Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots vs Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is an action-adventure FPS game (2008) while Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is an action-adventure FPS game (2010).
Quick answer: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots has the higher Metacritic, 94 to 89.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
What each one is
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is filed under Action-Adventure and FPS. In contrast, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker under Action-Adventure and FPS.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is a 2008 action-adventure stealth game developed by Kojima Productions and published by Konami for the PlayStation 3. It is the sixth Metal Gear game directed by Hideo Kojima. Set five years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, the story centers around a prematurely aged Solid Snake, now known as Old Snake, as he goes on one last mission to assassinate his nemesis Liquid Snake, who now inhabits the body of his former henchman Revolver Ocelot under the guise of Liquid Ocelot, before he takes control of the Sons of the Patriots, an A.I. system that controls the activities of PMCs worldwide. The game was released on June 12, 2008.
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is a 2010 stealth game developed by Kojima Productions and published by Konami. It is the seventh Metal Gear game written, directed, and designed by Hideo Kojima, and the fifth installment of the Metal Gear Solid series, as well as the fourth Metal Gear game made specifically for the PlayStation Portable, following Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. A remastered version of the game titled Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker — HD Edition was later released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 as part of the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection in North America and Europe and as a stand-alone retail release in Japan. The HD Edition of the game was included in the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 compilation for Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on August 27, 2026.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Setting See also: Metal Gear § Storyline Guns of the Patriots is set within an alternate history timeline in which the Cold War continued into the 1990s, ending before the turn of the century. The events themselves take place in 2014, and form the final chapter in the storyline covering the character of Solid Snake, providing conclusions to the events that led up to Guns of the Patriots . The world's economy relies on continuous civil wars fought by… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical reception Reception Metal Gear Solid 4 received universal acclaim, according to review aggregator website Metacritic . The first review was a 10/10 from PlayStation Official Magazine – UK , commenting " MGS4 shifts gears constantly, innovating again and again". The game has been awarded 10/10 from Game Informer , as well as a perfect score in all categories (graphics, control, sound, and fun factor) from GamePro , Famitsu (40/40), and Empire . (Wikipedia)
Plot
Peace Walker begins on November 4, 1974. Big Boss is running his own mercenary unit in Colombia after leaving the United States, following the death of The Boss during Operation Snake Eater ten years prior. A mysterious paramilitary group equipped with a startling quantity of quality weapons, called the "Peace Sentinels", has been deployed in Costa Rica . (Wikipedia)
Characters
The game's returning protagonist is Big Boss , otherwise known as Snake ( David Hayter / Akio Ōtsuka ), who is leading a new mercenary group called Militaires Sans Frontières (commonly abbreviated as MSF). He is assisted in this endeavor by MSF deputy chief Kazuhira Miller ( Robin Atkin Downes / Tomokazu Sugita ). They are eventually joined later in the game by Sandinista rebel leader Amanda Valenciano Libre ( Grey DeLisle / Romi Park ) and her younger… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical reception Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker On Metacritic , the game holds a score of 89, indicating "generally favorable reviews". It was given a perfect score of 40/40 in the May 5, 2010 issue of Japanese magazine Weekly Famitsu ; making it the fourteenth game to achieve a perfect score, as well as the first title for the PSP. PSM3 awarded the game 91%, commenting on the game's ability to "take the best bits from every Metal Gear Solid game – the… (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots | Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | — | — |
| Steam rating | — | — |
| Critic aggregate | 94/100 | 89/100 |
| Price | Unknown | Unknown |
| Install size | — | — |
| Steam Deck | Untested | Untested |
| Released | 2008 | 2010 |
| Developer | — | — |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots vs Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the PatriotsAction-adventure FPS gameMetal Gear Solid: Peace WalkerAction-adventure FPS gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the PatriotsNo descriptive tagsMetal Gear Solid: Peace WalkerNo descriptive tagsThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots ✓Metacritic 94Metal Gear Solid: Peace WalkerMetacritic 89Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.
Price
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the PatriotsUnknownMetal Gear Solid: Peace WalkerUnknownRead live from Steam and subject to change.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The better reviewed of the two: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Metacritic 94)
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
Common questions
How different are Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker in scope?
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots lists little scope data. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker lists little scope data.
Is Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots or Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker better?
Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.
Which is cheaper, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots or Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Should I get Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots or Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker?
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots has the higher Metacritic, 94 to 89. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.