Review Metal Gear Solid 4 ( 1 hour 40 ! )

Welcome to Radio Shadow Moses,
you're listening to Metal Gear Solid's ending,
"The best is yet to come".
Don't cry, thank you.
Sorry to break the ambiance,
but hi everybody, this is Hooper.
This is the 2nd part of the video consacred to Metal Gear Solid 4.
As this good old Liquid would say.
A quite special video, you'll notice that,
because for once, I won't comment it in a Direct Live,
so that I can show you as many elements as possible:
different stages, playable sequences, cutscenes, etc...
Yeah, because MGS4...
...is a very eclectic game, unlike its predecessors, I'd say.
But we'll get back to this with the different game's chapters.
So, just before we start, I say it one last time again,
there will be a lot of spoilers in this video,
so now you're warned.
I won't accept any reclamation of any kind, ladies and gentlemen, beware!
We're seeing a magnificient focus on Snake's face.
with little, nice visual effects.
Look at this, the little ice particles landing on the mustache and solid eye...
Still the attention to detail, proper to the serie.
Unfortunately, even if our Snake is as charismatic as he was before,
and even more in this episode, I'd say,
he's quite heartbreaking to see.
There are several sequences in the game, including this one,
when Naomi realizes Snake's bodystand,
that are really poignant, it's heartbreaking.
It really makes one very sad,
I nearly cried watching certain scenes.
Because as you know, he's very sick, he's suffering of an accelerated ageing
and progressively, as the scenario goes further,
he'll seem always sicker,
coughing non stop, groaning, falling over...
It does hurt, it made me really sad.
He has only a few months left to live
and it's hard having to witness, powerless,
Snake intense suffering, this way, in the game.
Except Snake, we've got loads of secondary characters.
There has been recycling here, way too much for my taste,
a lot of protagonists of the first three MGSs make their come back,
like here, with Vamp,
a character I never really liked, be it in MSG2 or 4,
well at least, we'll learn why he has this draculean aspect.
Colonel Roy Campbell, who is totally useless in the story,
even in the game.
Otacon, the character we'll see the most often in the cutscenes,
but also in the codec,
codec, which was put in the background in this MGS4...
That's a bit a shame,
we get the feeling it's only there to please the fans
and finally, the conversations with him will be very rare.
Little disappointement concerning this.
I confirm, he doesn't want to die in MGS4.
Maybe you didn't recognize him, but it's indeed Raiden from MGS2,
unrecognizable with his new exoskeleton, he really has changed,
he's a bit the new Grey Fox, Ninja 2.0.
I find this character a bit halfhearted:
he has a really great design, with his exoskeleton groomed to perfection,
but the fact he keeps coming back again and again in the story,
altough he was supposed to die or almost each time we saw him in the game,
well, I found it a bit far-fetched, even ridiculous, sometimes.
But luckily, the fight choregraphies are always really well-devised scenes,
so it's fully acceptable.
This is one of the cutscenes of the game,
which I think was completely failed.
Still with Raiden,
it's the famous scene, in which the Outer Haven, you're seeing here,
crashes down to kill Snake.
Then Raiden arrives,
- considering he just got his right arm dismembered -
so he arrives to stop the Outer Heaven single-handedly,
by the sole strength of his back and left arm.
Well frankly, I found that ridiculous, lame, useless and quite badly done.
So, I simply found this scene failed.
Then we have Dr. Naomi Hunter,
one of the very implied characters in the scenario of this MGS4...
Eva, a character taken from MGS3,
we'll learn she is Snake's and Liquid's mother.
Well yes, my good old Snake, Meryl!
10 years after the first MGS, it's pleasant to see her again.
Plus, she is a rather well made, studied and worked character,
which is hardly the case, I can tell you, for all the protagonists,
like here for example, with the black guy or his buddy Turok,
who must have only one line in the entire game.
And here we can see the 4th and last member of Meryl's team,
Akiba or Johnny, another character I didn't like at all in this MGS4.
Decidedly, there are a lot.
He's a bit the Jar Jar Binks of the game.
What we must know about Johnny,
is that, first, he's a very known character of the MGS's world,
but till now, he just had a minor role in the serie.
You remember, for example in MGS1,
he was the guard of Meryl's jail cell,
and later, Snake's jail cell.
In MGS2, he had a bit the same role,
in MGS3, I think we meet his father or his grandfather, I don't remember.
Besides he explains us, if I remember well,
that all the members of his family share the same name, that is Johnny.
So, that's it, a lot of nods, but till then, he always had a secondary role,
while here, in MGS4...
Kojima decided to give him a real role.
He'll be implied in the scenario,
for the better, but mostly for the worse,
because frankly, the potty jokes...
That's fine for 2 minutes...
But even that, it's nothing compared to what we'll see at the end of the game,
notably with this marriage proposal, way out there in this moment,
that is, while Snake is burning in the oven,
right next to him, Akiba proposes to Meryl.
In certain scenes, I had trouble getting Hideo Kojima's logic.
Concerning the new characters, in fact they'll be very few,
we can count them on the fingers of one hand.
Here for example, we see Drebin, who I've already told you about in the 1st. video,
the famous gun merchant.
We'll meet him quite regularly in the different acts.
He may please some. Personally, I can't stand him.
Luckily, his monkey is always here to raise the bar.
Real-time, Computer graphics or film?
This famous scene with Sunny frying eggs, prefacing every mission briefing...
I'd rather bet on computer graphics, but, I don't know.
Anyway it's really well done.
So, as new character, there is also Sunny,
Olga Gurlukovich's daughter, a MGS2's character.
We don't really understand her role in the story,
at least at the beginning, at the end she'll be a bit more implied,
but, again, she is a character whose psychology wasn't worked out in detail.
She is very introverted, very shy,
but still, she could've been better fleshed out.
We'll say, an acceptable character, but nothing more.
Now concerning the bosses, well, how can I say,
there is some good and some less good.
But still, I can say that, generally, I wasn't disappointed.
But at the same time, I wasn't expecting much concerning this.
But still, for me, we're far away from MGS1
with bosses like Psycho Mantis, Grey Fox, among many others...
MGS2's bosses really disappointed me at the time...
Anyway MGS2 was a game I didn't like,
it was the game I had waited for, for 2 years,
as I got it, it was the cold shower.
I'm not being objective, it's a very good game,
but for many reasons, it deeply irritated me.
And MGS3 kind of reconciled me with the serie.
So, to get back to this MGS4's bosses...
The actual problem is the fights intensity,
which, for me, isn't as high as in the other MGSs.
But above all, the big problem is the background and the psychology,
which near the void.
This is incredible.
They, -the bosses are women- are only here...
I'm talking about the Beauty and The Beast Unit, of course,
which I personally renamed "the Beauty and the Babe"
-those who played the game will understand-
They're only here to be bosses and nothing more.
Again, I found it was a bit a shame to use the argument of the bosses,
only to increase the game's shelf life,
while leaving the scenaristic aspect aside.
It seems to me it could've been interesting, having bosses with a real story,
with something else as Drebin's pompous explanation
like the ones we get at each boss's death.
Well those explanations are a bit a must,
I mean, at least so that the gamers get a minimum of explanation of the why and the wherefore.
They had to add Drebin after each boss's death to explain us their stories.
Seriously, we get the feeling that this story,
the background was written by a Konami apprentice,
last-minute of the game's developpement.
I say NO, I don't agree with this, I'm sorry, I say NO.
I didn't understand why Konami didn't work more on their bosses.
For how long was the game in development?
I don't know, 3-4 years, certainly 4 years!
They gave us a nonsensical story,
which Drebin explains us in 2 minutes, at each boss's death.
Just unimaginable.
While I'm telling you about the bosses,
I'll use the occasion to point out another aspect of the game,
not that I disliked, but, how can I say,
that I found a bit dim-witted, a bit pushing it, simple.
I'm talking about the whole erotic/sexual aspect,
which is ubiquitous in the game
and which we'll get a glimpse of, of course, on female characters,
it goes without saying.
Of course, it isn't new, as you all know,
it was already the case in the previous Metal Gear Solids,
starting with the first one,
here notably, I'm thinking about Meryl's butt and Psycho Mantis's famous line,
"Good girl, just like that... " (french: "Mais, elle est bien cette petite!")
One of the best french version of the Playstation's history.
But, that's not what's disturbing me,
I really don't give a damn the camera dives into Naomi's cleavage, for example,
or that her blouse is open to the navel,
no, frankly, I don't give a damn about that.
But when it affects the gamer's pleasure, then yes, it bothers me.
And indeed, it has been the case for all the "Beauty and the Babe" bosses.
Here for example, we're seeing the first boss of the game,
Laughing Octopus,
very pretty indeed, that's the least we can say.
So, Laughing Octopus,
right after I took her sort of armor, her personalized exoskeleton, off.
So, then, she reveals her real appearance, you can see here
and during several minutes, she'll wiggle in front of the camera,
she'll utter little cries,
the focusing will sometimes be a bit "borderline",
well you see it well here.
But what really did bother me, is that what you're seing here,
we'll have to "endure" it 3 other times in the game.
That's really the thing that pissed me off.
If we'd have had this, but one only time, for example only for Laughing Octopus,
it would've been alright, it's still well done, the girl is really attractive, clearly,
she's all merely an atomic bomb, perfect measurements and everything.
But for the 4 bosses, who are part of her unit, that is the Beauty and the Beast Unit,
we'll systematically get the same sequences:
the girls who'll take their armors off, who'll wiggle in front of us during 5 minutes,
uttering little cries.
Each time it will be the same! I didn't get that.
Frankly, It should've been different each time, but it didn't.
Kojima decided to do the same thing for all bosses.
I didn't understand,
I was already getting bored at the 2nd boss, I was fed up.
I swear I dropped the pad, I took a book, while the girl was doing us her show.
I'd say, I found this quite pathetic from Kojima.
We're now coming to one of most important points in the game,
which has been criticized, discussed a lot
by the so-called professional video game testers websites:
it's of course the A.I.
This famous Artificial Intelligence of the game.
I'm not going to tell you it's marvellous, never-seen, etc...
No.
I still and all agree with them, there are a lot of incoherences,
a lot of bugs, for example,
when we find ourselves in the middle of a battlefield,
I'm particulary thinking of Act 2 here,
where it's being shot from all over,
between the local rebels and the PMC.
Well the Enemy Soldier will wait to see Snake to decide to call for reinforcement.
But even worse than that,
-and besides, we can see it on the video!-
that is, I find myself at 2 meters from him
and what does he do?
He chooses to call for reinforcement instead of bringing me down.
Frankly, is there any coherence in this?!
No, of course no!
So, that's the kind of situations we'll regularly have in the game.
Especially in the first two acts.
But that's not the end of the world either.
The A.I. isn't realistic, you've understood that, but it remains fun.
It's an A.I which was created for the fun, for the gamer's pleasure.
That's still and all the most important thing!
Another example... So, here we are in Act 1...
Snake sidles through the alleys...
We get spotted, the alert mode...
We're being shot by resistance members, local rebels...
Ok, if they want...
It means we're in bad terms with this local rebels faction.
Same configuration, we're doing this part again
and we have exactly the same configuration as earlier.
This time I'll wait a bit till the 2 rebels who spotted me earlier, get killed, so I can go on...
We try to go round the main street, to not have to deal with the PMC troops.
We'll go by the alleys.
We once again get spotted by the resistance members,
but this time, see, they don't shoot at us.
Question: why?
A bit easy...
That's another point I wanted to mention in the game,
the fact as soon as in the game, we get a Sniper Rifle, well,
we'll be an half-god.
It'll become very hard, frankly, to die while fighting if we look out a bit
and if we use, like here, the Solid Eye with the night vision.
Here frankly, we're nearly in "God Mode".
That is, the game's system was made in such a way,
that when we have a Sniper Rifle, we're nearly invincible.
See here for example, the guy over there, he comes by,
he doesn't see me, Headshot, that was it.
Plus, with night vision, we can see the guards at 300 meters.
At that point, it's kind of becoming nonsense.
If we want difficulty in the game,
we almost should forbid ourselves the Sniper Rifles,
otherwise, the game really becomes clay pigeon shooting!
I told you the Sniper Rifle thing was over-the-top in this game,
another example here: goal is to not trigger the Alert Mode.
So here, you see me shooting all the Frogs who are in front of me,
they were 4 or 5,
so, they all see they're being destroyed one after the others,
but no one will trigger the Alert Mode.
That is, in the game, if we are at something like 20-25 meters from an enemy,
he won't trigger the Alert Mode.
You have to be near the enemy for that.
That's the A.I., we've to accept to play the game with this A.I.
Just before seeing more in detail the different chapters of the game,
that's still and all the most important,
just a little word of course, about the cutscenes of this MGS4.
So, the cutscenes, 99% of the time rendered in-game and in real-time,
that's really impressive to watch,
such a mastery concerning the mise-en-scene, the emotion,
the intensity of some sequences,
MGS4 really offers us a spectacular show.
Besides, the developers don't hesitate to constantly prove us we're are indeed in real-time.
With this cutscene for example, just by pressing "L1", we can see through Snake's eyes!
All that proves it's indeed in-game, in real-time.
Besides, something else, look on the right top, you'll see the "X" button appear,
when we press it, Snake has flashbacks from the previous MGSs.
All that strengthen the immersion side of the game.
That said, not everything is pink either concerning the cutscenes.
Of course, they're magnificient,
the transitions between cutscenes and gameplay happen totally transparently,
it's really well done,
but there still are a bunch of them we'd have gone gleefully without.
Among others, what's you're seeing right now,
the famous briefings we've to endure at the beginning of each new act.
It's long, very long,
the dialogs are often useless and boring,
each time it lasts at least for 30 min, 40 min!
That's crazy!
I don't know what they smoked at Konami when they did that.
I finished the game twice
and I can tell you the 2nd time, I passed most of the dialogs.
Sure it can be nice the first time,
when we're drawn into the game's ambiance
- which besides, is absolutely awesome,
but we'll get back to that -
but when we do the game again,
the briefings are just getting unbearable.
But not only the briefings!
For example, right now,
I remember other scenes which were as useless and boring as those briefings.
That really is a shame for a game of the magnitude of MGS4.
And Snake, please, stop coughing... It really breaks my heart.
But looking closely,
there is still something nice in those interminable dialog moments,
you'll see, it's the fact we can control Otacon's robot, the famous MK II,
everywhere in the plane, because yes, we are in a cargo plane, I didn't tell you,
I think it's called the "Nomad".
It's kind of the headquarter of Snake's team, Otacon and co.
That's funny, because it really made me think about those old american serials,
like "Night Rider", "Airwolf" and especially "Mission: impossible",
that is, each time, a team only composed of a few people
and who, of course, will save the world.
So, the briefings of MGS4....
... instantely reminded me of those old serials.
This is funny, I find it's a well found comparison.
So, to get back to Otacon's robot,
while exploring this cargo plane,
we'll be able to find items, that were originally hidden.
For example, during my 2nd game,
when I approached Raiden's body, I suddenly obtained his Face Camo,
for the face, for Raiden's face.
I guess there are others bonus items to unlock, like those,
I'm not sure,
I don't have the MGS4's Official Guide, so I only can make assumptions,
but I guess there are others.
It's always nice to be able to walk around like this, see,
do whatever we want, during the briefings.
It's fun, even if we quickly get tired of it.
Also, one of the most surprising aspects for me in this MGS4...
...is the variety of the environments Snake will traverse throughout the game.
This totally differs from the previous episodes,
in which we almost always remained in the same aeras.
This time, we'll travel around.
Snake will be sent to the 4 corners of the world
and that's not a bad thing.
Anyway, we'll see that together, with the different chapters of the game.
Snake's first appearance in the game takes place, as everyone knows,
in the Middle East, where we'll learn the game's basics.
You see that right from the beginning,
we'll meet the Gekkos, the sort of biped robots,
which belong to the PMC, of course,
and not to the rebels, who will try to resist their assault.
"Old Snake".
Well, they could've chosen another pseudonym, I don't know...
Plus, they oblige us to see that nickname all along.
Actually, you can see it right now at the top left, above the Life Bar,
"Old Snake".
That is, we'll see this nickname the game all along,
they're constantly reminding us, that yes,
we're playing with Grandfather Snake, with Granpa Snake.
It's only a detail, of course,
but I would've preferred they didn't give Snake another pseudonym,
and simply have kept "Snake". "Old Snake" means nothing.
Then, I won't talk much about the actual storyline in this video.
Reason for that is that the story is pretty complex,
we're in the last chapter of Metal Gear Solid,
all the answers to the numerous questions will finally be revealed...
Well, I do not feel capable of telling you the whole story,
it'd take the whole video, so that's not possible.
That said, I'll still mention the outlines of this absolutely amazing storyline
- I think that's the least we can say- of this Metal Gear Solid's saga.
So here, Metal Gear Solid 4...
...takes place 5 years after the events of MGS2.
That's the first thing to know.
Basically, the Colonel Roy Campbell and Otacon have found Snake's sworn enemy,
Liquid Snake or Liquid Ocelot, I think we can call him like that, now.
That's why Snake goes to the Middle East,
in order to eliminate Liquid Ocelot. That's it.
At the begining, the storyline is that simple.
The cardboard boxes are still here, but look,
little novelty: the barrels,
the drums Snake is capable to hide under his suit... He really rocks!!
And here, look, another big nod to MGS2, the lockers,
there'll be very few, I think those are the only ones I've seen in the game,
at least in Act 1,
but even in the game, I think there aren't any others.
That's exclusively to make a nod to MGS2.
Now, I don't think we'll dwell further on the first act.
Of course I didn't mention everything,
I could tell you about the first time we meet Drebin or Meryl's group,
or I could tell you a bit more about the storyline,
but in that case, the video would last 3 hours!
And that's not the goal.
See you for the next act...
The 2nd playable environment is located in South America.
We'll start the mission at dawn
and we'll see the sun rise
and progressively light up the different game's zones.
It's really well done, as you can see,
really beautiful.
Anyway, this whole chapter is visuallly magnificient.
It's beyond dispute the most beautiful zone of the game.
It's a real pleasure for the eyes, but also for the ears,
because I remind you, the game is in 5.1
and for having tested it myself, I can tell you the result is amazing.
Absolutely amazing, or even impressive, really.
We're having real 5.1 here.
We feel it by listening.
I'm saying this, because I had some games which were supposed to be in 5.1
and sometimes, it was rather in stereo than anything else,
so now I'm wary.
But here, with MGS4...
...it's quite spectacular.
That's why I'm pointing this out.
This game's soundscape is a complete success,
as if we were there.
A little drawback, however, concerning the musics.
Obviously, many musics were taken from the previous MGSs.
I find it a bit easy, to excessively play the nostalgia card, like this,
by reusing the best themes of the OSTs,
which were already successful, as soon as they came out, on PS1, then on PS2.
But it's my personal opinion
and still, there are some new tracks, that are worth it.
We have to say it, it's not the absolut void either,
but it's true we also find this "lazy recycling" side in the music.
Besides, this makes me think about one of my favorite moments in the game,
well, which surprised me the most, but also made me feel the most emotions
and in my opinion, we're not many for whom this is the case,
well it was during the ending credits.
Why?
Because at this moment, the first music we hear is the song "Here's to you".
If one would've told me that, I NEVER would've believed it.
You should know that "Here's to you" is originally an Ennio Morricone song.
My favorite composer, he's just absolutely phenomenal,
he composed absolutely amazing movie soundtracks
and sung at the time by Joan Baez.
And you should know this song has a story,
the story of Sacco and Vanzetti, of course, for those who know, two Italians,
who were at the time sentenced to death, although they were innocent.
And who, in the end, still got executed,
although everyone knew they were innocent.
And later, I think a movie was made about them...
But notably, this song of Ennio Morricone,"Here's to you",
which is actually an hymn, a tribute to Sacco and Vanzetti.
So, Kojima chose this song to end his Metal Gear Solid saga.
Well, I thought it really was a genius idea.
Now, maybe some people will be offended by this,
because Sacco and Vanzetti were real persons indeed,
while Snake is an imaginary character,
there is evidently a big difference.
But when we listen to the song's lyrics,
for example in the chorus, "that agony is your triumph...",
well, every word can be interpreted for Snake!
That's what needs to be noticed.
Plus the music is absolutely magnificient!
I'll tell you, when I heard this song, I cried.
That was the only time I cried in the whole game
and it must've been the 2nd or the 3rd time, all games combined,
that I've started crying like that, like an idiot, in front of my console.
But I did cry.
That is, this song has a special meaning to me, so it helped.
Anyway I'll let you listen to it at the end of the video.
You'll see, you've probably already heard it,
because it's a quite well known song,
but they made this cover specially for MGS4.
That is, it isn't Joan Baez singing anymore,
and it isn't the same version as Ennio Morricone's one, but a new one,
but they did a good job, frankly, it's really great,
- I'll let you listen to it at the end, you'll see -
for me, Kojima made a master-stroke doing this.
Right now I'm showing you some of the weapons available in the game,
again, a huge amount of weapons,
there never were that much in the previous MGSs.
You just saw the Stinger is still there, the surface-to-air missiles.
There are also loads of anti-tank missiles...
Here you're seeing the sawed-off shotgun...
These are weapons we weren't used to see in the MGSs,
there were rather made for brutal games,
but here, we really have of a bit of everything:
as you can see, Fortune's Railgun from MGS2,
which will principally help us kill the biped robots, the famous Gekkos...
Look here, Molotov Cocktails,
there really is anything and everything,
weapons, we weren't expecting at all in the MGSs.
Here, frankly, the Molotov Cocktails!
There is really a crazy amount of grenades.
On the other hand, the fire effect is quite badly rendered, look...
We can also use the barrels, the drums as weapons,
with Snake inside making them roll,
but again, I don't see the point, I didn't used it, not once,
of course it's funny, we do it 2 times, because it's funny...
And look, Snake having a good throwing-up then,
it always make us laugh, but,
it is a bit what I criticize about MGS4,
that we have so many possibilities concerning the gameplay,
but we're not exploiting them!
We only use 20% of this richness.
Well, that's really a shame.
Let's get back to Act 2 for a few minutes.
Here, the map is huge,
Act 2 only, constitutes something like 50% of the total surface area of the game,
I'm talking about the playable phases, of course.
It shows how the game's totally off balance concerning this.
It was probably wanted from Kojima's team,
but once I reached the end of the game,
I still wondered...
Was it wanted since the beginning?
Or was it the time running out and Sony pushing them,
because the release date had already been delayed several times?
We'll probably never know, as usual.
Then, I figured I should show you the "we give you everything on a plate" side.
That is, there is nothing to be worried about in the game,
we'll always know where to go in MGS4.
This is the region map and we can see it anytime.
There is some kind of red dotted line,
with a red blinking light at its end, showing us our objective.
That's the place Snake has to go.
So we'll always know, by pressing Start and looking at the map,
where we have to go.
We're really exagerately taken by the hand, I found,
and the big "searching" aspect of the previous MGSs just vanished here.
Well now, is it good or bad?
I'd say it's the logical evolution of any video game,
especially nowadays that video games obviously keep getting easier.
Personally, it didn't disturb me that much,
at least now, the goings back-and-forth are over,
they don't exist anymore,
this time, we know we'll go from point A to point B,
then from point B to point C,
and we perfectly know we'll never go back to the previous points.
After all, it's not a bad point,
like that, the game has a wild rhythm,
and we don't have the time to get bored.
Vamp and Raiden will be performing soon in the "Stade de France",
the choreography is signed by Kamel Ouali.
The producer Hideo Kojima wishes you a pleasant show.
Another thing I forgot to mention in my first video about the gameplay,
is the fact Snake has a Psyche Gauge, a mental gauge,
which has an influence on Snake's stress.
The more Snake will be stressed, the more the percent will increase,
- here you can see it -
the more his everyday movements will be hard to do.
Here for example, he did a little roll,
you see that by standing up, he hurt his back,
like a grandpa, it's Grandpa Snake!
Or when we use a Sniper like here,
you see the crosshair moves much more than when Snake isn't stressed.
The principal stress factor is the sun, I've noticed.
Especially in Act 2 with the burning sun.
As soon as we're staying like 5 minutes under the sun,
that's it, our stress increases, 50, 60, 70, 80%,
and to alleviate it, - I'm showing it to you-
we need to go in the shade,
for example under a truck, but not only there,
there is a lot of shadowed places.
Or we can always take a medicine we'd have found earlier in the game.
Here I'm showing you one of the original sequences of Act 2,
in which we'll have to find Naomi.
So, as you can see, we'll have to use the Night Vision
and follow the footprints,
except it's not that easy,
because there are everywhere,
about 10 different footprints, going in all directions.
I must've spent at least 45 min to find Naomi in there.
But I found it quite funny.
It's also in Act 2, that we'll meet the first boss of the game,
Laughing Octopus, I've previously told you about.
So we'll actually have to wait quite long before we'll fight the first boss.
In Act 1, there is no boss,
we'll only meet the first boss at the end of Act 2.
You should know there are 7 bosses in all.
That is, in the last three Acts, 3,4,5, there are 6 bosses in all.
Anyway you'll see that from Act 3,
the game will take a complete other direction.
So, Laughing Octopus,
she's a quite fun boss to kill, you'll see,
because she'll use the surrounding environment to blend into it.
We'll see her take the form of different items,
such as Otacon's Mk.II, for example,
or even take a human form, thanks to her FaceCamo.
Yes, because the name "Octopus" was taken from MGS1, of course,
like all the other names of "the Beauty and the Beast", the bosses unit:
so, Decoy Octopus for Laughing Octopus,
Vulcan Raven for Raging Raven,
Sniper Wolf becomes Crying Wolf,
and finally...
How is the last one called again?...
Psycho Mantis, of course, who becomes Screaming Mantis.
Of course, it would've been nice fighting those old famous bosses again.
But frankly, except their names,
there are practically no similarities at all between them.
That's another thing I didn't understand in this MGS4.
If at least,
there would've been similarities between the old bosses from MGS1 and the new ones,
I would've understood why they reused the names.
But it seems they only have the names in common, and nothing more.
Except maybe, Screaming Mantis,
who still makes us think of Psycho Mantis,
but frankly, that's the only one.
I'm still wondering what was the developers's real motivation,
reusing all those old names.
They probably counted on the gamer's nostalgia,
because this aside, I don't see what else it could be.
To conclude with this second act,
I'm showing you the first vehicle part of the game.
So here we're aboard Drebin's Mobile Gun System.
We can't control it ourselves,
Snake is on the top of the Stryker, as you can see,
and we can eventually use the Machine Gun.
So, we'll have to make our way through the enemy troops
and especially the Gekkos.
I leave you with this sequence,
see you for the third Act.
The 3rd Act of the last MGS is very surprising, you'll see,
completely different from the two previous ones.
This time, destination Eastern Europe.
You'll notice we never precisely know where we are.
In Act 1, we are in the Middle East.
Okay, but where in the Middle East? We don't know that.
Act 2 in South America, same thing,
we have no idea where we are, not even in which region,
so here, in this Act 3, in Eastern Europe,
once again, we have no clue of where we precisely are.
I suppose it was thought this way,
to avoid stereotyping a town or a particular place in the real world.
So, we're back with our good old Snake now,
and look, he's cured, he's young now!
No, of course, as he just said, it's his own FaceCamo.
It'd be an alternative for those who'd be fed up playing with Old Snake,
from now on, you just have to go in the menu
to very easily and at will change the face.
As I was saying, Act 3, and the next ones as well,
will totally change everything.
Forget the gameplay of the first two Acts,
forget the ratio cutscenes/playable sequences,
which till now, was about 50:50.
From now on, we'll rather expect 70% cutscenes for 30% playable sequences.
That's a choice,
Kojima's team choice,
and I do respect that.
Now, what mostly needs to be understood is that,
whereas the first two Acts are perfectly accessible to the wide audience,
- meaning it can get something out of it -
well, it won't be the case anymore from Act 3 and the next ones, Act 4,5.
Because from that point, I've told you,
not only we'll get twice as many cutscenes,
but also the amount of informations we'll be given is just crazy!
So, to put order into this when one has no idea of the serie,
well, it becomes really complicated.
That's from Act 3 on,
Kojima decided to give answers to the many pending questions.
"London speaking.
That's our eighth information report.
Please listen to some personal messages first.
Tomorrow, the treacle will become cognac.
Tomorrow, the treacle will become cognac.
John has long mustaches.
I repeat: John has..."
John has long mustaches.
Little excerpt of the movie "The Longest Day", of course.
All that to try bringing out the whole ambiance,
the really special atmosphere of this particular sequence.
We'd think we were in 1945, with the curfew, the Resistance,
with the guards patrolling the alleyways...
I liked it, even if the graphics aren't that awesome.
The textures are still quite poor,
but the level's aesthetics is just magnificient,
with a little, really nice fog effect.
So, Snake's objective will be to find a Resistance Member (RM),
and follow him without getting noticed, of course.
And during this stalking sequence,
we'll have to kill the PMC patrols, like here,
so that the RM can continue his way.
It's a bit long, not very difficult,
and unfortunately, the A.I. is, once again, very average.
After this, we'll have another vehicle part,
this time on motorcycle,
really great concerning the rhythm and how well it was made.
It obviously makes us think of a similar sequence from MGS3.
I've made a little montage with several excerpts of this chase.
See you right after.
I don't know why, but this one seems kind of angry...
So, Raging Raven, second boss of the game
but foremost, last playable sequence of Act 3.
So, when I told it was very short, I wasn't kidding.
If we skip the cutscenes, Act 3 can be finished in less than an hour.
That's... Let's say, special.
The boss himself is quite brutal, frankly,
with Raging Raven, it's mostly about brutality,
not really about strategy,
well, I've beaten him without having any particular strategy.
You should know that, at the end of this Act,
we'll see one of the most beautiful cutscenes of the game. Clearly.
Cinematic style, very steady rhythm,
Liquid Ocelot, of course, taking control of the system "Son of the Patriots"
and renaming it "Guns of the Patriots".
We'll watch a very short excerpt,
before we continue to the very nostalgic Act 4.
Yeah, Shadow Moses.
If one would've told me that 10 years later, we'd go back
- because the first MGS came out in 1998 -
so 10 years later in MGS4,
that we'd go back to where the first MGS took place, in Shadow Moses,
who'd have believed that?
Not me, that's for sure.
So, a lot of nostalgia in this 4th chapter,
of course, because we'll have the possibility to revisit the base,
the Shadow Moses installation,
and see what it has become, 10 years after Snake's first visit.
Seriously, living that moment again doesn't let indifferent, that must be said.
This was a gift from Kojima to the early Metal Gear Solid's fans.
I think we can say it was.
In fact, all it takes to be convinced of this, is to look at this flashback!
We'll have the occasion to play a short moment to the first MGS,
that is, Snake's whole arrival at the Shadow Moses Heliport.
Well, that's something, you know? It's cult, you know!
If that isn't pure nostalgia, well, I know nothing about that stuff.
Of course, the developers didn't do everything again either.
They wouldn't have bothered remodel the whole original game,
in the next-gen way.
But still, there is a good part of it.
Let's say it's satisfying.
For example, they remodeled the Heliport, of course,
but also several hangars, warehouses,
Otacon's office, where the famous fight with Grey Fox took place,
the famous electrified floor with the switchboard we're asked to shut off,
by steering a Nikita missile.
Well it's still there too,
except this time, the electricity was replaced by a Gekko
and we'll have to find a way to get rid of it.
Also the minefield,
the snowfield, we all remember it, where we fought Sniper Wolf,
this time we'll have to deal with Crying Wolf, I won't show you,
personal choice,
I'm not going to reveal everything of the game either.
But I can tell you that, for my part,
Crying Wolf is one of the best made bosses of the game.
Those small spheres are Shadow Moses new occupants.
We'll rarely meet "classic", human PMCs,
which is logical considering the place was deserted for several years.
So, those small spheres are quite a pain in the ass,
because as soon as their scanning beams detect you,
the alert will be raised.
And in that case, we're in big trouble, that's the least we can say.
Because you'll see, dozens of other small enemies of that sort,
so more of those small round things will arrive from everywhere,
latch onto us, electrocute us,
and it'll become very difficult to move away.
In this case, the only solution left will be:
suicide.
So here, I'm showing you a little excerpt of the fight Snake vs Vamp,
that we'll see at the end of Act 4,
even if still a lot happens after this.
- But you'll see that -
So Vamp, who took lessons by Tigger,
now, he perfectly masters the kangaroo attack,
careful, he's not kidding.
No, I'm joking, of course.
But that said, to find out how to eliminate him for good,
I had to go look on internet, because I couldn't do it.
I know, I'm ashamed for that,
it's shameful, I admit it,
but I was fed up he regenerated everytime, this animal.
The 2nd phase of the fight against Vamp is a bit more original, you'll see,
with Raiden reappearing, as Copperfield would've made a plane appear,
So, the screen will split in two,
we'll control Snake, of course, on the left screen,
while Raiden and Vamp will celebrate their reunion on the right one.
That's a good idea,
but as we really have to stay alert on Snake's screen,
we don't really have time to watch what's happening on the right screen.
Here, we have to use the Rail Gun to destroy all the Gekkos,
before they self-destruct.
That's not really difficult.
I let you watch a short excerpt...
Watch out, big spoiler,
from now on, it'll be severely spoiled,
I'm warning you.
That said, I won't put the end of the game either.
Now, we'll watch one of the most emotional scene of the game.
Kojima actually reused one of the best MGS1 's theme,
we could hear, for example, during Sniper Wolf's death scene.
He made a great remix here, in an orchestral style.
Really really nice.
Evidently with such a theme,
any scene sees its whole dramatic side and its intensity increase tenfold,
like here, with Naomi Hunter's death.
Watch out,
because you're about to see one of the most important moment of the whole MGS's saga,
no less!
First of all, we're aboard the Metal Gear REX, as you can see.
This only is just amazing!
Then we'll have two phases:
first phase: we'll have to escape the base, piloting REX,
that's really something!
That's just a dream coming true.
Second phase: here, words fail me to tell you about it,
this is just one of my two favourite moments in the game,
it's just cult.
Such a joker, this Ocelot!
The 5th and last chapter takes exclusively place aboard the Outer Haven,
that's not what you're seeing right now,
this is the USS Missouri here, unless I'm mistaken.
So the Outer Haven, somekind of a big super killer submersible,
which was used as a base by the Patriots before Liquid Ocelot took control of it.
This is not nice!
Here, we feel we're nearing the end.
There will be very few playable sequences in this last Act,
so, consequently, a lot of cutscenes.
And I realize that, despite this hour of video,
I still didn't give you my personal opinion on MGS4.
Before I give it to you,
let me tell you what we're seeing on the screen.
So, Snake is aboard the Outer Haven,
and he'll have to reach the opposite side of the boat bridge.
To do that, we'll have to force our way through, without raising the alarm.
That's the most important, if we want to safely reach the door at the end.
I really really liked this "infiltration phase"
- we can call it this way, for once-
which was, unfortunately, much too short!
Not only this is the last moment of the game where we can really exploit the gameplay,
but also, once we know where the soldiers are,
this level loses its whole significance.
It's such a shame!
I feel like it should've been at least 5 times bigger,
with, why not, the possibility to enter the ship, the cabins.
This way, it would've been awesome!
There, we would've had so much possibilities...
But here, except the ladders,
the interaction with the environment is nonexistent.
I really got the impression the developers were running out of time
and that they cranked out a couple of playable phases like this one,
almost out of obligation.
What I mean is: here, we're miles away from the first two acts.
It has nothing to do with anymore, it's night and day.
Although the replay value - i.e. replayability -
of Acts 1 and 2 is very high and interesting,
the following Acts are hardly convincing concerning this.
That's a problem indeed! This isn't nothing.
We can't leave this out!
I find it's a real problem of the game: it's way too unbalanced.
But that said, luckily the atmosphere is still just as fantastic,
with Snake, more charismatic than ever
and some cutscenes in this act are just breathtaking, really,
emotionally among the strongest of the whole serie.
Well, I think it's time to share my deep opinion about this extraordinary game:
Metal Gear Solid 4, a Playstation 3 exclusivity.
So, what can I say, what can I say?
I'm a bit stuck here.
To be honest, I had prepared a list,
with all the things that seemed worth mentioning to me,
I'm holding it in my hands right now,
but the more I think, the more I realize how unimportant my opinion actually is,
because for me, MGS4 is a very personal piece.
Maybe even the most personal game I've ever seen.
That being said, of course I have an opinion about it,
I do have an opinion, even a clear-cut one,
but I think I won't tell you more about it.
I won't even tell you if I appreciated the game or not,
because there's absolutely no point in doing it.
No point at all.
Some will consider MGS4 as the best game ever,
some others, as a betrayal of the serie
and we can't blame anyone for this.
Because Kojima decided to make of his MGS4
- unlike the three previous episodes -
something out of this world.
And consequently,
it becomes impossible to have a general, a popular opinion on this game,
that ends the Metal Gear Solid saga.
If I have an advice to give:
enjoy this ending to the fullest, without caring about the rest!
After this, the only thing I can say, is that MGS4 must be considered,
not only as game in its own right,
but also truly as the last piece of the puzzle.
A puzzle that came into being 20 years ago now
and ends today.
Really excellent remix of Psycho Mantis Theme.
A lot of nostalgia, and nods to the first MGS,
with this fight against the boss of the bosses,
Screaming Mantis.
So, you got it,
I won't tell you what I think about the best PS3 game,
I won't tell you I enjoyed every bit of this MGS4,
like we can enjoy a good old Nutella jar.
I won't tell you the brilliant mise-en-scene of the cutscenes
is unfortunately too often ruined by a lame, ridiculous narration,
near an old American sitcom's spoof,
piling up clichés and Carambar jokes.
No, I won't say a word of all this.
And I won't talk about the happy ending either,
which really won't leave anyone aside,
from Meryl and Akibas's wedding,
including Sunny's blooming,
to a Daddy Raiden,
to finally conclude with resuscitated Big Boss's never-ending explanations,
who by the way, brought Zero to the next rest-home.
No, I won't say a word about this deplorable ending,
in which Kojima has decided to betray his hero
and consequently, to betray us.
Snake is dead. Long live Snake.
That's it, I think we're going to leave it there.
We've been together more than hour.
Originally I wanted this video to not last longer than 20-22 minutes,
believe me, it's true.
But I quickly realized it was going to be impossible.
I ventured in a direction, in a conception I shouldn't have take.
If I had to do it all over again, frankly, I wouldn't do it.
Maybe eventually for big games,
such as FFVII, Ocarina of Time or things like this,
and yet, I'm not sure,
because I've really spent an unimaginable time making this video,
having all kinds of bugs on my montage software,
Studio 10, without mentioning it.
Studio 10 doesn't really like it when we exceed 35-40 minutes of an intense montage session,
it suffers a lot,
its user as well.
I nearly gave up more than once,
among other things, because of data losses.
So, this montage nears its end, finally!
And I must admit I'm relieved and proud I held on, till the end.
I'm just pointing out I've captured all the sequences of this video myself,
and the commentaries, of course, are also entirely made by me.
So, to conclude,
I'll leave you with some emotional sequences of the game,
because to me,
it's THE strong point of MGS4,
cutscenes, with sometimes,
a rarely or even never achieved intensity in video games.
So, first, with the end of the fight against Screaming Mantis.
Well yes, there will be a big surprise appearance,
I'm not telling more,
but I must say I was quite frustrated we couldn't fight against him...
In this case, it would've been THE fight of the game.
That's a shame.
Then, I'll show you the sequence
in which Snake goes through the hallway filled with microwaves,
with the magnificient "Love Theme" in the background.
A very well made sequence,
with, like for the fight Raiden/ Vamp, a screen split in two, you'll see.
I just found that a bit pushing it,
that, for this scene's maniability,
the developers chose a 20 years old Track and Field.
Those who played the game know what I mean.
So: still can do better.
And finally, the last sequence I decided to include in the video:
of course, the legendary fight, Snake vs Ocelot.
Yes, because now,
we know Ocelot always remained himself: Ocelot.
Even in MGS2.
I found this a bit far-fetched,
but of course, it still is plausible, coherent,
like all the other explanations of MGS4.
It's just, sometimes,
we do feel Kojima tried as best as he could to grasp at straws,
because frankly, in MGS2, we clearly see Liquid taking control of Ocelot,
and not the other way around.
So, I'm not sure Kojima himself had the answers to all those questions
during MGS2's development.
Either way, this final fight is absolutely AWESOME,
worthy of the greatest Hollywood scenes,
even if the gameplay phase -I won't show you here-
is even less playable than the first Tekken's one.
But we don't give a damn! We really don't give a damn!
The emotion and the intensity of this scene surpass everything that was made till now.
Already cult!
And at the end of the video,
the song "Here's to you", I've previously told you about.
That's it!
I hope you enjoyed this video,
as for me, I'm half dead.
See you next time!