn't immediately remind me of another installment's boss battle mechanics. Perhaps it's because she's so different from Vulcan Raven of MGS 1 in character design and attack style.
As for the other three beasts, the Laughing Octopus fight was more fun when it was the Fear (MGS 3), Crying Wolf (love that name) was a bigger version of the Sniper Wolf (MGS 1) battle, and Screaming Mantis was a rematch with Psycho Mantis. Plus, Snake gets his chance to shoot Vamp after Raiden had the fun in MGS 2. I'll admit Snake vs. Vamp's throwing knives was enjoyable, although it's all about cleaning up the second game's unfinished business. You even get to take care of business I didn't know was unfinished with the Metal Gear Rex vs. Ray battle that was a complete blast, especially since it seemed both were pretty trashed at the ends of their respective games.
The finale leaves us with Liquid vs. Snake in a hand-to-hand that should stand as the most brutal fight between two old guys you'll ever see. The cut scene preceding the bout would've been enough violence for most, but no, the player still gets to control Snake to get in more shots. The way the whole thing turns into a trip through Liquid/Ocelot's struggles with Snake over the series' course accompanied by the corresponding game's score is beautiful.
Wrap It All Up
SPOILERS (STILL)
Now the endings for these characters...some work and some are a bit of a head scratcher. The game tells you all along the way that Snake's death is coming, so the surprise is more how he arrives at his end. I'm still a little amazed he received the opportunity for a peaceful walk away from all the war and violence, but the character certainly earned it. His coming to terms with a certain someone at the graveyard dropped my jaw.
The, "Where did that come from?!" moments are provided by a few of the supporting players. Meryl's marriage...I guess it works, but part of me still isn't sold by the development. Overall though, the character's MGS 4 design and her stepping up as more of an experienced soldier had me thinking she'd be fun to play as in a future game (possibly adopting the Solid Snake codename to pay homage to him and keep the franchise's name going with Solid in the title).
As for the rest, Otacon mourns Naomi over the course of the story with some unfortunate crying along the lines of Spider-Man 3 level enough's enough. He's Snake's friend till the end though and he gets points for that and taking care of Sunny. Drebin filling in his own background and future plans was appreciated as well. His character was probably the most original addition to the MGS saga in part 4. And Jack/Raiden was pretty much a complete turnaround from the MGS 2 induced hate of his character. Yes, he borrowed heavily from Gray Fox's coolness with the cyborg ninja redesign (done in a new way I loved) , but his happy family reunion was also well done, particularly complemented by his son's comment about him being like a superhero.
Roll Credits
There's still much to be said about this game, but the key is that it pays off so much more for MGS veterans. Guns of the Patriots is a complete thrill on its own with many great qualities, but I'll remember it for being the best example I've seen of wrapping up a very complex series with so many storylines while simultaneously upgrading gameplay control of Snake to its best level yet. Hopefully, Hideo Kojima, Yoji Shinkawa, and company are already planning their next title.
I finished Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots a few days ago and wanted to let the experience soak in for a while before commenting. Like the best entertainment works, it stays on your mind well after completion. That might be more for the gameplay upgrades and knowledge that it's Solid Snake's last adventure (barring prequels or some wild explanation for his continuing survival) than necessarily being the hammer blow that was MGS 3 with its powerful ending for the Boss and Big Boss.
The Bosses
I enjoy the whole MGS series but looking back on Guns of the Patriots, I am surprised by how much referencing of the past was done. Every boss pays homage to previous games' characters to the point that some of the fights felt a little too much as though they were remixes of fights versus characters I'd played before instead of being something new. Raging Raven was my favorite of the four beasts and the only one that didn't immediately remind me of another installment's boss battle mechanics. Perhaps it's because she's so different from Vulcan Raven of MGS 1 in character design and attack style.
As for the other three beasts, the Laughing Octopus fight was more fun when it was the Fear (MGS 3), Crying Wolf (love that name) was a bigger version of the Sniper Wolf (MGS 1) battle, and Screaming Mantis was a rematch with Psycho Mantis. Plus, Snake gets his chance to shoot Vamp after Raiden had the fun in MGS 2. I'll admit Snake vs. Vamp's throwing knives was enjoyable, although it's all about cleaning up the second game's unfinished business. You even get to take care of business I didn't know was unfinished with the Metal Gear Rex vs. Ray battle that was a complete blast, especially since it seemed both were pretty trashed at the ends of their respective games.
The finale leaves us with Liquid vs. Snake in a hand-to-hand that should stand as the most brutal fight between two old guys you'll ever see. The cut scene preceding the bout would've been enough violence for most, but no, the player still gets to control Snake to get in more shots. The way the whole thing turns into a trip through Liquid/Ocelot's struggles with Snake over the series' course accompanied by the corresponding game's score is beautiful.
Wrap It All Up
SPOILERS (STILL)
Now the endings for these characters...some work and some are a bit of a head scratcher. The game tells you all along the way that Snake's death is coming, so the surprise is more how he arrives at his end. I'm still a little amazed he received the opportunity for a peaceful walk away from all the war and violence, but the character certainly earned it. His coming to terms with a certain someone at the graveyard dropped my jaw.
The, "Where did that come from?!" moments are provided by a few of the supporting players. Meryl's marriage...I guess it works, but part of me still isn't sold by the development. Overall though, the character's MGS 4 design and her stepping up as more of an experienced soldier had me thinking she'd be fun to play as in a future game (possibly adopting the Solid Snake codename to pay homage to him and keep the franchise's name going with Solid in the title).
As for the rest, Otacon mourns Naomi over the course of the story with some unfortunate crying along the lines of Spider-Man 3 level enough's enough. He's Snake's friend till the end though and he gets points for that and taking care of Sunny. Drebin filling in his own background and future plans was appreciated as well. His character was probably the most original addition to the MGS saga in part 4. And Jack/Raiden was pretty much a complete turnaround from the MGS 2 induced hate of his character. Yes, he borrowed heavily from Gray Fox's coolness with the cyborg ninja redesign (done in a new way I loved) , but his happy family reunion was also well done, particularly complemented by his son's comment about him being like a superhero.
Roll Credits
There's still much to be said about this game, but the key is that it pays off so much more for MGS veterans. Guns of the Patriots is a complete thrill on its own with many great qualities, but I'll remember it for being the best example I've seen of wrapping up a very complex series with so many storylines while simultaneously upgrading gameplay control of Snake to its best level yet. Hopefully, Hideo Kojima, Yoji Shinkawa, and company are already planning their next title.
