All of the supposed PlayStation 3 launch games do not compare to the grandeur that is Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Hideo Kojima's opus, the last installment to the MGS series, may not be coming out until 2007, but there's still a huge difference between it and something like Resistance: Fall of Man. You see, when the PS3 launches this fall, people are going to buy it because it's a PS3 and they want all of the included goodies. Then they'll move onto the games, where many will shrug and say "I guess I get Warhawk and I suppose I want Heavenly Sword. But come next year, new adopters will purchase a PS3 FOR MGS4. That's the fundamental difference between games that serve as accessories to the hardware and games that actually sell the hardware. Metal gear Solid 4 is going to cause Sony's machine to fly off store shelves, and based on what we've seen, there's a damn good reason for that.

Konami's game was first shown at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show, and just like Nintendo's grand unveiling of its Wii controller (which also made its official debut at TGS 2005), the audience was in shock, not just because it's thus far the most gorgeous-looking videogame ever created, but because (and true to form), Kojima threw a monkey wrench into his latest creation, that being Snake, who's an old man. He's still capable of kicking lots of ass, snapping necks, and blowing shit up, but his body is rapidly breaking down, the result of accelerated aging (he's a clone) as well as inflicted trauma on the battlefield. None of this stops him from smoking of course. In the TGS trailer, he still goes for a cig, but it's obvious that this isn't going to be the same Snake that we're used to playing as. No doubt he'll still be capable of performing some amazing feats, but we're also thinking that his age is going to be a major factor in how the gameplay progresses.

The TGS trailer was cool because it introduced to Konami's proprietary engine as well as some familiar faces such as Otacon (who delivers messages to Snake using a mini Metal Gear), Revolver Ocelot (now consumed by the ghost of Liquid Snake), and a bunch of cool looking soldiers that we'll probably slaughter, but this year's 15-minute E3 trailer completely kicked its TGS brother to the curb. Not only did the game look more incredible (more on that later), but it revealed some new story details, particularly the official introduction of Raiden, the wimpy nut bag that none of us wanted to play as in MGS2. He's large and in charge in MGS4 and we cannot play as him (it's Snake only), yet in a horrible twist of fate we desperately want to, because in this game he's a total bad ass (state of the bad ass art). Not only does he look like a mean son-of-a-bitch, but he wears this high-tech bio armor, his head is covered in this three-layered visor, and he wields razor sharp blades, which he uses in the trailer to cut through Metal Gears. So not being able to play as him is bitter sweet, but we're more than happy to welcome him to the story.

Speaking of the narrative, Konami hasn't revealed much info, but it's obvious that a lot's going to go down. There's Revolver Ocelot (Liquid Snake) and his henchman to worry about, Snake's old flame Meryl Silverburgh (from MGS1) has been brought into the fold, Snake's health is a concern, and we don't know what the hell Raiden's up to (though we suspect that he's being groomed to take Snake's place in future Metal Gear titles). There's just a ton of loose ends to tie up, and until Kojima reveals some more details or the game hits shelves, we're as much in the dark as you are.

One thing we do know (which is obvious from just glancing at a screen) is the game's positively gorgeous. Sony's launch titles offer a glimpse of what the PS3 hardware is capable of, but MGS4 is the crown jewel. Konami has done some impressive work with motion capture, particularly with characters' faces, to produce some of the most realistic looking polygonal people ever seen. But there's so much more to this game than just great-looking characters. The dust that's kicked up around the Middle East-looking town, the environmental textures, and the particle effects are just outstanding. Kojima has once again proven that he's one of the few people in the world that actually knows how to get the most out of Sony's hardware, though at this point, we're still a bit skeptical. It's one thing to gush over a bunch of trailers and take Kojima on his word that it's all real time, but it's another to actually pick up a controller and see for ourselves, and until that happens, we can't 100% mark out to Konami. But at the same time, we also know that we're in denial that it actually looks this good.

There are going to be a lot of incredible PlayStation 3 games, but for now, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is without question the most anticipated. It sucks that it's not coming out until next year (we're thinking as a fall release), but the more time Kojima and his team have to tweak the game the more incredible it'll likely be. We'll have more on MGS4 in the coming months.