By now, many people have finished the main story of Metal Gear Solid 4. I, however, have not. I like to take my sweet time smelling the flowers and exploring the lovely world Kojima Productions has crafted. Over the course of my misadventures, I discovered an oddity in the Solid Snake universe. There are vampires in the game! And, no, I don’t mean this guy.
The generic soldiers, sleeping or dead, disintegrate the same way vampires do when they’re hit with sunlight. And not only that, the same solider that disintegrated respawns close by and comes back. It’s explained later in the game, storywise, why the disintegration phenomenon happens (I won’t say it here for spoiler sake). A convenient plot device, but I’ll accept it. But what is really jarring is the effect it has on gameplay. Before I knew about this effect, I spent 10 mintues attempting to clear a path on the battlefield so that I can pass through. Curious as to why I wasn’t making any progress, I sent little Metal Gear Mk.II to scout ahead. Within a few minutes of observation, the disabled soldiers disappears and more soldiers come around the corner to replace them. This process continued until I forcefully break through or find an alternate path.
Interestingly enough, this disintegration effect only happens on battlefield scenarios. It makes sense as it supposed to give the illusion of innumerable amounts of soldiers. In areas where there is no fighting going on, the bodies will stay on the field.
While I like to believe my suspension of disbelief is pretty good, there is one effect in Metal Gear Solid 4 that I couldn’t help but notice. That is the triggered enemy spawn. Ever since my 10 minute battle scenario, I have been sending the Mk.II ahead to make sure the area ahead of me is clear. And in more than one occasion, I had enemy soldiers respawn from behind and spotting me. Also, having checked the field ahead of me is clear, as soon as I enter, enemies spawn right in front of me. It annoys me and it’s probably the result of my slow style of play.*sigh*.
