confirmed Metal Gear Solid 2 is better than Metal Gear Solid 3 and now 4.

I just want this guy to start working on ZoE, I find MGS4 to be.... worth about $35, at that price I'd have paid what I got from the game.

But if you take into account that it's medium is $10 more than the medium of it's past itterations, then I'd say it's worth about $45.
I say this because the one thing that I thought would keep me coming back, had little to appeal to me... MGO/

*Vague spoilers*

I am floored by the idea that anyone who has played the original MGS can find something wrong with Act 4. I havn't played that game for years but when I did I went through it countless times. Act 4 of MGS4 just left me speechless, I found the nostalgia so powerful that the effect was genuinely emotional. The term "fan service" is an utter understatement. Without a doubt one of the best sections of gaming ever. The way it is executed is simply a master stroke.

Unfortunately for those new to the series much of its brilliance will be lost, as with the various hilarious goings on with Mantis in Act 5 (when the Hideo 2 screen came up I genuinely thought I would need to change the controller port and duly received some great codec messages for trying it) and of course many other parts throughout the game, but this is a game for the fans and that's reflected in the sales.

I could go on and on about how this is the most supreme game to have been released in I don't know how long, and indeed about it's few weaknesses such as a lack of an epic string of boss fights at the end, but I'll simply say that I'm one very satisfied fan.

Don't say its to easy until you play it on the hardest difficulty. Once you unlock The Boss extreme you will know what I mean.

I don't replay linear games so I guess I will never know how hard it can get.

What I do know is that on Solid Normal, the game is bloody easy. 

Yep, it's like a Poe story. So much crammed into so few words. It's really an amazing piece.

Actually, now that I think of it, Kojima borrowed heavily from Brando's character for MGS. Big Boss, The Patriots, Snake, they all have similar traits to characters/establishments in that film.

... Wow, the more I think about it, the more I can't believe I never saw that until now. I need to watch that movie again. I think I just discovered another paragraph or two for my next editorial. :p 

On another note, I have to disagree about the final Liquid battle in MGS4, Vagabond. I actually thought that was one of the better implementations of storytelling Kojima has done in gaming. For once, he actually tried to include the player with his story to go for the "end of ends" feel and I thought it worked. Maybe (doubt it) he'll learn something from it.

The actual gameplay could have been loads better, though. That one button shit was pretty weak. More options should have been given to the player to make it more of a knockdown, drag out fight.

Was I the only one who sat back horribly terrified, having flashbacks of Pirates 3 when watching the Merell/Akiba proposal scene?

No.

Hrm... well, that's erm... reassuring.

Well, now that I look back upon MGS4... I don't know if I should be thoroughly impressed or somewhat befuddled by what happened in the last half of the game. During the *I guess spoilers are out of the question at this point* Big Boss scene I didn't know if I should have been deeply engrossed or slightly annoyed. Seeing him slowly, slowly (slowly) die as he explained everything to Snake was definitely a trial in patience. But, I suppose that was a fitting way to tie up the loose ends for the fans. Alas, I suppose that since I have some minor complaints I guess I'm not a "real fan" after all.

And I know this is a complaint that comes from a minority of the users (aka only me), but I actually didn't enjoy Hal and Psycho Mantis breaking the fourth wall in the game. I dunno, it just seemed like they took you out of the moment with their comments. On the other hand, the latter encounter was an extreme dose of fan service, but still, instead of  comic relief Mantis could have been a great addition to the already intense boss fight.

Still, it's a fun game and an interesting experience for gamers to check out.

Breaking the fourth wall is one of my favorite parts of the MGS series. IMO, Kojima is at his best when he goes all postmodern and starts doing crazy shit with his games, constantly surprising the player with things they don't expect. Inversely, he's at his worst when he tries to implement philosophy and dialogue into them.