I don't honestly see the full hype behind it.Sure its a good game, and hideo kojima is a good story teller, but its inferior to mgs3 in many ways.

First of all:Too many cutscenes.This is more like an interactive movie than a game, and things at time are long and drawn out more than needed.The ending was like an hour long before getting to the credits
Second of all:Gameplay wise:A lot of great aspects were taken out, and replaced with a fps standard.We don't need another call of duty/gears of war/medal of honor clone.What we do need, is more survival horror/rpgs/strategy/stealth games.
Third of all:The bold and the beautiful is stupid.They are all exactly the same.They all have the same melodramatic backstory, and are exactly the same.It is supposed to be honoring the big guys:Psycho mantis,the octopus guy who was solidus in the second game,laughing wolf is supposed to be crying wolf from mgs1, and so on, but they aren't as good.What made crying wolf good, is that she was a hitman, but she was humanized and showed how messed up she was.Not every character was the same either.
Fourth of all:Too many stupid moments with naomi, and i don't even like naomi.I want to see more big boss and solid snake, and less naomi.Or at least more otacon and meryl.
Story:I think that while its good, its not as good as mgs3.The game drags on too long.

Overall rating:8.5 which is generous.I like mgs series, and think mgs4 is good as a ps3 game, but simply not up to standards with the other mgs games.

The Beauty and the Beast Unit, you mean?

I disagree about the game-play. I think it's really good and nothing like the "FPS standard." Far superior, in fact.

I don't agree with the gameplay's description you have given. It's true that ever since Snake Eater was released the series didn't really punish those who choose to shoot everything.... But Guns of the Patriots, as well as the aforementioned Snake Eater... Still reward those who go and take a stealth approach. You can go through the whole thing without having a single Caution-Phase take place, aside from the forced ones... And I believe it's a much more rewarding experience, if played that way.

So, yeah, in the end it's still up to the player and his/her style. You want to go stealth? You can. You want to kill? Same. Gameplay aspects weren't replaced, stuff got added, that's all.

Beauties are there for nice boobs and butts, nothing wrong with that, if you ask me :v

The game has some really stupid moments though:

Beauty and the beast are all exactly the same, with the same melodramatic past.They went through some horrible affliction in their town, and it caused them to become crazed, and mind controlled.Then they fight you, and they die and roll into a ball on the floor.

Gameplay:Sorry, but its far too actiony, and not enough is put into being a stealth game.Its called stealth espionage series, and they took out most of the chaff grenades, and even got rid of the healing system from mgs3.There are too many generic weapons that you see in every other fps game, like:machineguns, rocket launchers,handguns etc etc.I personally feel that this game was made to cash into the fps genre, and win people over from there.

The game has some really stupid moments though:

Beauty and the beast are all exactly the same, with the same melodramatic past.They went through some horrible affliction in their town, and it caused them to become crazed, and mind controlled.Then they fight you, and they die and roll into a ball on the floor.

Gameplay:Sorry, but its far too actiony, and not enough is put into being a stealth game.Its called stealth espionage series, and they took out most of the chaff grenades, and even got rid of the healing system from mgs3.There are too many generic weapons that you see in every other fps game, like:machineguns, rocket launchers,handguns etc etc.I personally feel that this game was made to cash into the fps genre, and win people over from there.
You don't seem to take into account one main reason, though: setting of the game. Guns of the Patriots is the closure to Solid Snake's journey. A soldier... a man who has seen everything and more, and is just sent there to get one last job done.

I mean, are you really going to tell me Snake Eater was more stealth-oriented than Guns of the Patriots? I gunned down most folks on there, on my first run, just for the lulz... Still came out in one piece, with all those alerts, Sons of Liberty was a different thing. And, anyway, still a great stealth... I must say, really: I look at the Survival Viewer and the game itself is telling me which Camo works best to my advantage (+25, -30... Really, great job).

As I've previously stated, they just gave you more ways to approach the goal. You want to use such weapons? Again, it's up solely to you. Don't blame the game for something which the gamer ends up doing.

You avoided mentioning beauty and the beast, or too much focus on naomi, who i don't like, but hey, i guess everyone wants only fps games with overly long cutscenes, and less gameplay, with more focus on online multiplayer.If that is what you want fine, but don't complain to me when you start getting shit for your money.

I'm not saying its bad, it isn't but in mgs3, you have a lot more stealth in it than mgs4.You have got so many ways to avoid the guards, and your ranking goes down , and even the sorrow haunts you with ghosts of soldiers you killed.Stealth isn't automated like mgs4, so you have to put effort.You also have to use binoculars and microphones to not end up having guys sneak up on you, so yes, it has way more stealth.Calling mgs4 a stealth game is a joke after playing mgs3 with so many options.

Snake is a good character, and naked snake is even better.

You avoided mentioning beauty and the beast, or too much focus on naomi, who i don't like, but hey, i guess everyone wants only fps games with overly long cutscenes, and less gameplay, with more focus on online multiplayer.If that is what you want fine, but don't complain to me when you start getting shit for your money.

I'm not saying its bad, it isn't but in mgs3, you have a lot more stealth in it than mgs4.You have got so many ways to avoid the guards, and your ranking goes down , and even the sorrow haunts you with ghosts of soldiers you killed.Stealth isn't automated like mgs4, so you have to put effort.You also have to use binoculars and microphones to not end up having guys sneak up on you, so yes, it has way more stealth.Calling mgs4 a stealth game is a joke after playing mgs3 with so many options.

Snake is a good character, and naked snake is even better.
I didn't mention beauty and beast... Naomi? The latter is merely a plot-device, they just gave her more importance, they could have done it with anyone.... The former? A stupid and useless nod to the old bosses, which aside from a small smirk on the first acknowledgement of their names... don't have much.

So many ways to kill soldiers in MGS3? Again, it's a matter of choices of the player.... I don't personally miss those Codec frequencies which gave you recharge of stamina, or called in some fire-support. They were a nice touch, of course, but I view them as little extra.... same goes for those interrogation things through CQC and those animals you could capture.

You still have ways to deal with soldiers - or avoid them - in MGS4. Have to use microphones and binoculars to avoid getting caught in Snake Eater? Ahahahahah.... You seem to be blaming the game for the options it is offering. It's up to the player to equip or unequip stuff like the Solid Eye.... Or to go and use binoculars.
The biggest "fault" resides with the gamer. The game might give you tools, but the choice to use them is only yours, man.
You go and mention those many ways of dealing with soldiers in Snake Eater, I sure get to enjoy them while having to pause the game every 3-4 steps to improve my camouflage %. It might have had good gameplay mechanics, but they were poorly implemented. In the end, it also had a vastly different setting from Guns of the Patriots. Jungle/Forests vs. Urban Zones where there's war going on, already.


EDIT
I'll elaborate a bit. Looking at the story, Metal Gear Solid 4 has a reason to be the way it is: one of the main focus of its plot is war becoming a business, going on in every place. You're no longer a one-man-army infiltrating a remote place conquered by a group of terrorists. Different places have different factions fighting each other. Snake is being placed in zones where war is already started. It's pretty much a given you see much more movement.
Don't give a fuck about the plot... and only care for gameplay. Such things complement each other.

I didn't mention beauty and beast... Naomi? The latter is merely a plot-device, they just gave her more importance, they could have done it with anyone.... The former? A stupid and useless nod to the old bosses, which aside from a small smirk on the first acknowledgement of their names... don't have much.

So many ways to kill soldiers in MGS3? Again, it's a matter of choices of the player.... I don't personally miss those Codec frequencies which gave you recharge of stamina, or called in some fire-support. They were a nice touch, of course, but I view them as little extra.... same goes for those interrogation things through CQC.

You still have a lot of ways to deal with soldiers - or avoid them - in MGS4. Have to use microphones and binoculars to avoid getting caught in Snake Eater? Ahahahahah.... Again, you are blaming the game merely for giving you options. It's up to the player to equip or unequip stuff like the Solid Eye.
The biggest "fault" resides with the gamer. The game might give you tools, but the choice to use them is only yours, man.


EDIT
I'll add this. Looking at the story, Metal Gear Solid 4 has a reason to be the way it is: one of the main focus of its plot is war becoming a business, going on in every place. You're no longer a one-man-army infiltrating a remote place conquered by a group of terrorists. Different places have different factions fighting each other. Snake is being placed in zones where war is already started. It's pretty much a given you see much more movement.

Mgs4 has mkII, a robot that can walk around to inspect things.Its a neat idea, but i think they could have increased its utility more in gadgets.
In mgs4, as far as i remember, there could have been a microphone, but i don't think there was one.The eyepatch is a sort of radar heat detecting thing i think.I think it also runs on batteries? replaying it now.

In mgs3, these options you get are a big deal when you no longer have them, like:Being able to throw snakes at your enemies to distract them, or getting beehives to make ointment for burns.I also like how you can place mouse traps as well.THe only options you have to distract guards here, is knocking and possibly nude magazines in mgs4.

The game focuses on naomi more than it should, and she betrayed snake multiple times.I also found the egg scene repetitious.Its still a good game, but as a metal gear solid game? i think mgs1,2 and 3 in gameplay are better.

To me everything has to be put in perspective.

Take a look at the plot. In Snake Eater your goal was to get back Sokolov safe, without alerting anyone.... Also it was set around the 60s, if I remember correctly. Metal Gear Solid 4 is well in the 2000s, deals with a world where war is basically going on everywhere, where stuff like nanomachines and IDs take care of every soldier's needs.

What's the saying? You gain stuff, you lose stuff.

That was only the first part, was to save him to find him to help destroy their nuclear weapons program, but you also had the philosopher's legacy:A world wide fund that happened for years, so whoever had it, would have deep pockets for funding for stuff.

That was only the first part, was to save him to find him to help destroy their nuclear weapons program, but you also had the philosopher's legacy:A world wide fund that happened for years, so whoever had it, would have deep pockets for funding for stuff.
Even in the "Operation: Snake Eater" you have to rescue Sokolov and stop the group of 'enemies' from using the Nuke/Shagohod. Though that wasn't the issue which I wanted to highlight.
In the past entries you were mainly infiltrating places where things were supposed to go "smoothly", in regards to enemies, I mean... They theoretically didn't know about your presence... and they weren't fighting anything.
In Guns of the Patriots there are different factions of soldiers/groups fighting each other across the world, unmanned unities.... You have no real allegiance to anyone, you're simply sent there and it's wise of you to use these conflicts to your advantage, in order to end your mission. The stealth being possibly toned down is not illogical, if you pay attention to the story development/plot of the game. It's not really toned down, though, you just have different tools at your disposal... Like that Octocamo which automatically mimics the environment.
Guns of the Patriots' strong point is still stealth.

dont be dissing on my laughing octupus.
she was the only one that was actually beautiful.
the other 3 where ugly as fuck.

I compare metal gear solid 4 to ff7 in:They both gained huge popularity, and people overlook previous games, and favor it for certain aspects of it.
I think both games are good, but mgs4 felt less of a betrayal in story than ff7.The ending was good, but i felt all the bosses:Laughing octopus, screaming mantis, the wolf one, weren't particularly memorable at all.They were all the same dramatic backstory.
The gameplay was the biggest bother to me, because it felt like an fps game.

I don't get how it's overrated, though. A lot of people speak negatively about the game. MGS fans in particular.

I don't get how it's overrated, though. A lot of people speak negatively about the game. MGS fans in particular.
Personally, the thing I've hated about Guns of the Patriots are the cutscenes... gamers aren't entirely wrong when they say this chapter is more of an interactive movie. Snake Eater had a better balance of gameplay/cutscenes. It's overrated in the sense that it doesn't offer much "gaming", even more so since they killed the online multiplayer.

Personally, the thing I've hated about Guns of the Patriots are the cutscenes... gamers aren't entirely wrong when they say this chapter is more of an interactive movie. Snake Eater had a better balance of gameplay/cutscenes. It's overrated in the sense that it doesn't offer much "gaming", even more so since they killed the online multiplayer.

The multiplayer is to cash in to the fps multiplayer types.

The gameplay was way better in previous 2 games in that they were more stealthy, and true to the name.Mgs4 is deceptive in that its called a stealth espionage, but you are given loads of weapons, and its far more action oriented than the previous games.

you also had a lot of weapons in previous games.

The multiplayer is to cash in to the fps multiplayer types.

The gameplay was way better in previous 2 games in that they were more stealthy, and true to the name.Mgs4 is deceptive in that its called a stealth espionage, but you are given loads of weapons, and its far more action oriented than the previous games.
Man, I've already explained why the "loads of weapons" aren't an issue, do I have to repeat myself again? Fine. You are given lots of weapons, true... but! There's a but... Like the previous games.... It's up to you to use them.... and thus change your gaming approach. You're welcome to stick to tranquilizer guns, knives... if you want to. The game has no fault here, is the gamer which chooses what to equip and use.

Assault rifles, rocket launchers.... were available in every Solid game, you could honestly turn every Solid chapter of the saga into an FPS. And to be completely honest, Guns of the Patriots has a widely different setting: you're no longer infiltrating a remote place where enemies simply go about their business, there are wars going on.

Man, I've already explained why the "loads of weapons" aren't an issue, do I have to repeat myself again? Fine. You are given lots of weapons, true... but! There's a but... Like the previous games.... It's up to you to use them.... and thus change your gaming approach. You're welcome to stick to tranquilizer guns, knives... if you want to. The game has no fault here, is the gamer which chooses what to equip and use.

Assault rifles, rocket launchers.... were available in every Solid game, you could honestly turn every Solid chapter of the saga into an FPS. And to be completely honest, Guns of the Patriots has a widely different setting: you're no longer infiltrating a remote place where enemies simply go about their business, there are wars going on.

You get a handful of actual weapons in the previous games, and while some are generic, there are far less generic weapons than mgs4.You have multiple handguns,multiple machineguns,multiple rocket launchers, multiple everything.I would rather have hand crafted items than just a bunch of boring generic weapons seen in every other game.

And while you could shoot in mgs3, you generally don't get a rocket launcher till later on.even in mgs 1, the stinger was for the boss encounter only.You also gave up the backpack system, and surviving in the land by finding things that heal you and mending broken bones and stuff.Mgs4 eliminated that.I'm not saying its a bad game at all, in fact:Its a good game, but it is hardly metal gear compared to the others in gameplay.You don't even get enough chaff grenades to deal with those small robot things.

It had ideas which were, at least on a first run... not really useful. Most of the stuff/ammunition is bought through Drebin Points... And those take time to collect, well, I've ended being fully loaded for a stealth approach after some completed game.

Guns of the Patriots reversed the situation, somewhat: the previous game allowed you to go "FPS" in a New Game+, now the award is a better stealth approach.

I've never really encountered a problem with lack of chaff grenades for those small robots... especially on Shadow Moses. Any encounter/confrontation can be completely avoided.... The only place where it's easier for me to just get them away is the area right before REX: I intentionally trigger a Caution phase so the load of enemies comes out, I roll back over to the entrance of the area through the little hole.... and just wait for them to disappear, it usually gets the whole group out of the way, even those which are originally on the walls.

Not much ammo has to be wasted on them.

It had ideas which were, at least on a first run... not really useful. Most of the stuff/ammunition is bought through Drebin Points... And those take time to collect, well, I've ended being fully loaded for a stealth approach after some completed game.

Guns of the Patriots reversed the situation, somewhat: the previous game allowed you to go "FPS" in a New Game+, now the award is a better stealth approach.

I've never really encountered a problem with lack of chaff grenades for those small robots... especially on Shadow Moses. Any encounter/confrontation can be completely avoided.... The only place where it's easier for me to just get them away is the area right before REX: I intentionally trigger a Caution phase so the load of enemies comes out, I roll back over to the entrance of the area through the little hole.... and just wait for them to disappear, it usually gets the whole group out of the way, even those which are originally on the walls.

Not much ammo has to be wasted on them.

I spent several hours to get through the bosses non lethally in mgs3, and it took a lot of work.Some of the bosses were specifically hard as heck.Volgin was tough, as was the fear in mgs3, others were easy, like the rage, and the hornet guy.
The end was also a great boss too, and really challenging to get the mosin nagant.In mgs4, you can get the mosin nagant for not too expensive price, and you regenerate health.The stealth thing being on super hard mode is a good thing in mgs4, because it makes other stuff irrelevant, and puts much emphasis on doing harder difficulty, and getting reward.Some of the mgs3 rewards felt like they were better earned than mgs4, like the mosin nagant, and the moss camo.I like the idea that you have to hold up The End, who is the father of all snipers.

the fear was hard to tranq? WHAT?

The fear eats food, so he recovers stamina, so you have to pick up fruits, and pay close attention, or the fight will never end, because there is an infinite amount of food.

when the fight began, i literally stood still and just tranqd him.
then again, im a good shot, and i have a good eye (so his camo was useless against me).
you just have to make sure to keep hitting him, and he wont have time to go look for food.

when the fight began, i literally stood still and just tranqd him.
then again, im a good shot, and i have a good eye (so his camo was useless against me).
you just have to make sure to keep hitting him, and he wont have time to go look for food.


or maybe i was lucky, in that he jumped on the same 3 branches clockwise

when the fight began, i literally stood still and just tranqd him.
then again, im a good shot, and i have a good eye (so his camo was useless against me).
you just have to make sure to keep hitting him, and he wont have time to go look for food.


or maybe i was lucky, in that he jumped on the same 3 branches clockwise

Its not just about being a good shot, but knowing what to expect.That would be like saying:In WOW you lose because your a bad shot, not because your strategy was bad.Sure being a good shot is a important thing, but so is knowing what to expect, and strategies revolving on how to make sure he cannot win.If you see a fruit fall, and pick it up before he can, then he will go hungry.If you put something rotten on the floor, he will start vomiting, and actually be worse off.That would be like me saying:Laughing octopus is easy.All you need, is to be a good shot, not to have a keen eye, and know where to look for her.

but even the first time i fought the fear, he was pathetically easy. hell, ocelot gave me more trouble.
subsequent plays, as i said, i just stand where i spawn and shoot at him mercilessly. all the bits you said about him, i knew. i dropped several poison frogs and snakes to get him the first time.
after that, i just didnt bother trying.

and of the cobras, the end was the hardest for me, because:
1. i hate sniping
2. he outmatched my keen eye, fucker!
3. killed his parrot by accident and could no longer locate him

but even the first time i fought the fear, he was pathetically easy. hell, ocelot gave me more trouble.
subsequent plays, as i said, i just stand where i spawn and shoot at him mercilessly. all the bits you said about him, i knew. i dropped several poison frogs and snakes to get him the first time.
after that, i just didnt bother trying.

and of the cobras, the end was the hardest for me, because:
1. i hate sniping
2. he outmatched my keen eye, fucker!
3. killed his parrot by accident and could no longer locate him

I don't believe you when you say you stood in the same place over and over, and he didn't move.That is complete bs, because he jumps from tree to tree, and you have to watch where he shoots food.You need to use infra red and track him, and also find where he shoots food.Also:Snakes are useless for getting non lethal.

As for The end:I told you that you needed to be skilled.

maybe you didnt read the part where i said maybe i was lucky that he moved on the closest branches. i must add: in an easy-to-remember sequence.

but, if you wish, i will gladly record another match with him where i take him out where i spawn, again.
mainly because i love when people say im wrong on something im clearly not. because then i move land, sea and air to prove how wrong they are, and bask in their misery (which is made public because im a colossal dick like that)

maybe you didnt read the part where i said maybe i was lucky that he moved on the closest branches. i must add: in an easy-to-remember sequence.

but, if you wish, i will gladly record another match with him where i take him out where i spawn, again.
mainly because i love when people say im wrong on something im clearly not. because then i move land, sea and air to prove how wrong they are, and bask in their misery (which is made public because im a colossal dick like that)

My guess is that you were memorizing when he lands, and shooting and running to pick up the fruits, because if not:he would heal his stamina.If you kill him in a lethal manner, then yes he was extremely easy, but non lethal requires more thought.
You said i didn't read, well i did, and you said you stood there and shot him non stop without moving or picking up the fruits.If you don't go after the fruits, the fight will never end, because he will continuously eat fruits and recover stamina.

If you Attack him with a lethal manner, then yes he is easy, because you aren't having to go around getting every single fruit.

This is what you said:


but even the first time i fought the fear, he was pathetically easy. hell, ocelot gave me more trouble.
subsequent plays, as i said, i just stand where i spawn and shoot at him mercilessly. all the bits you said about him, i knew. i dropped several poison frogs and snakes to get him the first time.
after that, i just didnt bother trying.

and of the cobras, the end was the hardest for me, because:
1. i hate sniping
2. he outmatched my keen eye, fucker!
3. killed his parrot by accident and could no longer locate him

Laughing octopus is extremely easy too, and so is screaming mantis, and crying wolf.The only thing about them, is that they take time to kill.Laughing octopus is pretty easy, because you can easily avoid most of her attacks.Finding her takes time, but her attacks suck.

Screaming mantis:Get far away, and inject yourself with that needle of getting rid of nanobots, and keep away.Do that and shoot screaming mantis dolls, and pick them up.After you do that, use them on her and its easy as pie.
Crying wolf:Stand under the Rv, and have your sniper rifle ready.shoot the guards, and keep your distance.Do that, and you easily kill her without any alerts at all.

Hardest boss for me:Killing the fury:She flies really fast, and is extremely annoying to hit.She also has all those robotic things which are her eyes and ears, and its hard to detect her.I almost beat her without using food, but i had to use food.

Even being sort of reckless with laughing octopus, i was able to easily kill her.I took no damage with screaming wolf, and got no detection.

The Fear hard in non-lethal ways? The first time you visit the area where you fight him, pick up some food/animals while you're there, some stuff is poisonous. Later, when you're actually fighting him, toss 4/5 pieces of food in the middle... When he will need to eat, he will pick up YOUR food first, and probably throw up... losing even more stamina/granting you the chance to get a few cheap shots in.

Experience: Just passed that part on European Extreme.

In regards to the Fury: This is a lot easier on a second run. Equip the Spirit Camo (the one which cancels the noise made by footsteps), sneak up to the boss and rip the suit with the knife... Later, a few tranq shots should bring the guy down easily.

The Fear hard in non-lethal ways? The first time you visit the area where you fight him, pick up some food/animals while you're there, some stuff is poisonous. Later, when you're actually fighting him, toss 4/5 pieces of food in the middle... When he will need to eat, he will pick up YOUR food first, and probably throw up... losing even more stamina/granting you the chance to get a few cheap shots in.

Experience: Just passed that part on European Extreme.

In regards to the Fury: This is a lot easier on a second run. Equip the Spirit Camo (the one which cancels the noise made by footsteps), sneak up to the boss and rip the suit with the knife... Later, a few tranq shots should bring the guy down easily.

Not hard, but not bad in comparison to other games.If you stand around like she said, and shoot, you will allow the fear to get fruit, and recover stamina.Fruit respawn immediately, meaning it would be an infinite loop.Its a lot easier if you are aiming for lethal kills, because you don't have to worry about food, but food run is slightly more challenging.Not a lot, but just a little bit.Volgin is more annoying, and so is The end.Volgin does that thing where he blocks bullets with his fists,making it hard to shoot him with any gun, and as long as he does that electric thing, he is invulnerable.

bottom line: i suck at fighting the fear.
we get it.