Man i could have bought my ps3 for 500 NZD back when NZD was 0.8 against USD....Instead of forking over another 200NZD to get one...recession sucks

So anyway....I have played and finished MGS portable ops and i want to get MGS4 but i havent played any other mgs games....would i be able to play the game and enjoy it as much without knowing the story or is it one of those games where you need to follow the story since the beginning?

I think you can enjoy it without playing the first 3. I know I did :).
They put in a lot of effort in explaining everything story related. You won't be disappointed.

Id never played one befor 4 and I enjoy it (not finished yet)

wat, u have a ps3 and never played mgs4 "GETS BAT-BITCHED SLAPPED, by batman"
but really, mgs4 is a excellent game, i beat it like 3 times and you will get the story if you havent played previous, trust me

Even so I would get MGS2 and3. they're both great games and the whole series is great. MGS2 is by far my favorite in the series.

No previous series knowledge is necessary, but it helps. Get the database, it's not 100% accurate, but it's functional. PSN in all regions.

The important thing is that you get MGS4. Now. It's good for one 15 hour playthrough, and two seven hour playthroughs, at least, plus Metal Gear Online.

You can download the MGS database from the PSN, which is pretty good, or just look through a synopsis of previous games on wiki, it will really enhance your enjoyment of the game

I never played any Metal Gear Solid games before I played Metal Gear Solid 4 on PS3.

I can tell you that you don't have to play any previous Metal Gear Solid games to enjoy MGS4.

In fact, MGS4 is one of my favorite games I played in the past 3-4 years.

I played it fully the first time (watching all the cut-scenes). Then I finished it at least another 3-4 times.

On top of that, they included Metal Gear Solid Online which is very fun.

I would highly recommand you to buy this game. I'm sure you can get it for a very good price now.

Also, there's a Free DLC of a Metal Gear Solid Database that explains many things from the previous games and the current one.