TGS '07: Metal Gear Solid 4 Hands-On
We've literally waited years to type that headline. Find out why inside.
Solid Story
Check out the latest craziness in this action-packed MGS4 trailer from TGS '07.
TOKYO--You may have heard of Metal Gear Solid 4 by now. It's one of the PlayStation 3's most important exclusive games in the race for next-generation dominance. It is also creator/director Hideo Kojima's purported last outing with his seminal stealth series. And it's playable here at the Tokyo Game Show. We were lucky enough to sit down with illustrious Kojima Productions producer Ryan Payton for an all-too-brief 90 minutes with the game, during which we found that many familiar mechanics have changed. But the heart of Metal Gear Solid is definitely still beating here.
First, it's worth pointing out that the demo of the game we played is essentially the same one Kojima Productions began demonstrating publicly back in July. So if you haven't seen that video yet, take a look to see everything we're talking about here. Luckily, Payton contextualized the action we played in the demo and filled us in on the initial story of the game. As it turns out, that gameplay demo is set only about 15 minutes into Metal Gear Solid 4, so you'll basically watch the intro sequence and play a very brief section. Then you'll end up right in that dusty village setting that we've seen so much of during the past two years. Payton confirmed during our demo that this Middle Eastern area is just one of the locales you'll visit throughout the course of the game. Just because that's all we've seen of MGS4 so far, don't think the entire game--or even the majority of it--takes place there. Payton let slip that you'll also travel to South America later in the game, among other places.
Before we jumped into the demo, we stepped back and got the scoop on the storyline at the outset of MGS4. The game will begin with Col. Campbell contacting Solid Snake to deliver the disturbing intelligence that Liquid Snake is alive and running Outer Heaven. This is a dummy corporation that oversees and controls private military companies all over the world. The PMCs will essentially act as Liquid's private army throughout the game, so they'll be the on-the-ground enemy forces you'll be fighting against. The PMCs will also vary between areas. For instance, the company in the Middle East was called Praying Mantis, but the one in South America will have a different name and appearance.
Further intelligence indicates that Liquid is currently operating in the Middle East, so Campbell essentially hires Snake to travel there to perform a contract hit on Liquid and put an end to his machinations. It's important to note that the villain we're talking about here is actually Liquid Ocelot--Revolver Ocelot's body with Liquid Snake's attached arm and consciousness. So the bad guy will look like Ocelot, but there's nothing of Ocelot left in there: The personality is 100 percent Liquid Snake. However, you'll hear Ocelot's voice actor delivering the English voice-over in the forthcoming TGS trailer and in the final game, so no more Cam Clarke here (sorry Ninja Turtles fans).
At any rate, Snake's first objective on the ground in the Middle East was to meet up with a group of informants that have been tracking Liquid's movements, which we found out through a dialogue scene with longstanding support character Otacon via codec transmission. The codec interface has come a long way since the minimal, 2D talking heads in the first MGS. Now, it's been overhauled to show a video window of the speaker that takes up a much larger portion of the screen (though you don't see Snake during codec scenes anymore). Otacon was sitting in a fully 3D-modeled room that we could move the camera around in a limited fashion, so you'll get some visual context on where your codec buddies are physically located every time you talk to them. Another nice feature is that you can fast-forward by hitting the triangle button--complete with superfast dialogue delivery and sped-up animation. Then you can let off the button to let the conversation resume with full spoken dialogue. Payton confirmed that the lips will be synced to the audio in MGS4 rather than tuned by hand, so the lip sync should be much more believable in the English and other localized versions of the game.
To find the informants, we had to move down a length of streets and nearly demolished houses to reach the rendezvous point. You can watch that gameplay demo from July to essentially track our progress through the area, although like much of the game, this section had more than one path. For instance, in the starting area, we could move down the street itself on the left, but that route was blocked by a number of Praying Mantis soldiers and a large armored vehicle with a top-mounted gun turret (which Payton said will replace the security cameras of previous games). So we chose to break to the right to cut through some ruined buildings, which afforded us a number of crawlspaces and blast holes. In these areas, we could slink through and avoid most of the soldiers in the area.
So how does the game play? As mentioned, it's different yet the same, in that the actions you perform--things like taking cover and pulling close-quarters combat moves on unsuspecting soldiers--are still in here. But the control methods you use to perform them are different and largely streamlined over past games. The "action" interface--that is, anything you make Snake do that isn't combat-related--is now assigned solely to the triangle button. That ranges from climbing up ladders and vaulting over low barriers to simply walking up to a wall and taking cover against it (which you used to do by running Snake headfirst into the wall). Anytime there's an available contextual action, you'll get a small icon at the bottom indicating what you can do by hitting the triangle button. We saw one exception to this rule when Snake climbed into a garbage container, which puts you into first-person view: You'll have to flick the Sixaxis upward forcefully to push the lid open and climb back out.
547 comments
First Super Smash Bros. and now Soul Calibur!?!? I can't wait to see Snake battle it out with Yoda! (Sarcasm)
This coming Wednesday my friends are going to have a Soulcaliber fest. Can't wait to see Darth Vader in action. WOOT!!
someone screwd of something up, i clicked on the SC IV link and it took me to a MGS IV link!!
HOLY !@#$ THIS IS GONNA BE AWESOME!!!!! it's gonna be awesome because you dont have to use suppressor 24/7 .
wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo so ****ing glad i bought a ps3.
Dang, it's just right around the corner. Im excited about the "Warfare" levels; which you could put your weapons and tactics to some good use while accomplishing your mission, instead of being cautious and rendering being caught. Two days..... i think im going to sleep outside gamesstop and wait till the final hour.
first of all mg was first on nintendo made by the same guy that makes the ps ones so the first mg was actually made in 1987 but still looking foward to this
I fell in love with MGS ever since I bought another PSone back in 1997 and there was a demo disc that had trailers for SSLC and MGS:1 and when i watched that video I waited and when that game came out it changed the way I play games now. so I thank kojima
If you need refreshed on the story you can buy the essential collection thats out right now for only 30 bucks. Its totally worth it if you never played metal gear. I bought it a couple months ago and I can honestly say that mgs is one of my favorites ever.
firstly id like to say ive followed this since MGS1 and have been devout to the MGS way since playing it. i have now pre-ordered it and have both the preorder receipt and the money super glued to my face just in case. and also id liek to clear up the fact. MGS4 comes with MGO starter pack and DL packs will come out at a later date. just to clear the mud.
CherokeeXP : The story may cause you to go WTF?, but other than that the games are usually very scalable. Meaning they are friendly to new players and veterans alike.
I've actually never played an MGS game before (shock horror!!). Would this be ruined for me coz i'll need past experience etc. Or will it be noob friendly? I can't wait for this one. Everyone I know loves the MGS series.
if u need a story refresher u can also go on youtube and search mgs story and watch someone play through all 3 games
akiwak: If you're doing that for the sake of the story, you should have played MGS3 first, then 1 and 2, otherwise MSG3 might knock some of the "newer" plot points out of your mind.
snake..? Snake! SNAAAKE!!! I have just passed MGS1 again working on MGS2 and next week I'll play thru MGS3 already setting it up for the release of MGS4 with the stories fresh on my mind!!!!
this is gonna be AWSOME!!! and one more thing: u cant compare the GoW-storyline to any mgs-storyline, coz mgs actually HAS a story and it's always a good and well-thought one.
this will be the first MGS game i've played since i played a demo of Metal Gear Solid all those years ago, i hope it KICKS ASS...and by the sound of it, it will
So Snake will have to browse through dirty mags periodically to keep himself conscious? Don`t we just love japanese games :) .
I got Snake eater 2006 and i am still playin it im never gettin tired of it and i cant wait for this one more than a month!:P
@MurderMode, Not completely correct. It has been confirmed that MGS4 will come with a couple levels of Metal Gear Online. It's a starter pack that will ship with MGS4. The full version of MGO will come a little after MGS4 hits shelves. So yes, if you want the FULL version of MGO you will need to buy it but MSG4 will come with some of it.
Check this right... Pretty much every mate of mine that are 360 gamers are purely jelous that PS3 gamers are getting MGS4, what can be arguably said as one of the most epic video-game sagas in history. For all you 360 gamers that compare MGS4 to Gears of War... regardless that Gears of War is an awsome game (which it is)... you can never compare it to MGS... EVER
jackrocks123 as far as I know this isn't online... you will have to save up more of your coin and get the game Metal Gear Online aswell
Itīs gonna be the BEST game in history, like all the series. because METAL GEAR series are ALWAYS a MASTERPIECES.tīll break records. Kojima itīs a Crazy Genius. LONG LIVE MGS!
can't wait saving all my money up for this gonna be good story and good online, should reach no 1 on game sales i hope, but good thing its only for ps3
For me, Metal Gear is one of the few game series were the actual game feels like filler for the storyline and cutscenes. I'm not saying the gameplay is bad, I think that it is excellent... one of the best single player experiences you can have. What I am trying to say is that the cutscenes are the biggest reward I have had in any game... with the completion of each area you are guaranteed another slice of what would be a hollywood blockbuster. A couple of months after I finished MGS3 I sat down to watch all the cutscenes again, and although I'm not exactly sure what time I sat down I swear the cutscenes lasted over 5 hours. And that's a hell of a long time to keep someone interested who can't sit still for more then 30 minutes. I'm seriously buying a ps3 just for this.
metal gear never disappoints. snake eater was unbelievable and i cant wait for this. these games are just plain out awesome and always provide little nuggets of hidden fun
dkdk999 do u understand how completcated this story is!!! omg its awsome its so long and interesting, u need to play this game and besides so many people to me that gears the story sucked the online was good!!! so dkdk999 wiki metal gear and start reading
I have to agree with kna3000 here. I own a 360, and am very much in love with it. But if you've played any MGS before this (Ive played ever since MGS1 and each sequel multiple times) then the games about Stealth not upfront firefights though they can be fun in MGS. Gears and MGS are two totally different games, whoopdedoo the 360 has Gears 2 on the way. Personally I'll take MGS4 over it anyday because MGS has a much more personal story to tell than Gears shoot the crap out of everything one line humor ridden story. MGS4 looks awesome, cant wait to see it in action and give it a shot.
to every one who owns a 360 console. If you think that putting Gears Of War 2 (i already played the first one) at the same level of Metal Gear Solid 4, then I'm sorry to be the one who break it to you, you are absolutely don't know what Metal Gear represents. Maybe you're new in this world of gaming. The fan base for this game alone out-run Halo's fan base world wide. So if you want to represent the 360 with a game next time, choose Halo, not Gears of War . N.B: I own both consoles & i hate comparison, but you guys are provoking !!
Outer_Raven I agree with tlow0678. MGS4 will make Xbox360 owners so full of jealous that they're gonna sell their Xbox 360 just to buy a PS3 and MGS4! PS3 IS ON FIRE!!!! HAHA, thats the most retarded statement ive heard yet... luckily i have both systems, but i sure as hell wouldnt sell my 360 just to play this game, and no the PS3 is not on fire, it needs to do something to get people excited about their console again
I have waited for this game for ages june is definitely the time to take my vacation. Between MGS4 and the Kratos psp I'll be lucky if I don't burn my eyes out. LOL.
if you got a british psn account then you can download the multiplayer demo from the playsation store. its tight
Never owned a PS before, so rarely had the chace to play the MGS series. I own both consoles (360 and PS3) and deffo feel the 360 has topped out performance wise, and this now the chance for the PS3 to pull ahead, and it clearly shows in GT5 and MGS4.
Outer_Raven I agree with tlow0678. MGS4 will make Xbox360 owners so full of jealous that they're gonna sell their Xbox 360 just to buy a PS3 and MGS4! PS3 IS ON FIRE!!!! . LOL. It'll would take alot more than an FMV filled Linear experience to make me want to even think about getting a PS3. Sorry.
to airsofmanic what the hell Do you mean 'all i need is a decent wii game'? the wii has plenty of GREAT games. *cough* MARIO GALAXY *cough* METROID *cough* SMASH BROS BRAWL* NO MORE HEROES *COUGH*
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- Publisher(s): Konami
- Developer(s): Kojima Productions
- Genre: Action
- Release:
- PEGI: 18+
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