Hideo Kojima

Ghost in the Machine

HIGH The excellent expanded characterization of The Boss.

LOW Watching a tank slowly circle an area for 30 minutes while attempting to non-lethally disable its entourage.

WTF The ending after the ending. Pacifica Ocean?

The Half-Hearted Dracula

HIGH The combat system once all the moves are unlocked.

LOW The first several hours.

WTF Gabriel Belmont's neck is bigger than his head.

This week, it's some good old fashioned game talk. Amnesia The Dark Descent! Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker! Alan Wake! Plus: Games are too buggy, Richard sings (twice), and stay tuned after the credits for some impromptu Halo: Reach chat. Featuring Chi Kong Lui, Brad Gallaway, Mike Bracken, Richard Naik, and Tim "Let's Grow a Beard Together" Spaeth.

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Games discussed:

• Amnesia: The Dark Descent
• Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
• Alan Wake
• Halo: Reach

Please send feedback and mailbag questions to podcast (at) gamecritics (dot) com.

Been spending some more time with Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker on the PlayStation Portable. Like I said in the last post, it got off to a slow start but it's really been picking up. After putting a few more hours into it and getting past the fifth boss, I think what I like most is that it's both stripped down (the tactical stealth action) and complex (the Outer Heaven sections) at the same time.

There will be another Star Wars trilogy from someone other than George Lucas before there is another Metal Gear Solid without Hideo Kojima at the controls.

I would love to have a chance to sit down with Hideo Kojima, one of the industry's most well-known, well-respected auteurs and find out exactly what place Guns of the Patriots holds in his mind. Why? Quite honestly, the game is a shadow of what it could, and should have been.

Make no mistake. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is Hideo Kojima's game. The question is: are you okay with that?

Game Description: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, is a next-gen experience complete with top-of-the-line graphics and surround sound designed for the Sony PlayStation 3. Featuring the most revealing display of Kojima Production's premier title, MSG4 details the world where Snake must under go his final mission. Joined by a familiar cast of characters, Snake must once again return to the battlefield to confront his lifelong rival, Liquid Ocelot, who is manipulating the world's wars from the one world where soldiers will always have a place. But Liquid Ocelot is not the only one who will be able to manipulate the world's wars—Snake can destabilize opposing forces by working behind the scenes, supporting the local militia as they fight PMCs, creating a smokescreen that allows Snake to move freely within the war-zone.

Yes

No

Regardless of its flaws, I'd say that is probably one of the safest purchases for PSP gamers, easily trouncing most of the junk in the PSP section. Snake is definitely one of the most compelling characters in videogames today, and I'd take a slightly flawed adventure with him over another carbon-copy racing game or generic puzzler any day.