Metal Gear Solid 4 catches way too much heat IMO. The gameplay was great (Minus the boring part where you walk around in that trench coat trying to meet up with Big Mama). The game was necessary. There's no way in the world Kojima was about to kill Solid Snake. We needed something to show that he would definitely be out of the picture with as much dignity as possible and that's what 4 gave us, along with leaving the door open for Raiden.