GAME REVIEW- "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots"

Like with MGS2, Kojima had said that "Snake Eater" would be the last MGS game. But once again, a property as profitable for Konami as this wouldn't see its twilight that easily and merely weeks after the European release of MGS3, "Metal Gear Solid 4" was announced. All we knew from the announcement was that it wouldn't be a prequel like the third installment, but rather it would pick up the story of Solid Snake and company after the events that took place in the Big Shell and that it would made for the new (at the time not-yet-released) Playstation 3.

A while later, in E3 2005 (when the Expo was still a celebration rather than the pale promotional campaign for publishers that it is today) the public was treated with a teaser built in the engine of MGS3. It was a humorous video that essentially confirmed what we already knew about MGS4 since the announcement; its biggest highlight, however, was that it reinstated Hideo Kojima as director/writer of the game, who -until then- was going to be credited only as producer. Gamers waited for a long time for more information. Rumors ran rampant, when a sneak-peak from Yoji Shinkawa revealed Big Boss as a returning character (only to be debunked later from Kojima, saying that the teaser pic was not relevant to the storyline), while the first official trailer of the game shocked everyone by showing a very old Solid Snake, with a wrinkled face and a mustache in a very bleak and hopeless world.

As time passed, more and more were revealed, including a familiar cast of characters returning for the last time and Kojima's desire to set himself free from this series, by "killing" Snake; though whether he was speaking metaphorically or not was left to be seen. The game saw a delay, but eventually made a worldwide release on June 12, 2008.

But enough with the history lesson. Let's move on to the game itself. The review is long and tedious so bear with me. It's also spoiler-free, so I can torture even the people who have yet to play the game.

So, I finally get my PS3. I bring it back home, but I'm still not done with MGS3, so I leave it aside for a while. Once done, I take it out of the box, about a week after purchase and plug it in. Easy enough. I have a quick look at the manual, knowing that the PS3 -more than any of its predecessors- is a PC and I want to make sure procedures are followed religiously; it is a very expensive system. I pop the MGS4 disk in and... I need to update the firmware. Oookay, that's... unwise. It's happened before on my PSP (with Portable Ops, no less) and it's something we've been familiar with for a while so it's no big deal. I had a spare lan cable, I plugged it in the router and the process was done in less than 2 minutes, no biggie. But, still, what about people who don't have Internet? They've paid over 400 bucks, plus 70 for the game and they can't play? I know that the majority wouldn't have that problem, but still. I get it that firmware needs to be updated, I just think developers should add a small app/auto-updater with the right firmware version in their disks, or something like that.

Anyway, that didn't last long, so after reboot, the game loaded instantly. Coolness. "This game uses"... ehm, something about saves? Who cares. Push X. "The game needs to install". Ok, that's cool, I've read about it in other reviews, so no surprise. The initial installation takes up to 8 minutes. It's a while, but it gave me time to browse the net one last time (God, TCA has gotten gay) and have some coffee. Installation's complete. OK, next screen. Not pushing anything, in fear I'll skip the intro video... but I see no intro video. We jump straight to the title screen. OK, no probs. Snake walks in the cemetery from the trailers and I'm prompted to push start. I do. Long-ish menu. OK, cool, let's check out the options. Push "Circle" and... nothing. What the hell? Push again.... nothing. Look up; game says that X is confirm, O is cancel? What the crap is this? This is MGS, right? Circle is confirm, X is cancel. RIGHT? If you didn't know, Ryan Payton or some other brilliant guy (maybe even Kojima himself?) decided that MGS should be more accessible to Western audiences. Because, apparently, Western players (and by "Western", we mean "American", since the Europeans will play whatever you throw at them and nobody really cares about Australia) are too stupid to use the O button to confirm, when most other games use X for that purpose. But, hey, jackasses, it's ONE game they have to do this differently. It won't kill them to push another button. Me, on the other hand? I've been playing this game for TEN years with O as "confirm". It took me the entire first act to get used to that alone.

The above rant isn't as irrelevant as it may seem. Most of my problems with this game lie with the controls and the reasoning behind the changes. But we'll get to that. So, OK, push "X", check settings... cool, check controls... wait, what? I have to manually ASSIGN the Codec to the Select Button? Yeah, apparently the Codec is on the start menu by default and by pushing "select" pops up a screen with the basic button functions. I assume they were trying to have this quick menu that the player would call up when needed to check a button's function, but is it really necessary? I actually USE the Codec. I've used it that way, in the select button, for TEN years. Oh, crap, Deja Vu. Seriously, you use the Codec for the whole game. You are bound to get familiar with the basic controls in five to ten minutes. Shouldn't they be the other way around (Select= Codec, quick-menu in the Start menu)? Anyway, at least I can change that. No way of swapping X and O, though.

OK, enough inner bitching, I'm thinking, start a new game. Beautiful opening cinematic. Unlike previous games, this one doesn't start with a lengthy briefing conversation over the radio. It puts you right into the action, I assume it's mostly to get you familiar with the new camera and the basic controls. Another cinematic, action again and so on and so forth. Things are going well.


"Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots" serves as the conclusion to the monumental saga spawned by Kojima's series of games across the years. Solid Snake, now dubbed (though not really codenamed) "Old Snake" is sick, rugged and his cells are degenerating at an alarming rate. He's sure to be dead very soon. But not before one final mission; his former CIC, Colonel Campbell, rests it on his shoulders to track down his unholly brother Liquid (now possessing the body of Revolver Ocelot entirely) and take him down, before his plans bring about the end of the world. It's impossible to say any more than that without giving away even the tinniest important detail, but as far as quality goes, it's bound to cause heavy debate. The story is told in the series' usual style of lengthy cutscenes, which vary from dry informational cinematics, to breath-taking battles and largely emotional moments. There is not one single scene that's less important than the others for the story, though several last too long. If these bothered you before, they will bother you now as well, but if not, you shouldn't have much of a problem following. Even so, the overload of information might tire on occasion and cause you to miss a thing or too, while the largely mistranslated or just badly-written dialogue is certain to cause a lot of cringing. The storyline itself is mostly there to wrap things up, instead of serve as a plot for the game itself, though that's not necessarily a bad thing (I'll be analyzing the story in another post, so I don't spoil anything here).

But, despite common misconception, the MGS series became famous not for the cinematics, but mainly for the gameplay. So, how does this final game in the Solid series fair in that department? To cut to the chase, it's near excellent. Snake's main course of action remains sneaking through hostile areas, but with these areas shifting from buildings and jungles to warzones and Snake's age coming with a package of handy tools and skills, the game let's you decide how you'd like to play. And that's where it succeeds the most.

The famous camouflage system that was first incooporated in MGS3 returns here, only since this isn't the '60s and nanotechnology is at its best, there's little reason for the player to change Snake's clothes manually. Instead, the Son of Big Boss wears his fancy, hi-tech "Octocamo", a muscle-suit with the ability to mimick the color and texture of the terrain it touches. Not only does that help maintain the game's flow, by not forcing you to push "Start" every other second, but it's set up so that if you miss being entirely in charge of your camouflage, per MGS3, you can still do it by setting the suit on "Manual" via the "Start" menu. Like in MGS3, there is a % sign on the top right of your screen, showing how well hidden you are. Your camouflage can be incredibly effective and fool enemies who walk half an inch from you, but don't expect it to become a cheap way out of an alarm.

Unlike his old-fashioned dad, Snake doesn't carry sonars, AP sensors or anything of the like. All he uses is a little device Otacon prepared for him, called the "Solid Eye". A high-tech eyepatch, when equipped it shows a radar of area, warning you of any immediate dangers, while it also replaces the binoculars and the night-vision/thermal goggles. Another present from Otacon is the MKII, an in-game joke, small Metal Gear unit (taken from Kojima's "Snatcher") that can come in handy when you want to scout ahead or reach for ammo and items you'd rather avoid crawling to.

But when stealth's no longer an option, Snake can still hold up against his enemies, even if he's gotten rusty. There has been great emphasis on the action aspect of the gameplay. What used to be generally awkward (unless it was a boss battle) has been refined and redefined -for the series. An over-the-shoulder camera has been added to make shooting easier, without replacing the first-person-view, when you need a better look at your target. Not only that, but this time Snake knows CQC and he's damn good at it. The moves stay the same as in MGS3, but because of the new camera and the updated mechanics, using CQC has become considerably more... tempting.

Of course, action is a moot point when there are no guns. "Metal Gear" at first only gave you the guns you needed. Up to MGS, you'd get only what you need to pass a certain waypoint (a Nikita launcher for the electrified floor, a PSG-1 for Sniper Wolf, etc.). Since MGS2, there have been efforts to widen the player's arsenal; even the pieces one collected weren't vital to progress the game. MGS4 takes this one step further ahead and adds an impressive arsenal to Snake's backpack. Though, instead of scattering all the weapons around, it gives you options. One is to pick them up (some of them; it's impossible to find all, at least in one playthrough). The other is to buy them. For that purpose, Kojima added a "gun launderer", called "Drebin". Drebin takes guns that are ID locked and launders them for you. Not only that, but he sells a large number of weapons, from handguns to rocket launchers and grenades, for "Drebin" points. There are several ways to collect points, but the most common is to pick up weapons that you already own and essentially sell them to Drebin. Since selling him the weapons could break the game's flow, all you have to do is pick them up and they automatically turn to points, making the system very easy to use. There is also the option to customize your weapons, though how much that's worth the hassle is up to you (I found adding a silencer and a shotgun mod to my M4 quite handy, especially toward the end of the game).

Along with your new guns, you'll find plenty of other things to collect. Playboy magazines , the classic digital camera, you'll get rations to replenish your health (which can also be done by lying down, MGS3-style), recovery items, food, a barrel, your trusty cardboard box and more. An interesting, though misadvertised, addition is Snake's iPod. Its importance to gameplay is minimum, but by picking up music tracks from the entire series and playing them, you might make a whole new experience out of it (much as others don't get it, it's something special sneaking past enemies with the "Theme of Tara" -from the original "Metal Gear"- playing in the background).

Because of the way the game's designed, it adds an interesting dynamic to how you'll play the game overall. It's not just about action vs. stealth, it's about utilizing the best course of action at any given time. The game has two armies constantly fighting each other: the government PMCs and the rebels/militia. The developers have given the player the option to side with either or neither and progress accordingly. It doesn't really go far beyond that and what really matters is shooting the other side and not your own, but the right choice at the right time can save you a lot of time and rations. On the not-so-bright side, these aspects die out after a while and from some point on the game forces itself on you. It's not bad and it really just takes the game back to the roots of the series, but it's still a bit of a pity that this compelling new dynamic is only explored in the first two acts and completely disappears afterwards.

Of course, a number of scripted action sequences make their return, including a drive with a tank, a bike-chase and of course, several boss battles. This time, Snake takes on the "Beauty & the Beast" unit; four hot girls, dressed up in super-suits and carrying super-weapons, as well as devastating traumas from wars they've experienced when they were children. Bad stuff that make for a collection of challenging freaks for our hero. Still, the highlight of boss battles remains the final confrontation between the Snakes. Like the story, this is one that you must experience on your own and, while it's not as direct and action-packed as the rest, it's fully immersive and on its own, pretty damn epic.

The final noteworthy gameplay addition is the Psyche and Stress counters. A man as old as Snake can't be expected to be as fast and strong as he used to be when he was young. So, this time he doesn't just have to stay alive, but he must also keep his spirits up. The psyche meter will eventually start going down, especially when under distress, making Snake's responses in action sequences (and especially shooting) notably less sharp, but it can be replenished by lying down for a bit. Likewise, Snake experiences extreme stress, usually when hunted during an alarm. The effect of the stress counter isn't as direct as Psyche's, though, as high stress won't affect Snake's abilities on the battlefield, but the rate of his recovery. Unlike stress, which is generally easy to manipulate, Psyche usually comes into play during intermissions for effect, rather than essence.

The controls have been changed to -presumably- support the new moves and serve the gameplay. The idea behind most changes was that it should be functional and at the same time, not very Japanese, in fear of alienating Western players. The best answer to that comes from Kojima himself, when in a codec conversation with Campbell, the Colonel (refering to rations) says "The Japanese one was better than I expected". It's not that the control layout is bad on its own, it's mostly that there's a number of changes that are a bit too drastic for the series. The D-Pad is essentially put out of commision (though still used on occasion for things like zooming in and out). Left stick is movement, right stick is rotating the camera. Equipping/unequipping items and weapons remain to L2 and R2. X remains the crawl, but because there is an additional crouching position that allows Snake to move, it matters a great deal how hard you push the button to trigger the move you want. Crouching and tapping X will get Snake standing up. Pushing harder from crouching will send him to crawling. It's not too bad, but don't be surprised if you find standing up when you wanted to crawl or vice-versa a little too many times.

To fire you need to "ready" the weapon with L1 and then fire with R1. The idea in itself isn't bad and it's used by many games, but not only can it be confusing for veterans (especially since the square button doesn't seem to do anything important; actually I don't think I used it at all), but in the case of grenades or mines, it can be tedious. It slows the action down significantly and considering that you'll be using these kind of weapons during boss battles, you don't want that. I was hit a couple of times by one of the bosses, Laughing Octopus, because it took too long to plant a Claymore Mine in her path. Likewise, it's great that I can aim where the grenade is going to go, but it kind of beats the point when my target isn't sitting duck. Especially in the case of stun and chaff grenades, for which really doesn't matter where the hell they go (as long as the stun grenade doesn't explode next to you), it's almost downright stupid.

The triangle button remains the action button and does pretty much what it did in MGS2/3, with a thing or two added. Another great gameplay element which was a classic for the series but was inexplicably removed for this game, is the quick-reload. From MGS1-3, Snake would reload when the clip was empty or you could do it instantly by equipping/unequipping your weapon. It was one of the old, neat gameplay "cheats" that games used to have and provided a very fast-paced thinking during battles (anyone who knows these games well knows what I'm talking about). In MGS4, reloading has been shifted to the Circle button and the quick-reload feature has been removed. Like the deal with menu X and O and the Codec buton, this one was entirely inexplicable. I mean, the R2 button does exactly the same it used to. You want to add reloading to Circle? OK. But give me back my neat pseudo-cheat.

On a related note, assigning reload to O means moving the PPK combo to R1; the same weapon that performs CQC. It's not confusing, since PPK is performed rarely and on certain occasions, but it's still awkward having to tap R1 for a fighting combo.

In any case, the biggest failure of the control scheme isn't the way it's set up (BTW, the lack of a first person view that doesn't include carrying a weapon is frustrating), but rather the lack of a feature that lets you customize the controls the way you want them. I'll bite and say that it's OK that you don't want to alienate new gamers and Western gamers in particular. But why alienate me, the fan, who has gotten used to completely different controls for FOUR games in TEN years? Let me customize the damn thing!

As far as the presentation goes, the game is incredible. People say that it's currently the best looking game of the PS3. In terms of technical achievement, it's up there with GTA4 graphically (higher, keeping in mind that GTA usually gets these for the rendering an open-world instantly). The textures are amazing, the settings beautiful, the design and the atmosphere incredible, the models approach photo-realistic for current standards, with facial expressions even with the in-game models that make you feel like you are watching real people.

But, unlike most other titles, this time I won't praise the visuals as much as I'll praise the sound. I'm actually surprised that so little has been said about the sound of Metal Gear Solid 4. For a series that's always kept high standards in music, sound effects and voice acting, the team behind each of these categories outdo themselves in every possible way. It's not just that they utilize the new technologies in sound so well that the sound quality is mind-blowing, it's that the work put into the department is fantastic. The sound effects are rich and detailed, whether it's the sweet sounds of nature in South America or the soul-wrecking gunshots and explosions of the warzone. The soundtrack is amazing too. Though I personally still consider the MGS3 soundtrack to be the most complete OST to date, there's a handful of tracks from MGS4 that deserve all the praise one can give. And not only that, but the game uses much familiar music from the past in a key location in MGS history, as well as remixed tracks from the past. The only downside was the sore lack of the classic MGS theme. I still find the notion that Konami could be sued for plagiarism for using it ridiculous and, great as the music may be, the absense of the theme is noticable, especially in several parts where it's replaced by its inferior "Saga" brother (a remix of the main theme of "Snake Eater", sans the MGS series theme). To be fair to all sound departments involved, the voice acting jumps from solid to astounding. Hayter's Naked Snake was a dodgy performance that strained the actor's voice a little too much, to the point that it showed his effort to get the voice right. Here, his rugged Old Snake is fantastic, realistic, believable and his performance seamless. The same goes for every single character that appears, even if one or two of them have lost their accents over the years.

So, is this game what others have said? A ten out of ten? Probably not. It's not perfect and only perfect deserves ten. There are areas that game fails, like the controls, the fact that the Codec is vastly underplayed in this installment or even just the fact that Kojima didn't manage to deliver a lot of the things he intended to at first (like fully destructible and interractive environments- "No place to hide"). When you leave everything else aside, if there is one thing where MGS4 fails for me is that it doesn't feel as epic as its predecessors; not epic as a game, but as an MGS title. Be it the effort to "westernize" it, the lack of Japa-humor, the fact that it's split into acts instead of flowing as a movie, removing the "journey" feel that other titles had? Whatever it is, it's just not as emotionally impactful as the previous titles.

But when all's said and done, does it matter? Not one bit. Because it still manages to be a worthy conclusion to a tremendous saga, even with questionable choices in plot points. And it still manages, for every fan, to get them to look back nostalgically and give Solid Snake his much earned final salute. And because, as a game, it's a polished, massively-designed gem. And, finally, because if you paid Sony your hard-earned money but still refuse to play -no, buy this game, then you're just an idiot who's wasting my oxygen.

Metal Gear Retrospective - Part 5: "Metal Gear Solid 3"

Kojima didn't intend to return to Metal Gear after "Sons of Liberty". Of course, by then, it was one of Konami's hottest properties, so a sequel was inevitable. KCEJ was going to handle development, and Kojima would be credited as producer (possibly writer, too, not sure). But when he had a look at the game's progress, he realized that his team had found themselves way over their heads. That, in addition to fan-demand, made him return once again in the seat of the director.

The first trailers for "Metal Gear Solid 3" were puzzling. They showed the familiar face of Snake running and gunning down bad-guys in an open environment; a jungle. Also, it was pretty clear that the story was taking place some time in the past; in the 1960s, in the middle of the Cold War. But how could it be? Solid Snake wasn't even born yet. How can he be in those trailers?

Speculation ran rampant for months with theories that even went as far as including time-travelling. Finally, the official corfimation of the most prominent theory came; this was not Solid Snake in the trailers, but instead his father. The ultimate enemy in the series, the madman who wanted to burn the world in the fires of War, the man who Snake did in not once, but twice. That was the legendary soldier, Big Boss. Holy crap, we were playing the bad guy!

Or were we? MGS3, subtitled "Snake Eater", told the story of young John/Jack, who was sent in Russian territory in 1964 by the FOX Unit (under commands from the CIA, the head intelligence service during the Cold War) to rescue a Soviet scientist called Sokolov, who had defected to the US. Jack, codenamed for the mission "Naked Snake", would be backed up by his commander, Major Zero (codenamed "Tom" for this mission, adopted by mistake from one of the three tunnels in the movie "The Great Escape"), Para-Medic (whose name pretty much explains what her job was) and his old mentor, the legendary WWII American hero, the Boss.

The infiltration went without a hitch but as soon as Jack was ready to leave with Sokolov, he was ambushed by a young Ocelot and his unit. A mistake from the young Major Ocelot, gave Snake the chance to beat the entire unit and escape with Sokolov, only to be ambushed a few steps ahead by the Boss herself. In front of his eyes, the American hero defected to the Soviet Union with her old WWII unit, the Cobras, handed the insane Russian Colonel Volgin two Davy Crocket portable nuclear launchers, recaptured Sokolov and kicked the crap out of Snake. Before Snake was intercepted half-dead by Command, Volgin fired a nuclear missile toward the facility Sokolov was earlier being held in; and he blamed it on the Boss.

One week later, Jack's in the hospital, where he's briefed about the situation from Major Zero. Kruschev's trying to stay in power and avoid a nuclear war, so he asks President Johnson to prove America's innocence. FOX sends Snake back to Russia to rescue Sokolov, destroy his creation, the Shagohod (an early Metal Gear model, so to speak), get rid of Volgin and assassinate the Boss.

Kojima was born in the '60s and was raised during that era of fear (imagine how greater it must've been for a Japanese). He wanted to do this nostalgic story about the age when espionage was at its best. In result, the story feels exactly like that; a 1960s spy story, with the usual anti-war/anti-nuke themes, but lacking the depth of "Sons of Liberty" 's subtext. As a matter of fact, Kojima goes so far as to add several Bond-esque elements to the atmosphere (starting with the theme song "Snake Eater"), though this should come as no surprise, considering that James Bond movies were one of Kojima's inspirations for MGS.

The story disappointed several, especially fans of SoL; truth be told, MGS2 raised the bar considerably and it would be hard for MGS3 to surpass it with the direction it was taking. Even so, SE's story is still well-told, with plenty of genuinely emotional moments, better (actually the best in the series until then) pacing and a truly amazing plot twist in the end that by the time you wrap your head around it, through one of the main character's narration, you couldn't help but break down and shed a tear.

Speaking of the pacing, one constant complaint with the previous two games (and especially MGS2) was that the story took up way too much time, or that it broke the game's flow. Ultimately, with MGS3, Kojima and his team finally take that step forward and remove the game from some of the basic concepts that they seemed to be sticking on, maybe even in scepticism of changing a successful formula. So, even though the story is still massive (not as convoluted as SOL's, but there are still tons of cinematics), there is just as much gameplay and the balance is excellent.

Let's not forget that Kojima made -in terms of mechanics- the same game three times. I'm not saying that like it's a bad thing, considering the end result, but he was entirely creative with MG2:SS, then "ported" that game in 3D and made MGS and then refined MGS and made MGS2. This time, he returns to making the game from square one. And because the game would feature mostly open-ended (actually, it's still just box areas with different decoration, but much more vast) areas, there had to be a completely new engine. MGS, a game that was an action-adventure game with stealth elements, was redefined with "Snake Eater", with a much heavier focus on stealth.

Your footsteps would now be heard on any surface. You had three ways to walk; running would make your footsteps be heard from far enough, walking would make your footsteps be heard, but it would allow you to go close enough to score a kill. Lastly, stalking would make you completely silent, but you'd have to time it, because it was slow. The enemies retained the 45 degree field-of-vision, but they'd be able to spot you from much further. That's why, you'd have to blend in, adding that way the most important gameplay feature of the title: camouflage. Snake was equipped with a variety of camouflage patterns and facepaints to wear, depending on the terrain he was standing on. With smarter enemies and the lack of the radar, the camouflage wasn't just the best, but possibly the only way to make the game work and still make it tons of fun.

This shift to stealth dropped the pace of the game to much slower rates than its predecessors, but was masterfully done, making a game that felt refreshing, was fun and still felt very much like a Metal Gear title. Of course, even though the stealth did make the game slower, it didn't mean that Snake was unable to hold against his enemies in a fight. The legendary Big Boss started with only a tranquilizer gun (an MK22 in this case), but picked up an entire armory during his mission, including a sub-machine gun, two rifles, a shotgun, a sniper rifle, an RPG-7, grenades and explosives. To help him through his mission, he also carried gadgets, such as the anti-personel sensor (first shown in MGS2, though not as successfully), a sonar, a mine detector and a motion detector. The difference from previous games was that this time, Snake couldn't carry everything; instead he had to use some of his weapons and equipment and leave the rest in his backpack until he needed them again. Even so, he could still carry a pretty big number of guns, making the swapping process as less tedious as possible. The shooting was more challenging, since the auto-aim feature was removed entirely and the lack of a laser sight made the use of guns a bit more difficult from a distance.

But even if he didn't end up with Tackleberry's orgy-room, Snake is a master of a close-quarters-combat technique called CQC; one he developed with the Boss. This technique replaces the old PPK combo and allows the use of a knife to immobilize an enemy and then do a number of things to him: knock him down, knock him out, break his neck, use him as a human shield (particularly useful during combat; take that Ocelot Unit!) or slit his throat. CQC is an almost unbeatable move that can save you from a possible alert after being spotted by a single sentry, becoming a little too useful at times, but allowing so many different strategies during game, that made its inclusion more than welcome.

The last gameplay feature that saw change in MGS3 was the health gauge. No more rations to fill up your health bar. Instead, Snake's health would replenish after a while. Still, you'd have to look out for two things: his stamina bar and his wounds. The new stamina bar was emptied in time progressively and could be replenished by feeding Snake animals and plants you could pick up in the jungle. If it went too low, Snake's performance would drop and his health bar would refill slower. The bar could refill on its own this time around, but Snake could still get seriously injured; shot, burnt, cut, bitten by insects. For such cases there was the new "cure" system; there, with an array of emergency surgical supplies, Snake could tend to his wounds.

Even with the stealth focus, the game still offered an impressive collection of boss battles. Ocelot and his two revolvers (and those DAMN cobras that keep biting you when you try to shoot the guy), the Pain and his swarm of man-killing bees, the Fear who turned invisible, the Fury and his flamethrower and one of the most memorable battle in the series, up there with Psycho Mantis: the End battle, a sniper battle of endurance that can take up to more than half an hour (!). And of course, there is the battle against Colonel Volgin, one that comes with a time limit of only five minutes (unless you skip the preceding cutscene), the Shagohod itself and, of course, the Boss.

As usual, the game looked absolutely gorgeous. As a matter of fact, it's one of the best-looking games of the PS2, maybe second only to the likes of God of War. High-poly models with greatly detailed skins and amazing animations, on atmospheric backgrounds and cutscenes beautifully directed with Hollywood-level shots, excellent choreography and symbolism, all dipped in visual surrealism. And the sound doesn't fall behind, with the sound quality as great as ever, the cast solid (even if David Hayter sounded like trying a little too much in parts) and the music unbeatable. Speaking of the music, MGS3 goes one step beyond what its predecessors did and even borrows songs from other artists (like the end-credits song "Way to fall"); not only that, but Harry Gregson Williams outdid himself, ending his creation with what's probably the most effective and, hell, the best song he's composed for this series: "Debriefing".

"Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater" was released in North America in November 2004 and in Europe and Japan on the spring of 2005. The sales were good, though ultimately dissappointing for the series' standards. Responsible for that were both the dissapointment spawned by story and pacing of "Sons of Liberty" and, to a degree, the fact that it launched in the States only a few days after "Grand Theft Auto San Andreas" (in an early post-MGS3 interview, Kojima had said that he considered not releasing the next Metal Gear game in the States). An expansion "Subsistence" followed in 2006. This package included the original game disk with extra camouflage options, a 3D rotating camera to switch to instead of the original fixed one, a disk with the Secret Theater (a collection of MGS3 spoof videos) and the translated versions of "Metal Gear" and "Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake", as well as "Metal Gear Online", the long-expected multiplayer Metal Gear game. There was also a third disk called "Existance". "Existance" was essentially the cinematics of MGS3, tied together and re-edited to present the game's story as a movie. It was a decent move to replace the old "demo theater", but proved ultimately underwhelming, as the re-edit was confusing and awkward and the additional footage we were promised was gameplay videos from different angles.

The fan community was split. A big portion fell in love with its '60s setting and even with the main character, one who was the ultimate evil until then, while other were disappointed that it didn't live up to the plot-standards set by MGS2. There was also a rather vocal portion who disliked or downright hated Naked Snake. From personal observation, it appears that the dislike doesn't come from the depiction of the character in the game, but from the fact that Kojima even attempted to give a credible background to Big Boss' future actions, which they considered ultimately unredeemable.

Either way, MGS3: SE remains one of the best titles for the Playstation 2. It's a complete experience, that doesn't hesitate to provide all the fun a game should give. In addition, it tells the story of one of the most important figures in the Metal Gear Saga, not only humanizing his legendary figure, but through a story filled with pain and betrayal, providing a background (however acceptable or non-acceptable) for the future of the greatest soldier of 20th Century.

The story of Snake Eater was followed up by a pseudo-sequel on the PSP, titled "Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops". I might cover it another time, but MGS3 was too good of an experience to screw it up with MPO.

Next post, the time has finally come; the "Metal Gear Solid 4" review. Till then...

Metal Gear Retrospective - Part 4: "Metal Gear Solid 2"

MGS was a huge hit, so Kojima wasted no time and immediately started the planning and, then, the production of "Metal Gear Solid 2". The story was supposed to follow straight after the original MGS, with a plane hijacked over the Middle East and nuclear inspections. However, tensions started again in the Middle East during that time, so Kojima and his team had to change their original plan completely. No more hijacked planes by Liquid (yes, Liquid), no more nukes, no anti-nuke messages. Instead, Kojima expanded his story and tackled another hot issue for him: censorship and freedom. "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty" was released for the Playstation 2 console in 2001.

It seems that our hero, Solid Snake, has been busy after the Shadow Moses incident. Instead of returning to Alaska and drinking to death or wallowing in self-pity, he and his new best-buddy Otacon founded a non-profit organization called "Philanthropy". Philanthropy's purpose is to eradicate all Metal Gears in the world and with REX's specs sold to the black market by Ocelot after Shadow Moses, the duo have had their hands full. It's during one such business that we start the game. The year 2007 and Otacon digs up info that a new type of Metal Gear, developed by the Marines, is being transported in a tanker across the Hudson River, Manhattan. Snake jumps off a bridge and lands onto the tanker. He's about to start his mission, when shortly after his arrival, Russian soldiers land on the tanker and slaughter the Marines on-board. The Russians are a private army led by Colonel Sergei Gurlugovich , the same man that was supposed to buy REX from the Shadow Moses takeover group two years ago.

During the first part of the mission, the so-called "Tanker Chapter", Snake confronts Sergei's pregant daughter, Olga and locates the new Metal Gear, "Metal Gear RAY". Sticking to the original mission plan, he takes photos of RAY and sends them to Otacon to post online and prove RAY's existence to the public. But things aren't as simple as they seem; an army "Cypher" unit takes photos of Snake on the scene. Otacon reveals that somebody sent him the tip about RAY and they might have been set up. Someone seems to be listening in on their Codec conversations. And it all comes to a head in the tanker holds, when the remaining Marines and Commander Scott Dolph, unaware of the Russian takeover, are ambushed by Ocelot and Gurlugovich. Gurlugovich believes he's there to take RAY and use it to revive Russia; much like he'd do with REX. But he's betrayed by Ocelot, who kills him and Dolph and, as he says, takes Metal Gear back... to the Patriots. Ocelot swims away with RAY, after sinking the tanker along with the Marines and Snake... but not before a face from the past comes back to haunt our hero.

The conclusion of this chapter leads to the main MGS2, the "Plant Chapter". Two years later and a clean-up facility called "Big Shell" is set up in the place where the tanker was sank to decontaminate the seawater. Solid Snake is considered responsible for the sinking and is presumed dead, complete with a matching body and a burrial record. On the morning of April 29th, 2009, former-anti-terrorist group called "Dead Cell" have seized the facility. They have two leverages: one, sinking the facility could cause the biggest enviromental destruction in History and two, a government-sponsored tour was going on during the time of the attack. They have hostages, including the President of the United States. A new operative, called "Raiden" is sent in by unit FOXHOUND (no more hyphen) and Colonel Roy Campbell (as we are led to believe, though he's never referred to by name) to stop the terrorists, who are -allegedly- led by Solid Snake; the dead enviromental terrorist.

The story of the plant chapter ties in perfectly with the tanker chapter, making a complete game; and inarguably forming one of the best (if not THE best) and most in-depth plots in any game, ever. The twists plenty, genuinely shocking and hitting you without mercy. But with its context is where the game's plot shines. It makes you control a player entirely devoid of depth and character. A soldier without prior experience except VR; a video-game player. Someone who has completed many missions in VR, including Shadow Moses and the Tanker incident. A legendary soldier. Sounds like someone you know?

The game screws with your head from the first minute to the last. It keeps making fun of you and yet, you keep playing. There are hints to reveal the truth throughout the game and yet, you won't get any of them unless you already know the story. The mostly tedious relationship via the codec, between Raiden and his girlfriend, Rose, is full of them too. It's funny, because 9 out of 10 of their dialogues are cringe-worthy, but when you pay attention, everything points to the resolution. Through an intriguing sci-fi story, Kojima states obvious-but-ignored truths of our social structure and makes his point, passing through the usual anti-war messages and the need to find your own path in life. The first MGS was about "GENE"; about how dependant you are on your genes and how much they determine who you are. This one is about "MEME"; how well one can form a character based on mimicking others. The plant chapter reveals that Liquid survives through his arm, now attached to Ocelot and can take over his host. It also reveals that there was a third Snake; the ex-president of the United States of America, responsible in-part for the Shadow Moses incident, "Solidus Snake". Unlike Solid and Liquid, Solidus is the perfect copy of Big Boss. And the most shocking revelation of all is the existence of a group that rules the States; the Patriots.

The Tanker chapter plays very much like "Metal Gear Solid". It has the same visual impact, the same character, the same feel, the same atmosphere. It's a direct sequel to the first MGS in every way, just with much updated mechanics. These include the ability to stalk (to avoid have your steps be heard on certain surfaces), hang and drop from ledges, hide inside lockers, carry dead bodies around, hold up your enemies, dive forward as well as the much needed first-person shooting mode. An extra addition, that would see much use in the series from there on, was the tranquilizer gun (an M9 in this game), that came with a silencer and saved the player from a lot of trouble. The AI was also much updated, with better coordination between enemy AI when working in groups and soldiers reporting to the HQ every now and then, making their disposal very dangerous. They have to call in for backup when they spot the player, giving you time to react by killing them or shooting their radio off or run away altogether, they look inside lockers and boxes, they intensify patrols, they shoot in turns to maximize effectiveness. During battle, they are more careful, they dodge shots, they call in heavy cavalry that comes equipped with vests and shields and shotguns and at times, they are even afraid of you and run to save their virtual lives.

The Plant Chapter comes with the exact same gameplay elements. But instead of playing like a faithful sequel, it makes an attempt to mock the first MGS and blantly mimick it; fitting in perfectly with the game's context.

The game is very beautiful, even by today's standards. The animation of the models is excellent. The surroundings seem a bit low-res now (the textures in particular), but the overall result is still very satisfying. The attention to detail is amazing, adding lots of easter eggs all over the game, as well as posters of Japanese models to look at and giving the player the ability to interract with the environment and pretty much shoot every little thing on-screen. The sound is excellent too; the voice-acting is a little more over the top than the 3rd Metal Gear title, but overall sounds more matured. The sound effects detailed and top-notch and all that dressed by a soundtrack composed by Hollywood-composer Harry Gregson Williams; a fast-paced soundtrack, with its share of emotional themes, a great re-composition of the Metal Gear Solid theme and a beautiful jazz ending theme that fits perfectly with the images of New York that pop up during the credits.

Though the game was a commercial success (and probably the most successful game in the series' history), it is -to this day- criticized severely by a big portion of gamers. Raiden, who Kojima kept under wraps until the very release of the game (before the game was released, gamers had no idea Snake would take a back-seat in a mentor-like role), turned many players off, especially fans of the first "Metal Gear Solid". For others, the convoluted storyline and the overabudance of dialogue and Codec scenes killed the game. The truth is that the game's plot and context is amazing, but the pacing of the story is a bit on the weak side, taking up a lot of time that the gameplay could use and becoming information-heavy toward the end. In addition to that, the huge amount of story that should be told in cinematics couldn't be fit in a single DVD, so they had to remove some cinematics altogether and turn them to Codec conversations.

MGS2 was critically praised at the time of its release; looking back, most have recalled their assessments since. Though the game's commercial success spawned a "Document of Metal Gear Solid 2", an expansion "Substance" (including the main game, new VR missions and the alternative reality "Snake Tales") and two horrible ports for the XBOX and the PC, it essentially killed the big sales numbers for the series, as charts for the following sequels would prove. However, for the fans of the series, MGS2 remains a masterpiece and for a large portion of them (to which I include myself), the best game in the series.

"Sons Of Liberty" left a lot of unanswered questions and established a massive setting that screamed for a sequel. Hideo Kojima, however, did not intend to return to the series. But when he realized that his team in charge of "Metal Gear Solid 3" wasn't doing particularly well on their own, he returned for what he -as claimed at the time- would be his final input in the series.

POTO Week - SPECIAL

It's been a few months since the first "event" (though I hate the description) of this blog, the "Phantom of the Opera" week. At the time, I had managed to find and watch a good deal of on-screen adaptations of Leroux's novel, starting with the classic 1925 silent film and concluding with Hollywood adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical . In case you don't remember which ones in specific I covered, have a look here.

But even so, I had missed several (it appears that there are over FORTY adapations of the novel, bigger or smaller, more or less important- a trip to wikipedia will be a lot more enlightening). The ones I know for a fact I've missed are an early 90s short TV serial, a musical itself, a 1982 movie, the recut of the 1925 film re-released in '29 and, lastly, the 1987 cartoon.

I don't know if and when I'll be obtaining any of the other versions mentioned, but I've been able to see the last mentioned, the cartoon version of "The Phantom of the Opera". So, let's have a look at that one.



This animated version of Leroux's book was made by Emerald City Productions, a -I think- Norwegian studio and it was released in 1987, starring Aiden Grennel as the Phantom. This short film is known by few, mostly "phans" and it's quite hard to find these days. It's praised by many is the closest-to-date version to the book. So, now that I've seen it, is that true? Is it really the most faithful adaptation? To put it bluntly, no. Not exactly.

The film starts with Christine and Raoul heading to the Opera house in a cab. Right off the bat, Christine lets us know -through dialogue- that the viscount and herself have been friends since childhood. She's quick to let Raoul know that she would finally assume a leading role and play Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet". When they reach the Opera, we get glimpses of the Phantom, the Persian and the new manager Joseph Buquet (yes, Buquet) arguing with the stage-manager, Robert, about reserving Box 5 to a ghost. Christine indeed sings, Carlotta's absence is discussed and the young singer's performance is celebrated.



Raoul goes to visit her in her dressing room after the end of the performance, only to overhear inside the voice of a man, asking Christine to love him. Raoul barges inside asking for explanations, only to be kicked out by a saddened and furious Christine. The Phantom appears before her eyes and takes her to his lair, worships her until she takes off his mask and he becomes furious. He returns her to the surface, she tells Raoul of her Angel of Music and who he is and Raoul laughs at her face. The masked ball, the rooftop, Christine tells Raoul of her plan to escape with him after her next performance. She sings the following night and Erik, knowing of their plan, sends the chandellier down and kidnaps Christine. The Persian goes to Raoul and leads him to the ghost's lair. Christine shows Erik compassion and he lets all three of them go, bringing down the "house by the lake" on himself.

That's pretty much it. It so happens that I finished reading the book last night, just before I got to watch the movie, so I can see why this is considered the most faithful version. Truth be told, it's the only adaptation to even feature "the Persian", the only version I've seen after the '25 film to use the Torture Chamber and Erik's plan to bring down the Opera House, it more-or-less follows the events of the novel in the correct order (time-wise) and even goes as far as lifting entire chunks of dialogue from the book and using them unchanged.



But what makes this version still quite unfaithful, in my opinion, is that the things that aren't the same are just sloppy. Christine plays Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet" instead of Marguerite in "Faust" (though we could blame that on possibly practical issues, like not finding a recording of "Faust" to use- after all, "Romeo and Juliet" is referenced in the book and used in that awful '62 adaptation). Why was Buquet the manager, and Robert the guy who was hanged? There is no apparent reason for that change. The film starts off too abruptly with Christine and Raoul, killing an important part of the dynamic of their relationship (Christine pretending not to remember Raoul and being afraid to approach him). The scene on the rooftop takes place after the masked ball, like in the '25 silent film (btw, HILARIOUS costumes the young couple were wearing). I think Raoul is the Count in this version. There is no Count Philippe. No mention of Madame Giry or Meg. No mention of the twenty-thousand francs. The addition of the Persian was faithful to the book, but ultimately harmful for the film itself. And, at that, his story has been changed too; instead of the man who saved Erik's life by losing his status, he is now the mysterious cop who's been hunting Erik (funnily resembling a lot, both in story and appearance, inspector Ledoux once again in the silent film). And the ending was a little too dramatic for no reason (taking a cue, apparently, after the 1943 film).

Where the film loses most of its faithfulness is in essence. It lasts just an hour (or less), so things are squeezed. It's good that it follows a great deal of events from the book and mostly in the correct order, but when the story becomes a tad rushed and the characters uninteresting, there is a problem. The fact that it uses whole passages from the book makes it easy to feel for Erik, assuming you've read the novel, but otherwise, it won't do a thing, clear as his drama may be.

The animation and the voice acting are horrendous. So is the direction. Hilariously bad close ups to the eyes of the characters whenever something tense happens, accompanied by TONS of footage that gets used over and over. Grennel is OK as the Phantom, but everyone else is downright painful, be it Christine's over-the-top screams, Raoul's cheesy acting or the Persian's awful fake accent. Fun-fact, and I'm ashamed to say it, but I was laughing for a big portion of the film, not so much from what I was seeing as from what the sight made me imagine (again, I had just finished reading the book and in comparisson, parody scenes kept popping up in my head).

(Yes, that is actually the best shot of the chandellier falling. The crash is really just a white flash)

When all is said and done, this isn't total garbage. Truth be told, I've been harsh on it in comparisson to other POTO films, when -in fact- it's not comparable. It's a fast-made, low-budget project that a studio cooked up real quick to make some profit or meet some partner demand. Doesn't matter; if you're a fan and you come across it, do have a look at it. It's short and it's got the charm of the old, cheesy, '80s cartoon, lost in time.

Movie Review: "Cloverfield"

It's been a long time coming and considering how long ago this incredibly hyped film was released, it's far too late, but I assume there must still be some people out there who haven't watched it. That and "Cloverfield", whether good or bad, deserves all the articles it can get. If for nothing else, then just for the movie it inserted into Hollywood.

So, you might not have seen it, but you've certainly heard about it. This was easilly the most hyped film after last year's "Transformers", maybe coming second only to "Iron Man".  For the people following the hype, it was the impressive and shocking return of the monster-movie genre, a genre rediculed or downright killed in the past few decades, but arguably one of the genres to forward the concepts of sci-fi and -to a lesser extend- horror in the '50s. That, on its own, made the film-makers' work all the more important.

The funny thing is that there is not that much to say about this film. There is no story beyond the fact that a giant monster of unknown origin pops up out of nowhere in New York and creates havoc. And there are no characters, no archetypes, no stereotypes (well, scratch that, they're all stereotypes, just not defined), no development, no exploration. It's all about clean-cut, straight-forward terror and action, with few pauses of superficial, simplistic, underplayed melodrama.

So, what the hell is there to like? This isn't a movie; out of the thousands of times I've bashed films for ignoring the basic principles of drama (coherent story and characterization), how can I find even one redeeming spot in this piece of work that not only lacks both, but gloats it's ommiting them? The ingenuity (though the word might be a little too strong) comes exactly from that; "Cloverfield" isn't a movie, not in the standard sense. It's a faux-documentary whose purpose is only to create feelings, not by forcing them through characterization, situations and music, but by the throwing shocking images at you. The entire movie is shot with a hand-held camera, from a first-person view. The camera is shaky, as expected, but just enough to pass the experience off as realistic. There is no story, because there is none to tell. It's not about the monster, who made it, where it came from and such; it's about seeing it and dropping your jaw. The characters are pretty, model-pretty and empty, entirely, with only glimpses of their lives that are so generic that they hit right on target. Because if you couldn't tell already, this faux-documentary's purpose can be described in one word: immersion.

Those of us who play games, especially first-person-shooters, can see right through it. The first-person-view and the lack of any characterization and story point exactly to that. The film-makers put the movie-goers in a position that guarantees familiarity (among friends, in the big city that looks safe, with family and the love of your life) and then takes it all away in an instant, placing them in the fearful post-9/11 world, though instead of terrorists or war, the threat is a monster. And it's unbeatable. 

The acting is entirely forgettable, though it'd be unfair to pin it on the actors; this is the point of the film, after all. If anything, they come off as natural as you'd expect them. But it's the writing , aside from the direction, that the film almost excels at. The dialogue is sharp and spot-on for the entire duration of "Cloverfield". It's true that the events that lead this "documentary" get predictable and a bit over-the-top toward the end (you can see what the end is, but the writer drags the inevitable annoyingly), but the dialogue makes up for these shortcomings. And that's because the lack of an actual story makes the movie nothing but pure dialogue; it's the writer's entire foundation. For well over an hour, we have nothing but continuous, down-to-earth dialogue, with the lack of any pompous and overwhelming lines that drama usually requires. In essence, what writer Drew Goddard has accomplished, is write an hour-long, non-stop conversation without missing as much as one word. In writing, that can be a very impressive feat. And indeed, with the visual aid from director Matt Reeves, impressive it is.

After its release, the film was met with much, much disappointment. It's not that it isn't an enjoyable experience, as much as it is that the hype killed it. It's ironic, but if it hadn't hyped itself so much, if it was less mis-advertised and the audience had an idea on what to expect, it might have been better-received. 

Overall, "Cloverfield" is a special case of a film. It's less about watching the film than under what conditions you watch it. Partly, the whole juice is in watching it in a theater, so you can experience first-hand the reactions of the crowd around you. Personally, I couldn't have enjoyed it on a big screen with three dozen people around me. I watched it at home, on my computer monitor, all alone. The movie is presented as a documentary, what you watch is that tape that recorded it all and was recovered by the military. And it was that which made it imperative for me that I watch it on a small screen, as I would watch a tape. Watch "Cloverfield"; no expectations. Let yourself be immersed. Don't think about it after it ends; there is nothing to think about. You won't be revisiting it anyway. It's a one-time deal and it's effective.

PS: That means NO NEED FOR A SEQUEL. What the hell is wrong with you people?

"Cloverfield" trailer: