Tech experts Digital Foundry recently analysed a Metal Gear Solid 4 emulation, proving that this is the 4K remaster we deserve.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots was released for the PlayStation 3 in 2008. This was a very polarising game in the series. While its visuals and gameplay set a new standard for its generation, many were put off by its very lengthy and excessive cut-scenes.
I’m not crying, you’re crying
For me personally, while no cut-scene should last over an hour, as one did in Metal Gear Solid 4, it’s probably still my favourite game in the series. I have no shame in admitting that it was probably the first video game that made me shed a few tears.
Unfortunately, unlike most of the games in this iconic series, Metal Gear Solid 4 was only ever released for the PlayStation 3. Meaning that its player base was much smaller than the likes of Metal Gear Solid 3 and 5, to name but two.
However, Metal Gear Solid 4 is now playable on PC thanks to the RPCS3 emulation software. For the most part, this means that MGS4 on PC not only achieves 4K visuals but also has a target of 60fps. While this emulation software isn’t perfect (yet), it’s probably the best it’s ever been for MGS4.
MGS4 has never looked better
Analysed by Digital Foundry’s John Linneman, he goes into detail about how much better MGS4 now looks on PC. Not only is the resolution far superior to the PS3 version, but other visual aspects such as shadows, anti-aliasing and shimmering have been greatly improved.
That being said, the MGS4 emulation software is not without its flaws. For example, there are some visual glitches, and the framerate does take a big hit from time to time. However, it’s still much smoother than its PS3 original.
One thing of note, Linneman does mention a particular glitch in regard to Snake’s cameo when using night/heat vision. In the video, only Snake’s illuminates. Now I could be wrong, but I believe this happens when Snake’s camo is activated.
It’s worth keeping in mind, that despite being a 2008 PS3 game, you’ll still need a beast of a PC to get the best out of this emulated classic. Linneman confirms that he’s using a Core i9 12900K with 64GB of DDR4 memory along with an Nvidia RTX 3090.
Will we ever see an official remaster?
It’s a shame that Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots was only ever released on PS3. I wouldn’t hold my breath for an official remaster across all formats, but if there was ever one game in this series that deserves a remaster, MGS4 has a compelling case to argue.
Would you like to see an official remaster for Metal Gear Solid 4? Let us know on Twitter.
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Featured Image Credit: Konami