Casual Friday: Metal Gear Solid 4 vs. The Movies, Spore, and More

It's time to go see summer blockbusters on the big screen--or to play them on your PS3.

Welcome back to PC World's weekly celebration of slack. For this installment, I stand in line and wait patiently for the next summer blockbuster ... and later, I get infected with love for EA's Spore.

"Excuse me ... what is everyone waiting in line for?"

"Metal Gear Solid 4," I tell the attractive blonde walking by. Responding to her vacant stare, I fill in the blanks. "A video game."

"Ohhh," she says icily, "gamers." And with a smirk, she walks off into the night. She isn't the last person to ask--boozy businessmen, homeless people, each one reacting like the couple hundred people in line are nuts for being here at 10:30 at night. Are we, though? (Okay, maybe the guys who dressed up like Metal Gear Solid 3 characters might qualify.) But people line up to watch a hot new movie about to release. They camp out to nab the best seats at a concert. Every Sunday, folks have a tailgate party outside the stadium. Gaming just happens to be a relatively new--often misunderstood--pastime, and I'm standing here in line amongst the believers.

Lorenzo Ochoa has never waited in line for a video game before. He barely even sweats catching a movie on opening night. But here he is, having been standing in line since about 6 p.m. to get his hands on Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. "I was here earlier, and when I'd heard the game would be available at midnight, I decided to wait." For him, it's worth it. "I really like the way he [Hideo Kojima, the game's creator] blends in a deep story and well-conceived characters ... and the way the games look are amazing," says Ochoa.

"A lot of people criticize the games because there are lots of cutscenes and sometimes not enough gameplay--but I think that's a good thing," says Ali Aiti, another fan in the queue. "It's like an interactive movie. In fact, it bridges my passion for movies and games."

Midnight strikes, and the line starts moving. As I approach the register, I find myself wondering if people will line up like this to see The Incredible Hulk. The clerk who overhears me answers, "Yeah, that Hulk game came out the other day. Nobody really came in and asked for it yet."

"Actually, I was talking about the movie."

"Oh, that's coming out this week. I forgot."

I could sit around and ponder how the release of MGS 4 might affect ticket sales for the newest superhero movie. I mean, studios worried that Grand Theft Auto 4's release might bite into theIron Manopening weekend. MGS4 ships only for the PlayStation 3, so I don't know if it will make as big a dent or be a massive system seller, but that's a whole other conversation (Dyson at Destructoid.com has a great entry that I agree with, so no need to rehash that). But never mind--I have a game to play.

I finally get the game home around 1 a.m. and pop in the disc. My reward: 8 minutes of installing files to the PS3's hard drive as I watch Solid Snake chain-smoke. (I wish I was kidding.) Maybe I'll take a quick nap. (Limited spoilers ahead.)

I press the Start button to kick off the madness.