This article was originally posted on June 11, 2008 at 12:50 p.m.

The Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots fever is officially off the charts and we all know why, don't we? The game is set to launch in a matter of hours and the wait is almost too much to bear.

There's a big chance that if you own a Sony PlayStation 3, you already know pretty much everything there is to know about MGS4. If for some reason you don't, you should stick around and be enlightened.

For all of you out there who find yourselves scratching your heads and asking, "What's the deal with MGS4?" this post is for you. We've prepared 10 questions and answers that will hopefully fill you in on one of the biggest gaming events this year. Let's get started.

Q: What is MGS4?

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is a PlayStation 3 exclusive game developed by Kojima Productions and published by Konami Digital Entertainment. It's technically an action title, but as its makers would like to classify it, it's a "Tactical Espionage Action" game heavy on stealth elements.

Q: So what do you do in a tactical espionage action game?

Basically, it differs from a regular action game in the sense that rather than fight enemies straight on, the Metal Gear series has always had players avoiding confrontations. Sneaking past guards and obstacles, using wits and the environment to conceal you, and taking out the enemy only when absolutely necessary is the name of the game here. Going all Rambo oftentimes will get you killed.

Q: Where's the fun in that?

Using patience and finesse has a fulfillment all its own. In a sense, sneaking inside enemy territory and keeping a low profile is the best thing to do. It's also the more realistic approach to the game's mission types which will have you playing solo with limited weapons and ammo most of the way. There's really no lack of action in Metal Gear games as boss fights have always been known to be some of the best encounters in the business.

Q: Is the story any good?

We're 99.9 percent sure that it's going to rock. The game is set in the not so distant future where the world's economy is running on war trade. As it was stated in one trailer, war is to the 21st century what oil was to the 20th. Entire economies could collapse if someone puts an end to conflicts happening across the globe.

The war trade is mostly controlled by private military companies (PMCs) which could be bought and sold like corporate assets. The main villain in MGS4's storyline, Liquid Ocelot, controls a mother company that commands the five biggest PMCs in the world. He plans on using his finances and arms to mount what he calls an "insurrection" against the United States which is controlled by The Patriots.

Q: Who are The Patriots mentioned in the title and what exactly is a Metal Gear?

We're really not sure if "who" is the right word for that question. People like Revolver Ocelot may have helped establish the organization, but in one MGS4 trailer, it was stated that The Patriots are no longer human. They were said to be the "law of the world created through generations". Pretty heavy stuff, eh? You might want to check out our feature on them in our MGS4 character countdown for a deeper profile and analysis.

A Metal Gear, by the way, is a giant bipedal tank capable of launching nuclear warheads from any terrain towards any target on Earth.

Q: Are the graphics good?

If you're looking for a game that truly flexes the PS3's muscles, this might very well be it. Few games, if any, are comparable to what we've seen in videos so far. This may very well be that realization of the "interactive movie" concept that Hideo Kojima has always talked about. However, we'll have to see when it launches later if the trailers and the gameplay demos are consistent throughout the entire thing.

Q: How does MGS4 differ from the past MGS titles?

We already know that the game will have next-generation graphics and audio, but there seems to be a lot of other things in it to freshen the experience up for seasoned vets in the series. A new camouflage system has been introduced called OctoCamo. Now, there seems to be no more need to go through menus to change your appearance in order to match the environment. The OctoCamo blends automatically to the terrain to conceal the player from the enemy.

Also, Old Snake seems to be reliant on drugs now to stay in good form during his missions. He'll also be assisted by a small robot created by sidekick Otacon. A high-tech knife was also seen in a gameplay demo, along with other firearms in the arsenal.

MGS4 will also contain an online multiplayer mode called the Metal Gear Online Starter Pack. MGS3 had something similar, but you had to get MGS3: Subsistence separately to play against other people. In MGS4, the online play comes with the disc from the get-go.

Q: I'm confused. Is the official MGS4 PS3 bundle an 80GB unit or a 40GB unit?

There are two bundles. The 40GB Gun Metal Gray bundle is exclusively available via the Konami site and it includes the following:

• Gun Metal Gray PS3 with a 40GB Hard drive.
• A DualShock 3 wireless controller
• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Limited Edition
• Exclusive Blu-ray disc including over 2 hours of additional content - "Hideo Kojima's Gene", a behind-the-scenes vision of Hideo Kojima's production team & game and "The Making of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots" documentary
• The official Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots CD Soundtrack, including 16 never-before-released tracks by Harry Gregson-Williams (Shrek, Armageddon, The Rock), Nobuko Toda, and Ennio Morricone.

The 80 GB PS3 Bundle which was available in Amazon, on the other hand, contained the 80GB PS3 SKU, a copy of MGS4, and a DualShock 3 controller.

  

Q: What's the deal about these 90-minute cutscenes in the game?

There have been conflicting reports about the truth in this one. Konami's gag order on reviews didn't help much either. The word is that the final cutscene is almost "the length of a feature film" but we have yet to confirm that. What's likely, though, is that you can either pause or skip these scenes to give yourself a break from the cinematic storytelling.

Q: So what does MGS4's release mean to the PS3 as a player in the console war?

For starters, this game is thought of as a console-mover by many analysts in the game industry. It is certainly a big franchise and is popular on an international level. It commands a loyal following all over the world and may give a lot of people a big reason to buy the PS3 now. It's also seen by some experts as the game that will kick off a big 2008 for the console.