Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

(PS3; $59.99; Rated M for Blood/Crude Humor/Strong Language/Suggestive Themes/Violence; www.konomi.com)



How do you sum up twenty years of franchise history with more bizarre story elements than “Lost,” “Twin Peaks,” and “X-Files” combined?

I remember twenty years ago spending two weeks in the middle of the summer at Andy Phelka’s house playing the original “Metal Gear.” In a sea of shoot-everything-that-moves games on the NES, “Metal Gear” was all about stealth, about not shooting, and it was the first.

Now, twenty years later, the core element of “Metal Gear” haven’t changed: theoretically, a player could go through the entire game, and with the exception of boss battles, never actually shoot another character. Whoever does this, by the way, deserves a metal, because it’s near-impossible with all of the action and danger in the game.

I’ve played all of the “Metal Gear” titles available on consoles and completed a few of them. In the weeks preceding the release of “Metal Gear Solid 4,” I read a lot of story overviews of the franchise. As best and brief as I can sum it up, here it goes: Protagonist Solid Snake is a clone of Naked Snake, a war hero in the 60’s fighting against the Russians during the Cold War. After killing his mentor, The Boss, for defecting to the Russians (but not really defecting, more double-crossing both sides), Naked Snake becomes Big Boss who eventually defects from US service and attempts to control a walking nuclear tank known as “Metal Gear.” Solid Snake is sent on a mission to take out Big Boss. Years later, Solid Snake is sent on another mission to stop Liquid Snake from gaining control of “Metal Gear Rex.” Liquid Snake turns out to be the clone brother of Solid Snake and is killed by Solid Snake, but then Liquid’s hand is grafted onto the gunsmith, Revolver Ocelot after Ocelot’s hand is cut off by a ninja who used to be the commander of Solid Snake’s unit, Foxhound…

I think…

Liquid Snake’s hand begins to take over Revolver Ocelot’s mind and turns him into Liquid Ocelot, who attempts to control a computer system that was put in place by a clandestine group of individuals known as “The Patriots” who have overseen and pulled the strings on every geo-political event that has occurred in the past 40 years. The computer system, known as “Sons of the Patriots” controls nanomachines that are imbedded in every soldier in the world. Liquid’s control of the “Sons of the Patriots” means that he would be able to stop all soldiers in Private Military Corporations from using weapons- which would mean world peace, if not for the fact that the entire world is running on a “War Economy” and would also enable Liquid to launch an attack without anyone being able to defend against it.

Along the way, there are supermodels-turned-weapons of warfare, a vampire, and a fat guy on Rollerblades.

Yea… I don’t understand it at all either.

For those who have followed the series, “MGS4” is an incredibly directed final chapter with almost every bizarre loose end tied up. Plot twists abound between action-laden levels. The sense of world war occurring around players is astounding, and having to maintain a level of stealth in the middle of a battlefield is an exciting and nerve-wracking experience. Snake is never at a loss for weapons or gadgets to use in getting through levels; the introduction of being able to purchase weapons and ammo at any point in the game means that players can be as stealthy or as Rambo as they feel- making multiple playthroughs to see the Easter egg-laden game more enjoyable.

“MGS4” stumbles as a game by becoming less interactive as the game goes on. Initial levels see players having a fair share of sneaking and shooting time, but as the story progresses, so do the lengthy cutscenes, overly dramatic dialog, and bogged-down narrative. As the game moves closer to the end, players will watch more of “MGS4” than they will play. For those expecting traditional gameplay, this may become frustrating, especially when twenty-minutes of exposition are the rule, not the exception. However producer, Hideo Kojima, has always been candid in his desire to make an “interactive movie” rather than a traditional videogame. Kojima is certainly a frustrated Hollywood director, and its more apparent in “MGS4” than in any other game in the franchise- which is still good, because the PS3 has the power to create the visuals and the sound needed to create such a satisfying and production such as “MGS4” and Kojima has the heart and dedication to this series which makes this game so compelling.

The exhaustive (exhausting?) exposition doesn’t make this any less of a worthwhile gaming experience, but players- especially newcomers- should know what they’re getting into before playing.

Aside from the visuals and sound, which are stunning, “MGS4” doesn’t do much in terms of revolutionizing gameplay, but gameplay remains top-notch and intense- especially with revamped controls that are finally intuitive. Even with the frustrating controls of old, newcomers to the series should really start with the original “Metal Gear Solid” and play through “MGS2: Sons of Liberty,” and “MGS3: Snake Eater” to get a true appreciation for the culmination in “MGS4.”

The “Metal Gear” franchise is gaming history, everyone who owns a PS3 really ought to own this piece of history as well.

The Bourne Conspiracy

($59.99; 360, PS3; Rated T for Blood/Mild Language/Alcohol and Tobacco/Violence; www.bournethegame.com)



Every major gaming publication, and anyone who’s in the know, is talking about “Metal Gear Solid 4” as the stand-out game of the summer season. All the press and glory is going to that triple-A title which may be the single reason why some purchase a PS3.

And we’ll get there, don’t worry, but not before covering a brand new intellectual property in the gaming world that’s worthy of a good long look.

Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne made his big-screen debut in 2001 with the phenomenal “Bourne Identity” followed by two equally good sequels. Doug Liman’s speed-up/slow-down photography in those films captured the speed and precision of the trained assassin’s ability to handle himself in any situation and in any environment. In fact, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the “Bourne Trilogy” was watching Bourne use the environment to his advantage in combat- taking simple objects like a pen or a telephone book, and turning them into lethal weapons. Likewise, one of the most enjoyable aspects of Bourne as a character is that he’s an incredibly smart man, constantly staying one step ahead and out-smarting other smart men.

Developer, High Moon Studios’ take on the Bourne franchise is true to the style of the Liman films, but doesn’t carry over Bourne’s… ahem… identity as a out-witter. As a result, “The Bourne Conspiracy” is visually satisfying, but a simpler game than the title character deserves.

“Conspiracy” ties into the “Bourne Trilogy” with flashback missions that serve as a lead-in to “The Bourne Identity.” Elements of the films, and almost-direct reproductions of key scenes are used to tie the missions together and really make the game feel like an extension of the films. Though Matt Damon did not lend his likeness or voice to the game’s protagonist, the look of Bourne is still satisfying- getting Bourne’s movements down is much more key than making sure he looks like Damon.

And Bourne’s movements are spot on. When in hand-to-hand combat, the action will slow down at key points to initiate a quick-time event, where the player needs to hit a sequence of buttons in order to successfully dodge or counter-attack oncoming enemies. Once the sequence is complete, the action speeds up in double-time to reflect the film’s sense of speed. In this respect, High Moon Studios nails the feeling of Bourne just right.

Unfortunately, the level-progression of the game is a little bland and leaves much to be desired. Levels are linear, with little flexibility or room for spontaneity- very un-Bourne; and though players are encouraged to use stealth to accomplish their missions- the inability to diverge off the set path combined with poor stealth mechanics, means that most missions result in unwarranted gunfights or hand-to-hand fighting.

Which leads to another complaint: High Moon Studios obviously wanted players to be able to fight like Bourne, and so took a lot of time to make sure that melee sections felt more like a fighting game than a traditional action game. As a result, the action can feel choppy: one moment players are in cover-based shoot out, but as soon as an enemy comes close enough, a short cutscene begins and transitions the game into a fighting segment.

One major problem is that while Bourne is fighting one person, he’s frequently being shot by other enemies that are off-screen and impossible to deal with; the other problem is that the fighting is only conveyed by three buttons, and none of them feel responsive enough to be satisfying. Why a full fighting system with controls reminiscent of “Street Fighter” or “SoulCalibur” wasn’t implemented is completely beyond me. Instead, we are left with a combo-less, handicapped fighting segment in a game that thrives on fighting.

What is very fun in the fighting segments, however, are the “Takedowns” that allow players to hit a single button for a special move that transitions to a short cut-scene showing Bourne kicking serious butt. Many of these takedowns are environmental specific, which means that after a while, players will begin to look for sinks, car doors, and windows to throw an enemy’s head through. With a more traditional fighting-genre combat system, however, these “Takedowns” could be tied to a “special move” button combination that would make accomplishing the “takedown” even more satisfying.

Nevertheless, what High Moon Studios has in “The Bourne Conspiracy” is an awesome beginning to a game franchise that could become phenomenal with more maturity and, unfortunately, more development dollars. A bigger budget or a more dedicated publisher could really turn this franchise into a spy-thriller worthy of competing with the “Splinter Cells” and the “Metal Gears” of the future. Its shortcomings, however, are what keep it as a rental-only recommendation- but here’s to hoping that the Bourne name is strong enough to warrant a sequel with more time and depth in development.