MGS4: The best game I've ever played.

[greenmedic88]

As an overall gaming experience, definitely one of the best, if not the best I've experienced this generation, and I play on all major platforms (360, Wii, PS3, PC).

All Crysis/MGS4 comparisons I've seen are on the basis of technical aspects only, which is fine for people who focus on the numbers rather than the games themselves, but Crysis feels like most FPS games I've played previously, whereas MGS4 feels like other MGS games, only with just about every nagging problem I've had with the controls ironed out after ten years of evolution.

In other words, MGS is a different gaming experience than just about any other game, regardless of the technical aspects.

From an art direction standpoint, Crysis is far from what I'd consider cinematic; it plays like any other FPS and does a worse job of weaving a compelling story than Half Life 2, which is still a better game despite the technical advances made by the Crytek engine. It does a great job of creating a very realistic video game jungle; by far the BEST foliage ever seen in any game. But creating a realistic environment with realistic lighting effects and highly detailed faces due to a robust game engine does not make it more "cinematic."

MGS4 on the other hand managed to juggle a middle eastern city, a central American jungle, an eastern European city, an arctic tundra and a floating fortress environment, all woven into one story line that didn't feel schizophrenic.

While I realize there are plenty players who enjoy the game for the game play elements, and to a lesser extent the plot, the most noteworthy aspect of Crysis is as a modder's playground. Currently the best in industry.

Excessive narrative has been a hallmark of any MGS game, although by the sound of many complaints in this department, one would think they came from someone who either never played an MGS game previously, or had completely forgotten how they're structured. When you go back and play them all, it's interesting to see just how much of the basic formula has been left intact over 4 games.

For those jumping in the first time; the lengthy narrative is definitely too heavy handed, but the overwhelming impression from Kojima Productions was that MGS4 was for a large part, one big fan service for players who have been following the series all these years.

From a commercial standpoint, not the best way to do game development, but seeing as how the game has already been a commercial success, looks like it's still possible to make a game strictly targeted at a specific niche and still be successful. Imagine that.

MGS4 is the first MGS game I've bothered to finish. As much as I've enjoyed the plots, characters and MGS universe, the broken controls always interfered with my ability to really enjoy them as games. I didn't play Subsistence, which successfully addressed the only game breaking feature of MGS3.

MGS4, has largely addressed all of those control issues for me (being an extension of MGS3 Subsistence with its excellent addition of 3D camera control) which allowed me to focus on the game play elements rather than fighting controls and angles for the most part.

MGS4 has been a compelling enough ride for me that I'm currently replaying though MGS, MGS2 Substance and MGS3 Subsistence all concurrently after picking up the MGS Essential Collection.

The real test for MGS4 will be in ten years when time will tell how the game ages. It's typically premature to label any game "instant classic" or "best game ever" when the initial sales are still being tallied.

But seeing as how I'm still able to play through MGS after ten years, with its broken camera angles (typical of action games making the transition to 3D in the late 90s) and now aged and horrendously pixelated visuals, due largely in part to a compelling story, I think MGS4 is a game I'll still be able to play ten years from now and remember what it was I enjoyed so much about it the first time I played through.