Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (commonly abbreviated to MGS4) is the fourth game in the Metal Gear seires. Directed by Hideo Kojima, Shuyo Murata, and Yoji Shinkawa, Guns of the Patriots was developed by Kojima Productions exclusively for the PlayStation 3. The game was designed around the motto, "No Place to Hide!" MGS4 is stated to be the last canonical game in the series starring Solid Snake. It was released simultaneously worldwide on June 12, 2008, exactly 10 years after Metal Gear Solid and 20 years of the North American release of Metal Gear.

On May 28, 2009 it was announced that starting on June 16, 2009, roughly a year after the release of the game, MGS4 will be re-released under the "Greatest Hits" banner, retailing at roughly half the price of the original RRP.

Development
Initially, Hideo Kojima announced that he would be retiring as director of the Metal Gear series after MGS3, and would leave his position open to another person for MGS4, as he did after MGS and MGS2. 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 would be co-directing the game with Murata after substantial negative fan reaction... including death threats.

Story
In 2014, the world is in chaos, the "war economy" plunging the world into never-ending battle. This fuels the need for Private Military Companies, the five largest of which (together rivalling the power of the entire US Army) are owned by a single mother company, Outer Heaven, with Liquid Ocelot at the helm. Liquid Ocelot, a fusion of Liquid Snake's consciousness with that of Revolver Ocelot, is once again set on world domination and Solid Snake, now suffering advanced accelerated aging, is dispatched as a personal favor to Roy Campbell to assassinate him.

The game is divided into six acts, the last a two-part, epilogue-like "debriefing":
 * Liquid Sun
 * Solid Sun
 * Third Sun
 * Twin Suns
 * Old Sun
 * Naked Sin/Naked Son

Theme
The main theme of MGS4 is "Sense" - someone's understanding of the world that is lost when they die. Throughout the Japanese version of the game, the word "will" is supertitled as "SENSE," however this is translated simply as "will" in the English version of the game. This theme is prominent throughout the game, from Snake's attempt to understand Naomi's intentions to the misguided attempt of Zero to follow The Boss's will, and JD to follow his. In all of these cases, the individual's original intent and sense of the world is questioned and unclear.

Perhaps another theme in the game could be based on the Beauty and the Beast unit. One of the reasons is because even though all four of the Beauties were dealing with different emotions, it seemed as if they were "guided" by one thing - fear. Screaming Mantis was their leader and and her emotion was based on fear in which all four of the beauties went through when the damage was being done to their minds. Every story that Drebin tells about describes what the women did in order to suppress how scared they were when their ordeals were happening. Each beauty did things because of how scared they were in their situation and when they were ordered to eliminate Snake by Liquid, Screaming Mantis was controlling each one of them. In a way, it was showing that even though the women were away from their previous endeavors with war and battle, they were still being guided by "fear" which caused them to go through the emotions they went through before they became beasts.

Also, another theme present in the game that can be seen is the excessive amount of how many soldiers are going through Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. In a way, Hideo Kojima may have been trying to get out that even though the story is fictional, a lot of what is being shown is actually happening in reality such as people who don't even volunteer to be in war are very much affected in many ways. One example of this is Raiden, who was a child soldier in the Liberian wars. Because of how much torment he went through fighting in the wars, he became an unstable man and couldn't tolerate reality which led him to become an alcoholic and run away from home - something that he wouldn't normally do, much like the Beauty and the Beast corps. However, unlike the Beauty and the Beast corps, Raiden went from a former soldier with a damaged mind to someone who made a difference in his reality and proved that despite how damaged his mind was from his violent past, he overcame his obstacles in life was able to move on from the past. Perhaps Kojima was trying to show that no matter how much trauma someone goes through, they can always overcome it if they try. This maybe one of the reasons Snake had no sympathy for all four of the Beauties he eliminated for he knew they were responsible and capable for being able to change themselves much like Raiden did in the end.

A fourth possible theme is one present for a long time already in the MGS universe: the abuse and deceival of soldiers by the government, in the name of "national security". For example: in MGS1 a soldier named Solid Snake was sent into enemy territory, only to be used as a timebomb (FOXDIE - a nanomachine colony and virus that only kills victims with DNA codes that exactly match the virus's programming - was injected into Snake's body and this killed the desired targets) that's to kill a band of rogue special units and their leader - Liquid Snake. Solid Snake was ultimately supposed to die too, being deceived and abused by the government to clean their mess.

Gameplay
In MGS4, the player must navigate the game world in order to progress. It uses 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 (CQC) system is also completely revamped.

Several elements from previous titles return in modified forms. Players use a new form of camouflage called "Octocamo", which replaces the camouflage system featured in MGS3. 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.

Snake is also partnered with a robotic drone, the Metal Gear Mk. II (And later, the Metal Gear Mk. III), 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. The threat ring was retained even after rumble was implemented.

Snake's health plays some factor during gameplay. If injured on the battlefield, cuts and burns will remain on his skin. However, the developers wanted 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 included were the new "Psyche Meter" which replaces the stamina meter from previous Metal Gear games. This Psyche Meter functions as a normal human's adrenaline meter. If Snake is in a combat situation, then the meter will rise, and Snake can fire rounds off faster and receive less damage. However, if Snake is near something that smells bad or hears something debilitating in a cutscene, then the meter will lower, Snake's accuracy will fall and he'll move slower. The Soliton Radar is no longer used by Snake, but the Solid Eye acts as a "Baseline Map" that responds to Snake's "presence".

Characters and voice cast
Many of the Japanese voice cast from MGS and MGS2 returned to reprise their roles in the game, with the notable exception of Kōji Totani, the voice of Revolver Ocelot, who died in February 2006. Totani was replaced by Liquid Snake's Japanese voice actor Banjō Ginga. Houko Kuwashima and Kikuko Inoue also reprise their roles of Mei Ling and Rosemary respectively, and Inoue also voiced a new character, Sunny Gurlukovich, the daughter of Olga Gurlukovich. Japanese film director Shinya Tsukamoto provides the Japanese voice for Vamp, replacing original actor Ryotaro Okiayu. An elderly EVA also appears, and her voice is provided by singer Mari Natsuki.

English voice acting work was recorded under voice-director notable Kris Zimmerman. All the notable actors and actresses reprise their roles from previous titles (e.g. David Hayter as Solid Snake etc).

Cam Clarke, who performed the voice of Liquid Snake, was not part of the cast, but his voice came through for flashbacks through archived voice samples. The role of Liquid Ocelot was given to Patric Zimmerman, the voice of Revolver Ocelot. Kris Zimmerman, denying allegations of nepotism, has clarified that Kojima always intended for the character to use Ocelot's voice.

Other new characters include arms dealer Drebin, his monkey pet Little Gray, a new FOXHOUND team - Rat Patrol - under the command of Meryl Silverburgh, and The Beauty and the Beast Unit.

Rat Patrol Team 01
A US Army Special Forces team sent to investigate PMC activity. The four members include Meryl Silverburgh as squad leader; Ed, Meryl's second-in-command, a sniper and radioman for the team; Jonathan, a hulking soldier acting as grenadier; and Johnny Sasaki, also known as "Akiba" (Formerly known as "Jail Guard Johnny" The guard Meryl stripped naked and left unconscious in Metal Gear Solid 1), the team's electronics and demolitions expert. Meryl, Ed, and Jonathan use the SOP System to share each other's senses via the nanomachine network inside their bodies. Unknown to the rest of Rat Patrol however, Akiba does not as he is "scared of needles" and did not go through with receiving the nanomachines, causing him to be less efficient in the battle field. 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 Kojima's Policenauts, from which Meryl also originally gained her name. It is revealed in the conclusion of Metal Gear Solid 4 that, like Drebin, "Rat Patrol Team 01" was yet another plan by the patriots to suppress the growing threat of Liquid Ocelot. Such can be seen when re-arranging the letters of "RAT PT 01" (the common abbreviation for the team) the word "Patriot" (PATR10T) is revealed. Though they wear the insignia, the team is in no way affiliated with FOXHOUND.

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, and they each share a weapon with a member of Dead Cell from MGS2. 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 (Laughing Octupus), Scarlett Chorvat (Screaming Mantis), Mieko Rye (Crying Wolf), and Yumi Kikuchi(Raging Raven). 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 have.

Soundtrack
MGS4's score was led by Harry Gregson-Williams, his third MGS soundtrack, and Nobuko Toda. Directed by Norihiko Hibino, GEM Impact employees Yoshitaka Suzuki and Takahiro Izutani also made compositions late in the game's production. Other contributors are Konami employees Shuichi Kobori, Kazuma Jinnouchi, Akihiro Honda, and Sota Fujimori. Ennio Morricone has also been involved in the soundtrack.

There are two vocal themes for the game. The opening theme, "Love Theme", is sung by Jackie Presti and composed by Nobuko Toda. The ending theme, "Here's To You", is sung by Lisbeth Scott. Before the release of the game, "MGS4 - Theme of Love - Smash Bros. Brawl Version" was provided for Super Smash Bros. Brawl in the Shadow Moses Island level.

The official soundtrack was released on May 28, 2008 by Konami Digital Entertainment under the catalog number GFCA-98/9. It is comprised of two discs of music and 47 tracks. A soundtrack album will also be packaged with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Limited Edition. The soundtrack is also currently available for order on its own from Konami's KonamiStyle website here.

Marketing
At a press conference on May 13, 2008, Kojima announced a marketing campaign and agreements with several companies to promote the game. An Apple iPod is an in-game item that Snake can use to change the background music, and collect hidden songs scattered throughout the game. ReGain Energy Drinks are used in the game as a stamina booster, and Sony Ericsson mobile phones are used.

Konami and Ubisoft put an unlockable costume in the game for Snake: Altair's from the Ubisoft stealth game Assassin's Creed. Initially revealed on April Fool's Day 2008, Kojima later announced that it would actually be in the game, unlockable by doing "something special".

Releases
A special edition of the game, titled Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Limited Edition, was released simultaneously with the standard edition. The release contains MGS4, a box with artwork by Yoji Shinkawa, a Blu-ray containing two "making of" documentaries, and the game soundtrack. The Limited Edition is available exclusively at Gamestop in the U.S. and EB Games in Canada, while a similar bundle with an additional 6-inch Old Snake Figurine was released in Europe.

In North America, a bundle containing an 80GB PlayStation 3, a DualShock 3 wireless controller, a downloadable game coupon from PSN, and a copy of MGS4 was be released in North America for US$499 to coincide with the release of the standalone edition. Japan saw the release of the Guns of the Patriots Welcome Box that contains the game itself, a DualShock 3 controller, and a 40GB PS3 in either black, white or silver.

Sony has also announced a limited edition pre-order bundle containing MGS4, a Blu-ray video disc, a Metal Gear Online starter disc and a matte gray 40GB PlayStation 3. First announced in Japan on March 18, 2008 at a cost of ¥51,800, the bundle sold out within six days from March 20 to March 25. An identical bundle was also set to be released in "very limited" supply in North America for US$600, and was made available for pre-order exclusively at Konami's official website starting May 19.

Reception
MGS4 has received very positive reviews. The first review was a 10/10 from PlayStation Official Magazine (UK), commenting "[MSG4] shifts gears constantly, innovating again and again". The game has been awarded 5/5 from GamePro, as well as a 5/5 from PlayStation: The Official Magazine. It was awarded a 40/40 by Japanese magazine Famitsu, MGS4 being the eighth game to ever earn a perfect score from the magazine. .

The game received a 9.9/10 from IGN UK and IGN Australia gave it a 9.5/10. Both Edge and Eurogamer gave the game a 8/10. .

Reviewers were unanimous in approval of the way the title continues and concludes the series. Eurogamer stated that "You could not ask for a funnier, cleverer, more ambitious or inspired or over-the-top conclusion", while IGN Australia found that the result "refines the MGS formula and introduces just enough new (or respectfully influenced) ideas to ensure that it stands on its own as a game". Edge concluded that "it is faithful to its fans, its premise and its heart, delivering an experience that is, in so many ways, without equal". The new control scheme and shift to more free-form, "replayable" gameplay were particularly highly praised with a few minor annoyances. The game was also lauded for its technological and artistic achievements, with Edge describing the "Otacon" character as "the real star", and "a gaming revolution" while they found the game's score to be superior to that of many Hollywood offerings.

Criticism was levelled at the game's storyline, which some reviewers found confusing although ultimately rewarding, particularly for fans. It was generally conceded that although the plot is intrusive, with many lengthy cut-scenes, they are somewhat appropriate given their prominence in the rest of the series, and the addition of a pause function for these story sequences was welcomed. Edge and Eurogamer alike concluded that although the game represents an apotheosis of the series style, it ultimately fails to revitalise it, and will not win over new fans. Some fans were disappointed with the game's plot and were also slightly disappointed with the absence of trophy support on the game.

Konami review limitations
Several publications have commented on limitations given to pre-release reviewers by Konami, including discussion on the length of cutscenes and size of the PS3 installation. These limitations have resulted in EGM delaying their review. In lieu of a review, the magazine printed a roundtable discussion about the game, with a proper review expected to print in the magazine and post on 1UP.com after Konami's restrictions have been lifted. Kojima Productions spokesperson Ryan Payton has since explained more specifically what the NDA restricts, and has amended "some items [that] are outdated and require more explanation." He also listed the length of install times, noting that the restrictions were intended to prevent spoilers regarding what occurs during the installations.

Following this statement, GameSpot published an article in which they claim they will be unable to review the game either, claiming Konami have withheld review code because of non-compliance with the limitations. The article originally implied that the absence of a review was due to their refusal to attend the "Boot Camp" event a Kojima Productions' offices. However they have revised it to state that the Boot Camp was a mid-development feedback and PR exercise, and would not have led to a review in any case.

The limitations were of particular interest due to a widely-publicised claim by CVG that the game had "cut-scenes that approach the 90 minutes mark", misattributed to PlayStation World magazine. GamePro and Ryan Payton have described this as an exaggeration.

Trivia

 * According to the canon of Snake Eater, The Boss and Big Boss went their separate ways on June 12th, 1957 - the same date as the worldwide game release date of MGS4 in 2008 and the release of the original MGS1 in 1998;
 * This is the only Metal Gear Solid game to not have a torture sequence of any kind (unless the microwave scene can be considered torture). Snake is at one point at the complete mercy of Liquid Ocelot however, tortured by electricity and physically humiliated;
 * In an original draft of Metal Gear Solid 4, the ending had Solid Snake and Otacon turning themselves in for the crimes they committed, and executed. Most of the staff vetoed this option, so it was not used;
 * The name of Act 4, Twin Suns, is a referrence to the MGS1 remake, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes.