Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (commonly abbreviated to MGS4) is the forthcoming game in the Metal Gear Solid series. Directed by Hideo Kojima, Shuyo Murata, and Yoji Shinkawa, Guns of the Patriots is currently being developed by Kojima Productions exclusively for the PlayStation 3. The game is being designed around the motto, "No Place to Hide!" As with previous iterations in the series, MGS4 will purportedly be the last Metal Gear Solid game developed by Hideo Kojima, and the last game in the series starring Solid Snake. It is due for simultaneous worldwide release on June 12, 2008.

Development
Initially, Hideo Kojima announced that he would be retiring as director of the Metal Gear Solid series after Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and would leave his position open to another person for Metal Gear Solid 4, as he did after Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. As a joke, the new director was announced as "Alan Smithee", but in R, a 400-page book bundled with Metal Gear Solid 3's Japanese "Premium Package", the director was revealed to be Shuyo Murata, co-writer of MGS3 and director of Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner, who has also contributed humorous easter eggs to MGS2 and Metal Gear Ghost Babel. However, it was announced that Kojima will be co-directing the game with Murata after substantial negative fan reaction, including death threats.

The title has been described as "essentially finished" since January 2008, and is currently entering extensive beta testing. Ryan Payton has previously told Reuters that MGS4 "needs to sell over a million copies on the first day it goes on sale due to its costly production." This was later revealed to be incorrect.

Plot
Set in 2014, five years after the "Manhattan Incident", MGS4 portrays a world where the restriction of military intervention on foreign soil has been eased, fueling the need for private military companies (PMCs) to fight proxy wars for business purposes. Nanotechnology has become prominent, both to enhance the capabilities and enforce the loyalty of mercenaries. The five largest of these PMCs are owned by a single mother company named Outer Heaven, which is operated by Liquid Ocelot. Amassing an army whose manpower rivals that of the United States, Liquid prepares to launch an armed insurrection. With the world once again in crisis, a rapidly aging and disillusioned Solid Snake is deployed into the Middle East by Roy Campbell to terminate Liquid. MGS4 will take place in five locations throughout the world, including the Middle East, South America and Eastern Europe.

Metal Gear Solid Flashbacks
On May 1, 2008, another trailer was released for MGS4. This one featured several showcasing of Shadow Moses with footage from Metal Gear Solid, The Twin Snakes and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It then shows young Solid Snake back on Shadow Moses Island using MGS4's graphics engine. However, Snake suddenly awakens on a helicopter in 2014, telling Otacon that he's "having that dream again".

Gameplay
In MGS4, the player must navigate the game world in order to progress. Unlike the other Metal Gear games, where Solid Snake is youthful and agile, the more elderly version of Snake has a more difficult time employing stealth, so he focuses more towards eliminating the targets rather than sneak around them. It will use the series' traditional third person view with full camera manipulation, but also allows the freedom to play in first-person mode, as well as an over the shoulder view which can be switched from right shoulder to left for easy corner maneuvering. The Close Quarters Combat system will be completely revamped. The player will also be able to interrogate guards for information and supplies.

Several elements from previous titles return in modified forms. Players will also use a new form of camouflage called "Octocamo", which replaces the camouflage system featured in MGS3 and the Stealth Camouflage seen in MGS and MGS2. Dark blue when disabled, the Octocamo suit allows the wearer to blend in with any surface within a few seconds. A new monocular device called "Solid Eye" replaces the various binoculars and image intensifiers from previous titles, and a steel drum compliments the series' traditional cardboard box disguise. It is able to deflect bullets, and can be rolled to knock enemy soldiers over.

According to Ryan Payton, the game will be filled with cut-scenes that explain what happened in Metal Gear Solid 1, 2, and 3, and then Portable Ops, how that relates to MGS4, and how that relates to the final chapter of Solid Snake. Although informative enough to excite the hardcore fans of the series, the cut scenes will be straight forward enough for mainstream gamers.

Snake will also be partnered with a robotic drone, the Metal Gear Mk. II, which allows him to communicate with other characters, in addition to the Codec radio system from previous games. It is also capable of engaging enemies using an electric shock, as well as providing reconnaissance. . This drone is reminiscent of Gillian Seed's robotic sidekick Metal Gear Mk. II from the game Snatcher.

Due to the lack of a rumble feature during much of the PlayStation 3 development the game has been designed with a new feature: a white "Threat Ring" that visibly vibrates when sound is made nearby. As one of the first major games to make use of the DualShock 3's force feedback capabilities in a series known for extensive use of rumble,, Kojima has stated that if the feature were to be implemented, the Threat Ring may be removed.

Snake's health will play some factor during gameplay. If injured on the battlefield, cuts and burns will remain on his skin. However, the developers wish to avoid putting the stress of Snake's health to the players, so he wears a muscle suit, allowing players to move in a similar fashion to previous games.

Other changes that were announced included the new "Psyche Meter" which will replace the stamina meter from previous Metal Gear games. This Psyche Meter functions as a normal human's adrenaline meter. If you are combat, then the meter will alter, and Snake can fire rounds off faster and recieves less damage. However, if you are near something that smells bad, then the meter will change again, and Snake will move slower and slightly awkward. The "Baseline Map" is a radar map with a dynamically resized circle based on Snake's "presence" to the environment.

Characters and voice cast
Many of the Japanese voice cast from MGS and MGS2 will be returning to reprise their roles in MGS4, with the notable exception of the late Kōji Totani, the voice of Revolver Ocelot, who died in February 2006. Totani will be replaced by Liquid Snake's Japanese voice actor Banjō Ginga, who provides the voice of Liquid Ocelot. Houko Kuwashima and Kikuko Inoue will reprise the roles of Mei Ling and Rosemary respectively for the game, Inoue will also voice a new character, Sunny, the daughter of Olga Gurlukovich. Japanese film director Shinya Tsukamoto will provide the Japanese voice for Vamp, replacing original actor Ryotaro Okiayu. An elderly EVA, who introduces herself as "Big Mama" in one of the trailers, from MGS3, will also appear, and her voice will be provided by singer Mari Natsuki.

English voice acting work is being recorded in tandem under voice-director Kris Zimmerman. David Hayter returns as Solid Snake, with Quinton Flynn (Raiden), Paul Eiding (Roy Campbell), and Christopher Randolph (Otacon) reprising their roles from previous titles. Cam Clarke, who did the voice of Liquid Snake in the previous Metal Gear games, will not be a part of MGS4. The role will instead be given to Patric Zimmerman, who will take the role as Liquid Ocelot. Kris Zimmerman, denying allegations of nepotism, has clarified that Kojima always intended for the character to use Ocelot's own voice.

Other new characters include Drebin, a self-styled "arms launderer", "Little Gray", a small, shaven, shorts-wearing monkey whom appears to follow Drebin, a new FOXHOUND team under the command of Meryl Silverburgh, Olga Gurlukovich's daughter Sunny, and The Beauty and the Beast Unit.

The New FOXHOUND


There are four members of FOXHOUND, sent to investigate PMC activity: Meryl Silverburgh; Ed, Meryl's second-in-command; Jonathan, a hulking soldier; and Johnny Sasaki, also known as "Akiba", the team's electronics expert. Meryl, Ed, and Jonathan use the SOP System to share each other's senses via the nanomachine network inside their bodies. Meryl introduces the team as "Rat Patrol Team 01" and states that they are investigating PMC activity with the US Army CID. Ed and Jonathan take their names from the main characters in Hideo Kojima's Policenauts, from which Meryl also originally gained her name.

The Beauty and the Beast Unit
Four new bosses are also introduced: Crying Wolf, Raging Raven, Screaming Mantis, and Laughing Octopus, of The Beauty and the Beast Unit. Their animal names openly reference characters from MGS's FOXHOUND unit, and the emotions relating to the Cobra Unit from MGS3. A closer inspection of Screaming Mantis reveals two marionettes of previous MGS bosses: Psycho Mantis and The Sorrow. All four of them are women who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. The only way they can cope with the damage done to their minds is to become war machines. Their inner appearance is referred to as "Beauty", while their outer appearance is referred to as "Beast". Four real-life models were chosen for their in-game appearances as their "Beauty" side: Lyndall Jarvis, Scarlett Chorvat, Mieko Rye, and Yumi Kikuchi. The English dubbing for the characters is done by having the female voice actors perform the lines while Fred Tatasciore overdubs on top of the female voices, creating the split-voice effect that the characters will have.

Soundtrack
Harry Gregson-Williams will be composing the game's soundtrack, Nobuko Toda will also be helping Harry in composing the soundtrack aswell, Nobuko preivously composed Metal Gear Acid and Metal Gear Acid 2's soundtracks. This will be Harry's third soundtrack since his first introduction into the game's universe in 2001 in which he helped composed Metal Gear Solid 2. It is unknown if Norihiko Hibino will be contributing to the soundtrack. The soundtrack will be released with the Limited Edition version of the game and is also currently available for pre-order on it's own from Konami's KonamiStyle website here.

Release and Packaging
Metal Gear Solid 4 will be available as a bundle with an 80GB PS3 and a Dual Shock 3 controller with a total price of $499.99. It will also include an Metal Gear Online "Starter Pack". For players that have went ahead and pre-ordered Metal Gear Solid 4, an added bonus is that players will be granted access to Metal Gear Online Multiplayer Beta in late April. No word if a bundle pack will include the full game of Metal Gear Online. Two different editions will be released for the game. The Limited Edition will include the game, two documentries on making the game, special artwork for the case, and an imported Soundtrack. The Limited Edition will only be sold at Gamestop for America. The standard edition only has the game itself with a different cover artwork. Metal Gear Solid 4 and Metal Gear Online is expected to arrive in June 12th 2008.