Around the world with MGS4

Metal Gear Solid 4: The Guns of the Patriots will take us "all around the world like Hitchcock or 007" when it's released on PS3 next year, director Hideo Kojima has revealed - so the battle-torn Middle Eastern location we've seen inthelatest trailers isn't the only place that Snake will be sneaking around.

During his recent Tokyo Game Show presentation, Kojima also explained how MGS4 will change the way we play a stealth game: "Up until now in the MGS series your body was completely hidden [when hiding]. But in MGS4, you'll be hiding in a new way." Previously, Kojima points out, "you would've hidden behind pillars but in MGS4 you'll be standing in front of the pillars and using the octo-cam to blend in."

Snake's octo-cam suit (from octopus and camouflage) will obviously help you avoid detection but MGS4 's enemies are cleverer than in previous games. "The real skill in hiding is to avoid the most obvious places like lockers or under tables," says Kojima, "because that's the kind of place that people would search first."

"It's best to hide in places that are already visible," Kojima explains, "because nobody would care to notice it. For example, people would search a locker that's closed but they wouldn't check a locker that's already halfway open. You can just hide in a dead angle of it."

Snake will also benefit from some new active animation, including a sort of bullet-dodging flinch - if a round passes near Snake's head, he'll pull away and dodge the bullet's path. Kojima was quick to point out that this wouldn't affect the game's difficulty, so don't expect to be dodging out of harm's way, Matrix style.

With Kojima's dedication to atmosphere, detail and realism, plus yet another soundtrack by the excellent Harry Gregson-Williams, Metal Gear Solid 4 is a no-brainer for best game of the series. If not one of the best, most ambitious games ever. There's still nearly a year to wait until its PS3 release, though, so why not take a glance at our MGS4 video database to kill some time? Just hit the Movies tab up there to get started.

September 25, 2006