Plot. In the year 2014, the world has become a chaotic garden of doom. The War Economy, an economical global structure created by The Patriots, has plunged the world into absolute chaos and destruction. This fuels the need for Private Military Companies (PMC), comprised of powerful military organizations governed by a mother company, Outer Heaven, which Liquid Ocelot is at the helm. Liquid Ocelot is a fusion of the conscience of Liquid Snake and Revolver Ocelot, and he is once again aiming for world domination. Solid Snake, now known as Old Snake, is suffering from advanced accelerated aging, caused by Werner's Syndrome, is dispatched by his former commanding officer, Roy Campbell, as a personal favor to assassinate Liquid. The game is divided into six acts, the last is a two-part act debriefing epilogue.
Gameplay. Players must navigate throughout the world in order to progress further. The game has also introduced the psyche system, in which raises in combat situations, Snake can aim, shoot, and fight more accurately, but when the psyche gauge decreases, the harder it is to aim, shoot, and fight as well. The Soliton Radar is no longer used in this game, but now Snake uses the Solid Eye, in which acts as a aseline map that responds to his presence. The Close Quarters Combat (CQC) was revamped. Also, to equip a large variety of weapons, players must go to Drebin's and have the weapons laundered so they can be equipped.
Characters and Voice Acting. The voice acting was directed by Kris Zimmerman-Salter (Dexter's Laboratory, I Am Weasel, Cow and Chicken, God of War series), and voice actors such as: David Hayter, Christopher Randolph, Jennifer Hale, and others have returned and reprised their roles. Cam Clarke, who originally voiced Liquid Snake, did not return, but his voiced was archived and used for flashback sequences in the game. The game also introduced new characters such as: Drebin, a weapons launderer traveling the world with his soda-guzzling pet monkey Little Gray, Rat Pt. 01, which is commanded by Meryl Silverburgh (MGS1), Sunny, Olga's daughter who was rescued from The Patriots, and also introduced as antagonists are The Beauty and the Beast Unit.
Memories. The flashback sequences gave me memories of playing the old MGS games, and I really enjoyed watching them. Also getting to some areas can give audio flashbacks, but dialogues from the first MGS are archived from Twin Snakes. The only difference is that in the original MGS games, Naomi had British accent, while Mei Ling, had a traditional Chinese accent. With the Ipod equipped and having songs of the old games, I had some deja vu's everytime I played them.
History. The Metal Gear Solid saga started in 1998, which takes place many years after the two original Metal Gear games which were released between the late 80's and early 90's. Metal Gear Solid was released in Japan in September 3, 1998, while it was released in America on October 21st, 1998. MGS 2: Sons of Liberty was meant to be released in September, but since the 9/11 attacks, the game suffered changes such as the scene of Arsenal Gear in Manhattan shortened, due to the attacks at that time. It was finally released in November 2001. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was released in November 2004, and it served as a prequel to the saga. The Snake Eater game has spawned sequels with Naked Snake. The Snake Eater story continues on the PSP with games such as: Portable Ops, and Peace Walker. MGS4 was finally released in 2008. And this year, fans of MGS like myself are looking forward to Metal Gear Solid: Rising, in which Raiden is the hero of the game, which takes place between MGS2, and MGS4
Bosses. The Beauty and the Beast Unit is comprised of four different female soldiers: Laughing Octopus, Raging Raven, Crying Wolf, and Screaming Mantis. Their names are references to FOXHOUND bosses from MGS1, they wield weapons similar to that of Dead Cell members. However, Screaming Mantis wields two marionettes resembling Psycho Mantis, and The Sorrow. Vamp also makes a return in this game, as seen in the E3 trailers. Drebin briefs Old Snake about the traumatic childhoods that the four women had, before they met Liquid.
Design. The games graphics have greatly improved since the previous games. What I truly liked about this game is how the motion capture actors did an amazing job at animating the characters. I also liked how the beauties of the B&B Corps were rendered after famous supermodels such as: Lyndall Jarvis (Laughing Octopus), Yumi Kikuchi (Raging Raven, and also a friend of Kojima), Mieko Rye (Crying Wolf), and Scarlett Chorvat (Screaming Mantis).
Rantings. Well, what pissed me off in the game was the Gekko and their smaller counterparts. The Gekko were very annoying that I had Game Over a few times. Believe me, taking those bastards down ain't no picnic, but the smaller ones are five times ANNOYING than the bigger ones. Also the boss battle against Raging Raven was one of my least liked ones because of the Sliders, which were a complete bother. The FROGS female soldiers also pissed me off, with their constant hopping and shooting.
Good Aspects. My favorite scene in the game is during the chase in Europe, that was one of the many true definitions of complete epicness. Also the chase in South America was just awesome. Raiden is a complete badass as the next cyborg ninja, and how he fights is completely amazing. The E3 trailer had me jumping off my seat by watching Raiden in battle. Also the conclusive battle was amazingly well done. I consider the MGS series to be The Matrix of all video games.
Overall. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is a must own for fans of the series. The gameplay will blow players away, and the storyline will get them hungrier for more. I give this game a 10 out of 10.