MGS4 playthrough: Liquid Sun is as hot as it gets

War may have changed in Snake’s tired eyes, but the trademark Metal Gear gameplay is still very much intact in stealth action game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. For the uninitiated, this involves getting from point A to point B without attracting any attention.

Moving between points isn’t so simple, however. The armed goons that dot the landscape no longer have tunnel vision, which made sneaking in earlier installments quite easy. There’s no telling if an enemy is waiting just around the corner for an unwanted surprise encounter.

Thankfully, the first act is quite forgiving when it comes to encounters. Like all first stages, Liquid Sun serves as a tutorial for beginners and a refresher for veterans. This first stage may look familiar to those who’ve downloaded various MGS4 trailers. It’s the Middle-Eastern area that was always shown off these past few years.

Snake may be better armed this time around with more guns and slightly-improved controls, but a full-on shootout is hazardous even in the early stages of the game. Never mind that there’s an option to play MGS4 like a first-person shooter. Acting like a maniacal space marine in Mars would only get Snake killed before reaching the “interesting” parts.

Hint: This “interesting” part rhymes with ‘mocelot.’

Image for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is courtesy of Konami.