"Display Copy Only" MGS4 box art revealed. Check out the details. 4.6GB HDD storage necessary.
EDIT: A look at the Drebin Shop feature of MGS4.
Metal Gear Solid 4 is being billed as the conclusion and culmination of the series, but that's not to say it doesn't bring a few new ideas to the franchise. While most of the game's additions are essentially evolutions and refinements of Metal Gear concepts, one stands out as something unprecedented in 20 years of tactical espionage action: The Drebin Shop.
Run by the enigmatic Drebin, a stylish man whose name (inspired by Leslie Nielsen's goofball Naked Gun "hero" Frank Drebin) is almost as odd as his companion, a cola-guzzling monkey dressed in a mylar diaper, the Drebin Shop is a dramatic change for Metal Gear. Snake's missions have historically been OSP -- that is, on-site procurement, meaning he goes into combat unarmed and makes use of whatever he can find in the course of his adventure -- and MGS4 initially looks to go in the same direction. As the game begins, Snake loses not one but two rifles; the first due to a jammed feed mechanism, and the second as a casualty of a mad scramble to evade a pair of deadly "gekko" battle robots. But the game's familiar arc (which sees him acquire a handgun and a silenced stun pistol a short time later) is completely interrupted when he meets Drebin, a self-described "weapon launderer."
Unlike many previous Metal Gear titles, Snake is able to collect weapons from fallen foes. Unfortunately, most of them can't be used due to "ID locks," a technological safety device which keys guns to the government-controlled nanomachines that regulate the behavior and tactics of the privatized troops (PMCs) who represent the bulk of Snake's opposition. Not being a registered PMC himself, these ID chips prevent Snake from being able to fire these collected weapons. Drebin's role in the game is to bypass these high-tech locks and transform PMC guns into a part of Snake's arsenal.
Of course, Snake only really needs one of any given weapon model, so the surplus he collects become a currency of sorts. Every weapon Snake picks up, whether a locked PMC weapon or an ID-free militia gun, is worth a certain trade-in value -- "Drebin Points." Every gun you pick up is automatically converted into Drebin Points, which can be redeemed immediately in the weapon laundering shop. Conveniently, this shop is available from the main menu, and items purchased are available for immediate use.
It seems an odd fit for a Metal Gear game, as they tend to pride themselves on sporting at least a semblance of realism. But as usual, the writers have employed a bit of hand-waving to explain it: Drebin transactions are conducted through Metal Gear Mk. II, Snake's remote-control surveillance drone. Given that Snake can somehow manage to tuck the bulky 18-inch-tall robot into his skin-tight sneaking suit (along with other less probable items such as rocket launchers and 80-gallon steel drums), using the Mk. II for instant gun purchases isn't really that much more of a stretch. We look to the wisdom of series patriarch Big Boss in these matters: "Don't get worked up over the details."
There are three different types of transactions in the Drebin Shop: Weapons, accessories, and laundering. The latter is the simplest; once you've collected a weapon, Drebin will happily bypass its security chip for a modest fee. The price depends on the item in question. Grenades are ridiculously cheap at 12 Drebin Points and the trade-in value of a rifle looks to begin at 300 points, but unlocking some of the more devastating devices tops out in the thousands. Fortunately, once you've unlocked a weapon, it will always be unlocked... even expendable munitions like grenades.
Purchasing weapons isn't particularly more complex. If you have sufficient cash, you can simply buy guns from the shop menu to add to your equipment stockpile. This is true even for guns you haven't actually seen in person over the course of your adventure; dozens of pistols, submachine-guns, rifles, and launchers were available the instant Drebin's Shop went online for us. Fortunately, this isn't as game-breaking as one might think. You can't just stockpile the best guns immediately -- when you first begin shopping, the high-grade weapons are impossibly expensive. (Director Hideo Kojima indicates that the game's coolest weapon, the historical Tanegashima flintlock rifle, will require three to four complete playthroughs of the game before it's even close to being affordable.) Fans of long-range shooting will have to settle for the merely decent M14EBR rifle at first, as the Dragunov and Mosin Nagant sniper rifles are incredibly expensive.
Luckily, even a modest weapon can approach greatness through customization. The Drebin Shop sells accessories and upgrades as well as the weapons themselves, and nearly every weapon appears to be customizable. In some cases, it may simply be a single front mount -- good for nothing but to attach a flashlight onto (which is more than just a DOOM 3 mod for seeing in the dark -- bring your weapon to bear while a nearby enemy is looking at you and you stand a chance of blinding him). Some larger weapons, however, have four or five hard points for attaching tools and enhancements. The M4 rifle Drebin gives you gratis is one such weapon: The muzzle supports a suppressor, the side mount supports a laser sight for improved accuracy in third-person view, the top mount can host a dot sight for improved accuracy in first-person view, and the barrel is compatible with fore grips (for steadier fire) or a shotgun or grenade launcher mod. Likewise, the inexpensive M14EBR makes an excellent sniper rifle if you mount a scope on its upper point, and it's compatible with suppressors to allow sneaky long-distance takedowns.
Even better is the fact that the Drebin Shop can even be accessed indirectly through the weapons management screen. As you cycle through your available inventory, you can instantly choose to launder captured weapons without visiting the shop menu. And by entering a weapon's customization screen (select a weapon and press L2), you have access to a list of all mods available per hard point -- even the ones you don't currently own. Attaching them (or even purchasing additional ammo) is as simple as selecting the item and paying Drebin's fee. Handily, you can purchase multiple units, which means you can stock up on ammunition or attach a few hundred rounds' worth of suppressors in a single transaction.
It remains to be seen how dramatically this will affect gameplay. On one hand, the ability to stock up on (and never having to worry about running out of) ammo should make battles less stressful. On the other, it could also make the game less challenging, too. About the only thing we didn't notice an option to purchase in the shop was healing items, leading us to wonder if winning some of the game's large-scale battles will ultimately come down to how many rations you've stocked up. Still, we're taking an optimistic view; the in-game economy seems reasonably balanced, and the potential for customization seems like a welcome tradeoff if all that's lost is the stress of rationing ammo. We'll see how well it plays out when the game arrives in just a few weeks.
although gloss black looks better..
