Video Games

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

A- For PlayStation 3. Rated for ages 17 and up. $59

SENIOR SNAKE: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is a confusing, meandering, preachy action game stuffed with decade-old game play and starring a hero named Snake who is afflicted with a hyper-aging disease. And it could be the game of the year.

FREE FIRE ZONE: The Metal Gear Solid series has always been as much about stealth as raw gunplay. But while MGS4 claims to stay true to this tradition, I actually found myself navigating many of the levels as if I were Rambo, grinding bad guys into hamburger with a huge assortment of firearms. Fun times either way, though.

WAR IS BAD: MGS4 thinks it's making insightful commentary by decrying the battlefield influence of for-profit defense companies, but that criticism was hackneyed before most people who will play this game were even born. Still, the minimovies and cut scenes sprinkled throughout the game are enjoyable.

BOTTOM LINE: The actual game-play sequences in MGS4 only last about 20 or 30 minutes each before the next extended-cut scene kicks in. But the game play is so refined and well-planned – and watching Snake's electronic camouflage automatically match his surroundings is so endlessly cool – that this is easily one of the best games released this year.

Victor Godinez

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