It’s funny, we hyped the absolute shit out of Metal Gear Solid 4 around these parts, and since the actual game has dropped we haven’t written a single Nerdlog post about it. I’m here to remedy that.

Steve and I have already beaten the game. We’ve talked about it at length through the Smorg and through IM. To cut to the chase, we love it. Frank is currently in the middle of it, and I let Sith borrow my PS3 and the game so he can play catch up. I guess that’s the thing about MGS4, it’s hard to talk about the game without going into specifics. Once you go into specifics, you go into spoilers.

Kojima has done such a fine job of hiding what this game is all about through the 4 grueling years we had to wait. In this day and age, you can easily see everything a game has to offer by reading previews and checking out the latest screen grabs. Of course days before MGS4 launched you could ruin the entire game for yourself. I feel bad for anyone who blew all the big surprises before playing the game. For me personally, I have waited much to long to watch a bunch of Youtube videos to get my fix. In a way, I’ve waited close to 7 years for this, as it’s really the proper follow up to Sons of Liberty.

The waiting paid off, as each Act in the game has its own unique feel. Seems like most critics think the game takes a turn for the worse after Act 2, but I personally thought the third Act was the best. It’s a whole new take on playing Metal Gear, and the setting is so un-Metal Gear that it really makes for a memorable experience. The ending story cut scenes, action sequences, and boss battle for Act 3 were just the icing on an already delicious cake. That isn’t to take away from the other acts, as each of them are brilliant in their own distinct ways.

The Metal Gear series has the unfortunate weight to bear of a Triple A franchise. Metal Gear, while it should be, is not a mass market property. As much as I would like that the entire world embrace this series, it just isn’t going to happen. Critics bitch about the fact the 20 hour game has really only 5 “real” hours of game play, but true Metal Gear fans will play it for well beyond that. They’ll explore every possibility, beat it on several difficulties, study the cut scenes, and just enjoy the absolute shit out of the game. No other game comes close in the amount of options you have to make it through a particular situation. It’s a sandbox game in the truest sense.

Anyway, yeah… nothing but love from me.