Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Review

Metal Gear Solid 4… I don’t even know where to start. This game has to be the best game of the year. It has it all: good story, awesome graphics, and even great controls.One thing that made me laugh, was after every mission, the game needs to install some files, but they keep you entertained by giving you warnings and tips. Some warnings come up at different times, such as “It’s past 1am, maybe it’s time to take a break”.
This is one of the games, where I wish I was able to give it more than a 5.

Graphics 5/5
Fantastic graphics. The levels and characters all looked amazing. Not only are the game graphics fantastic, but the cut scene animations are very life-like.
Throughout the game, I couldn’t stop myself from repeating “Wow, that looks so real.” I would often look around the level, just to see the extreme detail.
I think graphics play a very import roll in this game, as there are a lot of camouflages, and you need great graphics and textures to be able to tell the enemy from a tree.

Sound 5/5
Sound is another big part of this game. You almost always need to be listening for the enemy and listen for if they spotted you. You also need to watch your own noise, because if they hear you, they will warn the other enemies around.
Unlike many other games, this one doesn’t have a whole lot of swearing. There are a lot of great sounds, gunshots, enemies talking, and even soldiers going to the bathroom.
One voice that can get annoying is Otacon, his sidekick who controls the MK. II (a small robot that follows you, and is used to observe). Oftentimes Otacon will tell you something useful, or brief you on missions, but he also tells you some obvious knowledge, and repeats it.

Story 5/5
While the story is very good, it can be a bit confusing at times, might be because I haven’t played the previous MGS games, yet. After every objective you accomplish, there is a cut scene, these scenes consist of great animations that look quite realistic. Some scenes can be very long, but you always have the option of skipping them, which makes your game play much shorter.
During the cut scenes Old Snake usually has some “flashbacks” or sometimes an option to change the view to see what he is seeing, so you will see a controller button pop up for a second notifying you to press that button. At the end of the mission, you are given points for how many “flashbacks” you watch.
After having beat the game, I am still confused about some parts of the story.

Game-Play 5/5
I thought the game play was very good, and also easy to control. You can go through the game in a couple different ways, you can sneak throughout the levels without getting caught very often, taking out the enemy with your tranquilizer guns and knife. Or you can go through the level Rambo style, killing however many enemies you want. Going at it Rambo style has it’s consequences, you will have a lot of enemies coming after you, making the game much more difficult, plus your physical health will start draining and your stress level will rise. When Old Snake’s physical health goes down, you will see his reactions getting slower, if you roll, it will take him longer to get back up, making it easier for an enemy to attack you.
The controls are great, and throughout the game you can constantly buy weapons/ammo or even switching out what weapons you have on you at the time. This was one of the best features, I think. You can go throughout the level with a couple machine guns and a grenade launcher, then see someone you want to snipe, you can then quickly go to your Weapons list, and swap out a machine gun for a Sniper Rifle.
You also have the option of healing whenever you want. Throughout the game, you pick up different items that heal Old Snake in different ways, ranging from drinks to a bucket of noodles.

Multi-player 3/5
After the 13-24 hours it took you to beat the game, you will be wanting even more. I recommend giving the multi-player a try.
While there is nothing amazing about it, other than the ability to run around the amazing MGS maps and shooting your friends and enemies, it just might cure your craving for more.
Personally, I would much rather beat the game again, but on a harder setting, than play the multi-player, but it is a great addition that will keep you from selling the game.

Total Score 5/5

July 08 2008 | Game Reviews | No Comments »

Battlefield Bad Company Review

Have you ever wanted to know what it was like to battle through the rough and gruff rejects of the army? Well Battlefield Bad Company does just that and we think its pretty awesome! Its for sure worth the price tag and you should consider buying this one for months and months of fun play time!

So far this is probably the best FPS war game to come out since COD 4, now is your chance to see what this game is all about, come along because this is one war you will want to be in on!

Graphics 4/5
When it comes to graphics battlefield bad company does not disappoint! With a smooth frame-rate throughout the game and pretty decent textures everywhere it makes for a live action shooter that gives you the sense of motion!

The characters in the game appear a bit flat faced in some cut-scenes but generally they look decent considering what this game has to offer in the game-play dept!

Sound 3/5
The sound in this game is truly amazing, EA has captured the sound of guns and explosions perfectly making you truly believe they are happening. If you were to crank this game up on some decent speakers and let one loose you would feel the power!

Story 3/5
EA had a goal with Bad Company in that they wanted to create a story bases FPS. In the past they have done MP and SP war games but they lacked any story whatsoever other then onscreen instructions from mission to mission. In this game there are 4 main characters, the srg, haggert, sweetwater and you play as preston the newest reject in the gang!

Not to give away to much of the story but the game starts off with you completing some basic missions until you reach the president of the country your fighting against. You take the president capture and before you know it you are turned around into a story that goes deeper then you thought it would.

In the end you are searching for Gold that the Govt has left behind and yes you do find it, however I won’t say anymore because this is really the highlight of the game and if you can let yourself go long enough in the game you will start to feel as if you are preston and you will feel what he feels.

Game-play 5/5
Lets face it, we all love to blow stuff up! EA and DICE have created the first game IMO that does this correctly. You can basically blow up anything with a grenade launcher that is on your high tech war weapon. If there is no door you can make one by blasting a hole in the walls.

My only perk with this frostbite engine and the destructible environments is that you cannot bring any big structure down completely. It still leaves a couple walls and a bit of the roof intact, I would rather have the ability to blast it completely away but that’s just me! Aside from that one perk its probably the best blow up and shut up fps shooter you will find anywhere!

Multi-player 4/5
One thing EA did before with its battlefield games was make an awesome multi-player experience. Bad-company is no exception and has players playing it daily to rack up points and get new weapons that EA has recently released! MP is fun and worth checking out if you like to blow other peoples brains out on a daily basis

Total Score 4/5

July 07 2008 | Game Reviews | 1 Comment »