Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is a 2008 action-adventure stealth game developed by Kojima Productions and published by Konami exclusively for PlayStation 3. Directed by Hideo Kojima, it concludes the story of Solid Snake, the operative introduced in Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2. The game was announced at E3 2005, became a showcase for PlayStation 3's hardware, and shipped in June 2008. Its release uses a dual-layer Blu-ray Disc and installs data to the console's hard drive between chapters, reflecting its large audiovisual presentation. It later reached PlayStation 3's Greatest Hits line in 2010, but it has not received a native release for later PlayStation consoles. Set in 2014, the story presents a world dominated by the "war economy," where private military companies fight under systems controlled by Sons of the Patriots. Snake, aging because of his accelerated clone biology, is sent by Roy Campbell to stop Liquid Ocelot. Ocelot has taken control of Outer Haven, a fortress ship carrying Metal Gear Arsenal Gear, and seeks to seize the Patriots' network. Snake crosses a Middle Eastern battlefield, South America, Eastern Europe, Shadow Moses Island, and Outer Haven during the campaign. His condition gives the game its subtitle: he experiences pain called "Old Snake's Syndrome" and uses nanomachines to regulate his body. His support team includes Otacon, Sunny, and Colonel Campbell, while Dr. Naomi Hunter explains that Snake's FOXDIE virus has mutated and could become lethal to the population. Allies such as Meryl Silverburgh, Raiden, and Drebin assist him; adversaries include Vamp and the Beauty and the Beast Corps. The game reveals that events are tied to the Patriots' artificial-intelligence system and the Philosophers' Legacy. Snake eventually reaches the Patriots core through a mission involving the virus FOXALIVE, created by Sunny. Gameplay combines third-person shooting with stealth and adds the Solid Eye System, which analyzes surroundings and displays information. Snake can wear the OctoCamo suit to mimic surfaces and use the Metal Gear Mk. II robot. The weapon system lets Drebin unlock captured guns and tailor firearms with parts. Metal Gear Online, a multiplayer component, launched in 2008 and was later shut down in 2012. Reviewers noted the game's long cinematic sequences; Guinness World Records recognized it for the longest cutscene in a video game in its 2010 edition. Its final confrontation has Snake fight Liquid Ocelot atop Outer Haven, followed by an epilogue resolving several long-running series threads.