Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is a gamer’s game and serves as an example for this generation with its amazing features, gorgeous presentation, and great gameplay. More importantly, whatever flaws or shortcomings it possesses are overshadowed by the strength and compelling artistry behind its gameplay.

Following a few years after the events of the second game, it picks up with an aged Solid Snake, a clandestine agent now working for the United Nations at the behest Colonel Campbell. The rise of private military contractors (PMCs) in response to the Manhattan incident at the end of Metal Gear Solid 2 have fundamentally altered the state of war. National military forces have been reduced worldwide, leaving PMCs to duke it out in proxy wars. These private forces, although seemingly separate, are actually tied together under one holding entity entitled Outer Heaven. The ambitions of the legendary villain Big Boss live on, this time through Liquid Snake and only his genetic twin Solid Snake can stop him.

Joining a slew of new weapons and sophisticated gadgetry are changes to the battlefield. The game departs from the quiet locales of previous installments for hazardous combat zones. PMCs waging war against local militiamen provide a compelling backdrop for Snake's sneaking missions. It's quite unlike any past Metal Gear operation. You're able to ignore much of the fighting in lieu of specific mission objectives or actually engage in it on behalf of one side or the other. Whichever you choose, non-player characters respond accordingly. For example, helping out local rebels may grant you access to their underground hideout stocked with ammunition and rare weapons. Surviving on the battlefield means dealing with these combatants in some form or another, as well as equipping the appropriate gear. New weapons can be purchased at any time using Drebin Points, an in-game currency earned by selling extra weapons to a gun launderer of the same name. As if that weren't radical enough of a change for the series, you're also able to customize weapons in Drebin's store.

Drebin Points and the new war-torn locales all play integral roles in the series' shift toward increasingly diverse gameplay. More so than any previous installment, Metal Gear Solid 4 enables you to depart from stealth and enjoy straight up action. It's entirely possible to run through the game, guns blazing in a fit of trigger-happy terror, killing everything in sight. You're never punished for doing this; instead, you're rewarded for stealth and non-lethality with bonus items and extra Drebin Points. This makes the game easier should you opt to shoot your way out of every situation, whereas the stealthy route affords an enormous challenge. In a way, it's as though there are two different games here--one an action-packed military shooter and the other a contemplative, suspenseful espionage game.

Regardless of the approach you take, controlling Snake through his last adventure varies from being intuitive to obscenely complex. Stick to basic maneuvers and you won't find any issue with the controls. Toy with the various new gadgets and tactics available to Snake, however, and you'll encounter a long list of button configurations and options that are overwhelming. Take the new Solid Eye radar system, for instance. It's simple enough to equip it using the L2 item menu; yet, activating different sight modes require additional button presses while L2 is held down. This sounds easy, but it's annoying to tap a bunch of buttons to switch modes while in the middle of a confrontation.