Hope you will post about MGS4, I really want your opinion on that. At least I respect anyone's opinion on RPGWatch more than any reviewer ( even if they happen to love KOTOR
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Well, I have only installed the game and done the tutorial since I want to play MGS: Portable Ops before getting serious with MGS4.
And if you know me, you know I go more on story and atmosphere than gameplay. Even if the MGS-series are famous for their stealth gameplay, they are more like interactive movies than games. Their main selling point is their deep and complex storylines and how they deliver them. Each part have dealt with deep philosophical questions and play with your emotions. MGS4 is ofcourse not a letdown in that department. MGS dealt with genetics, MGS2 dealt with postmodernism, MGS3 dealt with duty to your country. Getting old, tired, feeling your health fade and thinking about giving up seems to be some of the topics in MGS4. While the installation was going on the game begun to give you health instructions/warnings, while an aging Solid Snake can be seen in the background chainsmoking four cigarettes.
What I can say so far is that it's one of the most beautiful games I have seen, well on par with Mass Effect and Crysis if not beyond that. Not only when it comes to graphics, but in artistry, the cinematics, the music etc.
The game also deals with a dystopian vision of a future where war have became routine, a "well oiled machine".
The introduction makes a homage to Fallout. David Haytan (Solid Snake) makes an imitation of Ron Perlman's "war never changes" monologue, but in a similar raspy and tired voice he states over and over again that "war... has changed".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQgu0WhhQN4 (that video is not pre-rendered, the whole game looks like that).
It was really difficult to put down the controller... Before I even realized what I was doing I was through the whole tutorial (which is basically a part of the intro).