Ask any videogame reviewer for their top 10 games of all-time and rather than excited espousal and insight you'll be greeted by eye-rolls and deep sighs. Not that it's passe, it's that the question is so damn difficult. Was the game you may have scored an 80% (Championship Manager, many years ago) actually better than the one you gave 94% (Neverwinter Nights), when you factor in the phenomenal hours committed? Personally I can always supply my top game - Doom - in a heartbeat, then stumble for an eternity over numbers two to ten, swaying titles in and out with each wind change. How special does a title have to be to immediately, unequivocally, make that list? Well so long as I have the faculties to remember the names of 10 games (and count from one to ten), I can guarantee Metal Gear Solid 4 will retain a spot in my top 10, no matter which way the wind is blowing. And I'm willing to bet it'll be similarly revered by PS3 gamers the world over. Yes, it's that special.
I'm keenly aware as I write this that what I say needs to matter to anyone who might be inclined to simply skip a Metal Gear game simply because they haven't been a part of the ebullient fanboyism that has epitomised this series for 20 years. So in that spirit. Hi, my name is Rob, and I am NOT a Metal Gear addict. Playing MGS2 (on PC) was my biggest involvement in the series. I knew some of the characters and backgrounds through editing stories. And still, while MGS4 perfectly wraps up the story entrails left swinging after all the previous games (and in doing so delivers perfectly pitched fan-service), it also has such an open gameplay delivery, and it's presentation is so phenomenal, that any self-respecting PS3 owner should consider it their next purchase.
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Metal Gear MK II, the personality filled robot that you can use to scout ahead if you absolutely, positively must sneak. That's a great tactic on the highest of the four difficulty levels (a fifth brutally tough option opens after you've completed the single-player game for the first time).
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But there's a huge reason why MGS4 is one of the most significant game designs of all time: if you come into the game with no prior MGS knowledge, you'll still uncover one of the most absorbing stories ever told in cutscene vignettes, produced as brilliantly as the medium has ever witnessed.
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Take the time to drink in the information that floods in through the character's dialogue. Only fleetingly does it seem overblown since the acting and direction displayed in each scene is simply outstanding. Whether it's the subtle twitch of Meryl's lips, Snake's jerk back to modern day awareness (already demonstrated in one of the recent trailers)}... every scene is compelling.
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Two acts into this experience you'll think you know what's in store for the rest of the game when it suddenly changes in such a beautiful way that you'll spend a few moments just adjusting to the new environment. Heading into Eastern Europe, If you weren't sure that this was a next-generation game pushing the limits of PS3 hardware before, then the architecture and gameplay moments packed into this act will have you so convinced you'll be calling over your friends, keeping save games for do-overs, and making sure everyone witnesses the staggering visuals.
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The level of interaction with this world is spectacular... An incredible depth of gun customisation options - the ability to add sights, lights and better grips for accuracy - further enhances the myriad of ways of taking a different approach to the world.
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Plug in your Ipod and listen to any of the Metal Gear music (including songs from previous Metal Gear games that you can scavenge from various levels). Yes that's a real Ipod and it controls as a real Ipod would (be sure to listen to Associate Producer Ryan Payton's exclusive ingame podcast).
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MGS4 is special in so many ways that I suspect it will reside amongst the industry's greatest achievements long after we're dust... I've finished it twice now and I highly suspect more play-throughs lie in my future. That, right there, is the hallmark of a game deserving instant recognition in any all-time-top-10 list.