'Metal Gear Solid 4': Black Sheep, Great Game

This article was originally written on the 9th anniversary of the Metal Gear series.

At the advent of E3's Sony Conference, I'd like to take a moment to remember the last chronological entry in one of the former flagship franchises of the console. It's fitting, then, that today would be its 9th anniversary. Metal Gear Solid 4 was the hotly anticipated sequel to Metal Gear Solid 3, and one of the first killer pieces of exclusive software for the system. To this day, it remains exclusive to the Playstation 3.

No Place to Hide

I remember the launch of this game very well. I had watched and latched onto every trailer with reckless abandon. I had re-watched them over and over, scoured over every released piece of news like a hyena scrounging for food. I did this with the previous games, too, but this was different. After the third game ended up being an unexpected prequel, this promised to continue the story after the massive cliffhanger of the second game.

It threw us the massive curveball of an older Snake, something hinted at in the earlier games, but something that we would never in a million years expect to play. Liquid was front and center again, Vamp was confirmed to be alive, Raiden was back (and oh boy, was he back), and characters from all three previous games in the series promised to make a return and play a large part in the story. To top it off, the game took place in the Middle East - the perfect setting for a game loaded with political commentary about war - with a promise for more locations and a dynamic battlefield. It was, in every way, the ultimate promise for MGS fans.

The hype was fanned even further when Hideo Kojima, the director of the first three entries, was confirmed to be returning to finish off the series. Until this announcement, he had publicly declared that he would not play a hand in this title. With the big cheese himself involved, people's fears that this wouldn't be an authentic Metal Gear experience were alleviated.

This is from a 2005 trailer. In 2005, we were playing Doom 3, FEAR, and Resident Evil 4. The game was not only a promise to MGS fans, but also a promise for the capabilities of the upcoming next gen systems.

I bought the Metal Gear Solid collection at Gamestop in the months leading up to release. I was a freshman in college at the time, and I remember coming home and being super excited to play the games with my kid brother, who was playing them for the first time. We marathoned them all, finishing Metal Gear Solid 3 right before release. We were ready.

So, did the game deliver?

War Has Changed

First playthrough: Shell shock. The game was so far off from what I expected in so many ways. The flaws of the third and fifth acts lingered on my mind, but the sheer novelty of the game eclipsed them.

Playing as a grizzled older version of Solid Snake, and traversing through exotic locales in dynamic battlefields, was an experience I'll never forget.

What impressed me:

• The active battlefields in acts 1 and 2, allowing the player to influence wars between PMCs.
• The different approach and amazing aesthetic of Eastern Europe.
• The hauntingly weird B&B Unit, with nods to each of the rogue galleries of the previous entries.
• The unexpected return to Shadow Moses.
• The dramatic microwave hallway scene.
• The final battle, a cinematic fistfight between the two most important and longstanding characters in the franchise, complete with a massive plot twist and appropriately nostalgic music.
• The complete participation of the previous casts, from Rose to Mei Ling to Naomi to Raiden.
• I remember thinking that it was unlike any game I had played before. It still is. It also looked absolutely amazing for the time. Even though less so today, it still does.

Snake and Ocelot have technically been in every game in the series in some form. Watching the two face off, with nods to each previous entry, was an extremely effective ending to a fantastic series.

On subsequent playthroughs, the flaws began to show themselves.

• Only the first two acts really delivered on the gameplay front. Eastern Europe, while aesthetically beautiful and unique, featured some rather clunky and boring stealth sections, and was largely devoid of the engaging combat and more active stealth mechanics that the game had to offer. Shadow Moses was bereft of any human enemies. The fifth act was largely story oriented.
• Some very important things happen off screen, mostly concerning Raiden. Raiden's visit to Dr. Madnar was a fun nod to the older MSX games (Dr. Madnar was a supporting character in Metal Gear 2), but it was also a cruel tease, as we never saw the visit itself.
• Johnny and Meryl's romance is goofy in a bad way.
• Long install times that upset the pacing of the game.
• Cutscenes that go on forever.
• Very few codec contacts in comparison to the last few games.
• A wonky ending.

Meryl and Johnny, while fine on their own, may be the worst, most left field couple in video games.

Still, though, I loved it and played through it many more times. The good hadn't disappeared, even though I was viewing the game through a more sober lens. Despite my complaint about codec contacts above, the game absolutely delivered on one front: the buddy cop relationship between Snake and Otacon.

Otacon is really the only primary codec partner you have throughout the game, and, while this is disappointing in a way compared to the well rounded and colorful codec teams of the past, it was also a nice return to the closer relationship displayed between the two in the intro to Metal Gear Solid 2.

Snake and Otacon working covertly to disrupt world affairs has a much different vibe to it than a man on an officially sanctioned mission, so it was a bit refreshing to see this unique atmosphere return, especially since we spent comparatively little time with the two of them in the second game.

Snake and Otacon working together to take down Metal Gear RAY in the opening to the second game.

Old friends reminiscing about past missions. A nice return to an old dynamic.

I'm No Hero. Never Was. Never Will Be.

It's a shame that this gem is still stuck on PS3. I would absolutely love to revisit this game on PS4. It's not my favorite game in the series. In fact, it's probably my fourth favorite (fitting, I guess) out of the five mainline entries.

But it's still one of the best experiences in gaming for me. It holds such a special place in my heart. I'll always remember how excited I was to come home from my night classes and play through it with my kid brother. That excitement carried over through the entire playthrough. The game is synonymous with a certain period of my life, and carries with it very fond memories. It felt like the end to a bizarrely unique, yet endearingly heroic odyssey. Despite Snake's claim that he'll never be a hero, his journey certainly resonated with me.

Art depicting Old Snake after the end of the game. Source: Jedi-Art-Trick on Deviantart.