In 1999, as a young boy I embarked on a grand journey that lasted me roughly six hours. Forced to wear the boots of the legendary soldier, and not self-proclaimed hero, Solid Snake. While still somewhat of a cult classic, Metal Gear Solid (and the previous Metal Gear games) are nearly single-handedly the blue-print for video games today.
When games for the playstation like Final Fantasy came out, FMV (cutscene) films were designe with enhanced graphics that far exceeded what you saw in gameplay. At this point in time, it was just customary in that games were designed that way. MGS did away with it and used the same graphics, which were crisp for the time, all the way through.
In addition, voice acting was atrocious in games. If a video game even had voice acting, it was like you found a bunch of porno actors to read lines. Their enthusiasm made you believe they were doing it for free, as well. This too, changed with MGS. Quality and cinematic voice acting made the game so real.
Why have I told you this? Because I respect this game. I love this game. I recently replayed this game, and it is still great. Is it dated? Yeah, but the cinematic value and story still hold true today. When the sequel arrived on the newly crafted Playstation 2, I could barely contain myself. In fact, I played the opening Tanker section nearly to death as the PS2 had a memory card shortage and I could not advance beyond that, so I simply kept playing the Tanker.
However, as is well known today, once you move beyond the Tanker your character switches. Slightly off-put at first, I came to embrace Raiden while my friends and the majority of the internet put him down for two main reasons.
1.) He wasn't Solid Snake.
2.) He was girly.

People were so upset that you had to play as Raiden, that I remember the tons of hate this wonderful game got. I thought it was stupid then, but I find it funny now. That is how close people relate to Snake, in that they would get actually mad that they could not play as him. Even though there is no real discernible difference between the two in game-play.
Snake Eater came out, and for me, wasn't able to be the game that 1 and 2 were, but it was still a good game none the less. But, I've talked alot about videos games and that is not what my post is about, to say. My post is about my feelings towards this series, as I played the last installment of Solid Snake's legacy. I finished MGS4 today, and it was amazing.
I had read a lot of negative criticism about MGS4, and alot of bashing (much like MGS2). Surprisingly, MGS3: Snake Eater was indifferent. I think this is mainly because it was at the end of the PS2's life cycle, and the game didn't really bring much information to light that anyone truly cared about.
So, I'll review the gameplay of MGS4 by saying that it is amazing. Yes, it is frustrating ta times. And yes, the controls suck at times but they've always sucked. Just like Resident Evil. Some of the smaller portions of the game, like the ending battle, are simply mind-blowing. Revisiting past locations and even getting to pilot a Metal Gear was like becoming a child again.
In short, I want to thank Solid Snake for being a great mentor. Some of us needed help on entering manhood, and needed a legendary role model like yourself. I love you, and thank you.

-Hyena-
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