REARM,.. for Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns of the Patriots ( Link )
Let's be entirely honest now.
While all of the new titles that have been announced are appealing to Metal Gear fans, the MGS4 page is the real reason why you're reading this article.
As almost everybody is aware of, the latest trailer for the Playstation 3 iteration of Metal Gear Solid
was shown at E3 and has since been met with debate, applause, and a general awe. Tentative up until the expo, the title has since been officially announced as 'Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots', countering a growing belief that the series would drop the "Solid" subtitle for this installment. The trailer, similar to the one shown at TGS last year, depicts an aged Solid Snake struggling to survive in a middle eastern warzone. Theories as to exactly where this story takes place range from Jerusalem to Moscow, and even Egypt. Though this may essentially be downplayed in the final release, as according to Mr. Kojima, the location isn't so much important as is the setting -- that being, his interpretation of what war could become in the near future. Not so much a robot and nanomachine ridden environment of science fiction lore, but moreso an evolution of the information age where everything is monitored and controlled digitally.
Konami and Kojima have taken careful steps as to what they are willing to reveal of the story, as the
MGS4 section of their expo press kit lacks any textual information unlike most other games previews
that were included, though from what has been amassed during the event, we can provide the following synopsis without too much fear of discrepancy:
Metal Gear Solid 4 takes place in the year 2015, at a time when the United States has outsourced much of their military forces to other countries. Because of this, a new generation of mercenary armies (formed by PMCs, or "Private Military Corporations") have now gained enough power to easily rival that of the US. Though several PMCs are involved, they are all owned and operated by one dummy corporation named "Outer Heaven", after the ideal world that Big Boss once imagined where soliders could always exist and have purpose. In charge of this massive army is Liquid Snake, now dubbed "Liquid Ocelot" as he has apparently taken over Revolver Ocelot completely as his host. As he attempts to continue to create this world once invisioned by his father, Roy Campbell, now employed by the United Nations, requests the aid of Solid Snake in taking down Liquid and his army. Apparently, The Patriots are involved as well, though it is unknown as to what extent.
Equipping him with what Kojima is currently dubbing "OctoCamo", a suit capable of mimicking the color
and texture of any object it comes into contact with, Snake is dropped into the Middle East via guerilla
convoy by truck. During this mission, Snake will come across several characters famous to the series; a line up that Kojima refers to as "All-Star". According to Mr. Kojima, he will try to include as many
veteran characters as possible by the end of the game. According to one of the returning characters, Dr. Naomi Hunter, Solid Snake currently only has six months to live as his body is decaying from cell
degeneration (apparent from Snake's coughing fit in the TGS trailer), a side effect of the cloning
process from the 'Les Enfant Terrible' project. Despite this, Snake feels the need to wipe his existence
from the planet as he can be seen on the edge of suicide near the trailer's denouement.
Another returning character, Meryl Silverburgh (a character famous from both Policenauts and MGS) will be present as a member of the new FOXHOUND. As usual, Kojima has included a slew of
references to his previous titles in this trailer, apparant by not only the bullet that Meryl uses as an
earing (Policenauts) but by the barcode and manufacturing stamp of "TOKUGAWA HEAVY INDUSTORY" on the helmet of Raiden's new suit.
Speaking of which, Raiden's return has generated the most discussion among Metal Gear fans as up until now, all that was known was Mr. Kojima's cryptic prediction that players would love him after playing MGS4. Now that he has been revealed, people are beginning to understand why. Clad in a futuristic body suit remeniscent of the one used by Gray Fox, Raiden is seen slashing through multiple Metal Gears with his High Frequency Blade, acting out maneuvers similar to those used by previous versions of the cyborg ninja in MGS and MGS2. While some are skeptical over the sudden gaining interest in Raiden's new look, most approve of the change.
As for Metal Gear itself, the famous mecha returns in multiples in the form of "Gekkō", adapted
from the Japanese word for 'moonlight'. This new model takes the idea of an all-terrain tank in a new
direction by including organic legs (complete with blood and bone) amidst its mechanical body, making it capable of much more agile movements ranging from climbing up walls to leaping far above building roofs. Among its arsenal are nuclear weaponry and machine guns, and though Gekkō seems tailored around the idea of combat, it can also provide support to nearby troops by supplying them with stored ammunition via an extendable tentacle.
However, despite the additions showcased in the recent trailer, several expected elements were missing from the presentation. Not only is Vamp still nowhere to be seen, but both the Metal Gear Mark II unit and Snake's "Solid Eye" device were not shown. Much debate has been waged over whether or not these devices will make an appearance in the final build, as Kojima mentioned that they were facing technical restraints over the functionality. Though in a recent conversation I had with International Manager Ryan Payton, he assured me that the development team was taking steps to try and make sure that both will be included.
As things currently stand, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will be the last game in the official
series canon, as Kojima plans to answer several remaining questions left over from MGS2 -- namely those regarding Liquid's revival, Vamp's immortallity, and the truth behind The Patriots. And although no gameplay footage was shown (due to the engine being too incomplete), there are zero doubts as to what kind of quality players will be faced with in this final ride through the world of Metal Gear.
As of yet, no release date has been announced although the game is due to release in 2007. Some are beginning to speculate that MGS4 may launch on July 7, as this would mark the twenty year anniversary of the series to which Kojima has expressed interest in celebrating.
(Unofficial Concept Design)
Footnote: There are no images of Raiden included in this article due to the fact that, if you visit our forum, you can see him on almost everyone's avatar or signature.
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