Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3) First Impressions!

Posted by Armando Rodriguez on 06.12.2008

*NOTE*: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! From the midnight launch to the first hour of gameplay.



Many things can be said about the launch of Metal Gear Solid 4. For starters, everyone expects it to be the killer game that brings more people to the PS3 camp. Last night I attended the second ever midnight launch of a video game in my local Gamestop store. I arrived about four hours early and only 3 people where in line. I didn't expect the activity to fill up because the Halo 3 launch (which was the first they did) only attracted around 20 people, so I decided to hit the theater with my girlfriend and waste some time. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a great movie to waste time with. I went back to the store around 11:30pm and…….there was a HUGE line and I mean HUGE! Close to 100 people. I had to wait in line for over hour and a half to get my game. Over 20 people left disappointed because the Metal Gear Bundle was sold out (they only got 7 systems) in a matter of minutes. It was quite a sight with people coming out with smiles on their faces, showing the game box and high-fiving the people in line. It was my first experience with a midnight launch title and it was quite a sight. Parents where there with their little kids, others sat down in circles and started to talk about the previous games and how they thought the story of the game would evolve, others made their best Snake impressions, overall everyone was in good spirits.

I got home at around 3am and refused to play until I got some sleep. Very restless sleep, but sleep nonetheless. Around 8am I was up and placing the disk in the drive for the first time. I know Konami forbid talk about the videos and installation times, but since my copy wasn't free and I paid for it I have all the right in the world to talk about it. It took 8 minutes for the game to install. Not as much as I expected and it flew by as I read the instruction manual. The manual is pretty neat, with a comic book style design that explains the basic controls and gameplay mechanics. Once I finally got the game up and running I was treated to a weird surprise. Let's just say that it was a completely insane video with absolutely nothing to do with the game. It was funny in a weird way, but I have no idea what was the purpose of it. Once the real game began…..my jaw dropped. We are talking about graphics, really great graphics. I have a standard definition TV and it still looked amazing. I can't wait to see it in someone's HD TV set! This is the BEST looking game in the PS3 right now. The controls took some time to get used to, since I never played MSG3 and my last experience with an MSG game was several years ago. Once I got the hang of it they became second nature. The camouflage works really well and adds another layer of depth to the sneak game. At the default difficulty the AI has behaved smartly, kicking anything suspicious they see on the ground, running to the aid of friends, taking cover behind walls or boxes among other things. Once you meet Dreben and you are able to buy, sell and customize weapons, things get even more complex and rewarding. I know I am going to spend a lot of time buying after market parts to modify my guns.

So far, so good. Everything from the graphics, the voice acting, sound effects and gameplay has been amazing thus far and I cant wait to see what other surprises MSG4 has in store for me.

Screenshots
All 25 Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Screenshots