(The tl;dr companion video to this article):

The fun thing about most of the people I’ve known who play stealth games…is that they don’t seem to be overly concerned about the whole “sneaking bit”.


I always recommend they could try, you know, staying hidden in cover and not being hair trigger about shooting anything that moves but, they usually can’t hear me over the sounds of screaming and gun fire…

As I detailed yesterday, Kojimas-stans and stealth enthusiasts far and wide rejoiced, as the Metal Gear Solid Collection: Volume 2 (MGSCV2) finally released, and with it, the first time Metal Gear Solid 4 (MGS4) was released on a system since it hit the PS3 back in June 2008. While the MGSCV2 does indeed have multiple games included, the other two being Peace Walker and Ghost Babel, they truly feel more like bonus inclusions along side the star of the show MGS4, as I feel as if most people are showing up for the grand finale that was the ending to Solid Snakes story, instead of a non-canon Game Boy Color stand alone title with Ghost Babel, and one of the more divisive additions to the overall MGS series, both in terms of gameplay and story, with Peace Walker. Not that I harbor any ill will against the aforementioned portable titles…in fact, out of the three, I probably do have the biggest or “most bones” to pick with MGS4, when all is said and done, which should go to show you that a little bit of adversity can build character in a good way.


And a lot of adversity will turn you into a partially cybernetic octopus based super soldier…it’s a fine line

Since there are three games to focus on, not nearly enough time to cover all of them, and with MGS4 possessing the most fantastic wow factor for its inclusion, starting there was a safe bet, so that is the game I’ll primarily be focusing on for the next several days, as I slowly make my way through the “finale Kojima never wanted to make”, which sounds like a loaded case of speculation, but there is a lot that went into MGS4 that kind of colored the picture of said release in quite the warped way due to this notion. However, before I start down the road of nostalgia once again, and inadvertently launch into another history lesson like I did yesterday, utterly monopolizing the amount of time I had left to speak about the actual game in question, I’m going to focus on more of the gameplay elements of MGS4 today, specifically Act 1.


(Ironically) not pictured above: Act 1

Just as a weird aside, yesterday was a fairly ideal day, and I think the quality of my article I put out reflects that, so you should go read it, cause there’s lots of good stuff in there. I mention it now, in a moment of deserved dubiousness, as my mood tends to greatly impact the tone of my writing, and today is most certainly less than ideal, so I have a feeling this write up will end up reflecting that, as well….which does not bode well for either of us. No matter though; onto MGS4, and all of the absolutely ridonculous shenanigans the game entails. For anyone who has played all of the entries up until the point, one would not be surprised to see they have yet again, changed up the tactics on display in 4, as Old Snake has a new bevy of strategies at his disposal, which may excite or disappoint certain sects of MGS fans out there, dependent if they enjoyed 3’s style more, or perhaps liked how 2 flowed better. However, since all of the games have kind of a mindful theme running through them, both thematically, as well as contingent relevancies of gamplay there after (for example, MGS4’s “theme” is “sense”, which has a lot of interconnectedness to it for many reasons), so it ends up giving each of the mainline titles in the series a stronger identity as a result, which I can’t say is always the case for huge, AAA games of Metal Gear Solid’s size.


A lot of Snake’s gadget this time around center around the notion of enhancing or utilizing the sense, like the Solid Eye for example, which is like a new twist to MGS’1 Soliton Radar System, with which to locate troops more easily

I’d say the most obvious addition which will stand out immediately to most folks will be the Octocamo, which is a super fluid high tech camouflage system that Snake has at his disposal, which will automatically take on the color and shading of whatever surface you are in contact with. So, if you’re pressing up against a watermelon for example, your suit will take on the coloration of it’s rind, and so on. Probably the most ideal poster child of representation where quality of life features are concerned in my eyes, and that’s not just within the scope of the MGS franchise, I’d say probably one of the great all timers of video game features, where innovation is concerned, for the crazy advanced (at the time) paradigm shift to gameplay the Octocamo embodied. I’m surprised the gaming industry as a hole didn’t end up seeing a huge swath of imitators after MGS4 came out, as the Octocamo, in all of its automatically effective glory, was key in making MGS4’s stealth experience as seamless as possible, as the player didn’t even need to “think” about hiding in some sense…the game just did it for them.


Within seconds, the Octocamo will blend into the surrounding environment, even allowing Snake to hide in plain sight, where he will inadvertently taunt his foes close up with the totally over the top ass the character modelers put on him

Not to say one can’t royally fuck up and give their positions away like a clutzy schmuck in an instant; you still have to put in some effort if one is to remain totally hidden, in attempting to gain the coveted “no alert” run through, but most people are rarely suited for such high levels of stealth gameplay, which is fair enough, trial and error are purely optional in that regard, so if you do get seen, you can always take out the enemies (if one is also not bothered with giving up on the notion of non-lethality, as well), or find a new place to hide. MGS has always been consistent about being rather forgiving with its stealth systems, especially on lower difficulties. Though anyone looking for a challenge will definitely find one, if one wants to kick up the spiciness of the challenge, as there are plenty of ways to go full blown psychotic where stealth is concerned.


New to MGS4, is the ability to “inch worm” your way across the ground, where Snake very slowly “butt wiggles” his way, slowly but surely, out of harms way and directly into our hearts

Which is another thing I find MGS4 does surprisingly well for a stealth game, and it is not to let up on the action part, as Kojima’s team, or at least parts of it, must be gun fetishists, as the variety of firearms, the attention to details on them, and the array of weaponry one can arm themselves to the teeth with in which to raise complete hell is exceedingly over the top, but in a good way, and especially for anyone who opts for the more bombastic ways of dominating the virtual battlefield.


Drebin is a gun launderer, which is a lot like the firearms equivalent of a door dasher, so he will show up and deliver weaponry at a moments notice and sell you like, all the guns

It feels like I barely talked about the game and I’m already out of time to write for the day. Sheesh…so much for covering all of act one in today’s article.

Till next time.

~Pashford