Konami Delays Metal Gear Solid 4

By Geoff Duncan November 1, 2007

Konami Delays Metal Gear Solid 4

Sony’s PlayStation 3 video game platform has just been dealt another blow by game developer Konami, which has announced that the lon-gestating fourth chapter in the Metal Gear Solid game series, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, won’t ship until the second quarter of 2008. In a brief statement (Japanese), Konami said the game was being held back to make “further improvements,” but did not cite any specific reasons for the delay.

The much-anticipated game was to have had a simultaneous, worldwide launch just prior to the end-of-year holiday season. Metal Gear Solid 4 is also exclusive to the PlayStation 3; investors and industry watchers had speculated the anticipated game might prove to be a “must-have” title for the pricey console, which has been struggling to find market share.

PlayStation 3 fans specuate the delay may in part be caused by integrating support for rumble-enabled DualShock 3 controllers.

Developed by franchise creator Hideo Kojima, Metal Gear Solid 4 features an older, more cynical version of series hero Solid Snake as he’s deployed to the Middle East to neutralize a massive private army. Many characters from previous Metal Gear titles are slated to appear in the game.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Gaming

Best Diablo 4 Druid build: recommended skills, passives, and gear

best diablo 4 druid build skills passives gear

Diablo 4's Druid class is effective, allowing players to shapeshift and use magic to damage opponents from afar. It's an intimidating class to use, especially compared to some of the classics, but once you have the right build, the Druid can be devastating. It takes a little while to get it going, but once you master the art of this class, it's highly effective.

In this guide, we'll cover the very best Druid build in Diablo 4.
Recommended build

Gaming

Best Diablo 4 Rogue builds: recommended skills, passives, and gear

A rogue looking determined.

Rogues are always an enticing class to play as in RPGs like Diablo 4. These characters have plenty of different tricks and options open to them, making them versatile, but always deadly, no matter what World Tier you're on. With so many options to pick from, such as melee or ranged, trap types, and different status effects, it can feel overwhelming when trying to figure out what is worth investing in to make a powerful Rogue. Rather than tinker endlessly with all the possible combinations of this class, we'll give you two powerful Rogue builds to make you more formidable in Diablo 4.
Rogue overview
Rogues are meant to be fast and deadly. They have very high damage-per-second (DPS) potential to make up for lower defense and HP, as well as numerous tricks like bombs and traps to keep themselves safe. This is one of the more active classes in Diablo 4, requiring you to manage your cooldowns and be more active during fights compared to more tanky classes. You'll need to be more precise playing a Rogue because many of their skills need to be targeted. However, thanks to some powerful synergies, mastering this class could make you one of the most powerful members of your team.
Ranged build

Unless you're absolutely certain you can take out an enemy before they can land any significant blows on you, a ranged Rogue build is the safest bet. Don't let that get you down, though, because Rogues are arguably even more deadly at a distance than up-close. Here's a strong range build to mop up enemies before they even have a chance to touch you. Feel free to use either a bow or crossbow depending on your preference.
Must-have skills
Penetrating Shot: This is going to be your basic attack in many ways. As the name suggests, this skill shoots an arrow that penetrates all enemies to hit as many as you can get lined up, though at slightly reduced damage than a normal shot. It also has a chance for a Lucky hit, but make sure you get the Enhanced Penetrating Shot as well to increase the damage the shot does by a percentage for each enemy it hits.

Gaming

Best Diablo 4 Necromancer builds: recommended skills, passives, and gear

The necromancer holding a balde in a crypt.

Why should all those corpses you create in Diablo 4 go to waste? You'll be ripping through swaths of demons, monsters, and other evils all across Sanctuary during your adventure, and if you're not playing in a group, you might feel a little lonely. Thankfully, the Necromancer is here to turn those former foes into brand-new friends. Sure, Necromancers have typically been seen as the villains, but you're free to flip the script and show the world they can be heroes too. Becoming a master of the dead isn't so simple, so we've come up with two of the best Necromancer builds to test out in Diablo 4.
Necromancer overview
The Necromancer is a very interesting class in Diablo 4. Not only can it serve as a high-damage, single-target class, but it also has some strong area of effect options. Of course, the thing that really makes this class stand out is the ability to summon up minions to fight on your behalf, keeping you from being overwhelmed by enemies. How and why you summon those minions is where the diversity comes in, so let's take a look at some build options.
Bone Spirit build

If you want to hit as hard as possible, then this Bone Spirit build will certainly do the trick. By focusing on maximizing crit chances, you'll be able to crush even the tankiest of foes in just a few hits. This does take a good bit of mechanical skill, but once you've gotten the hang of it, you'll basically be unstoppable.
Must-have skills
Reap: This one is basic, but you need your normal scythe swipe to fall back on. Mainly, you'll just use this as a corpse creator for other skills.