B3yond the Special: A Look at Metal Gear Solid 4

Posted by Mark Salmela on 06.11.2008

In the final installment of B3yond the Special, 411’s Mark Salmela takes an in depth look at Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops and the highly anticipated Metal Gear Solid 4. Is one of the greatest games ever made right around the corner? Find out in the full article.




Welcome back everyone to the final installment of this 5 part special. Throughout this special I have been detailing the events of the Metal Gear storyline, and in this final edition, I will conclude by detailing Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops and Metal Gear Solid 4. Be aware that I have not played Metal Gear Solid 4, and will only include details based upon developer interviews and the trailers. I've seen a lot of people get mad at "proposed spoilers" in my regular column via the comments section, and while I can neither confirm nor deny them, I will not talk about them here. With that said, be sure to take a look at my other installments in B3yond the Special:


Here's the link to part 1: A look at Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2.
Here's the link to part 2: A look at Metal Gear Solid
Here's the link to part 3: A look at Metal Gear Solid 2.
Here's the link to part 4: A look at Metal Gear Solid 3.

With this being the final installment of B3yond the Special, I'd like to thank everyone who's corrected me on my mistakes, as I will openly admit that I do not know everything about the Metal Gear storyline. I will also say that I know the least about Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops so forgive me if I make any mistakes. I wasn't even going to originally talk about Portable Ops, but since so many readers demanded it I felt obligated to include it. So to everyone, for the final time, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.



Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (2006)



Storyline

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops takes place 6 years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. In Portable Ops, players are back in control of Naked Snake *Big Boss* who's been betrayed by his former Fox Unit, who've gone renegade from the CIA. But Naked Snake has kept his alliance to the United States, and because of this he was captured by the renegade Fox Unit. In the game's opening cut scene, Naked Snake is once again being tortured *seems to happen a lot to the poor guy* as Lieutenant Cunningham, one of the members of the new Fox Unit, tries to get the whereabouts of the second half of The Philosophers legacy out of Naked Snake. You see, at the end of MGS3 it is revealed by Revolver Ocelot that EVA stole a fake, and that the United States really did end up with half of The Philosopher's money. The location of the other half is still a mystery however, which is why Lieutenant Cunningham is trying to force its location out of Snake.

While in prison Naked Snake meets a young Roy Campbell, the sole survivor of an American Green Beret team sent in to investigate the base. It is from Roy that Snake learns that he is in the San Hieronymo Peninsula, the site of an abandoned Soviet missile silo in Colombia. Naked Snake and Roy manage to make an escape, and Naked Snake tries to contact Major Zero, his old buddy from MGS3. But Naked Snake cannot get a hold of Major Zero, and ends up talking to Para-Medic and Sigint, two of Snake's other buddies from the Fox Unit. It is from them that Snake learns that Snake and Zero are being are being accused of instigating the revolt and that the only way for Snake to clear their name is to capture the leader of the rebellion, Gene. Gene has taken command of the Russian soldiers on the base, and is now in control of the Red Army unit. Due to the scale of the mission, the only possible way Snake can get through this mission is to convince members of the Red Army unit to join his side. Snake is also accompanied by Elisa, one of two sisters who were adopted by Gene.



Naked Snake and his squad of soldiers lead an uprising at the base, and slowly take out the top members of the Fox Unit. Snake then leads his soldiers to Gene's guesthouse, where Snake is set to have a showdown with Gene. Along the way Snake learns that Cunningham was actually working for the Pentagon, and wanted Snake to push Gene into launching a nuke at Russia. You see, if Gene would attack Russia, they would once again blame it on the United States *like what happened in MGS3* and would keep the Cold War going, because Cunningham felt as if that was the only way to keep his job and keep the importance of the Pentagon up. But Gene was actually aware of this plan, as told to him by Revolver Ocelot. Gene actually wanted to nuke the United States, in order to destroy The Philosophers and to make his own nation of soldiers, "Army's Heaven". Sokolov also returns in Portable Ops, who was working for Gene under the codename "Ghost" and informs Snake of his location.

Once Snake arrives at Gene's guesthouse, it is revealed that Elisa and her sister Ursula are actually split personalities of the same person. Ursula then turns on Snake and controls a model version of a new Metal Gear, named Metal Gear RAXA. Snake manages to defeat Ursula, although she goes back to her Elisa personality and attempts to stop Gene from launching a nuke at the US. But Gene is too much for her, and she is stabbed to death by Gene. While dying, she predicts that Naked Snake will build his own Metal Gear and after that, one of Snake's sons will "bring the world to ruin", while another would save it *foreshadowing events of future Metal Gear titles*. Snake would eventually defeat Gene in battle, and would destroy the real Metal Gear RAXA. Snake would also encounter two other Fox Unit members, Cunningham and Null. Null was trained by Gene to be the perfect soldier, who was brainwashed by Gene into doing anything he wants without hesitation. After being defeated in battle by Snake, he is revealed to be a teenager named Frank Jaeger, who eventually goes on to become Gray Fox. Snake finally encounters Cunningham. Cunningham fights Snake in a flying hovercraft armed with a Gatling gun. After Snake defeats Cunningham, Cunningham attempts to blow the base with a Soviet-made Davy Crockett *the other missile from MGS3*, but his hovercraft is badly damaged during the battle with Snake, causing it to explode, killing Cunningham.

With Gene defeated, Cunningham dead, and Metal Gear RAXA destroyed, Snake returned home to the US once again a hero. Naked Snake then forms the FOXHOUND unit and the game comes to its conclusion. After the credits it is revealed however that Revolver Ocelot had secured the second half of The Philosopher's legacy, and wants to use the money to form The Patriots. Ocelot requests Naked Snake be able to join them *Ocelot and the man on the phone* in becoming The Patriots. It is here that Portable Ops ends.





Gameplay

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is the third Metal Gear title to be released on the PlayStation Portable. Unlike Metal Gear Ac!d and its sequel, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is a canon storyline and plays like a traditional Metal Gear Solid title. Portable Ops puts players in control of Naked Snake, and uses the free roaming camera set in Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. Using the trademark "Tactical Espionage Action", Portable Ops uses a new squad based system. Instead of using just Naked Snake, Portable Ops uses a 4 man squad tactic. Since the story relies on Naked Snake recruiting members to his side, Naked Snake can convince them to join his side and allow them to be playable, including Fox Unit members Null and Python.



During gameplay, only one member of Snake's party can be used at a time. The other 3 people in Snake's party must be hidden by the player in a "hiding spot" where they hide under a cardboard box. With the exception of main characters such as Snake and Null, any member of Snake's party who dies is gone permanently. If an important character such as Snake or Null die, they are simply sent to an infirmary, in order to recover. In order to gain new members, players must either tranquilize or bring an enemy's stamina down to zero, and then bring them to a location such as a pick-up truck in order to be captured. One of the cool things about Portable Ops was to capture an enemy soldier, since when you control an enemy soldier as long as you don't make an suspicious movements you can often walk among the enemy undetected.

The HUD in MGS Portable Ops was also improved. Similar to the radar in previous titles, the surround indicator was used in Portable Ops. By listening to enemy footsteps, the surround indicator would help to determine the locations of enemies.

One of the biggest elements of Portable Ops was the wi-fi multiplayer. Improving upon the Metal Gear Online multiplayer established in Metal Gear Solid 3, Portable Ops uses new tactics and game modes to further enhance the experience. Certain aspects of the multiplayer can also affect the single player. For example the player can recruit new members from a beaten opponent, or even lose some of their own squad mates if defeated in battle.

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops was released on December 5, 2006 in North America. The Japanese release was two weeks later, December 21, 2006 while the European release wasn't until May 25, 2007. An improved version called Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops + would be released on September 20, 2007 in Japan while the US version would ship on November 13, 2007 followed by a March 28, 2008 release for Europe. Portable Ops + was sold as both an expansion pack to the original and a deluxe edition featuring both the original and the expansion. The expansion used a new single player mode called Infinity Mission, where players are put on randomly chosen maps and must use the surround indicator to find either enemies or the advance point. The online mode also saw new characters and game modes.



Here's a nice tribute for Portable Ops.



Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008)



Storyline

Metal Gear Solid 4 takes place in 2014, 5 years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 2. In the world of MGS4, private military companies *PMC's* are hired to fight wars for business purposes. The Nanotechnology of previous MGS games has been enhanced, and is now used to control the minds of soldiers and make the battlefield a very scripted one. The 5 largest PMC's are all owned by a single mother company named Outer Heaven. These companies are Praying Mantis, Otselotovaya Khvatka, Werewolf, Pieuvre Armement and Raven Sword. Revolver Ocelot, now fully under the control of Liquid Snake and going by the name of Liquid Ocelot, is in control of Outer Heaven. Liquid Ocelot, who's now amassed an army large enough to rival the United States, is planning an armed insurrection. By taking control of the nanos that control the PMC's *which are called the Sons of the Patriots or SOP for short*, Liquid Ocelot can effectively take over the world. Once again it is up to Solid Snake, who is rapidly aging and slowly becoming delusional, to stop Liquid Ocelot and save the world.





The Players of MGS4

Solid Snake



Solid Snake will once again play the protagonist of MGS4, as it is up to him to stop Liquid Ocelot and save the world. Solid Snake *under the codename of Old Snake* is being deployed by Roy Campbell into the Middle East to destroy the PMC's that are ripping the Middle East apart. But Solid Snake, being a clone of the legendary Big Boss is rapidly deteriorating. The advanced cellular degeneration caused by the cloning process used to create him has aged him prematurely. Snake is falling apart at the genetic level, and with the ever present FoxDie virus in Snake's system, things do not look good for our hero.

In Metal Gear Solid 4 Solid Snake sports a brand new Octocamo suit. The Octocamo suit allows Snake to blend in with the environments, hiding him from the enemy. Players can either press one button to automatically blend in with whatever cover he's currently on or players should be able to choose from a list of pre-set patterns, assuming this feature was not removed from the final version. The Octocamo suit also includes a facemask, which retains the same abilities as the suit and can be used to further shield Snake.

Liquid Ocelot



Ever since Revolver Ocelot had his arm chopped off in Metal Gear Solid, things have not exactly gone Revolver's way. Revolver Ocelot replaced his missing arm with the limb from the deceased Liquid Snake *one of the Big Boss clones, alone with Solid Snake*. And as we saw in Metal Gear Solid 2, the arm from Liquid Snake has given Liquid the power to take over Revolver's mind. By the end of MGS2, Liquid had completely taken control of Revolver Ocelot, and now goes by the name of Liquid Ocelot. In MGS4 Liquid Ocelot does go by the voice of Revolver Ocelot, but is entirely controlled and influenced by Liquid Snake.

In Metal Gear Solid 4, Liquid Ocelot is attempting to resurrect Outer Heaven. Ocelot is calling his company Outer Haven in his conflict with the Patriots, which is a dummy corporation that runs the five largest PMCs in the world. With his private military companies, Liquid Ocelot has amassed an army large enough to challenge the United States, where he plans to resurrect Outer Heaven. It is up to Solid Snake to stop Liquid Ocelot before he can destroy the United States. Liquid Ocelot is still in control of Metal Gear Rex, which he stole at the end of MGS2. Also, to clarify the voice issue, in the English version of MGS4 Revolver's voice is used, since that was Kojima's original intention. But since the Japanese voice of Revolver Ocelot has died, Liquid Snake's voice will be used instead.

Raiden



Kojima has been determined to make Raiden a star in MGS, and with MGS4 he may have finally accomplished his goal. I cannot even begin to describe how much of a bad ass Raiden is in MGS4. While I agree with the majority opinion that Raiden was a loser in MGS2, I will proudly state that he has won me over in MGS4. You see, at the end of Metal Gear Solid 2 Raiden was given the task of finding Olga's baby, whom was taken from her by The Patriots after birth. While we don't know all of the details *they'll probably be revealed in MGS4*, we do know that Sunny is Olga's daughter and Raiden did free her as judging by the trailers. But the mission wasn't a complete success, as Raiden was captured at the end of the mission and was tortured so severely that all that remains of his body is his head and spine. This is why Raiden is wearing the cyborg ninja suit that Gray Fox made famous in MGS1 and explains why Raiden can impale himself in the trailers with his own sword. Raiden also appears so pale because all of his blood has been replaced with artificial white blood. Raiden's relationship with Rosemary has also come to an abrupt end. In MGS4 Raiden is Solid Snake's teammate, and promises to help Snake, much like Snake did for Raiden in MGS2. While players won't directly control Raiden in MGS4 *according to Kojima*, he will still play a major role for the story.

Vamp



Vamp, a former member of Dead Cell, returns in MGS4 as part of Liquid Ocelot's army. Vamp spent much of MGS2 fighting Raiden, who was apparently killed after a sniper bullet to the head caused Vamp to fall into the ocean and drift off to sea *but not before providing a fatal wound to Emma*. But being the immortal that Vamp is, Vamp has somehow survived and is looking for revenge on Raiden for the death of his love interest, The Fortune. Vamp resembles a vampire even more in MGS4, and wears equipment that is similar to the FROGS, Liquid Ocelot's private army. With Vamp being immortal and Raiden dawning the cybog suit, something's gotta give, and I can't wait to see what happens in MGS4.

The New FOXHOUND



The four remaining members of FOXHOUND, also known as "Rat Patrol Team 01" are sent to stop Liquid Ocelot and his PMC army. The New FOXHOUND consists of Meryl Silverburgh, Snake's love interest from MGS1, Ed, Meryl's second in command, Jonathan, the hulking solder with the Mohawk, and Johnny, the electronics expert who wears the mask. Ed, Meryl, and Jonathan use the Sons of the Patriots nanotechnology to share each others senses and fight as one cohesive unit. The New FOXHOUND unit works for the United States CID army. In an interesting note, Ed and Jonathan are named after Ed Brown and Jonathan Ingram, the main characters of Hideo Kojima's Policenauts, the same game from which Meryl also got her name. The New FOXHOUND are out on a mission to protect Solid Snake and Raiden while destroying the PMC's and putting a stop to Liquid Ocelot's army.

The Beauty and the Beast unit



The Beauty and the Beast Corpse are part of the PMC army that is controlled by Liquid Snake. Consisting of Crying Wolf, Raging Raven, Screaming Mantis, and Laughing Octopus, all 4 members of the Beauty and the Beast unit are women who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. The only way they can cope with the damage done to their minds is to become war machines. The Beauty and the Beast unit will serve as the main bosses within the game *although not the only ones, as I'm sure Vamp and Liquid Ocelot will not go down without a fight*. They are named the Beauty and the Beast unit because on the inside they are beautiful women suffering from stress disorder, but on the outside they are monstrous war beasts craving death. Screaming Mantis has two puppets hanging off of her, Psycho Mantis and The Sorrow, both of whom were psychics *and appear to be her parents*. Laughing Octopus also appears to contain the same Octopus legs that Solidus Snake had in MGS2, only the device is on her head instead of her back. Metal Gear Solid has been known for its boss battles, and I'm sure the Beauty and the Beast unit will live up to the previous MGS standards and provide for some amazing boss battles.



Other characters



Several other characters from previous Metal Gear Solid titles return in Metal Gear Solid 4. Naomi Hunter, the sister of Gray Fox who injected Solid Snake with the FoxDie virus in MGS1, will return in MGS4 as a good guy out to help Snake before he dies. Naomi is often seen in the trailers with Sunny, who is Olga's daughter. Mei Ling also returns in MGS4 as she commands the museum-turned-training vessel USS Missouri and provides Snake and Otacon with backup, courtesy of her connections from the SSCE. Speaking of Otacon, he also returns in MGS4 via the Metal Gear Mk. II, which he controls remotely on the battlefield with Snake. Otacon will provide Solid Snake with vital information throughout MGS4 like he has in previous MGS titles. Snake will be able to control the Mk. II via SIXAXIS controls or analog controls and can send the robot ahead to clear out enemies via an electric shock.

One of the new characters to MGS4 is Drebin. Drebin is a weapons wholesaler, a gun launderer. He will take the ID tagged guns which you find on the PMC's and make some mods to them allowing you to use them yourself, as well as being able to add thing such as sites, grenade launch attachments etc. He appears to know more than Snake, and most, about The Patriots. Roy Campbell also is set to appear in MGS4. Now working for a UN Security Council advisory body that monitors PMC activities, Campbell sends Snake on an unofficial mission to assassinate Liquid. Campbell provides the means of transportation that Snake will use to complete his mission. Finally, EVA, one of the stars of MGS3 will also return under the codename of "Big Momma". Big Momma, who's obviously aged a lot since MGS3 *she looks like a grandma now*, returns to help Solid Snake defeat Liquid Ocelot and stop the PMCs. EVA had to flee China due to failing to retrieve The Philosopher's Legacy at the end of MGS3, and probably works for the US government now.



Gameplay and development

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will be released worldwide on June 12, 2008. This is the first time a major Metal Gear title will be released worldwide. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will have a $60 regular edition, as well as an $85 limited edition that will feature a soundtrack CD, a making of documentary, an art book, an interview with Kojima, and 4 chapters of the graphic novel. An MGS4 80 GB PS3 bundle will also be released on June 12th for $500 that contains the 80 GB PS3, the standard edition of MGS4, and a DualShock 3 controller. An extremely limited edition of the MGS4 bundle will be released via Konami's website that features a 40 GB gunmetal grey PS3, a gunmetal grey controller, and a copy of MGS4.



Since Kojima did not find out that he could incorporate DualShock support until well into development, MGS4 uses rumble as well as a new "threat ring" which surrounds Snake and lets him know of any incoming enemies. Snake will also have two different meters to replace the stamina meter. The first meter, "Stress", is based on current fighting and climate conditions. This can cause Snake to go into a "combat high", which increases his accuracy and reduces damage sustained. However this effect will eventually wear off and could cause Snake to momentarily collapse. Smoking a cigarette calms Snake down. The second meter, "Psyche", slowly drops over time reducing Snake's accuracy. Scanning the pages of a glamour magazine will increase the meter.

In addition to the Octocamo suit *which I briefly described above*, Snake will also use a new monocular device called "Solid Eye" which replaces the various binoculars from previous titles, and a steel drum which complements the traditional cardboard box disguise which has been a staple of MGS since the beginning.



MGS4 will also feature a lot of cut scenes, another series staple. There will be cut scenes that players can watch by pressing circle when prompted that will further describe plot elements from previous MGS titles in addition to the normal cut scenes. A new version of Metal Gear Online will also be packed into MGS4, which will be supported and enhanced via expansion packs from the PSN.

Finally, while most major sites have yet to review MGS4 *I won't have a review of MGS4 up until about a week from now*, most reviews that are up have been very positive. For example Japanese magazine Famitsu has given MGS4 a perfect 40/40, which is very rare. Gamepro gave MGS4 a perfect 5/5 as did the Official PlayStation Magazine. So far the major complaints to MGS4 has been the confusing storyline, and a lack of ability to do anything major that will win over new fans. While both of those complaints can be argued, I have not played the game for myself so I can't comment. Otherwise reviews have praised just about everything regarding MGS4, and say that it is the best title in the franchise.





Here's the Courage is Solid MGS4 trailer which is really well done.


Well that's it for me everyone. Sorry I couldn't go more in depth, but I literally finished this piece just in time to go up when I planned *June 11th*. So sorry I had to skip on my predictions, but then again I haven't played the game so my predictions wouldn't have been anything other than shots in the dark. I also would have predicted what I thought an MGS5 would contain, which I'll sum up right now: I think MGS5 will either further Naked Snake's journey to accepting the title of Big Boss and leading to his turn to the dark side *right now he's still a loyal soldier* or it will detail what happened to Raiden while trying to save Sunny. Now these two guesses as to what MGS5 could be might be revealed via cut scenes in MGS4 *or a sequel to Portable Ops*, in which case I have no idea what MGS5 could be since I don't know what happens in MGS4. Any who, thanks for reading everyone. And as always, just be a fan.



"I'm no hero, never will be."