Noob review: Metal Gear Solid 4

The few stories I've read about this PS3-exclusive bullet fest all said the same thing: Don't even try playing without at least some knowledge of the "Metal Gear Solid" back story.

So—being the complete, total, and know-nothing MGS4 noob that I am—what did I do? I picked up the disc, sight unseen, and started playing, just to see what would happen.

And guess what? I survived (even if I killed my character 20 times over), and thorougly enjoyed myself in the process—although I don't think I'll be winning any Metal Gear Solid trivia contests anytime soon.

OK, before I launch into my experience as a MGS newbie, here's a warning for you die-hards out there—I am about to butcher the plot of your favorite game. If you want a review from a seasoned Metal Gear Solid veteran, try Yahoo! Games. But if you're curious what a complete neophyte thought after jumping into MGS4 cold, read on.

Alrighty then, so here's what I gathered from my first couple hours of gameplay (warning: mild spoilers ahead).

So there's this guy named Snake—and as you probably guessed, Snake is one tough customer. Silver-haired, wrinkled, scarred and no-nonsense, Snake never speaks when he could grunt, and he's dead-quick with a knife.

Snake also wears this way-cool, tight-fitting suit (kind of like the moisture-preserving stillsuits in Dune) that has a special power—it takes on the patterns, colors, and even the texture of any surface you happen to be pressed against, making for incredibly effective camouflage.

And that's important, given that a lot of this game (or the initial stages, at least) involve sneaking around. Indeed, I've read more than a few complaints that there's entirely too much sneaking around in MGS4 and not enough action, but I actually quite enjoyed it—after all, it makes for a nice change from simply shooting everything in sight.

Why is sneaking around so important? Well, as the game begins, Snake (that's you) is dropped into the middle of a firefight between, well … some rebel forces, and someone else. Snake isn't on either side—he's just trying to make it to the red dot on his HUD. Sure, you can start shooting, but then a flood of soldiers will come after you, and buh-bye Snake. Stealth tactics are way more effective.

So, what's at the red dot? They're waypoints to (what I'm assuming is) your ultimate objective—Liquid (related to Solid, perhaps?), a very bad guy who must be killed.

I learned this during one of the game's cutscenes—and as has been reported before, there are many, many cutscenes in MGS4. Luckily, the cutscenes are gorgeous—and by that I mean they're the best I've ever seen in a console game, beautifully rendered, great cinematics, and hair that does that flow-y thing that we saw in that "Final Fantasy" movie a few years back.

But as I said, there are a lot of cutscenes—indeed, you'll watch one five-minute sequence, then you'll go about a dozen yards in the game, turn a corner, and fade into … another cutscene. Some recent reports said that MGS4 could have a total 90 minutes of cutscenes, and boy, I believe it.

Anyway, one of the initial cutscenes is a flashback to three days earlier, when Snake—visiting a grave and looking very sad—meets up with a scientist (I'm guessing) named Otacon, who tells our hero that there's still no cure for the disease that's causing Snake's aging process to accelerate (no wonder he looks like a scarecrow). Bummer.

Then a helicopter lands with a general inside (an old pal of Snake's, I take it) who tells snake that Liquid—the bad guy—is back. Snake must find and kill Liquid. (There's much more detail, of course, but that's the gist of it.)

And then, back to the firefight.

I have to say, I got a kick sneaking around the various burned-out buildings, camouflaging myself silly. Also fun: the tranquilizer gun, which makes your victims drunkenly stagger and collapse for several minutes of sleepy-time.

And the graphics in this game are truly jaw-dropping—at last, here's a game that's really showing off the potential of the PlayStation 3. We're talking beautifully rendered buildings, backdrops, and characters, smooth framerates, and realistic physics. Talk about eye candy.

So yeah, even though I'm probably missing a good 90 percent of the story, I'm still having a blast—indeed, I'm predicting several more hours of MGS4 today once I sign off.

OK, MGS4 vets, feel free to fill me in on the back story (or simply scold me) in the comments below. And did anyone else pick up the game? How do you like it so far?

Related:
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots [Yahoo! Games]