Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Part Two: Alex and Tony discuss every aspect of the games plot. Here be spoilers. Ye be warned.

There are three questions that a gamer needs to ask him or herself regarding Metal Gear Solid 4. The first is whether you enjoy stealth-action games. The likes of Splinter Cell and Assassin’s Creed have set the bar high in the past few years, largely inspired by this series. Fortunately unlike previous games the rigid enforcement of stealth has been relaxed in all but a few places and a player could quite happily charge through most of the game, guns blazing and not be penalised for it. Unlike Sam Fisher’s previous outings where being spotted results in a mission restart, MGS4 gives you room to breathe and make mistakes. It’s a completely new engine built with the Call of Duty crowd in mind and it genuinely makes a difference in how you play as Snake.

The second question is whether you have played the previous games. You could probably get by on a thorough perusal of Metal gear history online but this is a game built upon a foundation of dense characterisation and vividly realised set-pieces designed to evoke emotion. This cannot be swiftly assimilated in a few pages. To get the full effect you will have at least had to have finished Metal Gear Solid on the Playstation. Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater add texture and history to the saga, which then fully enables the player to feel the true sense of completion in Guns of the Patriots. If you haven’t played any of them, track down Metal Gear Solid on the PS1 or if you own a Wii or GameCube find the remake; The Twin Snakes. It hasn’t been played by many and both have their strengths and weaknesses but the improved graphics may make the transition smoother.

Final question. Do you own a Playstation 3? If the answer is no, does this single game truly warrant the hefty investment? Going back to question two; if you have completed the first three and thoroughly enjoyed them and are hankering after this final instalment then this could indeed be the one killer app to convince you. It is a fantastic game in it’s own right. Almost every facet from previous instalments has been polished up and perfected from the once-fiddly camouflage to the cluttered item selection. Now your sneaking suit mimics your surrounding environment with a single prompt and the in-game menu gives full interface with a vast arsenal of weapons and gadgets, siphoning them into handy quick-select packages. The photo-real graphics and awe-inspiring soundstage push the PS3 to new heights of excellence and the new third-person camera finally makes hunting down enemies a joy rather than a chore. It is in short, everything Metal Gear could and should have been. It will remain Sony’s flagship game for quite some time.

It isn’t without its flaws. Half the game is spent sat passively watching lengthy cut-scenes which will become tiresome if you don’t know your history. Even if you do, in fact even if you have loved every previous moment of Kojima’s unusual blend of melodrama, action and oddball humour you might wish he’d had a better editor to trim a few of them down. The crawl mechanic is still broken and clumsy and you will often hit the deck and struggle to get back up when you are being attacked. However, long-time fans will forgive these as eccentricities of the series and will most likely be glued to the screen in rapt attention as the ghosts of previous adventures are evoked and explored.

In summary, this is so far, without a doubt the best game on Playstation 3. If the clumsy, archaic online mode is anything to go by, the future of the series will NOT be spent there. So whether we see any more from Snake and friends, this moment, frozen in time will mark the noble death and rebirth of the stealth action game.

Rating: 5 Stars

Metal Gear Solid

In this absolutely huge double episode, we discuss all things Metal Gear.

In Part One, we look back over the past two decades of the many Metal Gear games, paying particular attention to the original PlayStation installment and its two sequels on PlayStation 2.

Then we give a full review of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots with absolutely no spoilers.

Tomorrow, the Part Two will be available which takes the shape of a blow-by-blow plot-line discussion of MGS4 including absolutely mountains of spoilers, so those currently still playing should steer clear for now.

Sex and the City/The Incredible Hulk

Back to the movies with a vengeance.

This week, with Paul back, we review many films we've seen over the past few weeks including Mongol, Ice Age, Jurassic Park, Catch Me If You Can, Empire of the Sun, Peep Show Series Five, Priceless and In Search of a Midnight Kiss.

Then we bring out the two big guns.

Both feature Manhattan prominently. Both have been decried as vacuous popcorn by those not in their target audience and both have already made big bucks in the past few weeks.

Sex and the City is reviewed thoroughly by Tony. Find out if the man that Chuck Norris rings for tips on being manly takes to this unmitigated festival of labels and love lives.

The Incredible Hulk, successor to Ang Lee's misguided 2003 effort, is reviewed by all. Is the nonstop orgy of explosions and comic-book violence enough to keep us entertained in the final hours before Batman and Hellboy emerge from the shadows?

Next week: Metal Gear!

Following our Sega episode I trawled through gaming history on the net and found that Nintendo did in fact release one console flop prior to the Virtual Boy. Behold now the Nintendo 'Video Boy'. This was a combination VCR and Game Boy released only in China and Saudi Arabia in 1993 in direct competition with Sega's Game Gear. Apparently Nintendo were impressed with Sega's combining of their various consoles with popular entertainment platforms and sought to challenge their market dominance in this field. They teamed up with Phillips to release this machine. Ultimately this led to rivalry and a falling out with their other bedfellows; Sony, who went on to make the Playstation.

It failed due to piracy, though several games were planned to make use of the video features, including 'Edit King' and 'Fast Forward Fox'.

Apparently they go for several hundred quid on eBay.

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The Digital Cowboys Game Boy episode: Coming soon.

Alex

It's that time of the week. You know the drill...

Rock Band

Due 17 June on Xbox Live:

“Afterlife” by Avenged Sevenfold (Master, 160 MS Points)
“Critical Acclaim” by Avenged Sevenfold (Master, 160 MS Points)
“Hammerhead” by The Offspring (Master, 160 MS Points)
“Rock N Roll Dream” by Crooked X (Master, 80 MS Points)

Harmonix have also confirmed that the 14 remaining tracks Pixies album Doolittle (which features Wave of Mutilation) will be released on Xbox Live on 24 June. More on that next week.

Guitar Hero III Legends of Rock

Due 19 June on Xbox Live and PSN:

Coldplay Track Pack (All masters, 500 MS Points or £3.99)
"Violet Hill"
"God Put a Smile Upon Your Face"
"Yellow"

The Sega Special

Following the roaring success of our NES episode last week, we decided to take a closer look at Nintendo's chief opponent throughout the late 80's/early 90's: Sega.

So here is the story of the Master System, Game Gear and Mega Drive/Genesis and Sega's struggle in the face of total market dominance from their fellow Japanese giant. Find out what they did right, what they did wrong and how they set themselves up to eventually fail in the console market by the end of the decade. There are, however, some unexpected triumphs so it makes for a fascinating story of daft decisions and happy circumstance.

Paul is taking a week off so we welcome aboard Tony Edwards, aka Xbox Live's Quantum Field.

The song at the end may need a little explanation so if you've never heard of Zero Wing, look here for the meaning of "All your base are belong to us."

After last week's Jimmy Buffett-shaped debacle, and in the wake of Guitar Hero III releasing Motörhead DLC earlier in this week, it's clearly time for MTV Games and Harmonix to step up to the plate with some killer new DLC. That list in full:

MTV2 Pack
"Moving to Seattle" by The Material
"A Clean Shot" by The Myriad
"Bullets & Guns" by Them Terribles

Individual single:
"Girls Who Play Guitars" by Maxïmo Park

All tracks are masters and available for 80 MS points each, with the MTV2 Pack also available for 240 MS points.

I've heard of Maxïmo Park, but that's about it. Your mileage may vary.

'Til next time, Rock Band fans!

Paul

UPDATE: turns out the press release was wrong. The Maxïmo Park track actually costs 160 MS points. No matter: it's a great tune and well worth the points (IMO).

The NES Special.

In the first of a new run of retro-console feature episodes, the Cowboys pay much lip service to the what might be considered the first ever real video gaming console.

Released way back in 1985, following a two year video games market crash, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) brought the world more than just a bouncing handyman and the chance to kill digitised wildfowl with a plastic gun. It gave kids something new to do with their time and breathed new life into a moribund industry.

In this super-length episode, we cover everything about the NES and its impact on the gamers back then and today.

Also reviewed are the recently viewed DVD's of eXistenZ, The Nines and Excalibur (by Alex) and Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (by Paul, the lucky devil).

You can email us with requests for features on consoles, games or anything else in future episodes at digitalcowboys@googlemail.com

Harmonix have announced the Rock Band DLC that will be available on Xbox Live on 3 June. That list in full:

"Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffett (master - new original recording)
"Cheeseburger in Paradise" by Jimmy Buffett (master - new original recording)
"Volcano" by Jimmy Buffett (master - new original recording)

"Indestructible" by Disturbed (master)
"Inside the Fire" by Disturbed (master)
"Perfect Insanity" by Disturbed (master)

Those who have already played Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock will no doubt already be familiar with Disturbed, as their track "Stricken" featured in that game.

However, you may be asking yourself (as I was): "Who the f*** is Jimmy Buffett?".  Well, you can find out all about him over at Wikipedia.

Ciao for now.

Paul.