Today I completed Guns of the Patriots. Though it'll take time to have a complete perspective on it, it completely lived up to my expectations and is one of my favorite games already. Though MGS3 is still my favorite overall, MGS4's narrative was every bit as good, and is one of the few times that I was so attached to a piece of media that I cried. The gameplay is extremely good and warrants multiple playthroughs, though it's a little discouraging that stealth is less emphasized in this installment. It seems that was one of the compromises made for whiners, as well as codecs taking a backseat and the controls being reworked. (Ironically, the detractors still whined like babies.)

Overall, the game has excellent pacing and is the perfect conclusion to the Metal Gear Solid series. All of the loose ends that were wrapped up, the allusions to previous games, and the new additions to the gameplay were done almost flawlessly. It's sad to let go of MGS, with all of the impact this series had on my life, but I couldn't have asked for more. Snake's final mission is an easy 10 out of 10 for me, and is even worth the extra dough for the limited edition. I hope that you liked the game as much as I did!

Farewell, Snake! *Salute*