Is it good? It's great! Are the cutscenes long? Not if you're enjoying them! Is it the PS3 killer app? I'm sure of it.
If you're reading this review then the game should already be in your hands for Metal Gear Solid 4 is an astounding game that pushes all barriers and expands your horizons for what a video game can be. In its release trailing what was unquestionably game of the year material (GTAIV) metal gear had a lot of hype to answer to and in almost all areas it will quite happily amend the laws od video games to make games that progressive hobby you always wanted them to be.
Since the first mario game i'm sure many have fallen victim to the dream of better graphics and from the third mario game unto super mario 64 and on to mario galaxy the production values and adaptability of these games has allowed for better graphics and stronger hardware to provide better gameplay.
Metal gear has always been a highly advance formula from its inception on the MSX where it pushed advanced gameplay, graphics and unthought of ideas (some unfortunately trucks that would take you back to the start of the game). Its PlayStation incarnation was nothing if not the definitive 3D action game and its PlayStation 2 versions built on the formula whilst expanding on an idea that games can provide the immersion of a classic movie.
Metal Gear Solid 4 was designed to be the ultimate PlayStation 3 gaming experience and after so many years of hype and a mountain of expectations it'd have been easy to see it crumble.
From the initial moments of the game the tone is set: An amazing wealth of character to the scene, a very heartfelt and enticing orchestral score and essentially the feeling you're playing a game that will suck you in and let go only when you're awarded to the teeth with emblems.
Without spoiling anything I'll only say the experience is similar to the first time you watched The Godfather or when you passed an exam with flying colours it's something you don't want to finish but essentially know it has to end at some point.
Without the obvious fact the game has to end the only real gripe you could have with the game is that its online portion feels tacked on, that's not to say it's bad, it just feels irrelevant to the motives of the game and is short of any logical background except being a never ending war between the PMC's (mercenaries of sorts) and militia detailed in small doses throughout the single player experience.
For those hoping to badger their XBox friends this is the perfect bait but with a slim chance it'll be coming to the XBox I'd just play the game and enjoy it while it's fresh and certainly before you accidentally run into spoilers.
I can't recommend the game enough and will be keeping my copy for a long time to come. For those curious of the special editions I'm sure they're good if it's your kind of thing and the making of content is great but really of minimal use if you're not an avid eBayer.
Verdict: Killer-App (Got PS3? Get It!)
