Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots -- Initial Impression.

I've had precious little time to play anything this last week with my niece and nephew here for the summer, but I have started in on Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots which is exclusive to the PlayStation 3. Metal Gear Solid 4 is being pushed as the title for the PlayStation 3. This is the one that's going to change everything. Make them see the power of the system. Make everyone understand that Sony had it correct all along. Well I don't know about all that. Metal Gear Solid 4 itself is being pushed as the game of forever by the hardcore Metal Gear devoted. The one that will show how much of a true genius storyteller, and how much of a master game maker Hideo Kojima really is. The game that will answer every last possible question one could have from the entirety of the Metal Gear saga. Well I don't know about all that. I do know that the reviews for Metal Gear Solid 4 have been glowing with more perfect scores than any game in recent memory. The press has been gushing. Well I don't know about that one either. I do know that I adored Metal Gear Solid and thought it amazing back in 1998. I know I was there day one in 2001 and found myself blown away by how let down I was with Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. I was not amused by Kojima's joke on gamers nor was I thrilled with the story. I was again there in 2004 with Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. This time I was prepared for the storytelling that would follow by Metal Gear Solid 2 and I was there for the gameplay. What I found was an improvement over the previous effort. So here we are to wrap up the entire series. I'm again prepared for the storytelling style of Kojima and I should be in for a fun ride assuming the gameplay is there. When I say I'm prepared for the storytelling of Kojima, I mean I now understand he's entirely crazy and that I just need to roll with it or risk severe headache. So let's let it roll...