Is Metal Gear Solid 4 a game or an experience?

The answer is unclear in the latest installment of this epic franchise. Both masterful and bloated, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami, $59.99 for PlayStation 3) is less about interactivity and more about storytelling.

That’s slightly unfortunate given how far the gaming medium has come since the first Metal Gear Solid was released in 1998.

Once again, players don some form-fitting armor as chain-smoking mercenary Solid Snake, this time known as Old Snake because he’s aging rapidly due to some genetic tinkering. Set in the year 2014, the world economy of Snake’s bleak universe is now dependent on foreign armed conflicts more than ever. Snake’s globe-trotting quest will find him battling savvy enemies such as nimble military factions and fierce cyborg female supersoldiers. At a moment’s notice, Snake’s suit can blend in with any surface while his Solid Eye monocle can be used as radar, night vision or as binoculars. The game’s highly detailed cutscenes are usually melodramatic, sometimes funny and always way too long.

With some lengthy scenes lasting 30 minutes — and an epilogue that clocks in at nearly an hour — the footage, always a Metal Gear Solid staple, begs the question: Why didn’t creator Hideo Kojima just make a movie this time around!?

Despite the bombastic narrative, make no mistake that the graphics and gameplay in Metal Gear Solid 4 are flawless. Harnessing Old Snake and his new gadgets in exotic locales in the Middle East and South America is utterly fun — something that the rest of Metal Gear Solid 4 unfortunately lacks.