MGS4 Featured In The New York Times

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

There's a reason why most gamers don't bother with the newspaper: most still believe it's the 19th century, and don't bother with video games. And if they do - and many more are doing so now - they simply snag someone from another department (like sports or another form of entertainment) to write the article. Sometimes...that gets pretty sad. However, they can't ignore the sheer size and popularity of this industry forever. Especially not when it tops every single other entertainment industry the paper reports on (for the most part), and especially not with games like Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots on store shelves.

The world's largest and most prestigious newspaper, the New York Times, has dedicated an entire feature to MGS4. It focuses on the storyline, characters and "hidden meanings" behind many of the game's twists and turns. They also include interviews with representatives from 1Up, MTV and Kotaku, and describe Solid Snake as "James Bond meets Rambo." ...we're not entirely sure if we agree with that analogy, but even so, the crossover to mainstream media is encouraging. Of course, not everyone praises MGS4: 1Up's Shawn Elliot casts aspersions on the "preachiness" of the game and in regards to the lengthy cut-scenes, says the game is "kind of like cheating...using a language that isn't native to its own medium." Now, that may be one of the lamest criticisms we've ever read, but that's okay. Like we said, all this stuff is in the Times.

The Times runs gaming stuff; it's true. But this is a feature, and as far as we can tell, that's a first. The last "feature" the Times ran involved a holiday buying guide with so many glaring errors, it became a widespread joke on the Internet. There are always ways to redeem oneself...

Related Game(s): Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

6/23/2008 Ben Dutka

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