Metal Gear Solid 4 Preview

It’s only been shown in one trailer, but the hype is already off the charts. Then again, the game is Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. It’s the latest, and possibly last game in Konami’s Metal Gear Solid saga. Hideo Kojima returns as director, Yoji Shinkawa as character designer, and Ken-Ichiro Imaizumi as producer.

Let’s get this out of the way: the game looks incredible. The graphics are top-notch and among the best in any game seen to date. Also, as of now, all indications point to the Tokyo Game Show trailer as being the real thing. That is, it wasn’t a pre-rendered video, or a “target gameplay” video. The graphics were running in real time. In addition, Mr. Kojima and Konami have never misled us before (at least graphically) on how the Metal Gear Solid games would look. Remember everyone being blown away by the rainy opening scene from MGS2? As we know, that turned out to be real. In any case, just download and watch the TGS trailer to see how amazing this game looks.

Not surprisingly, Konami has been mum on much of the storyline, though thanks to the trailer we do know “x years (have passed) since Big Shell”. Therefore, Metal Gear Solid 4 looks to be a direct continuation of the events that unfolded in MGS2. It also might be the first time Solid Snake has starred since the original MGS on the Playstation (Snake was only playable for about an hour in MGS2, and his daddy, Big Boss, was the main character in MGS3). And speaking of Snake…he’s gotten old. Now sporting a gray mullet and mustache, he looks like he’s aged about twenty years since MGS2.

Don’t worry about the old man being a liability on the battlefield though. If the trailer is any indication, he’ll kick just as much butt now as he did in his younger days. And it’s a good thing, because Mr. Kojima said one of the concepts this time around is “no place to hide”. In previous MGS games, hiding was the name of the game, be it in jungle foliage or ducking behind crates in an army warehouse. Judging by the MGS4 trailer, the areas look to be much more open, so Snake will have an even harder time finding a hiding spot. This “no place to hide” concept could have a profound affect on the gameplay of the MGS series. Or it could be just a bunch of hype. In either case, we’re anxious to see.

Though no specifics have been offered, the trailer also hints at some other gameplay elements. At one point, Snake doubles over coughing, and has to inject himself with some sort of drug to control the coughing fit. Could this be similar to MGS3, where Snake (aka Big Boss), had to hunt and eat food to keep his stamina up? At another point, Snake takes down a guard with moves straight out of the CQC (close-quarters combat) from MGS3, so that will probably make a return in this game. Also seen during the trailer is a cute little robot that allows Otacon (Snake’s geeky “tech” friend) to communicate with Snake, and possibly refill ammo in a pinch.

Another gameplay element might be centered on the keyword “sense”. In the previous MGS games, the keywords were “meme” “gene” and “scene” respectively. Now, for MGS4, the keyword is “sense”. No one knows what exactly this means or will entail, but we can speculate. With the advanced A.I., there might be a greater emphasis on the characters showing emotion and reacting to their surroundings. Perhaps in addition to conventional warfare, there will also be psychological warfare. There have been hints of this in previous MGS games, such as when you sneak up behind a soldier and point a gun at his head, so it will interesting to see if this is taken a step further in MGS4. It could also be more along the lines of a physical “sense”, such as the winds shifting, or a shadow moving in the sunlight, alerting a soldier. It also might be nothing like these examples…but it’s fun to guess, right?

Konami has also released some artwork showing some of the cast. There are the obvious, such as Snake, Otacon, and Revolver Ocelot. It also looks like Raiden will be returning (though hopefully not in a playable role…we know how well that went over), as well as Meryl from the first MGS. Dead Cell member Vamp also looks like he’ll be returning, as we never did see his body from MGS2. A few other characters are shown, though it’s hard to make out who they are from the artwork. One could be Big Boss. Another might be Fortune, Naomi, or some other woman altogether. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots looks poised to make a big impact on the gaming world upon its release. With Mr. Kojima back at the helm, the hype for this game is understandably high. The previous three MGS games have all featured innovative gameplay, memorable characters, and spectacular production values. Hopefully, MGS4 will continue that tradition. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this one, and with any luck Konami will have more info at this year’s E3, now only a couple of weeks away. So keep checking back for more info as it becomes available.