Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

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This game/console's online features are no longer supported. While this game/console's online features were once accessible, they are (as of June 12, 2012) no longer officially supported and online-exclusive features may be documented as now-unseen content.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots concludes the epic story of Solid Snake, by way of twists and turns, returning characters from previous MGS games, tighter over-the-shoulder gameplay, and notoriously lengthy cutscenes.

It was trapped on the PS3 for 18 years, but a port to modern systems was released on August 2026.

Oddities#

When the game language is set to Spanish, the help text on the bottom of the screen when highlighting the NORMAL SOLID difficulty setting will display in Italian. This was fixed in the Master Collection re-release.

Revisional Differences#

This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: See if the patch made any other changes to the game that are not documented.

Released on August 6, 2012.

• Added trophies. Trophies are only available for new save files and cannot be retroactively applied to older save files.
• Added the option to manage installations. Originally, the game would install data in between each act, and was structured in such a way that when backtracking to a previous act, the data for that specific act would need to be reinstalled. The update offers the option to cumulatively install the data, eliminating the constant reinstalling when changing acts. An option is also available to fully install all data from the title screen as well as an option to delete any installed data to free up space.
• Erased all data related to Metal Gear Online, as the game had ended service on June 12, 2012. The option to start MGO was also removed from the title screen.

Version Differences#

This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: Find more changes in the Master Collection Vol. 2 version of MGS 4.

The game was re-released on August 27, 2026 as part of the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 2.

• The PlayStation references remain in the PS5, Xbox Series X and PC versions, but they were changed in the Nintendo Switch 1 and 2 versions.
  • The controller that Snake holds while operating the Metal Gear Mk. II/III was changed to a nondescript controller. An icon of this controller replaces the DualShock 3 icon in the game's HUD in all versions.
  • The PS3 console and PSP handheld found on the Nomad during the missions briefings were replaced with other objects (such as a Kerotan, for one).
  • During the Psycho Mantis sequence after fighting Screaming Mantis, the flashback images triggered by pressing confirm were changed: the PlayStation console was replaced with a generic console shell and the nondescript controller used elsewhere replaces the DualShock 3, including the image of the woman using the controller as a massaging device.
• The disc swap gag that occurs during Act 4 had one of its lines of dialogue re-recorded to refer to each system (yes, even Series X and S).

• The MGS4 Integral podcast that was playable from the iPod was removed.
• The texture for the iPod has been modified to remove real-world regulatory labels.
• The infamous install screen is now accessible by holding down both bumper buttons and the confirm button at the "This game saves data automatically..." screen.
• The Dolby Digital logo at startup was removed.
• A patch available at launch added language support for Brazilian Portuguese.
• Added the option to fully customize the control scheme. The shoulder buttons are also switched in the default control scheme.
• The Password function was removed from the Extras menu. Thus, any items that could be unlocked via entering passwords (either as an alternate method or the only unlock method) can now be unlocked by using the Camera on second playthroughs onward to photograph certain elements within the game.